Top Senate Intel Staffer Arrested In Leak Probe; NYT Journo's Records Seized

[Swordsmyth]

Longtime former director of security for the Senate Intelligence Committee, James A. Wolfe, was indicted and arrested Thursday night on charges of giving false statements to FBI agents in 2017 about repeated contacts with three reporters, according to the Washington Examiner (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/former-senate-intelligence-committee-director-indicted-for-lying-to-f-b-i-about-leaking-information-to-reporters).
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/wolfe1_1.jpg

Jim Wolfe, a longtime former director of security at the Senate Intelligence Committee, was indicted and arrested Thursday night for giving false statements to F.B.I. agents during their investigation into leaks of classified information to the media.
According to the Department of Justice, Wolfe lied to F.B.I. agents back in 2017 "about his repeated contacts with three reporters, including through his use of encrypted messaging applications."
Wolfe is also accused of making false statements about providing "non-public information related to matters occurring before the [Senate Intelligence Committee]" to two additional reporters. -Washington Examiner (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/former-senate-intelligence-committee-director-indicted-for-lying-to-f-b-i-about-leaking-information-to-reporters)

James Wolfe indicted pic.twitter.com/YkgHUm3xPR (https://t.co/YkgHUm3xPR)
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) June 8, 2018 (https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1004909908972761089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Wolfe, 57, is a former Army intelligence analyst who worked for the Senate for over 30 years. He stopped performing work for the committee in December and retired last month. More from the NYT (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/us/politics/times-reporter-phone-records-seized.html):

Court documents describe Mr. Wolfe’s communications with four reporters, using encrypted messaging applications. It appeared that the F.B.I. was investigating how Ms. Watkins learned that Russian spies in 2013 had tried to recruit Carter Page, a former Trump foreign policy adviser. She published an article for BuzzFeed News on April 3, 2017, about the attempted recruitment of Mr. Page in which he confirmed the contacts.
In another case, the indictment said, Mr. Wolfe used an encrypted messaging app to alert another reporter in October 2017 that he had served Mr. Page with a subpoena to testify before the committee. The reporter, who was not named, published an article disclosing that Mr. Page had been compelled to appear. After it was published, Mr. Wolfe wrote to the journalist to say, “Good job!” and, “I’m glad you got the scoop,” according to court papers.
The same month, Mr. Wolfe reached out to a third reporter on the same unidentified app to offer to serve as an unnamed source, the documents said.
Mr. Wolfe also communicated with a fourth reporter, using his Senate email account, from 2015 to 2017, prosecutors said. They said he denied those contacts.
“Mr. Wolfe’s alleged conduct is a betrayal of the extraordinary public trust that had been placed in him. It is hoped that these charges will be a warning to those who might lie to law enforcement to the detriment of the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General John. Demers

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-06-07/top-senate-intel-staffer-arrested-leak-probe-nyt-journos-records-seized

[Brian4Liberty]

He can't be the only one.

[timosman]

He can't be the only one.

Banging 20yo for info?

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/554269ali-watkins-new-york-times-reporter-phone-email-justice-department-leaks-temple-20180607.html



Watkins, originally from Berks County, joined the Times last December. She previously worked at BuzzFeed and Politico covering national security.
Before she joined the Times, Watkins was contacted by FBI agents about her three-year romantic relationship with James A. Wolfe, 57, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s former director of security. Wolfe was being looked at as part of the investigation, the newspaper reported.
Watkins said Wolfe was not a source of information during their relationship, the Times reported. Wolfe retired last month.

[TheCount]

Are these the good leaks or the bad leaks?

[timosman]

Aren't we trusting these fuckers a bit too much?:confused:

[RonZeplin]

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e2/45/1c/e2451c2410a511ec36a8dcde7bd7e976--the-study-computers.jpg

Ali Watkins, a New York Times reporter, graduated from Temple University and interned with the Philadelphia Daily News.

[timosman]

Ali Watkins, a New York Times reporter, graduated from Temple University and interned with the Philadelphia Daily News.


