A recent CNN report indicates that Donald Trump is conducting several sensitive conversations with his personal attorneys and advisers over his personal cellular telephone. The reason given is that he is bypassing White House chief of staff John Kelly, who has access to print outs of calls made by Trump via the White House phone system.
Paraphrasing the Terri Gibbs song “Somebody’s Knockin’,” when it comes to every call Trump makes or receives on his cellular phone in Washington, New York, Palm Beach, or just about anywhere else, he should know that “He (any one of thousands of spies inside the United States) must have tapped his telephone line . . . He must have known how he’s spendin’ his time.”
CNN reported that, in addition to Trump’s bypassing of the White House phone system, he is increasing the number of personal calls made on his cell phone. President Obama also used a mobile phone—a Blackberry—but it was a secure version provided by the National Security Agency. It is not known whether Trump uses a secure phone, however, he continues to send volley after volley of Twitter messages from his smart phone. Trump ditched his Android Samsung Galaxy S3 smart phone in March 2017, opting for an iPhone. Neither phone provides the enhanced security that NSA expects of the president, vice president, and other top administration officials who deal with national security and diplomacy.
Some insiders worry that Trump is discussing sensitive matters regarding the probe by Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller with White House outsiders and insiders, including his one-time campaign chief Corey Lewandowski, personal attorney Michael Cohen, Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow, and National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Before Trump became president, BlackBerrys and iPhones were not permitted in the White House Situation Room. Trump has ordered that smart phones are prohibited within the White House—not for purposes of national security—but to ensure his staff members are not leaking information regarding Trump to reporters.
Washington, DC, is swarming with cellular communications intercept devices that range from the “fake cell tower” StingRays, produced by Harris Corporation and used by the FBI, Secret Service, and other law enforcement agencies, to less obvious smaller and portable IMSI catchers employed by foreign embassies in windowless special collection spaces normally found on the rooftops of their embassies. IMSI stands for International Mobile Subscriber Identity, unique identifiers used for individual mobile phone network subscribers. The smaller the intercept device, the better for foreign intelligence services that can import such equipment discretely in diplomatic pouches through Dulles International Airport.
There are over 600 embassies, consulates, missions, or special representative office in the United States, all enjoying extraterritorial rights pursuant to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. A large number of these maintain some form of electronic eavesdropping capabilities on U.S. officials. They range from sophisticated operations conducted by the Russian [pictured left], Chinese, [pictured right] Israeli, and Japanese embassies to more modest efforts by Mexico, Singapore, and South Africa.
For only a few thousand dollars, a foreign intelligence agency can set up a sophisticated cellular call interception unit that can capture GSM, 3G, 4G (CDMA, UMTS, LTE), and satellite voice and data transmissions, essentially, the entire range of commercial cellular communications standards and specifications.
For years, the FIVE EYES intelligence alliance partners of the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand have had an understanding that they would not eavesdrop on each other’s governments. That has not always been the case. During the 1980s, when the United States was involved in a diplomatic row with New Zealand about U.S. nuclear- powered and -armed vessels visiting New Zealand waters, the FIVE EYES subjected New Zealand to an intelligence embargo. In the case of Trump, the other four members have likely suspended their agreement with NSA and have conducted cellular eavesdropping on Trump and senior White House officials from their embassies. Germany and France, which have significant electronic surveillance capabilities, have also likely increased their monitoring of Trump and his aides.
Of course, Trump is providing many foreign intelligence agencies with what they need simply from the president’s constant tweets and off-the-cuff statements. When Trump is not busy spewing forth U.S. diplomatic negotiation strategies and military attack plans, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is providing Top Secret Code Word intelligence to the Israelis and Saudis.
Previously published in the Wayne Madsen Report.
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Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. He is the editor and publisher of the Wayne Madsen Report (subscription required).
