IP: More (and last) on And you thought it was Larry Flynt . . .

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Date: 28 Dec 1998 15:30:58 -0800
X-Sent: 28 Dec 1998 23:30:58 GMT
To: farber () cis upenn edu
From: "Joseph C.Pistritto" <jcp () jcphome com>

On Mon, 28 December 1998, Dave FarberSENT OUT

As attractive as this might be as a conspiracy theory, Flint pretty much
admitted he had the goods in this case (and claims to have similar stuff on
something like 7 or 8 other Republicans and 1 democrat).  He's investing quite
a lot of his own funds in this particular little enterprise of his.

He's apparently quite pissed off that this one leaked before he was able to
use the content himself.  (after all, as a publisher, the reason you develop
content is to use it in print yourself primarily).  

A more interesting question is how the White House found out about the material
a few days before it came out.  (which apparently is how Roll Call which ran
the story first got ahold of it).  There have been persistent rumors of a
White House controlled black operation to uh, bring pressure upon, certain
people that are in positions to embarrass the President.  Apparently at least
some of this sort of activity has gone on for a long time, perhaps since the
President was in Arkansas.  

Whether the FBI would be involved in *that* is an interesting question.  
Somehow
I doubt it, because the risk of public exposure in that situation would be
enormous, and there was already an FBI-related scandal early in this
administration.  Also the Administrator over there is regarded as somewhat of
a loose cannon by the folks in the White House.  So I kind of suspect the FBI
would not be involved in White House led black ops.  And I doubt the military
would be involved either (given this President's relations with them.)  So the
reports of private detectives and other non-government people spearheading this
squares with what would be rationally expected.

I think the FBI may merely have either just gotten lucky and dodged a bullet
on this one, -or- they had a deeper cover role in passing the stuff to Flint's
people (undoubtably private individuals, so evidence, if it existed in FBI
files, could've been fed to someone on the "outside").  Given that no one knew
that Livingston was going to be in the position he was in till several days
*after* the election, that's reasonably quick response if that is really what
happened.

Don't believe everything you read in the papers...
  Cheers,
    -jcp-


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> Subject: IP: And you thought it was Larry Flynt . . .
> From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
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> From: sbaker () steptoe com
>
> Dave,
>
> I am sending you part of a note we sent to our clients a week or two ago.  I 
> haven't seen it in the press yet, but after it shows up in IP, the NY Times 
> will be more or less irrelevant.
>
> Stewart
>
>
> From:   Stewart Baker (sbaker () steptoe com)
>     Elizabeth Banker (ebanker () steptoe com)
>      
>      
> The press would have you believe that it was Larry Flynt and his 
> million-dollar 
> tales of infidelity that caused the unexpected change in House leadership 
this 
> month, but encryption policy buffs -- paranoid by nature and proud of it -- 
> are 
> beginning to focus on another suspect, one with more to gain.  
>
> That's because it is the Federal Bureau of Investigation that looks like the 
> biggest winner now that Robert Livingston has been replaced by Dennis 
> Hastert as
> odds-on favorite to be Speaker of the House of Representatives.
>      
> Livingston supported the industry's version of SAFE, the crypto decontrol 
bill 
> that died in Congress last session.  In contrast, J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) 
has 
> shown strong solidarity with the FBI on encryption issues as a member of the 
> House Commerce Committee.  Indeed, Hastert supported the Oxley-Manton 
> Amendment 
> that would have turned the SAFE Act of 1997 (H. R. 695) into a mandate for 
> domestic regulation of encryption.  And when Oxley-Manton was rejected by 
the 
> Committee in favor of the Markey-White Amendment, Hastert voted against the 
> SAFE
> Act.
>
> ..  


--
Joseph C. Pistritto                        +1 415 706 7270
Belmont, California                        jcp () jcphome com