espionage
Breaking: Hogue Commission Will Hear From New Safety-Protected Witnesses On PRC Targeting of Chinese Candidates
Hogue Finds Witnesses Face Credible Threats, Records Will Be Sealed for 99 Years
In an extraordinary move, Canada’s foreign interference inquiry will hear testimony from two new secret witnesses with firsthand knowledge of the People’s Republic of China’s influence operations targeting electoral candidates and community associations in Canada. Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue announced the decision today, weeks after the public testimony phase concluded, revealing that the witnesses—identified only as Person B and Person C—face credible threats to their safety and that of their families due to their insights into how Beijing’s United Front Work Department (UFWD) targets Chinese Canadian politicians and community associations.
The witnesses’ identities and testimonies will be closely guarded, with only sanitized summaries made available to the public and participants. According to Hogue’s decision, Person B has provided critical insight into the UFWD’s tactics, describing how Beijing’s agents “co-opt and leverage some Chinese Canadian community associations and politicians of Chinese origin” to advance PRC interests. Much of Person B’s information is firsthand, Hogue’s decision states, suggesting the witness could produce explosive evidence relevant to high-profile cases under examination for Hogue’s final report in December.
Both witnesses expressed profound concerns about the consequences they could face if Beijing discovered their identities. Person C, in particular, described the likelihood of “threats to their physical safety, intimidation and harassment by PRC officials or sympathetic community members in Canada, and the potential loss of their employment” should their cooperation with the Commission become known. Person B similarly voiced fears of “serious repercussions,” including community ostracization and job loss, if their identity were disclosed. “This fear is based, in part, on the fact that the PRC and its United Front Work Department has infiltrated some Chinese Canadian community associations,” Hogue’s decision states.
In light of the witnesses’ statements and intelligence on PRC activities, Commission counsel deemed the witnesses’ concerns “credible.” Commissioner Hogue emphasized the necessity of these safety measures, stating, “I am satisfied by the information contained in the application that the fears expressed by Person B and Person C are not only credible, but also compelling. In light of other information that the Commission has received about the tactics of the PRC, including transnational repression, I am satisfied that the concerns expressed by Person B and Person C are reasonable.”
The extraordinary protective measures will allow the witnesses to provide their statements confidentially via affidavits, sealed for 99 years, marking an exceptional step to protect those revealing sensitive information on state actors. Commissioner Hogue further elaborated that the witnesses’ evidence is crucial to understanding the extent of Beijing’s operations in Canada but could not be accessed without protective guarantees.
Hogue’s decision marks a rare departure from standard inquiry practices, reflecting what she described as Canada’s duty to protect those who risk their safety to expose foreign influence.
Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch, which has made submissions seeking the disclosure of cabinet-protected documents in the Commission, said he welcomes the Inquiry’s decision to hear from important new witnesses.
“It’s good to see the Inquiry continue to gather evidence about foreign interference activities, especially given that its hearings in the spring and fall left many questions unanswered, mainly because the Inquiry called witnesses mostly from government and political parties who have an interest in covering up interference, loopholes, and weak enforcement,” he said.
But Conacher reiterated his reservations about the overall lack of transparency in the Commission’s proceedings and what he calls loopholes in Canada’s laws against foreign influence.
“The only way to stop foreign interference is to effectively prevent it, and it will only be prevented by closing huge loopholes in laws across Canada that allow for secret, undemocratic and unethical spending, fundraising, donations, loans, lobbying, and disinformation campaigns by foreign ‘proxies,’ and by strengthening enforcement and penalties,” he said. “Hopefully, the Hogue Inquiry will strongly recommend closing all these loopholes and strengthening enforcement and penalties.”
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The UK Labour government’s secret order to Apple for an iCloud encryption backdoor ignites US-UK tensions as lawmakers demand action.
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The Labour government’s reported decision to issue a secret order to Apple to build an encryption backdoor into iCloud is turning into a major political issue between the UK and the US, just as the move is criticized by more than 100 civil society groups, companies, and security experts at home.
The fact that this serious undermining of security and privacy affects users globally, including Americans, has prompted a strong reaction from two US legislators – Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat, and Congressman Andy Biggs, a Republican.
In a letter to National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, the pair slammed the order as “effectively a foreign cyber attack waged through political means.”
Wyden and Biggs – who sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, respectively – want Gabbard to act decisively to prevent any damage to US citizens and government from what they call the UK’s “dangerous, shortsighted efforts.”
The letter urges Gabbard to issue what the US legislators themselves refer to as an ultimatum to the UK: “Back down from this dangerous attack on US cybersecurity, or face serious consequences.”
Unless this happens immediately, Wyden and Biggs want Gabbard to “reevaluate US-UK cybersecurity arrangements and programs as well as US intelligence sharing with the UK.”
They add that the relationship between the two countries must be built on trust – but, if London is moving to “secretly undermine one of the foundations of US cybersecurity, that trust has been profoundly breached.”
The letter points out that the order appears to prohibit Apple from acknowledging it has even received it, under threat of criminal penalties – meaning that the UK is forcing a US company to keep the public and Congress in the dark about this serious issue.
In the UK, well-known privacy campaigner Big Brother Watch agreed with what the group’s Advocacy Manager Matthew Feeney said were “damning comments” made by Wyden and Biggs.
Feeney said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s “draconian order” to Apple was in effect a cyber attack on that company, and that the letter penned by the US legislators is “wholly justified” – and comes amid “a shameful chapter in the history of UK-US relations.”
