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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Erin Banco, Alexander Ward, Matt Berg and Ari Hawkins | |  The announcement of the changes came the same day the former leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, was convicted for a plot to keep Donald Trump in power by leading an attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. | Noah Berger/AP Photo | With help from Anthony Adragna, Connor O’Brien and Kierra Frazier Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt The Department of Homeland Security’s office of intelligence and analysis notified Congress on Thursday that it is implementing a series of organizational changes after allegations that its staff mishandled intelligence collection and dissemination in the leadup to Jan. 6 and during the civil unrest in Portland in 2020. KEN WAINSTEIN, the head of the department, said in an interview with NatSec Daily that the changes are the result of a two-part internal review to improve the department’s oversight. The first phase of the review, which was recently completed, focuses on changes I&A will make to its management structures to ensure the staff is better trained and that there is proper oversight over intelligence collection processes, Wainstein said. Phase two of the review is underway but has not been finalized. It will look at where I&A is spending its resources and ensure the office is doing enough to confront the growing threat posed by domestic violent extremists. “Like any intelligence agency, a big part of our mission is not only to collect intelligence, but to make sure that we're doing so within the guidelines and the rules and the laws and the Constitution that protect privacy and civil liberties,” said Wainstein, who was confirmed for the leadership role at I&A in June 2022. The changes at I&A come after years of allegations that DHS I&A did not do enough to share intelligence ahead of Jan. 6 — a process that could have potentially helped stop the attack on the U.S. capitol. Numerous news outlets, including POLITICO, have outlined those missteps over the last two years. And a 2021 internal review by the DHS office also found that its staff had mishandled intelligence collection during the civil unrest in Portland in the summer of 2020. POLITICO also recently revealed details about the existence of the office’s domestic intelligence program — one where staff previously conducted intelligence interviews with incarcerated people, circumventing their lawyers. Wainstein said I&A will create a new intelligence collection directorate — one that is separate from a unit that analyzes the intelligence — to ensure employees are complying with the laws and policies that govern the department. “We want to have more focused and constant supervision of our collectors. And the reason why we want that is that collecting intel is very difficult to get it right. And we've seen cases where we and other intel agencies have not gotten it right,” Wainstein said. I&A will also increase the number of people inside the department that report directly to Wainstein, including officials responsible for overseeing the department’s oversight and transparency efforts. "We needed to take the oversight functions that were scattered throughout the organization and bring them all up so that they report directly to me in the front office so as to make sure that those functions both are recognized as being of paramount importance to the organization," Wainstein said. The announcement of the changes came the same day the former leader of the Proud Boys, ENRIQUE TARRIO, and three of his allies were convicted Thursday of seditious conspiracy for a plot to keep former President Donald Trump in power by leading an attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as our own KYLE CHENEY reports.
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The F-35 delivers the unrivaled advantage for our pilots, nation, and partners. A decisive differentiator in near-peer warfare, the F-35 is the most advanced node in 21st century security network-centric architecture. Learn more. | | | | | CALLING OUT THE KREMLIN: From the Kremlin’s point of view, Washington directed Kyiv to strike Moscow with the drones Wednesday morning. U.S. officials took issue with that claim, emphasizing that Washington took no part in the attacks, Matt reports. “We had nothing to do with it. Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple,” National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY on MSNBC Thursday morning, responding to Kremlin spokesperson DMITRY PESKOV’s comments to reporters saying that “decisions about such actions, about such terrorist attacks, are made not in Kyiv but in Washington.” The Biden administration still doesn't have a leading theory on who was behind the drone attack or why it occurred, and the U.S. is still unclear how the event will change the war, if at all, a U.S. official told us. "We still don't know what happened here," another U.S. official said. Both officials were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal intelligence matters. After his surprise trip to Finland on Wednesday, Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY paid a visit to The Hague on Thursday to make a speech, calling for Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN to be tried for war crimes if Kyiv wins the war, our own NICOLAS CAMUT reports. “We all want to see a different Vladimir here in The Hague,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the International Criminal Court’s international arrest warrant against Putin. “If we want true justice, we should not look for excuses,” he added, calling for “bold decisions” in changing international law to hold Putin accountable. ‘SO PLEASED’: The mother of a slain American hostage was delighted to hear President JOE BIDEN highlight the plight of wrongfully detained U.S. citizens and their families at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last weekend. “I just couldn't believe it. I was