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More than 130 Secret Service officers are said to be infected with coronavirus or quarantining in wake of Trump’s campaign travel

The dramatic impact of the virus on the Secret Service’s presidential protection unit comes as growing numbers of prominent Trump allies and White House officials have fallen ill.

www.washingtonpost.com

The spread of the coronavirus — which has sidelined roughly 10 percent of the agency’s core security team.

The Secret Service employs roughly 1,300 officers in its Uniformed Division to guard the White House and the vice president’s residence. The officers are also the backbone of security for presidential trips out of town and other official events. Officers are distinct from agents, most of whom work in plainclothes and provide close security of the president, his family members and other senior officials.

The number of officers who have been pulled off duty creates a major stress on an already overworked team and will force many officers to forgo days off and work longer hours to compensate for absent co-workers.

“Being down more than 100 officers is very problematic,” said one former senior Secret Service supervisor. “That does not bode well for White House security.”

Secret Service agents and medical professionals were shocked early last month when Trump — then being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the coronavirus — insisted on taking a ride outside the hospital to wave to supporters from inside a government sport-utility vehicle. He wore a cloth mask, but many feared he was unnecessarily endangering the Secret Service agents inside the vehicle.

The outbreak comes as coronavirus cases have been rapidly rising across the nation, with more than 152,000 new cases reported Thursday.

More than a dozen White House aides have tested positive for the virus in the past week, including a range of low-level assistants and secretaries, officials said.

“It’s not really safe to be in there right now.”, senior administration official

I serve this country with pride and I proudly diligently and fiercely protect and support the institutions and pillars of our republic established by the very same document that allows my free expression. I do so with every fiber of my being for the very reason that those institutions are in place to guarantee my right and the rights of all our citizens to voice and express our opinions and beliefs even when and especially when those values may be contrary to those of the party in power. My devotion to mission and country is only strengthened by the fact that the founders recognize the value of dissent and the freedom to assemble and voice those opposing convictions.

Trump blames Secret Service for canceled visit to WWI cemetery in France

President Donald Trump placed full blame for his canceled visit to a World War I cemetery in France over the weekend on the Secret Service, claiming that he suggested driving after it was deemed unsafe to take the presidential chopper during rainy weather but that the Secret Service said...

abcnews.go.com|ABC News

1. The rain didn’t stop John Kelly and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford from going to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Trump's place #HonorOurFallen #UltimateSacrifice
2. Why did it take him 3 days to blame the Secret Service? 
3. Why didn’t Trump make an Executive Decision to go ahead with the ceremony?

By the way, when the helicopter couldn’t fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetary in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018

BREAKING: We got the Secret Service costs for Eric and Don Jr.'s overseas business trips. Taxpayers were on the hook for about $250,000 in a single month!

— Citizens for Ethics‏ @CREWcrew - July 18, 2018

Secret service agent suffers stroke during Donald Trump visit to Turnberry

One of the US President’s Secret Service agents suffered a stroke during Donald Trump’s visit to his Turnberry golf resort.

www.scotsman.com

“The Secret Service asks for your prayers and continued respect for the agent and his family’s privacy.

“We are incredibly grateful for the emergency medical service providers and physicians in Scotland who are providing much needed critical care.”

The agency would not provide any further information on where the agent was being treated.

Eric & Donald Trump Jr. Went To A Wedding In Dubai — And You Helped Pay For The Trip

The Trump family has long jet set around the world to open skyscrapers, schmooze with the top 1 percent, and yes, attend weddings. But now that hits not just their pocketbook, but the American people's, too.

www.bustle.com|Joseph D. Lyons

Eric and Donald Trump went to a Dubai wedding, and the price tag for taxpayers was $73,000, CBS News reported. The government did not pay for their trip, but purchase orders from the United States Secret Service agents show that's how much their security cost.

The Trump Organization did comment on the trip and wedding. A spokesperson for the confirmed to CNN that the brothers would be in United Arab Emirates. The spokesperson said:

“On this visit, they will be spending time with the Sajwani Family, the incredible developers behind DAMAC properties and will be visiting the team at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai which opened to rave reviews in February 2017. Don Jr. & Eric will also be checking in on the progress of the Trump World Golf Club, Dubai, a Tiger Woods design that is currently under construction.”

Exclusive: Secret Service depletes funds to pay agents because of Trump's frequent travel, large family

Agents must protect Trump – who travels almost every weekend to properties in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia – and his on-the-move adult children.

www.usatoday.com|Daniella Diaz, CNN

Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles said the service is grappling with an unprecedented number of White House protectees.

