There were THREE secret CIPHER briefing papers prepared for George Tenet and the Clinton White House in early 1993 by William Sessions. So far, only parts of the first two are available to the public. The first paper was delivered February 9, 1993 and dealt with "'Clipper' methodology (and particularly the identification of key custodian candidates);" (see Sessions memo attached below). The second paper written Feb. 19, 1993 dealt with "approaches and methodologies to deal with other encryption applications;". I have also attached the cover letter to the Feb. 19 document below sent to George Tenet by then Director Sessions. It states "this is the second of three subject areas you requested." Yet, the third briefing paper is missing. Again from the Feb. 9 cover letter the third paper should have a topic of "identification of and greater detail regarding international aspects and issues of encryption."
Ira Sockowitz was a New York administrative law judge who did advance work for the 1992 Clinton/Gore campaign. Mr. Sockowitz was appointed Special Counsel to the Commerce Dept. in November of 1993 by President Clinton as a reward for the political support. Once inside, Mr. Sockowitz smuggled out an array of secret documents from the Department of Commerce, including both the redacted (blacked out) and unredacted version of a joint NSA Dept. of Commerce report titled "A Study of the International Market For Computer Software with Encryption." Mr. Sockowitz, and his boss at Commerce, MS. Ginger Lew, have been directly linked to John Huang. It is alleged that Mr. Sockowitz took these documents for Mr. Huang and the now dead Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, to keep them from being discovered by investigators.
The significance of this report becomes clear when you compare the blacked out version with the complete report. One can tell exactly what the NSA was worried about simply by comparing the whole versus the blacked out copy. Some of the things this nice report detailed are the commercial products that the NSA can and cannot decode. The NSA fears it will go out of business because some US encryption software is built using large key algorithms that they simply cannot crack. The NSA list of breakable and unbreakable would become the good house keeping buyers guide for both domestic and foreign customers.
Mr. Tenet read all three papers. Mr. Tenet passed this material on to Vince Foster who would later secretly meet with the NSA on May 2, 1993. Just what else does Mr. Tenet know about Clipper, Sockowitz, Foster, Brown, and Huang?
February 9, 1993 Mr. George J. Tenet Special Assistant to the President Senior Director for Intelligence Programs National Security Council Old Executive Office Building Suite 300 Washington, D.C. Dear Mr. Tenet: As a result of a briefing to you on January 26, 1993, by James Kallstrom and others you requested that several encryption related issues be more fully developed and described. These were: the "Clipper" methodology (and particularly the identification of key custodian candidates); approaches and methodologies to deal with other encryption applications; and identification of and greater detail regarding international aspects and issues of encryption. Attached please find a briefing document concerning the first matter mentioned above, entitled "Clipper Encryption - AT&T Telephone Security Device Model 3600," XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX BLACKED OUT AS STILL SECRET XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX PER NSA XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX We hope that that information provided in the attached briefing document is useful for you and your staff and other in reviewing and acting upon the issues identified therein. Further, we are preparing at your request to provide any additional information or details you deem necessary in order to address this matter. Sincerely yours, William S. Sessions Director Enclosure 1 - Mr. Clarke 1 - Mr. Bayse 1 - Mr. Kennedy 1 - Mr. McDonald 1 - Mr. Gow 1 - Mr. Kallstrom 1 - Mr. Collingwood 1 - Mr. Allen 1 - Mr. Potts 1 - XXXXXXXXXXX 1 - Mr. Gilbert JKK:XXXXXXX (12) SECRET
Source: 1996 EPIC Privacy Notebook, page c-24. FOIA by Marc Rotenberg - EPIC EPIC - Areas that remain secret are marked with XXXXX
SECRET US Justice Department Federal Bureau of Investigation February 19, 1993 Mr. George J. Tenet Special Assistant to the President Senior Director for Intelligence Programs National Security Council Old Executive Office Building Suite 300 Washington, D.C. Dear Mr. Tenet: Reference my letter dated February 9 , 1993 Attached please find a briefing document entitled "Encryption: The Threat, Applications, and Potential Solutions," which responds to your request for additional information concerning the various encryption applications now being used and the potential approaches and methodologies to deal with them. As set out in referenced letter, this is the second of three subject areas you requested to have more fully developed and discussed. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX BLACKED OUT AS STILL SECRET XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX PER NSA XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX This document is the product of a working group, comprised of representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, NSA and the Department of Justice. We hope that the information provided in the attached document is useful for you, your staff, and others in reviewing and acting upon the issues identified therein. Further, we stand prepared at your request to provide any additional information of details you deem necessary in order to address this matter. Sincerely yours, William S. Sessions Director 1 - Director NSA SECRET
Source: 1996 EPIC Privacy Notebook, page c-44. FOIA by Marc Rotenberg - EPIC EPIC - Areas that remain secret are marked with XXXXX
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