espionage
Canada’s security agency confirms Chinese agents worked directly to elect MPs
From LifeSiteNews
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director David Vigneault testified to the ongoing Foreign Interference Commission that he supports the ‘conclusions’ that Communist China was working to help elect regime-friendly Canadian MPs.
During testimony last week at the inquiry looking into alleged meddling in Canada’s last two federal elections, the head of the nation’s intelligence agency confirmed that agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did help to elect “pro-China” candidates, also disclosing the existence of a large cash payments scheme totaling $250,000.
David Vigneault, who serves as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director, told the inquiry, titled the Foreign Interference Commission, that he supports the “conclusions” that the CCP was working to help elect China-friendly Canadian MPs.
“I support those conclusions,” he said after pointing out documents that show large cash payments to unnamed public office holders.
“These words have been crafted very carefully,” he said, adding, “For the Commission record I support those conclusions. I would not want to go further.”
The Foreign Interference Commission was convened to “examine and assess the interference by China, Russia, and other foreign states or non-state actors, including any potential impacts, to confirm the integrity of, and any impacts on, the 43rd and 44th general elections (2019 and 2021 elections) at the national and electoral district levels.”
The Commission is being headed by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, who had earlier said that she and her lawyers will remain “impartial” and will not be influenced by politics and began on January 29.
In January, Hogue said that she would “uncover the truth whatever it may be.”
The CSIS director’s comments came as a result of an internal federal memo, the After Action Report 2021 Federal Election, which noted how “The People’s Republic of China sought to clandestinely and deceptively influence Canada’s 2021 federal election.”
The memo, dated December 17, 2021, reads that the “foreign influence was pragmatic in nature and focused primarily on supporting individuals viewed to be either ‘pro-PRC’ or ‘neutral’ on issues of interest to the People’s Republic of China government and Chinese Communist Party.”
The document was put together by the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force.
“The Task Force also observed online media activities aimed at discouraging Canadians particularly of Chinese heritage from supporting the Conservative Party of Canada, Party leader Erin O’Toole and particularly former Steveston-Richmond East candidate Kenny Chiu,” reads the Action Report.
Counsel for Conservative MP Michael Chong asked Vigneault during the Commission hearings if CSIS agreed with the Action Report.
“I recognize this information,” said Vigneault in reply.
Thus far, the testimony at the Commission has revealed that former Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MP Kenny Chiu said he felt “betrayed” by the federal government after only now learning he was the target of agents of the CCP.
Also, the public has learned via the inquiry from Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault that he was secretly warned by security agents of irregularities in the 2019 election.
‘Politically-Connected Canadian’ linked to cash payments of $250,000 to influence 2019 election
Last week, the Commission released a CSIS report titled People’s Republic Of China: Threat Actors, Contact With Candidates And Funding Of Threat Actors, which documents the large cash payments of “$250,000 from People’s Republic of China officials in Canada possibly for foreign influence-related purposes.”
“Prior to and during the 43rd general election in 2019 a group of known and suspected People’s Republic of China related threat actors in Canada including PRC officials worked in loose coordination with one another to covertly advance PRC interests through Canadian democratic institutions,” wrote the agency in the report.
The report lists that 11 political candidates as well as 13 political staff members were “assessed to be either implicated in or impacted by this group of threat actors,” and that “some of these threat actors received financial support from the People’s Republic of China.”
“For example, there likely were at least two transfers of funds approximating $250,000 from People’s Republic of China officials in Canada possibly for foreign influence-related purposes though most likely not in an attempt to covertly fund the 11 candidates,” the report reads.
“These were transferred via multiple individuals to obfuscate their origins via an influential community leader, to the staff member of a 2019 federal election candidate and then to an Ontario MPP. The transfers reportedly took place in late 2018, early 2019.”
Vigneault confirmed last Thursday that the reports were accurate, saying about them, “That is a correct statement,” but added the agency is not able to “discuss classified information.”
As for the unnamed “Politically-Connected Canadian,” Vigneault said that he would “not have any specific comment about political matters as you can imagine.”
The Commission also included an In Camera Examination Summary in which CSIS discussed “possible People’s Republic of China interference” which took place at the 2019 Liberal Party nomination, which was won by MP Han Dong.
Another document showed that there was a “potential foreign interference by a politically connected Canadian” in 2019, however, this person was not named.
The summary said that this person had “not previously been identified as acting on behalf of a foreign state but appeared to have been doing so in the period leading up to the 2019 election.”
“The report initially assessed it likely the actor ‘has already had an impact on the 2019 federal election and will remain a foreign interference threat after the election,’” it noted.
When it comes to the CCP, many Canadians, especially pro-freedom Chinese Canadians, are concerned with the nation’s influence in what is supposed to be a democratic process.
As for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he has in the past praised China for its “basic dictatorship” and has labeled the authoritarian nation as his favorite country other than his own.
Daily Caller
Chinese Agents Can Now Access Every American’s Phone Calls And Texts, GOP Senator Warns
Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds warned Friday that China’s state-sponsored hackers, known as Salt Typhoon, have gained the capability to spy on millions of Americans through their mobile phones. (Screenshot/YouTube/HalifaxtheForum)
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds warned Friday that China’s state-sponsored hackers, known as Salt Typhoon, have gained the capability to spy on millions of Americans through their mobile phones.