She was in charge of delivering you THE NEWS.

[angelatc]

He can't be the only one.

James Clapper lied directly to Congress on camera. No fucks were given.

[Brian4Liberty]

Are these the good leaks or the bad leaks?

Depends upon your perspective. From the Democrat establishment view, these are "good" leaks. For the entire establishment, Snowden/Asange leaks are "bad".

[timosman]

319071061566169088

[Swordsmyth]

319071061566169088

LOL

[timosman]

LOL

She sounds like Zippy:


Actual Intelligence Officials Are Laughing At The Idea Of The “Deep State” - https://www.buzzfeed.com/alimwatkins/actual-intelligence-officials-are-laughing-at-the-deep-state


February 16, 2017 by Ali Watkins

It was tough to get any national security official to crack a smile this week — unless you asked them about the proverbial national security boogeyman, “the deep state.”

“The deep what?” one US intelligence official said, then, “Where does she come up with this stuff?”

Since Flynn’s ouster earlier this week, far-left and -right corners have suggested his takedown was an act of the “deep state” — a behind-the-scenes military, intelligence, and national security cohort that secretly determines the direction of the country. There is no evidence, either officially or from inside sources, that anything like that exists in the US. But that hasn’t stopped some media corners, and President Donald Trump, from blaming Flynn’s ouster on coordinated nefarious leak campaigns from the dark corners of the government.

Several other officials just laughed when the term was brought up.

The origins of the “deep state” construct are pulled from authoritarian constructs — in more recent history, countries like Turkey and Egypt, or places where the security apparatuses are seen to be in control. In overly simplified terms, the “deep state” is the crux of the national security apparatus that operates just under the surface of democracy and rears up to control things when something’s going off the rails. Take, for example, Egypt’s 2013 military coup as a modern example, or Pakistan’s sweeping intelligence agency, the ISI.

The notion that the “deep state” exists somewhere in the US — or at least in the same concerted way that it does in more authoritarian countries — is a fringe concept often relegated to conspiracy forums. But we are in Donald Trump’s America, and one of his top-tier national security advisers was just felled by anonymous leaks. So, the legend of the deep state lives.

Why certain far-flung political corners cling to the deep-state myth could be due to a whole host of reasons. For the far right, it's often connected to the notion that “moderation” in certain countries — like, for example, Iran — isn’t authentic, and is a manipulative tactic by underground national security actors to bait the US into a relationship. For the far left, it can have a more positive connotation — like, for example, an army of noble leakers who will spill secrets to override bad policy.

The barrage of leaks over the last week brutally dragged the question of Trump and Russia back into the spotlight and ultimately triggered Flynn’s swift fall from grace on Monday night.

Several officials said the running assumption is that many of the leaks that killed Flynn’s career came from former Obama administration officials, many of whom would have had access to the information that was published and are now no longer in government. Figuring out where the leaks actually came from will be up to the FBI and DOJ — whom Trump said he personally called this week and urged to find who was spilling secrets.

As for the deep-state talk, as the intelligence official said, “There’s no substitute for stupid.”

[timosman]

https://news.temple.edu/news/2014-05-08/ali-watkins-owl-watchdog


MAY 8, 2014

Degree: BA, journalism, School of Media and Communication

https://news.temple.edu/sites/news/files/styles/news_node_main_image/public/20140415_watkins_a_cr_006_1.jpg
Journalism major Ali Watkins managed to break a national story as an intern at McClatchy DC News.

Journalism major Ali Watkins spent some of her internship at McClatchy DC News hanging around elevators and locked doors—but not because she was idle. Rather, she was establishing relationships with people who might serve as sources for stories. And in December 2013, her creative persistence paid off.

A breaking national story was the direct result of tips she received through unnamed sources with whom she has developed trusting relationships since she began reporting for McClatchy in May 2013.

“Probe: Did the CIA spy on the U.S. Senate?”—published March 4, 2014 and co-written by Watkins—detailed an apparent feud between the CIA and the Senate Intelligence Committee over a congressional report on the CIA’s “secret detention and interrogation program.” That article cites sources who say the CIA monitored computers Senate aides used to prepare the report.