“Cooper’s draconian order is not only a disaster for civil liberties, it is also a globally humiliating move that threatens one of the UK’s most important relationships,” he warned, calling on the home secretary to rescind it.
The same is being asked of Cooper by over 100 civil society organizations, companies, and cybersecurity experts – an initiative led by the Global Encryption Coalition (GEC).
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SPEECH CONTROL
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UK Refuses to Weaken Online Censorship Laws Despite US Pressure |
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The UK government has firmly stated that its online censorship laws will not be softened to appease US President Donald Trump or to facilitate trade negotiations with the United States. Technology Minister Peter Kyle repeated Britain’s stance on maintaining strict digital speech regulations, shutting down any speculation of a shift in policy toward American AI firms.
During the Paris AI summit, Kyle dismissed claims that Downing Street was considering relaxing sections of the Online Safety Act in discussions with the US. Refuting a report from The Daily Telegraph, he asserted: “Safety is not up for negotiation. There are no plans to weaken any of our online safety legislation.”
The Online Safety Act, one of the strictest online speech crackdowns in a democratic nation, which is set to come into force this year.
Industry moguls such as Elon Musk have voiced hopes that a Trump-led administration might resist global regulatory pressures on US-based tech companies.
Despite these concerns, Kyle expressed confidence that Trump would not obstruct Labour’s forthcoming AI legislation, which mandates that leading AI firms undergo “safety” evaluations before rolling out new software. He confirmed that voluntary safety pledges would now be replaced with enforceable mandates, ensuring strict compliance.
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From LifeSiteNews
By Frank Wright
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, head of the new House Oversight Task Force on Declassification, called the official narrative of the JFK assassination ‘faulty’ and said she believes ‘there were two shooters.’
On January 23 President Donald Trump signed an executive order to declassify and release all records of the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King.
Fulfilling a promise initially made in his first presidential term and repeated ahead of his second, Donald Trump has issued an order “providing Americans the truth after six decades of secrecy.”
Trump’s interim Director of National Intelligence Lora Shiao was ordered to “present a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of all John F. Kennedy assassination records…”
Following this directive, the FBI has revealed the existence of thousands more “previously unknown” files relating to the JFK assassination. As Fox News reported on February 10:
“The FBI conducted a new records search pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order issued on January 23, 2025, regarding the declassification of the assassination files of JFK, RFK, and MLK. The search resulted in approximately 2400 newly inventoried and digitized records that were previously unrecognized as related to the JFK assassination case file…”
Trump’s nominees on a ‘glide path’
In a Wednesday Senate vote Tulsi Gabbard is expected to be confirmed as permanent National Intelligence chief – described as the principal advisor to the president. She will oversee this process when confirmed.
Trump also seeks to install Kash Patel as the new head of the FBI. Patel has promised to publish the client list of notorious Mossad-linked sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on the first day of his tenure.
In addition, he intends to publish documents detailing “Russiagate” and all information relating to the origins of COVID-19.
Democrats have alleged Patel is “secretly overseeing a purge of the FBI” before his appointment has been confirmed. Senator Adam Schiff is now charging Patel with perjury.
Could this be related to what Patel says about Adam Schiff here?
“Adam Schiff is the single most responsible person for spreading disinformation on Russiagate: saying he had evidence Donald Trump colluded with Russia.”
Patel is also expected to be approved by the Republican-majority senate, with the process leading to his Thursday confirmation hearing described as a “glide path” by the scandal-hit outlet Politico. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also expects to be appointed Health and Human Services chief following his nomination vote.
New 9/11, assassination, COVID investgations
In an additional move, the Trump administration has seen the creation of the House Oversight Task Force on Declassification.
Announced by its new leader, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, the task force will not be restricted to the oversight of publishing formerly classified files.
Luna said it would be conducting new investigations into 9/11, the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, as well as the “origins of COVID-19,” the Jeffrey Epstein case, and unidentified aerial and subsea objects known as “UAPs” and “USOs.”
As independent journalist Michael Shellenberger pointed out in the tweet above, “For decades, presidents said they told us everything they could about Covid, JFK, Epstein, UAPs and more. They lied.”
The first hearing is “set for March,” Luna announced, describing her task force as a “beacon of bipartisanship” with the participation of both Republicans and Democrats.
A break with the past
Luna stressed that this was a complete break with the past, saying this will not be “a task force that makes bold promises only to fade into irrelevance or send strongly worded letters.”
“This will be a relentless pursuit of truth and transparency and will not stop until the American people have the answers they deserve.”
Luna presented a complete shift in how the U.S. government sees its relation to governed.
“We have been treated like children for too long and kept in the dark by those we elected to serve us.”
Luna’s remarks may serve as a statement of the Trump administration’s vision for restoring America. She argued, “If we are to endure as a nation, we must restore trust – trust through transparency.”
Marking a shift from the manufacture of public opinion by the state sponsorship of news and mass culture, Luna continued, “The American people must be trusted to think for themselves, to form their own judgments from the truth they are entitled to know.”
Official verdict on JFK ‘faulty’: ‘I believe there were two shooters’
Luna also announced Tuesday night that “based on what I have seen so far” of the unreleased JFK files, “I believe there were two shooters” involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. Luna described the official verdict of a “single bullet theory” as “faulty.”
The revelations from the new JFK files have already begun. What they and the other disclosures contain will be released to inform a new vision of the national interest. The Trump administration is not only saying it is keeping its promises to Americans, but also announcing it wishes to govern in the open and will trust the public to make its own mind up, in place of manufacturing public opinion for political ends.
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