Posted originally on the CTH on October 30, 2024 | Sundance
The ongoing surveillance of Donald Trump continues to generate a need for the U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) to attribute foreign adversaries to the origin. However, substantively we all know the surveillance itself is coming from inside the house.
In the latest development, the New York Times is reporting from their sources “familiar with the matter,” that communication systems within President Trump’s family have been corrupted by “China-linked hackers.” Before outlining the who’s, what’s and transparently predictable “why’s” of the story, let us first outline what the USIC is leaking to the New York Times.
Remember as you read this, each surveillance system -the origin of the spyware- tells us a lot about what methods are being deployed as a justification for surveillance that we know has been ongoing for a long time. Notice this “hacking” system is attributed to “Phones used by Jared Kushner and Eric Trump.” When you see ‘phones‘, think ‘Pegasus.’
New York Times – Members of former President Donald J. Trump’s family, as well as Biden administration and State Department officials, were among those targeted by the China-linked hackers who were able to break into telecommunications company systems, according to people familiar with the matter.
The sophisticated hacking operation has alarmed national security officials and appears to have targeted a substantial but focused list of people whose communications would be of interest to the Chinese government. The list of known targets is currently fewer than 100 individuals, these people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive ongoing investigation.
So far, the list of targeted phones includes devices used by high-profile people, including Mr. Trump, his son Eric Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. (read more)
Time is of the essence, so let’s cut to the chase.
The Biden attribution to the same ‘hacking’, is a disposable narrative useful only insofar as the USIC needs to project an air of bipartisanship to the underlying narrative. Yes, the USIC monitors the Bidens just like they do every other entity of influence in/around government. However, Biden is irrelevant in this one.
When you see the methods being stated by the USIC to the New York Times as “phones,” we can immediately understand the tools of the spyware they are deflecting toward is the Pegasus system developed by Israeli intelligence contractor NSO. As the Guardian noted in 2021, ” [NSO] sells surveillance technology to governments worldwide. Its flagship product is Pegasus, spying software – or spyware – that targets iPhones and Android devices. Once a phone is infected, a Pegasus operator can secretly extract chats, photos, emails and location data, or activate microphones and cameras without a user knowing.”
Due to the nature of the product they sell, NSO works with the Israeli government to vet the purchaser of the spyware they sell.
The Pegasus’ cell phone surveillance technology is a tool for governments who cannot build out the technology on their own, and they do not have access to the NSA database. Pegasus is marketed as an alternative to data collection that allows the government agency to specifically target individual cell phones and spy on what that phone is doing.
That’s the surface system that the USIC is selling as part of their operational narrative. However, how does that attribution connect to “China-Linked Hackers”? This is where we must always visit prior research.
After the Pegasus revelations were made, it was identified that the actual code that created the malware behind Pegasus was not, in actuality, code generated from within the network of the Israeli company that sells the software/spyware. There was a very strong indication the actual spyware was created by the Chinese. Israel was selling a cell phone communication surveillance system, created in part by coding from China, discovered by noticing Chinese fingerprints in the spyware code itself.
The motives and intentions for Israeli intelligence are always what they are. Israeli intelligence operates on the backbone of multiple SIGNIT (signal intel) and HUMIT (human intel) networks. Israel doesn’t care what the sourcing of the surveillance spyware is; it’s more important to them to have access to the surveillance end product. I digress.
However, we go back to the aspect of how the story originates, from the USIC to the New York Times. Now we see that it is important for the USIC to promote a very specific leak that Chinese affiliated systems are monitoring President Trump’s family phones. Why would the USIC want to make that assertion public? Because the assertion itself is a distraction, a justification, a smokescreen per se’ that will cover their sourcing of any information that comes as an outcome of the surveillance.
The USIC is conducting the surveillance using the same metadata capabilities they always have. However, if something useful needs to be exploited, they need an attribution that is disconnected from them. The USIC need plausible deniability to exploit the surveillance. The USIC tells the New York Times that China-linked systems are doing the surveillance.
If you were to believe that the USIC stopped exploiting the NSA database to conduct surveillance of Trump, you would have to believe with the stakes even higher than 2016 they somehow, magnanimously, decided not to exploit the system they used in 2015 and 2016. Put another way, we would have to be stubbornly stupid to think the USIC stopped conducting surveillance on Donald Trump.