During an event at Halifax The Forum, Rounds revealed that hackers have infiltrated all major U.S. telecommunications firms. Rounds said these hackers have penetrated every major telecom provider in the country. He also said the Chinese Communist government is capable of reading texts and listening to conversations.
“Any one of us and every one of us today is subject to the review by the Chinese Communist government of any cell phone conversation you have with anyone in America. Because they have access to every single one of our major telecommunications companies. They have broken in. They can read your texts, and they can hear your conversations,” Rounds said. “It’s just a matter of who they want to listen to and who they don’t.”
Salt Typhoon, identified as a Chinese hacking group, has infiltrated the networks of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, and their presence lingers, according to Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, The Washington Post reported. Warner called the breach “the worst telecom hack in our nation’s history—by far.”
The breach, ongoing for over a year, affects telecom giants such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Hackers even accessed law enforcement wiretap request logs, revealing investigative targets, though the wiretap system itself remains uncompromised, WaPo said. The breach reportedly targeted communications involving former President Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, and White House officials.
Despite intervention from the FBI, the hackers remain embedded in the U.S. telecom infrastructure, according to WaPo. Warner explained that expelling them will require a massive overhaul, including the physical replacement of thousands of routers and switches across affected networks.
“This is an ongoing effort by China to infiltrate telecom systems around the world, to exfiltrate huge amounts of data,” Warner said.
The group exploited outdated infrastructure and inter-network trust, enabling real-time eavesdropping and data exfiltration, the outlet reported. While fewer than 150 individuals were directly targeted, the scope of compromised data extends to millions of associated contacts.
The Biden administration urges stricter cybersecurity measures to counter persistent Chinese aggression.
“We must lock our digital doors,” Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger said.
National security officials, including Trump appointees, vow heightened focus on combating cyber threats.
Censorship Industrial Complex
Tucker Carlson: Longtime source says porn sites controlled by intelligence agencies for blackmail
From LifeSiteNews
Journalist Glenn Greenwald replied with a story about how U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson changed his tune on a dime about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to spy on American communications without a warrant. The journalist made the caveat that he is not assuming blackmail was responsible for Johnson’s behavior.
Tucker Carlson shared during an interview released Wednesday that a “longtime intel official” told him that intelligence agencies control the “big pornography sites” for blackmail purposes.
Carlson added that he thinks dating websites are controlled as well, presumably referring at least to casual “hook-up” sites like Tinder, where conversations are often explicitly sexual.
“Once you realize that, once you realize that the most embarrassing details of your personal life are known by people who want to control you, then you’re controlled,” Carlson said.
He went on to suggest that this type of blackmail may explain some of the strange, inconsistent behavior of well-known figures, “particularly” members of Congress.
“We all imagine that it’s just donors” influencing their behavior, Carlson said. “I think it’s more than donors. I’ve seen politicians turn down donors before.”
Journalist Glenn Greenwald replied with a story about how U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson changed his tune on a dime about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to spy on American communications without a warrant. The journalist made the caveat that he is not assuming blackmail was responsible for Johnson’s behavior.
Greenwald told how he had seen Johnson grill FBI Director Christopher Wray about his agency’s spying and “could just tell that he felt passionately about (this),” prompting Greenwald to invite Johnson on his show, before anyone had any idea he might become Speaker of the House.
“One of the things we spent the most time on was (the need for) FISA reform,” Greenwald told Carlson, noting that the expiration of the current iteration of the FISA law was soon approaching. He added that Johnson was “determined” to help reform FISA and that it was in fact “his big issue,” the very reason he was on Greenwald’s show to begin with.
Johnson said regarding FISA, “We cannot allow this to be renewed; it’s a great threat to American democracy; at the very least, we need massive, fundamental reform” according to Greenwald.
Johnson became House Speaker about two months to three months later, and Greenwald was excited about the FISA reform he thought Johnson would surely help bring about.
“Not only did Mike Johnson say, ‘I’m going to allow the FISA renewal to come to the floor with no reforms.’ He himself said, ‘It is urgent that we renew FISA without reforms. This is a crucial tool for our intelligence agencies,’” Greenwald reounted.
He noted that Johnson was already getting access to classified information while in Congress, wondering at Johnson’s explanation for his behavior at the time, which was that he was made aware of highly classified information that illuminated the importance of renewing FISA and the spying capabilities it grants, as is.
Greenwald doesn’t believe one meeting is enough to change the mind of someone who is as invested in a position as Johnson was on FISA reform.
“I can see someone really dumb being affected by that … he’s a very smart guy. I don’t believe he changed his mind. So the question is, why did he?” Greenwald asked.
“I don’t know. I really don’t. But I know that the person that was on my show two months ago no longer exists.”
Theoretically, there are many ways an intelligence agency could coerce a politician or other person of influence into certain behaviors, including personal threats, threats to family, and committing outright acts of aggression against a person.
A former CIA agent has testified during an interview with Candace Owens that his former employer used the latter tactic against him and his family, indirectly through chemicals that made them sick, when he blew the whistle on certain unethical actions the CIA had committed.
“This is why you never hear about CIA whistleblowers. They have a perfected system of career destruction if you talk about anything you see that is criminal or illegal,” former CIA officer Kevin Shipp said.
As a form of coercion, sexual blackmail in particular is nothing new, although porn sites make the possibility much easier. In her book “One Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Crime That Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein,” investigative journalist Whitney Webb discusses not only how the intelligence community uses sexual blackmail through people like Jeffrey Epstein but how it was used by organized crime before U.S. intelligence even existed.
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