White House press secretary Sean Spicer has reportedly gone on a crusade against unauthorized sharing of information on his own turf, ordering extensive phone checks and urging staffers against using encrypted-messaging apps.
The official sprung into decisive
action last week, after it emerged that information discussed at one of the
planning meetings with employees of the White House Office of Communications
had been leaked to the media, Politico reported, citing sources present at the
meeting.
According to the outlet, in an
effort to find the source of the leaks, which cast the Donald Trump
administration in an unfavorable light in the media, Spicer ordered about a
dozen of the staffers called to the gathering to hand over their personal
mobile phones as well as those provided by the government for a “check.”
Spicer also instructed them against
using apps, allowing encryption of the messages, specifically mentioning
Confide and Signal, an official with the knowledge of the matter is being
quoted by Politico as saying. Confide enables its users to send encrypted
messages that instantly “self-destruct” and Signal employs end-to-end encryption
of photos and text messages.
Justifying the restrictions, Spicer
apparently said that the use of these and similar mobile features will
constitute a violation of the Presidential Records Act.
Among the recent leaks that has
drawn the particular ire of the White House press secretary, according to
Politico sources, was a report of Michael Dubke’s appointment as the White House
communications director, which came out before the official announcement. Dubke
replaced Spicer himself, who was reportedly finding it hard to reconcile his
duties as presidential press secretary and communications chief.
Read more
on... Spicer Grills Staffers On
Leaks, Orders Phone Search & Bans Encryption Apps – Report
Author: HomeAmerica
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