The following is a news analysis.
It was January of 2013 when I first learned that forensics indicated a government intel agency had engaged in a long-term monitoring effort of my CBS computers and devices, as well as those belonging to my family.
The remote intruders, said the forensics examiner, had monitored my key strokes, used Skype to secretly listen in on my conversations, accessed work files and photos, obtained my passwords, entered the CBS News “ENPS” news system, and installed three classified documents deep in my computer’s operating system. The bad guys then tried to erase their tracks by remotely erasing data and files. They changed the time stamps inside the computers thousands of times to thwart the reliability of any forensic examination.
Today, nine years later, we’re used to hearing accusations of government spying. But in January 2013 it sounded so far-fetched.
Read background and see documents on the Attkisson case here.
We soon learned I was far from alone. I just happened to have the intel sources to expose the crime. Sources say the government was —and may still be — illegally spying on thousands of journalists and other Americans.
The same time I was learning more about the crimes committed against me, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden made his revelations about government spying on a shockingly massive scale; and we also learned the government had improperly spied on Fox News reporter James Rosen, and secretly obtained records of Associated Press reporters and editors, including their home and mobile phones. Heaven knows what they’ve done that we haven’t found out about.
Soon, an independent forensics company hired by CBS confirmed the remote intrusions into my computers and reported it to the world.
This is where I naively thought the government would step forward, apologize, pledge to punish the government agents or contractors involved and those who directed their actions, and find out who else had been victimized.
Going on ten years later, I’m still steeped in my self-financed search for justice and accountability.
I’ve learned the government covers up for its own and doesn’t admit its crimes. Quite the opposite: it defends the guilty, covers up the wrongdoing, and smears those it victimized. Those who could do the oversight of these agencies are themselves hopelessly conflicted by politics, or worse, and so the job is left undone.
I wonder if people who set things up envisioned the scenario where the Dept. of Justice would be party to a crime but also be the entity responsible for holding the criminals— itself— accountable. And, instead of serving the public, the agency uses taxpayer dollars to defend the guilty and cover its tracks.
As part of my own fight, two other forensics teams were able to unearth more, irrefutable evidence. That includes specific government IP addresses found in my computer that were part of the intrusions. Still, the government continued its denials. When the government won't police itself, it doesn't matter what you can prove if you can't get to court. You can't get to court without spending a fortune and surviving technical hurdles that always seem to be stacked against the person challenging the government.
When I invited the Dept. of Justice Inspector General (DOJ IG) to look into my personal computers (CBS wouldn’t let them examine theirs), the forensics team told me it found all kinds of suspicous behavior. (I had hoped that, if they were honest, they would find even more forensics that my teams already had, and possibly force accountability.)
Then, midway thru their probe, the DOJ IG investigators informed me that an unnamed official had stepped in to “narrow their investigation” into my computer. Suddenly, everyone was mum. Instead of providing me with the promised results to their forensics exams, they withheld them. They unlawfully refused to answer my Freedom of Information requests for the information (to this day). Then, they released a white-washed summary to the press designed to imply there had been no illegal intrusions.
So even with proof positive in the form of forensics and IP addresses, I’ve learned how hard it is to go up against the government, its resources, and its tricks.
The FBI denied having documents related to my case and failed to properly answer my Freedom of Information requests. When I sued them in court, they finally turned over a few pages, and the judge was okay with them falsely claiming not to have more. The few documents the FBI turned over revealed that they had opened a case about my computer intrusions long ago, listing me as the “victim,” but they had never contacted me to help, or investigate. Why?
Going to court is tough, too. The government has no limit on tax money it can spend in court in an effort to delay and obfuscate. The plaintiff (me) spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to do what prosecutors should be doing.
In another can-you-believe-it moment, I learned that government officials, such as former US Attorney in Baltimore Rod Rosenstein, can claim “immunity” for overseeing those who spied on me. That’s something that I’m told could be fixed by Congress-- but who’s going to do that? People like me who are impacted negatively by the arrangement don't employ powerful lobbyists who write bills and put them before Congressional party leaders to be passed as laws.
The incredible challenges continue to pour in. We’ve been conducting depositions for several weeks, now. Did you know that the accused parties— the government— are given the right to decide whether I can even depose those involved in the alleged crimes? And the government gets to decide whether I can get testimony from the insiders who have information on the case. The government can even limit what we can ask about. That’s akin to a prosecutor having to go to a robber and ask for permission to interview him and others who took part in the crime. Crazy, right?