just so, so pleased,” said DIANE FOLEY, mother of JAMES FOLEY, a journalist taken in Syria in 2012 and murdered by ISIS terrorists nearly two years later. “It's been 11 years since Jim was kidnapped, so it's like a sea change.” As others have pointed out, the Biden administration is more focused on wrongfully detained Americans than any team since the Carter and Reagan years. Before his jokes, Biden spoke of EVAN GERSHKOVICH, PAUL WHELAN and others held abroad. A lot of the administration’s time and attention on the issue follows on the pressure campaign Foley has built in the years since her son’s tragedy. The issue has also changed quite a bit since Foley was thrown into this world. “Ninety percent of the captors now, instead of terrorist groups, are in fact state actors like China, Iran, Russia as well as Syria,” she told NatSec Daily. “Which makes it a whole different ballgame because these are guys who want to interfere directly with our foreign policy and really want to hold our government hostage in many ways.” The U.S. ambassador to Russia, LYNNE TRACY, visited Whelan for the first time Thursday since assuming her post. SUDAN EO: Biden signed an executive order Thursday that would sanction individuals involved in the growing violence in Sudan. The measures will “hold individuals responsible for threatening the peace, security and stability of Sudan; undermining Sudan’s democratic transition; using violence against civilians; or committing serious human rights abuses,” Biden said in a statement. The conflict has killed at least 550 people and wounded nearly 5,000 others –– both surely an undercount. MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @Lawrence_Ukenye, @reporterjoe and @_AriHawkins.
| | | | The McCain Institute will convene its 10th annual Sedona Forum on May 5-6, featuring lawmakers, journalists, military leaders, business executives, and more. This year’s theme, “Indispensable Power,” will examine the diplomatic, military, and economic means employed to protect democracy, human rights, and the global competitive edge. Established by Senator John McCain, the Sedona Forum is held each spring in the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona, to advance the mission of the McCain Institute – fighting for democracy, human dignity, and security. Visit TheSedonaForum.org to register for the livestream today. | | | | | | | | PENCE’S BORDER BASHING: Former Vice President MIKE PENCE blasted the Biden administration for stopping construction of the border wall, curbing the “Remain in Mexico” policy and allowing Title 42 to expire. "We're standing here today in the worst border crisis in American history as a direct result of the open border policies of President Joe Biden and the Democrats and the message that they've sent south of our border,” Pence told Fox News on Thursday. Referencing the expiration of Title 42, which has allowed the government to turn away millions of asylum seekers in recent years, Pence warned that "a storm is coming one week from today at the southern border. We're about to go from bad to worse, but it doesn't have to happen."
| | NEW INT’L CYBER STRATEGY: The White House released a new strategy Thursday to strengthen U.S. efforts to set the international rules of the road on the development and rollout of cyber and emerging technology products, our own MAGGIE MILLER reports (for Pros!). The strategy will prioritize investment in emerging tech that’s critical to national security, such as quantum and artificial intelligence. It’ll also work to increase the private sector’s input in setting standards for these new tech, which could be everything from internet-connected refrigerators to cellphones to credit cards. The first-ever national strategy is being unveiled amid increasing concerns by administration officials that China is outpacing the U.S. on setting international standards on emerging technologies, and that the U.S. needs to strengthen its efforts to compete.
| | | | DON’T MISS THE POLITICO ENERGY SUMMIT: A new world energy order is emerging and America’s place in it is at a critical juncture. Join POLITICO on Thursday, May 18 for our first-ever energy summit to explore how the U.S. is positioning itself in a complicated energy future. We’ll explore progress on infrastructure and climate funding dedicated to building a renewable energy economy, Biden’s environmental justice proposals, and so much more. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | TECH TURNUP: Roughly 20 Ukrainian tech startups have recently won grants from their government to quickly develop new military-focused technologies that Kyiv says it needs as its war to expel Russian forces grinds on, our friends at Morning Defense (for Pros!) report. The effort, a Ukrainian government-funded tech accelerator and incubator dubbed BRAVE1, aims to quickly get new gear under contract while slashing red tape for small companies with good ideas. And it’s looking for venture capital from American investors. “A year ago, this tech industry almost didn't exist in Ukraine, and now we have hundreds of companies” developing technologies that have military applications, ALEX BORNYAKOV, Ukraine’s deputy minister of digital transformation, told our own PAUL McLEARY while in Washington to meet with potential financiers. Even as this part of Ukraine’s tech sector grows, many tech workers have fled the country since the war began, causing the industry to suffer. TAIPEI’S FIGHTER JETS DELAYED: Taiwan Defense Minister CHIU KUO-CHENG announced the delay of 66 advanced new F-16V fighter jets from the U.S. as a result of supply chain disruptions, leaving the self-governing island scrambling to “make up deficiencies,” according to a report from Reuters. Washington approved an $8 billion sale of fighter jets to Taipei in 2019, which are equipped with new avionics, weaponry and radar systems. The move will bring the island’s fleet to above 200 jets, the largest in Asia, as the island faces escalating threats from China, which claims the self-governing strip as its own territory.