This motive of false attribution by the USIC toward China becomes increasingly important when you realize President Trump and his transition team have decided to stay away from the U.S. Government partnership therein. If a leak of information from within the transition is needed to stimulate a narrative, that leak must have some other plausible method of origin, or it becomes obvious the USIC is monitoring Trump despite his team staying private and outside govt.
When you accept the NSA database of electronic metadata is being exploited by the USIC, the same process they used in 2016, then you accept some method of plausible deniability is needed, especially if President Trump stays disconnected from official USG involvement until much closer to his inauguration. Hence, the USIC telling the New York Times the Chinese did it.
Just because Eric and Lara Trump are getting their automobile gas tanks filled from alternate or random gas stations, doesn’t mean the GPS tracking in their car’s satellite radio stops working.
The bottom line for the Trump network is to understand the U.S. Intelligence Apparatus, writ large, is currently conducting electronic surveillance of their operations, including the operations of the transition team. This is NOT going to stop, even after Donald Trump becomes President-elect.
Thus, the importance of the “Emissary.”
The Washington DC Intelligence Community (IC) actively work to isolate the office of the president. This is an almost impossible dynamic to avoid, caused by an entrenched and ideological adversary who has dug themselves deep into the apparatus of government.
The “emissary” is the person who carries the word of President Trump to any person identified by President Trump. The emissary is very much like a tape recording of President Trump in human form. The emissary travels to a location, meets a particular person or group, and then recites the opinion of the President. The words spoken by the emissary, are the words of President Trump.
The IC cannot inject themselves into this dynamic; that is why this position is so valuable.
The emissary then hears the response from the intended person or group, repeats it back to them to ensure he/she will return with clarity of intent as expressed, and then returns to the office of the presidency and repeats the reply for the President. The emissary recites back exactly what he was /is told.
This process is critical when you understand how thoroughly compromised the full Executive Branch is. More importantly, this process becomes even more critical when you accept the Intelligence Community will lie to the office of the President to retain their position.
Read this next sentence slowly…. If the Senate confirms a director of an IC silo, then that director is demonstrably going to lie to the office of the President.
The Senate only confirms Intelligence Community leadership who are willing to LIE to THE PRESIDENT. This is just a factual reality.
If the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) confirms them, they will lie. That is the main role of the SSCI.
The people who constructed the Silos then metastasized the control rot within them, use the term “continuity of government,” to describe the true role and responsibility of the system. This is not factually wrong.
Where people go wrong is misunderstanding what the “continuity” is that is being maintained. Truly, the continuity of government is the priority. However, it’s the continuity of currently corrupt and immoral government we are now maintaining.
The CIA Director will lie to President Trump (they did, remember). The FBI Leadership will lie to President Trump (they did, remember). The AG will lie, the DNI will lie, the NSA will lie, and all the deputies therein will lie.
Washington DC puts it this way, you probably heard Bill Barr talking about ad-infinitum. The IC leadership is responsible for maintaining the “continuity of government” at all costs. The government is more important than The President.
If the continuity of government is maintained by lying to the office of the President, then so be it. Or, as James Comey said when justifying his lies to the President and his manipulation on March 20th, 2017: “because of the sensitivity of the matter.”
You can get as angry as you want about this, it’s just the DC system that exists. We must deal with what exists, not what we would pretend there is.
If a candidate for an IC position is not willing to lie to the President, the Senate will not confirm him/her. This is why President Trump needs an emissary.
The role of the emissary is critical, the qualifications for that role are extremely important.
Remember, this person is speaking on behalf of President Trump. And representing the responding voice with a similar level of clarity.
The emissary must be of incredible moral character. They must be honest. The person should be entirely altruistic. They must have exceptional judgement, possess no ego, be impervious to scrutiny or review. They must maintain themselves at the highest moral standards at all times and exhibit incredible judgement and wisdom.
Due to the nature of the position the emissary is extremely powerful; therefore, a disposition of humility is also critical. The President must be able to trust this person without reservation or issue. At the same time, the entire weight of the U.S. Intelligence Community apparatus will seek to compromise the emissary as they try to put walls around the President who holds silo-busting power.
Honesty, integrity, humility, trustworthiness, unimpeachable character and exceptional judgement, establish the baseline of traits the emissary must possess.
This is a choice that will be deeply important to President Trump. Fortunately, it is not a position that requires any confirmation or external approval. Judgement, discernment, wisdom and silence are the strength characteristics.
Centinel2012 