Still, we’ve learned a few things in depositions with non-government parties. We know that the US Postal Service (whose IP addresses were some of the ones used in the computer intrusions) destroyed records it should have preserved that were relevant to my case. We also learned that, in addition to the case about my computer intrusions that the FBI opened and kept secret early on, one of the firms that examined my computers concluded fairly quickly that a crime had likely occurred and notified the government.
A government official came to the company, got a briefing, and promised a followup. After all, the computers of a national news journalist had been infiltrated by unauthorized intruders. Their methods had hallmarks of highly-sophisticated government entities. But the government official never followed up after that briefing. The computer forensics firm says it never heard from them again. And the government certainly never contacted me for investigation or to help. Why?
I still say what I said early on: this case isn't important because it happened to me; it’s important because of all the others it’s happened to. It's important because if the guilty parties aren’t exposed and held accountable, they’ll keep doing it. I think we’ve seen that borne out in recent years. If the right people had cared when my case was exposed; if the bad guys had been held accountable after the Edward Snowden revelations, or the James Rosen spying, or the secret AP records seizures, there’s every chance that the spy scandal against Donald Trump and his associates might have been averted. The FBI might not have doctored a document to wiretap Trump associate Carter Page, and might not have submitted countless wiretaps against US citizens that the court later found violated important rules. The NSA might not have made important Constitutional violations in its spying on Americans in 2016, as a judge later found.
Here's where I will note something positive. We have gained a historic victory: a clerk’s default against one of the defendants in my case. It’s believed to be the first such decision of its kind in a case of the government spying on a journalist.
I’m not celebrating yet. The clerk's default still requires a judge’s order to move ahead to a damages trial. Regardless of damages awarded, I don't expect to see a penny, even to help defray my legal costs, because the defendant likely doesn't have any money. But this was always about getting information and accountability. Unfortunately, because of the way we received the clerk’s default without a trial, we didn’t get crucial documents and information that could have revealed all the names involved in the misdeeds.
Still, it’s an important moment in a long fight.
Without going into monotonous detail, suffice it to say that thanks to incredibly dedicated people who are committed to doing what they can to expose those responsible for this wrong, my lawsuit against the government is still going. Do I hold out a fantasy that I can win all of the technical battles, hurdles, and motions to dismiss? Will I be able to interview the sources who know the most, and will they tell the truth and blurt out names? Or will they say they have no recollection? I understand what I’m in for. But if I didn’t try, and if I didn’t make them at least a little worried that there’s a slight chance of them getting exposed, then I’d be letting myself down.
Want to help? Donate to Attkisson's Legal Fund here
Stay strong! I have never seen this level of corruption in my 71 years of living. I firmly believe that we are fighting for our way of life. When Barack Hussein Obama declared he was going to fundamentally change our way of life, I had no idea this is what he meant. It’s imperative that these individuals be exposed for what they are. You need more air time to get your story out. Maybe a documentary like 2,000 mules.
Thanks for the update. Keep fighting the good fight!
You're a superhero, Sharyl. I read your book when it came out. Thank you for all you do. So sorry you have to go through this.
This article ? I want Millions in damages too, from these tech companies hiding in the background of these weaponized devices trading and sometimes selling users info and . Violating OS systems Anti-Trust and privacy rights settings .And violating Browser app privacy settings to be blocking 3rd parties installing various tracking widgets and so on anyway in background..= Fake anti-trust privacy rights resulting in Data Laundering and wire fraud Ponzi..In my opinion. They been stealing Hihistory making New Drug Formula's and other History making New discoveries I filed with Federal trade Commission and Indiana Attorney General office in past. Another thing in criminal law this state of Indiana don't have I found out in past is a Copyrights infridgment attorneys willing to take cases...= Extra Virgin Hacking and Data Laundering everybody else's past History making work with these criminal devices ..SO JIOIN the rest of us Sharyl in getting hacked = Sharyl Attkisson and Bill Andrews Finds Waldo, = it's all a Orginized Ponzi in fake Anti-Trust and privacy rights ! " The more you know !
All this time you thought George Orwell's book "1984" was about some far off regime like Soviet Russia. But it was actually a prescient description of the USA, the only actor with the technology to do this crap.
I just realized that my donation to you has been compromised by the taxes I am paying that supports the criminals. I am really mad now!