| | | |   | | | | | SENATE ASSESSES WORLD THREATS: Senators ran the full spectrum of threats to global security during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing with Director of National Intelligence AVRIL HAINES and Defense Intelligence Agency head Lt. Gen. SCOTT BERRIER on Thursday, covering everything from Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine to cryptocurrency and the leak of classified documents. Our colleagues ANTHONY ADRAGNA and CONNOR O’BRIEN write in with some of the most notable moments:
- War in Ukraine: Haines said Russia gained less ground in April than in the prior three months and was suffering both munitions and personnel shortfalls, but showed no sign of letting up. “The Russians are unlikely to be able to mount a significant offensive operation this year,” she said.
- China-Russia ties: Both officials said the relationship development between China and Russia had only accelerated since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, highlighting cooperation in the Arctic as an example. “Since the invasion, that closeness has accelerated to some extent. In part, that is due to the fact that Russia is increasingly beholden to and needs China. And China perceives Russia increasingly as a country that was already in the little brother role… but nevertheless is more beholden and therefore they have greater leverage,” Haines said.
Classified leak of Pentagon records: Haines said the investigation remains ongoing, but said the alleged leak by a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman was “just unacceptable on every level” and “extremely frustrating, obviously, and demoralizing for folks in the intelligence community who work so hard to put together the kind of intelligence that then gets disclosed in leaks.”
| | | SPY HUNT OR WITCH HUNT? Ukrainian authorities say they’re only getting started in their spy hunt for individuals who betrayed the country and are still undermining Ukraine’s security and defense. But as the purges have become more urgent, and possibly more political, criticism is mounting from opposition politicians and civil society leaders. They are becoming publicly more censorious, accusing Zelenskyy and his tight-knit team of using the war to consolidate as much power as possible, per our own JAMIE DETTMER. Among the cases prompting concern when it comes to possible concealment of corruption is the one against 40-year-old ROMAN DUDIN, the former Kharkiv security chief, who is facing charges of treason. Dudin’s lead lawyer, OLEKSANDR KOZHEVNIKOV, says neither Zelenskyy nor his SBU superiors voiced any complaints about his work before he was fired. “The only order he didn’t carry out was to transfer his 25-strong Alpha special forces team to the front lines because they were needed to catch saboteurs,” Kozhevnikov said. “The timing of his removal is suspicious — it was when he was investigating allegations of humanitarian aid being diverted by some powerful politicians.”
| | | | — TONY JOHNSON has been tapped to serve as special assistant to the deputy secretary of Defense. Before that, he was special adviser to the under secretary of Defense for intelligence and security. — Eurasia Group has named VANESSA SUSSMAN as chief marketing and communications officer. She previously served as vice president of marketing and communications at Morningstar.
| | — LINDA CHAVEZ, The Bulwark: What I saw at the southern border — NINA JANKOWICZ and TOM SOUTHERN, Foreign Affairs: The war-weary West — Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal: Poland Is the indispensable NATO ally
| | — Hoover Institution, 8:15 a.m.: Challenges in American Institutions — Atlantic Council, 8:30 a.m.: Ideas to implementation: Priorities for NATO’s Vilnius Summit — Hoover Institution, 8:30 a.m.: Inputs to Prosperous Economies — Foundation for Defense of Democracies, 11 a.m.: Russia’s War on Ukraine: A Conversation with Amb. OKSANA MARKAROVA — United States Institute of Peace, 1:30 p.m.: How to Strengthen Security Sector Assistance — Stanford, 3 p.m.: Global Dialogues Series | Citizenship and Belonging in Times of Political Crisis — McCain Institute, 3:30 p.m.: 2023 Sedona Forum (featuring Alex!) Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who never operates “within the guidelines and the rules and the laws and the Constitution.” We also thank our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who we happily let collect intelligence on us.
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