It was Watkins’ constant presence that built the trust between her and her sources, leading them to offer key tips and kicking off a two-month investigation. McClatchy was the first to break the story, leaving renowned media outlets like The New York Times scrambling to catch up.

“This opportunity wouldn’t have come about if my professors hadn’t invested in me first,” said Watkins, who has maintained a full course load and a spot on Temple’s rowing team during her time at McClatchy.

Watkins first landed the McClatchy internship through the connections she forged interning at Philadelphia media outlets, including Philadelphia Daily News.

The most important thing she learned is the importance of being a constant presence on Capitol Hill and around the intelligence community—which Watkins credits for landing the CIA story.

“Some people call it stalking. I call it the relentless pursuit of truth,” she said.

Watkins hopes to work as a reporter in the nation’s capital after graduating from the School of Media and Communication.

—Jeff Cronin

[Swordsmyth]

But this couldn’t have been Wolfe’s first hurrah. No, the man had been in the same position for 30 years. He had been leaking to multiple reporters at any given time.

Speculation as to the identities of some of those other reporters?
https://i2.wp.com/www.neonrevolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/aa64c43b2ed7bdc87dcb996f32de0510b1bec408367cdc140e c7829ce6e031f4.png?resize=658%2C533&ssl=1
https://i0.wp.com/www.neonrevolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/e4cf4d4a50c36667578279b8b14325ae044c80aad0b8297810 7e386349342ee0.png?resize=645%2C389&ssl=1


Ex-Feinstein Staffer Hired Steele and Fusion GPS After Election to Keep 'Exposing' Russian Meddling (http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/04/27/ex-feinstein-staffer-hired-steele-fusion-gps-after-election-to-keep-exposing-russian-meddling/)

The House Intelligence Committee report released on Friday contained a new bombshell: after the 2016 election, wealthy donors paid a former Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) staffer $50 million to continue "exposing" Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
(http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/04/27/ex-feinstein-staffer-hired-steele-fusion-gps-after-election-to-keep-exposing-russian-meddling/)
https://i0.wp.com/www.breitbart.com/t/assets/icons/w-logo-orange.png?w=825 Breitbart


After the 2016 election, wealthy donors paid a former Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) staffer $50 million to continue “exposing” Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Dan Jones, a former Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee staffer and former FBI official, then hired author Christopher Steele and Fusion GPS — whose research formed the Trump dossier — to help him do that, and to give whatever they found to “policymakers on Capitol Hill and the press.”
Hmmm…. a likely candidate, I think.
And then there’s this one, with her one “scoops.” I wonder if Wolfe was sleeping with this one, too.
https://i0.wp.com/www.neonrevolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/af907eaa6c5022e729cb6cc17aa57e924bf82364c75b5a415b b52be9ca8c8586.jpg?resize=624%2C362&ssl=1
https://i2.wp.com/www.neonrevolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/firefox_2018-06-08_02-43-13.png?resize=718%2C106&ssl=1

Pffft.

I work harder and do more research than these hacks. #Presstitutes (https://www.neonrevolt.com/tag/presstitutes/), truly, the lot of them.
All they do is pat each others’ backs (sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally) for stories and congratulate each other (at least until they get caught).
So to recap:
https://i1.wp.com/www.neonrevolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/firefox_2018-06-08_01-25-16.png?resize=825%2C299&ssl=1

But really, there was a pattern with Wolfe here. An ongoing pattern, stretching back years and years and years. Stretching back so far… you have to wonder…

Who was protecting him?
Who would want to strategically stuff leaked to the press?
Who would use an underling to accomplish this, and simultaneously allow them to keep their distance?
https://i1.wp.com/www.neonrevolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/firefox_2018-06-08_01-30-03.png?resize=559%2C57&ssl=1

Good idea, #Anon (https://www.neonrevolt.com/tag/anon/)!


