Free Congress Foundation's Notable News Now Excerpts from FCF Programming, and other FCF projects. January 11, 1999 Inside Stories IS CLINTON "BUGGING" AMERICANS? The Free Congress Commentary Don't Give In To The Fear by: Lisa S. Dean There has been much fuss made in the press lately about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's proposed regulations called "Know Your Customer." And why shouldn't there be? The regulations will require every bank in America to establish a profiling system on every bank customer, detailing their deposit and withdrawal habits. If the person deviates from that profile, the bank will be required to file a "suspicious activity" report on the individual and all of a sudden he will find himself answering to federal agencies as to why he deviated and what he did with his money. So far, the FDIC and other agencies involved have received over 6,600 letters from the public opposing the plan as a severe violation of their privacy. Those people are right to complain. Traditionally federal agencies aren't accountable to anyone for their actions, and it's proposals like "Know Your Customer" that these agencies should come under severe scrutiny for even introducing. When federal agencies step out of line, the citizens are right to set them straight. While the proposal itself is troublesome because it represents a mindset within federal agencies that our constitutional rights don't matter, what's even more troubling is the attitudes of a growing number of people in the country when it comes to criticizing or expressing an alternative viewpoint from the government's. The Free Congress Foundation. as well as other organizations such as Sovereign Citizens Against Numbering, have been laboring day and night urging people to respond during the comment period which ends on March 8th. While many have already done so with pleasure, we hear from a growing number of people in America whose immediate reaction is "but if I respond in opposition to this proposal, what's to stop them from putting ME on a list to target later on?" That attitude is astounding! While many of us complain that Americans no longer understand the Constitution, we generally think of it in the context of claiming to have rights under it that don't exist in that document. but never have we thought of it in terms of people forgetting what rights they really have and that they can still be exercised because our Constitution, contrary to the wishes of the Clinton Administration, are still very much in force today. We still have the right to freedom of speech. That freedom gives us the right to criticize the branches of government, including the president and agencies working under him. The minute we begin to believe that we can no longer exercise that right for fear of being punished by that same government we dare to criticize, we have changed our form of government without a single vote and given in to the very wishes and desires of this Administration who would like nothing more than to kill the Constitution itself. Many of you who are listening tonight understand your Constitutional rights and care very deeply about the many ways in which they are being eroded by the Clinton Administration. Be very, very careful never to fall into that trap where you believe that if you exercise those rights, you will be punished. The second the government senses fear in you, will be the same second where you will become a target because you will have relinquished your rights which made you a free citizen in the first place and now subject to a power-hungry government which doesn't view you as a human being, created by God, but rather an instrument to further strengthen its power. For the sake of yourself, your families, and your fellow citizens, keep the Constitution alive by not giving in to that fear. Lisa S. Dean is the Vice President of the Free Congress Foundation's Center for Technology Policy. Contact: Lisa Dean @ Free Congress Foundation 202.546.3000 Program Excerpts: * Is Clinton "Bugging" Americans? "You know, they complain quite often about Linda Tripp, which is you know, the second party of a conversation taping, well, we're talking about an unknown third-party listening in. And in essence, you know, we're not just talking about your or my telephones, but we're also talking about the computers that, say, run the federal reserve banks," said Charles Smith, president of the company, Softwar, and an expert in computer security and encryption. Smith, a guest on "Endangered Liberties", which aired its radio debut on Radio America Friday evening, discussed the Clipper project, a project by the Clinton administration which tried to implement a plan allowing them to bug the American public. The project, as of yet, has not succeeded. Smith said, "One of the reasons why the project died was because, well, Alan Greenspan simply told them to get out of his office. You know, they came in, they proposed the idea to him, he said, 'You're crazy. You want me to trust what - the entire, what is it, $23 -30 trillion that we ship over the line?" Smith provided an explanation of the Clipper Project saying, "Basically, the Clipper Project was a chip developed by the National Security Agency that's over in Fort Mead, Maryland.... Those are the guys that listen in on radios and telephone broadcasts, and basically, they're also the code breakers. And, you know, since the chip was designed to provide computer and voice security, and the idea here was that it would be mandatory for all manufacturers to put the chip in their computers, fax machines and phones. Now, the beneficiary side to this is that we would now have secure cell phones and secure handhelds, as well as secure computer email, and secure banking and finance transactions. But of course, the downside was, there was a secret exploitable feature, sort of like a backdoor, actually it was a backdoor with the keys being held by certain government agencies. The backdoor terminology, obviously, we're talking about information warfare tactics and techniques, obviously that goes back to the old Cold War days.... The objective here for the government, at least according to the FBI and Justice Department is that the Federal Government didn't want to trust us with secure email and secure radios and secure cell phones, simply because, well, gee, we might engage in criminal activity or become terrorists. So, therefore, in order to maintain their wiretapping capability, they decided they would require, through a mandatory legislation, that this event occur, and Clipper become "the thing". It's kind of like a V-chip, but in everything - fax phones, and not just your personal computers, but we're also talking about computers