Under Trump, 42 people have protection, a number that includes 18 members of his family. That's up from 31 during the Obama administration.

Overwork and constant travel have also been driving a recent exodus from the Secret Service ranks, yet without congressional intervention to provide additional funding, Alles will not even be able to pay agents for the work they have already done.

• jaunts to Mar-a-Lago are estimated to cost at least $3 million each.
• The Secret Service has spent some $60,000 on golf cart rentals alone this year to protect Trump at both Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster. 
• Earlier this year, Eric Trump's business travel to Uruguay cost the Secret Service nearly $100,000 just for hotel rooms.
• Other trips included the United Kingdom and the Dominican Republic. In February, both sons and their security details traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the opening of new Trump hotel there, and to Dubai to officially open a Trump International Golf Club. (Cost unknown)
• In March, Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner on a skiing vacation in Aspen, Colo.  (Cost unknown)
• Even Tiffany Trump, the president's younger daughter, took vacations with her boyfriend to international locales such as Germany and Hungary, which also require Secret Service protection.  (Cost unknown)

Russian Hacker Sentenced to 27 Years in Credit Card Case

The schemes of Roman Seleznev led to the theft and resale of more than two million credit card numbers, resulting in losses of at least $170 million.

www.nytimes.com|Nicole Perlroth

On Friday, a judge sentenced Roman Valerevich Seleznev, 32, to 27 years in prison — the longest sentence handed down for hacking-related charges in the United States — for running a vast credit card and identity theft operation from his homes in Bali, Indonesia, and Vladivostok, Russia, and for selling millions of credit card numbers on the black market.

Mr. Seleznev’s schemes led to the theft and resale of more than two million credit card numbers, resulting in losses of at least $170 million. That total could grow to billions of dollars, according to court documents. Among Mr. Seleznev’s victims were 3,700 financial institutions and 500 businesses around the world, including several restaurants in the Seattle area.

“Today is a bad day for hackers around the world. The notion that the internet is a Wild West where anything goes is a thing of the past.”, Annette L. Hayes, the United States attorney for the Western District of Washington

The Secret Service caught a break in June 2014, when investigators learned that Mr. Seleznev planned a vacation to the Maldives with his girlfriend. The State Department persuaded the police there to assist, although the country does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

A month later, Mr. Seleznev was arrested at the Maldives airport by the local police. He was handed over to Secret Service agents and taken by private jet to the United States territory of Guam, and from there to a federal prison in Washington.

"As a public servant for nearly 23 years, I struggle not to violate the Hatch Act. So I keep quiet and skirt the median. To do otherwise can be a criminal offense for those in my position. Despite the fact that I am expected to take a bullet for both sides. 

But this world has changed and I have changed. And I would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for what I believe to be disaster to this country and the strong and amazing women and minorities who reside here. Hatch Act be damned. I am with Her.",  Kerry O'Grady

"I serve at the pleasure of the president, but I still have the First Amendment right to say things.", Kerry O'Grady

I serve this country with pride and I proudly diligently and fiercely protect and support the institutions and pillars of our republic established by the very same document that allows my free expression. I do so with every fiber of my being for the very reason that those institutions are in place to guarantee my right and the rights of all our citizens to voice and express our opinions and beliefs even when and especially when those values may be contrary to those of the party in power. My devotion to mission and country is only strengthened by the fact that the founders recognize the value of dissent and the freedom to assemble and voice those opposing convictions.

They enshrine those rights for future generations so we avoid the path of authoritarian regimes that shackle their people with fear.

Google Also Has Been Ordered to Help Unlock Phones, Records Show

Google has been repeatedly ordered to help federal agents open cellphones, according to court records in seven states that show Apple Inc. isn’t the only company facing government demands at the center of a fierce debate over privacy and security.

www.wsj.com|Devlin Barrett

“We carefully scrutinize subpoenas and court orders to make sure they meet both the letter and spirit of the law,” a Google spokesman said. “However, we’ve never received an All Writs Act order like the one Apple recently fought that demands we build new tools that actively compromise our products’ security.... We would strongly object to such an order.”

The ACLU found Google was also the subject of All Writs Act cases in Alabama, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon and South Dakota.

The technical issues are different for Alphabet Inc.’s Google than for Apple, partly because Google makes the Android cellphone operating system, but that system runs on phones manufactured by others, while Apple makes both phones and their operating software.

The Google cases involve investigations by the FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security Department, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Land Management.