Explosive: DOJ Investigating Senate Intelligence Staffer For Disclosing Classified Intelligence… (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/06/07/explosive-doj-investigating-senate-intelligence-staffer-for-disclosing-classified-intelligence/)

UPDATE: 10:15pm EDT – James A. Wolfe, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s former director of security has been indicted by a Grand Jury.(INFO) Federal law enforcement officials secretly seiz…
(https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/06/07/explosive-doj-investigating-senate-intelligence-staffer-for-disclosing-classified-intelligence/)
https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/4e550fbbf04dfa746935ebe208f0bc94?s=32 The Last Refuge

So now we’ve got junior senators, ex-staffers, lobbyists, and committee underlings all pointing back to Feinstein.
What about Ali though?
https://i0.wp.com/www.neonrevolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/firefox_2018-06-08_01-05-13.png?resize=755%2C522&ssl=1

O-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Wonder what was on the phone.
(Betchya Q knows).
And for those of you who still think Ole Stealth Jeff isn’t doin’ anything…
https://i0.wp.com/www.neonrevolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/3f3999b5c822533623d2909d1f8166b778751d09c1f01cf34b 32b69de1b6deaa.jpg?resize=758%2C358&ssl=1

But now do you begin to see the brilliance?

Now do you see how methodical #QTeam (https://www.neonrevolt.com/tag/qteam/) is?
Watch Feinstein fall. Watch it happen.
California may go Red again just yet.

More at: https://www.neonrevolt.com/2018/06/08/now-thats-a-methodical-takedown-leakers-qconfirmations-presstitutes/

[timosman]

The government will always fuck you. They always have.

https://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?523025-Top-Senate-Intel-Staffer-Arrested-In-Leak-Probe-NYT-Journo-s-Records-Seized

[timosman]

347800186195701760

[timosman]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/08/ali-watkins-past-tweets-come-back-to-haunt-nyt-reporter-amid-leak-case.html


6/8/2018

http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/politics/2018/06/08/ali-watkins-past-tweets-come-back-to-haunt-nyt-reporter-amid-leak-case/_jcr_content/par/featured_image/media-0.img.jpg/931/524/1528483054961.jpg
James Wolfe, left, the former security director for the Senate Intelligence Committee, and New York Times reporter Ali Watkins, right. Federal investigators had seized years' worth of Watkins’ email and phone records as part of a leak probe into Wolfe. (AP)

New York Times reporter Ali Watkins' past tweets are raising eyebrows after revelations she had a three-year romantic relationship with a Senate Intelligence Committee aide now accused by federal prosecutors of leaking sensitive information to journalists, including herself.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that federal investigators had seized years' worth of Watkins’ email and phone records as part of a leak probe into James Wolfe, the former security director for the Senate Intelligence Committee indicted for giving false statements to FBI agents. Wolfe appeared for a federal court hearing in Baltimore on Friday, where he relinquished his passport and was prohibited from traveling outside of the District of Columbia and Maryland.

The indictment says Wolfe leaked information to reporters about the committee’s work, including its subpoena last fall of an individual believed to be former Trump adviser Carter Page.

But in several tweets in September 2017, Watkins, while dating Wolfe and working for Politico, seemed to point the finger at attorneys for President Trump over various media disclosures.

In one tweet, Watkins noted how the Intelligence Committee is “SOOO frustrated in recent weeks by the constant dribble of leaks about who's testifying to them.” She then said the committee believes “Trumpster lawyers will leak info about upcoming appearances, blame the committee, then use as a pretext not to cooperate.”

910192664838107136
910192988470562816


It's unclear who was responsible for those specific leaks -- the tweets were posted about a month before a different reporter published the story on the Page subpoena. But the indictment strongly suggests Wolfe was a top source for committee stories and that Watkins was among the reporters who got information from Wolfe.

The indictment said Wolfe, 58, began dating Watkins -- who is in her 20's -- in 2013 when she was an undergraduate student working as a news intern. The indictment said the pair ended the relationship in December 2017.

In an April 2013 tweet, Watkins also tweeted about the fictional Netflix television show “House of Cards,” where a young reporter has an affair with an older member of Congress.

