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| TSA subpoenas travel bloggers, demands names of sources |
| 2009-12-31 |
| As the government reviews how an alleged terrorist was able to bring a bomb onto a U.S.-bound plane and try to blow it up on Christmas Day, the Transportation Security Administration is going after bloggers who wrote about a directive to increase security after the incident. Once again, wrong target. TSA special agents served subpoenas to travel bloggers Steve Frischling and Chris Elliott, demanding that they reveal who leaked the security directive to them. The government says the directive was not supposed to be disclosed to the public. Frischling said he met with two TSA special agents Tuesday night at his Connecticut home for about three hours and again on Wednesday morning when he was forced to hand over his lap top computer. Frischling said the agents threatened to interfere with his contract to write a blog for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines if he didn't cooperate and provide the name of the person who leaked the memo. This does not pass the smell test. Not sure any of those threats are legal. Has TSA been granted law enforcement authority to support this type of action outside of an airport? He should have contacted local law enforcement and an attorney immediately. "It literally showed up in my box," Frischling told the Associated Press. "I do not know who it came from." He said he provided the agents a signed statement to that effect. In a Dec. 29 posting on his blog, Elliott said he had told the TSA agents at his house that he would call his lawyer and get back to them. Elliott did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. The TSA declined to say how many people were subpoenaed. The directive was dated Dec. 25 and was issued after a 23-year-old Nigerian man was charged with attempting to bomb a Northwest Airlines flight as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam. The bomb, which allegedly was hidden in Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's underwear, malfunctioned and no one was killed. Authorities said the device included a syringe and a condom-like bag filled with powder that the FBI determined to be PETN, a common explosive. The near-miss attack has prompted President Barack Obama to order a review of what intelligence information the government had about Abdulmutallab and why it wasn't shared with the appropriate agencies. He also ordered a review of U.S. aviation security. The government has spent billions of dollars and undergone massive reorganizations since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. The TSA directive outlined new screening measures that went into effect the same day as the airliner incident. It included many procedures that would be apparent to the traveling public, such as screening at boarding gates, patting down the upper legs and torso, physically inspecting all travelers' belongings, looking carefully at syringes with powders and liquids, requiring that passengers remain in their seats one hour before landing, and disabling all onboard communications systems, including what is provided by the airline. It also listed people who would be exempted from these screening procedures such as heads of state and their families. People of privilege already being given priority listing, how lovely. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #10 The US is soooo close to being a dictatorship. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-12-31 13:40 |
| #9 The leak (Strep Throat, LOL!) was from the NYT. You will have to talk to 'Throat to find out who the leaker is. I only have second hand information. Hearsay in a court of law. Waterboard me and I will tell you anything you want. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul in Kotzebue, AK 2009-12-31 13:26 |
| #8 Shades of Iowahawk's satire. From "Man, Do I hate Holiday Travel": by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab ...The US State Department agent asked to see my passport, and the concierge explained that I was a Somali refugee. So she looks at her computer screen and says, "um, I'm afraid there's a problem, this passenger's name is on a watch list." Oh, great. Looks like my dad is playing Mr. Buzzkill again, just because I took that semester off from Oxford to go backpacking in Yemen. So I showed her my official State Department visa. So I'm like, "honey, do I look like I'm a US military veteran?" "No." "Do I look like I'm some sort of right wing anti-tax teabagger?" "No." "Do I look like anybody else on the DHS terrorism danger list?" "No, but..." "Then I suggest that unless you want a nasty anti-discrimination lawsuit on your hands, you'd best give me an aisle seat. With extended legroom." |
| Posted by: lex 2009-12-31 12:29 |
| #7 The one-hour no-blankie or magazine or book on the lap rule Unlike the TSA flavor, even your plain garden variety of idiot would realize how stupid this is. As security guy Bruce Schneier has pointed out, the only things that have made air travel safer are reinforced cockpit doors and passengers realizing they need to fight back. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-12-31 12:12 |
| #6 Here is a fresh example of my above comment. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31terror.html?_r=1&ref=us |
| Posted by: HammerHead 2009-12-31 10:17 |
| #5 knee-jerk response by an embarrassed and incompetent org. The one-hour no-blankie or magazine or book on the lap rule is something an idiot would devise to look "like we're doing something". Fire Napolitano Now! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-12-31 09:15 |
| #4 This relates to non-classified Sensitive Security Information (SSI), but when the New York Slimes, Washington Composite or Congressional aids reveal Secret and Top Secret info, then the Government is paralyzed since issuing a subpoena might inflict a "chilling affect" on media or hurt a political agenda. This country is a joke and in trouble. |
| Posted by: Hammerhead 2009-12-31 09:04 |
| #3 Claim it was CAIR. I suspect that all new procedures get reviewed and approved by CAIR first before implementation. -- You know to make sure the Terrorist's sensibilities are not offended. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-12-31 08:50 |
| #2 That or give the http link to the TSA's top secret procedures manual. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-12-31 07:56 |
| #1 The bloggers should all point to a mole deep within TSA named Strep Throat. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-12-31 07:54 |