Remember the unsecured Android handset that newly minted President Trump gave up, but then apparently didn’t actually give up? Things had seemingly gone silent on that front as the world took some time out to focus on the rest of the deluge of insanity that is politics in 2017.
Today, however, the story is rearing its head yet again, as California Congressman Ted Lieu has proposed an investigation into stories that report Trump is still using his unsecured Android handset (an old Samsung Galaxy S3, apparently), executive security be damned.
Rep. Lieu has requested that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hold an investigative hearing into the reports that the president is “is jeopardizing national security by egregiously failing to implement commonsense security measures across the board.”
A press release tied to the letter also makes reference to reports about Trump talking nuclear strategy at a dinner table in Mar-a-Lago. Lieu adds in the letter, “Cybersecurity experts universally agree that an ordinary Android smartphone, which the President is reportedly using despite repeated warnings from the Secret Service, can be easily hacked,” calling it “ an egregious affront to national security.”
The letter, co-signed by 15 members of Congress, also makes reference to an issue that ought to prove familiar to anyone who paid any attention during the election, citing the White House staff’s alleged use of unsecure email accounts. “We would remind the Chairmen of Congressional Republicans’ concerns over the use of private email by Secretary Clinton,” the letter states, adding that “a public hearing is required to ensure the security of such communications as well as the adequacy of record keeping procedures as required under federal law.”
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