319071061566169088

In another tweet, Watkins asked: "So on a scale of 1 to ethical, how does everyone feel about pulling a @RealZoeBarnes for story ideas? #TOTALLYKIDDING @HouseofCards."

347800186195701760

The “House of Cards” tweets were posted months before prosecutors said her relationship with Wolfe began.

The revelations also have raised questions about how much her employers knew about the relationship. Watkins previously worked for BuzzFeed, Politico and McClatchy.

The New York Times said Watkins informed her editors about the previous relationship when she was hired. The newspaper also said Watkins claimed to have told both Politico and BuzzFeed about the relationship, though she continued covering the committee.

The Times article said the newspaper only learned Thursday that the DOJ sent her a letter in February about the record seizure. She joined the newspaper in Decmber 2017.

Since the story went public, her employers have expressed concerns about the government obtaining her records.

“This decision by the Justice Department will endanger reporters ability to promise confidentiality to their sources and, ultimately, undermine the ability of a free press to shine a much needed light on government actions,” New York Times spokesman Eileen Murphy said. “That should be a grave concern to anyone who cares about an informed citizenry."

“We’re deeply troubled by what looks like a case of law enforcement interfering with a reporter’s constitutional right to gather information about her own government,” said Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News.

This is the first known instance of the Trump administration obtaining the records of a journalist.

The Obama administration also drew criticism for going after reporter records, including a move to subpoena Associated Press journalists’ phone records and seize records for several Fox News phone lines as part of leak investigations.

In the latter case, court documents showed investigators also secured a search warrant for the personal emails of former Fox News correspondent James Rosen. Facing an uproar at the time, the Justice Department eventually tightened its rules for pursuing reporter records, though Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ramped up leak investigations under the Trump administration.

In the case of Wolfe, the former Senate aide is accused in the indictment of lying about his relationship with Watkins, identified in court papers as "REPORTER #2.”

Wolfe later admitted the relationship after he was shown photos of the two of them together, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors said Wolfe communicated with other journalists, too, and lied to the FBI in December 2017 about contacts he had with several reporters -- including sharing non-public information about committee matters.

He is not charged with leaking classified information.

The indictment indicated Wolfe and Watkins exchanged tens of thousands of electronic communications and often daily phone calls, and they would meet at the reporter’s apartment.

On April 3, 2017, Watkins’ byline appeared on a BuzzFeed article that revealed that Page had met with a Russian intelligence operative in 2013.

Wolfe allegedly called her nearly a half-hour after the story went live and had a phone conversation for about seven minutes.

In December 2017, Wolfe messaged her, according to the indictment, and said: “I always tried to give you as much Information (sic) that I could and to do the right thing with it so you could get that scoop before anyone else.”

On Friday, before boarding Marine One, President Trump reacted to the indictment of Wolfe.

“I'm a very big believer in freedom of the press,” the president said, “but I'm also a believer that you cannot leak classified information.”

Wolfe's employment with the committee ended in December 2017.

[timosman]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/25/new-york-times-bombshell-on-own-reporter-reveals-ali-watkins-dated-second-potential-source.html


6/25/2018

http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/politics/2018/06/25/new-york-times-bombshell-on-own-reporter-reveals-ali-watkins-dated-second-potential-source/_jcr_content/par/featured_image/media-0.img.jpg/931/524/1529954141377.jpg
The New York Times published a blistering report on its own reporter, Ali Watkins, who reportedly dated at least two potential sources.

The New York Times published a damaging feature (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/24/business/media/james-wolfe-ali-watkins-leaks-reporter.html) about its own reporter, revealing new details of Ali Watkins’ affair with former Senate Intelligence Committee aide James A. Wolfe in addition to the bombshell that she dated another Intelligence Committee staffer.

Earlier this month, a shock indictment revealed that prior to joining the Times, Watkins, 26, had a three-year romantic relationship with Wolfe, 58, who was accused by federal prosecutors of lying about leaks of sensitive information to journalists. The indictment strongly suggested he was a source for Watkins and others, though Watkins reportedly has denied using her relationship for scoops.