in major corporations." Guest host Cliff Kincaid queried Smith, "Give us the latest in terms of the current status of this plan, and also I understand, you've gotten a document out of the FBI indicating that the discredited convicted felon, Webster Hubbell, had a role in developing this." Smith responded, "The plan currently, the Clipper chip itself, has died an ugly death. The concept though, still lives on in the form of they would like independent keyholders to hold things so they can subpoena them. And of course, the keyholders would be licensed by the Commerce Department. And all of this really ties together to the same basic concept - they would like to have a backdoor.... Now here's the concept. Web Hubbell apparently was appointed by Ms. Reno in this. He was appointed in early 1993. The document that we've obtained confirms that it was written from William Sessions to Mr. Hubbell in June of '93, reporting that Mr. Hubbell had attended a classified and a secret White House meeting with the National Security Council on how to address the encryption issue. And their suggestion, at that time, was to make it mandatory. That kind of went over very poorly - the mandatory, you know, possible legislation. So the concept really has not died, it has simply just gone undercover. They have tried very hard in between now and then. The FBI Director and Ms. Reno. Ironically...Mr. Hubbell, is a convicted felon. He also took...about half a million dollars from the Lippo group. And within days of him taking that money in 1994, John Huang gets into the Commerce Department at a secret position, and immediately requests, and receives, thirty-seven briefings on encryption. Now, think of this in terms of the Chinese military. They were quite interested in this technology. We've discussed the information warfare - how to put a backdoor in a computer chip at the computer chip level; how to recognize one, how to manage the operation. Not only were the Chinese aware, I think apparently, they had their own agents at the highest level. We know that Chinese agents made it into the White House. And they were definitely very clearly interested in this technology, because we also have documented evidence of more than one export authorized with the personal signature of Bill Clinton." Smith articulated, "In essence, what they did here, is...they've passed to the Chinese the version that doesn't have a backdoor. One of the reasons why the Chinese penetrated this operation was to make sure that anything that we eventually shipped to them, such as the secure satellite communications systems, were clean..." Kincaid questioned, "You're telling us that the Clinton administration has a general policy of restricting exports of these encryption products, except when it comes to Communist China?" Smith replied, "Absolutely. It's well documented. In fact, the GAO put it in one of their reports, that Bill Clinton personally authorized the transfer of the secure air traffic control system to the Chinese Air Force, since they run the Chinese Air Traffic Control System over there, and since then, the Chinese have since modified this system and sold it to the Iraqis. That's what we're bombing. It's an integrated air defense system that's secure using fiber optics systems. And they're American built." Contact: Producer, Joseph Starrs 202.546.3000 Endangered Liberties, starting in January of 1999, goes live on Radio America, Friday nights at 7 pm Eastern. Join Lisa Dean and Paul Weyrich as they continue the tradition of exposing the people that threaten your liberty. Listen live at www.radioamerica.org. Or listen via satellite at Satcom C-5 Transponder 15, Channel 10-1; or on Galaxy 4, Channel 63 at Satcom C-1 TVRO. Is the U.S. Government Selling Out to Communist China?! Find out more than you'll ever want to know in these American Investigator reports! American Investigator has been the first, and in many cases, the only news medium to uncover these startling facts! If you would like to order the American Investigator China Box Set for $59.95 plus $5 shipping, please call 1.800.638.0660 and leave your MasterCard or Visa number, along with your name, address, and telephone number. THE CHINA BOX SET includes: Five stories reveal how China has gained tremendous influence within the White House, while simultaneously attempting to disrupt the very stability of our country. The box set includes the following American Investigator reports: Quid Pro Coal, Low Road to China; China By Any Other Name, Red Gold Rising and Bill in a China Shop. (Information regarding each individual program is below.) QUID PRO COAL Beneath Utah's landscape lies a quaking scandal with aftershocks that will be felt around the world. Was closing off a large chunk of Utah an act of environmental kindness or political profit making? LOW ROAD TO CHINA American Investigator goes behind the bamboo curtain to unmask the forces driving the Lippo scandal. Exclusive witnesses from the princeling power structure reveal details and critical new findings on the arms shipments, the Lippo infiltrations by Chinese interests, and unmeasured influence on U.S. foreign policy. CHINA BY ANY OTHER NAME Inexplicable real estate deals...millions in money laundering...weapons smuggling linked to street gangs...random corruption? Or China's organized attempt to destabilize our country? Find out who's really behind the Long Beach take-over and who's paying for it. RED GOLD RISING They had access bought with illegal campaign contributions. But where does a developing country like China go to find the hard currency to influence U.S. elections? With some highly secretive insider trading from Little Rock to Wall Street, China has made millions floating their "red chip" stock on the U.S. market and produced a storm of Red Gold Rising. BILL IN A CHINA SHOP A year ago, American Investigator broke the story of sensitive American military technology transfers to China. Now, the players are revealed and the paper trail is exposed -- and it leads from China to Motorola all the way to the White House. Will the sale of America's most lethal defense technology come back to haunt us? Visit Our Website at www.FreeCongress.org. ************************************************************************ * This publication is a service of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, Inc. (FCF) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Free Congress Foundation nor is it an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill. Free Congress Foundation * 717 Second Street, NE * Washington, DC 20002 Project Manager: Angela Wheeler * 202.546.3000 x450 * Fax: 202.544.2819 Copyright * 1999 Free Congress Foundation - All Rights Reserved.