The New York Times has since announced it is investigating Watkins’ conduct. But, in the meantime, it published a scathing report that strongly implies Watkins rose to journalistic fame while using her married boyfriend as a source.

The Times report hit the web Sunday night headlined, “How an Affair Between a Reporter and a Security Aide Has Rattled Washington Media,” and featured interviews with roughly 36 “friends and colleagues” of the scandalous former couple. Watkins carried on a three-year relationship with Wolfe, who is 30 years her senior and has been overseeing classified information delivered by the CIA and FBI since “before Watkins was born,” as the paper points out.

“Avoiding conflicts of interest is a basic tenet of journalism, and intimate involvement with a source is considered verboten,” the Times reported while strongly implying Watkins used Wolfe as a source. But the shocking Times report also reveals that Watkins dated another staff member at the committee after her relationship with Wolfe concluded.

Some observers say the Times is now in a very difficult place, as the Gray Lady can’t separate from Watkins without appearing sexist, but its own reporting strongly indicates she used romantic relationships to land sensitive information used in her reporting.

http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/politics/2018/06/25/new-york-times-bombshell-on-own-reporter-reveals-ali-watkins-dated-second-potential-source/_jcr_content/article-text/article-par-6/inline_spotlight_ima/image.img.jpg/612/344/1529954116438.jpg
James Wolfe began his career handling classified materials before New York Times reporter Ali Watkins was born.

It now appears that Watkins, who has covered national security for McClatchy, HuffPost, BuzzFeed, Politico and The New York Times had intimate involvement with at least two potential sources. The Times even noted that Watkins once told friends she “wanted off the beat,” but “her editors were eager for scoops.”

“Times officials are currently examining her work history and what influence the relationship may have had on her reporting,” according to the report.

"Last fall, after Ms. Watkins and Mr. Wolfe had broken up and while she was still reporting on the intelligence committee for Politico, she briefly dated another staff member at the committee, friends said. That relationship, which has not been previously reported, ended when the two decided not to pursue something more serious," the Times wrote.

Conservative commentator Louise Mensch tweeted that the second relationship "looks terrible," adding "No way to wash it.”

Mensch accused Watkins' past employers of “prostituting her out for information,” before turning her criticism to the Times directly, saying it’s “SO sexist” that the paper is “implying that young girl journalists regularly put out for stories.”

Mensch pointed out that “very few men date significantly older women who are much more powerful than they are,” and noted the following section of the Times report: "Their relationship played out in the insular world of Washington, where young, ambitious journalists compete for scoops while navigating relationships with powerful, often older, sources."

The Times did not respond when asked by Fox News about Mensch’s sexism claim.

“Relationships between reporters and sources are an art, not a science: In Washington, meals and late nights out with sources are part of a journalist’s job description. But becoming romantically involved is widely viewed as a conflict, opening a journalist to accusations of bias,” the Times also wrote.

Sexist or not, the Times and other employers were seemingly aware Watkins was in an intimate relationship with a potential source, but were satisfied when she promised he wasn’t leaking her information during pillow talk – which is frowned upon in the journalism world.

"Ms. Watkins disclosed her relationship with Mr. Wolfe to her employers in varying degrees of detail — sometimes citing Mr. Wolfe’s name and position, and sometimes not — while asserting that she had not used him as a source during their relationship," the Times wrote.

The Times also uncovered that Wolfe was accused of assault by his first wife, who once claimed he threatened her verbally in addition to a series of alleged violent incidents that included pushing, shoving, strangling, pulling her hair, spitting in her face and breaking into her home.

“The charges were later dropped by prosecutors,” the Times reported, adding, “If any serious charges had been successfully prosecuted, Mr. Wolfe might have lost his security clearance.”

Wolfe’s lawyer denied all physical abuse.

Watkins received a letter in Febuary notifying her that the Justice Department obtained her records, but the star reporter did not inform the Times until June — at the advice of her lawyer, according to the paper.

Wolfe, who was indicted this month on three counts of lying to FBI agents and accused of leaking information to the media, pleaded not guilty in front of a federal magistrate judge in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

Wolfe and Watkins communicated numerous times before and after the publication of a significant story by Watkins on former Trump aide Carter Page's past contact with a Russian operative.

Watkins is out on what the Times has called a pre-planned vacation. The Times did not respond when asked if she is available for comment.

[timosman]

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-03/nyt-shuffles-house-cards-journo-who-slept-congressional-staffer


07/03/2018

The New York Times is reassigning a reporter at the center of a federal leak investigation who likened herself to the fictional House of Cards character Zoe Barnes - a young reporter who has an affair with an older member of congress.

319071061566169088

347800186195701760

Following a deep internal probe, journalist Ali Watkins, 26, will be transferred to the NYT's main office in New York City - where she will spend her time under a mentor on a new beat, the Times reported on Wednesday.

Federal authorities seized Watkins's phone and email records as part of a probe into Congressional leaks, which led to the arrest and indictment of James Wolfe, 57, the longtime director of security for the Senate Intelligence Committee. Wolfe was booked on charges of giving false statements to FBI agents in 2017 about reported contacts with three reporters, according to the Washington Examiner.

Watkins has been covering national security for the Times since December, while her romantic relationship with Wolfe began in 2013 when she was an intern at McClatchy, ended last year. Watkins claims she didn't receive information from the 58-year-old married Wolfe during the affair.


The Times said on Tuesday that it was conducting a review of Ms. Watkins’s involvement in the case, including the nature of her relationship with Mr. Wolfe, and what she disclosed about it to her prior employers. Ms. Watkins informed The Times about the prior relationship after she was hired by the paper, and before she began work in December. She has said that Mr. Wolfe did not provide her with information during the course of their relationship.

Journalists are supposed to abide by ethical rules that stipulate they cannot have personal relationships - including romantic relationships - with their sources. But Watkins claims she didn't receive any information from Wolfe while they were together, according to the Times.

DOJ investigators seized emails and phone records belonging to Watkins in what the NYT described as the first instance of the Trump administration seizing the personal communications of a journalist. Watkins was later informed of the seizures in a letter that she received in February, which informed her that "years worth of records for two email accounts and a phone number of hers" had been accessed as part of the investigation.

According to the New York Times, Watkins was approached by FBI agents back in December and asked about the nature of her relationship with Wolfe - questions that she (wisely) declined to answer at the time. Watkins says she was also approached last June by somebody claiming to be a government agent, and who also brought up Wolfe. The man later told her that he was aware of her relationship with Wolfe, and asked if she could help him ferret out leakers. The Washington Post reported this week that the man who approached Watkins was Jeffrey Rambo.

After the encounter with Rambo - which she said unnerved her - Watkins disclosed the nature of her romantic relationship with Wolfe to her editors at Politico.

The Feds say Wolfe lied about the nature of his relationship with Watkins until he was confronted with a photograph of the two of them together. However, Wolfe was in regular contact with multiple journalists who covered the committee, including meeting them at restaurants and bars as well as the office building where he worked. Wolfe pleaded not guilty to three counts of making false statements to a government agency - charges on which he could face up to 15 years in federal prison.

[Swordsmyth]

James Wolfe, the longtime director of security for the committee — one of multiple congressional panels investigating potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign — pleaded guilty to a single charge in the three-count indictment against him.
Prosecutors said Wolfe told a reporter in October 2017 that he had served someone with a subpoena involving the potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign and later lied to FBI agents about the exchange. Their names weren't made public.


As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors will seek to dismiss the remaining charges at his sentencing in December. Wolfe, of Ellicott City, Maryland, will likely face a maximum of six months behind bars, according to a plea agreement. But he could also get no prison time.
"Jim has accepted responsibility for his actions and has chosen to resolve this matter now so that he and his family can move forward with their lives," Wolfe's attorneys said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for the Senate intelligence committee declined to comment on the plea.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/senate-aide-pleads-guilty-lying-fbi-194432826--politics.html