I'm not surprised by what has happened to you. We live in very scary times and many people don't realize how close we are to losing our Republic. I still can't believe there are people out there that believe Rod Rosenstein is a "good guy". He's as corrupt as they come (he was AG for Maryland for pete's sake - MD is one of the most corrupt states in the US).
Difficult to remain positive in the face of the total corruption of our so-called Justice Department, NSA, CIA, and our very own Gestapo/Stasi. The nearly impossible task of obtaining justice through our government is quite obvious. Like Steven Loerger, I have never seen, or expected to see, the level of corruption, sedition, and even treason taking place in our government, nor did I expect to see a literal takeover by socialists and marxists. Perhaps I had too much faith in this nation and its citizens to realize the destruction that was coming.
Elections will not deter the 600+ agencies, 4 million (federal) employees who engage in and are complicit with this activity
Keep up the good fight. Like you state in the end nothing will be exposed of the governments crimes against its citizens. That is apparent after ten yers of court battles for the truth. Its millions of tax dollars against a private citizen with much less in resources, they know it and they will continue the game as long as they want and can. The laws and to a degree the courts are against you in this battle for truth. They don’t care bout the truth. To this day they still operate the same way. The Constitution and justice are just words on a paper. In reality its nothing to them. We are in a sad state of affairs. Going down, not getting better.
Our government is completely corrupted....the politicians are basically all thieves because they don't uphold our laws that would have jailed the treasonous people that they work with on a daily basis.
John Gotti senior noted , "government never runs out of time or money", might we add, liars for hire?
I’m just a member of the American Hoi polloi. My opinion doesn’t amount to much, BUT I am able to enlighten my 2 adult children & other extended family members and myriad of friends and acquaintances to your personal experience (which most are clueless to). Their opinions are changing like mine to not assume that our DOJ is for us. In fact, it appears to have become weaponized. This is a totally mind boggling idea compared to 20 years ago when I would have never thought this possible. I will always teach my grandchildren to do their due diligence in examine FACTS before drawing conclusions.
Sharyl this is important work. Keep grinding. Sooner or later you will find someone who will spill the beans. Regardless of party affiliation, the spying is illegal and must come out and when it does all thinking Americans will thank you for your perseverance and your bravery..
Many of our Academics are communists. Many of their students are indoctrinated. The Climate "Crisis" is a ruse to frighten us, and take away our rights. Virtually all of the top Federal agencies have been weaponized, and President Biden is installing enforcers in the Treasury Dept. and most other Federal agencies right now, as I write this. There are entities laundering dark money, some of which comes from the PRC. The WHO, and UNESCO are compromised by communists, and Global Elites. John Kerry is a shill for the Global Agenda of the WEF. Microsoft vacuums up data wherever it can. The Utah Data Center has an A.I. algorithm, that will soon determine what resources you are entitled to receive. Abortion, Euthanasia, and Eugenics will become the order of the day. Depopulation is a priority for the Globalists. If the Federal Government thinks it a bad idea to break into your computer, then they will just hire a private company to do it for them. I admire what you are doing, but more than 50 million voters must like the things I listed above, because they only want the people who advance them to hold public office. I pray every night, that the refugees streaming across our border will want freedom, so they can live in the constitutional republic they hoped they were moving to. The Government however, hopes they can employ them to be faithful spies on any resistance.
Keep up the effort and please keep us informed on how things are going.
Also if you could tell the folks airing your Sunday broadcast in Maine to again adjust the sound so it's in sync with the people talking that to would be great. The last time we told you about this it was fixed by the next show. It looks like the MSM is back to their old and tired tricks.
Sharyl thanks for continuing in this important fight. It’s part of the mosaic efforts that hopefully will eventually cause the edifice protecting our corrupt administrative state to come tumbling down.
Thanks for keeping up the fight. You are a rockstar.
Sharyl- You are one brave, patriotic American! Never give up the fight. I hope Trump is elected again as he would be an important ally in promoting legislation that will allow us as citizens, to truly seek redress against governments large and small when they commit criminal and civil acts against our freedoms. I have no doubt that in your case and his, voters see these acts as significant threats to the right to peaceful enjoyment of their own lives. Wishing you every opportunity to prevail over tyranny! Best, Bert
"...if I didn’t make them at least a little worried that there’s a slight chance of them getting exposed, then I’d be letting myself down." Actually, you'd be letting us all down - even those who have no idea who you are.
Thank you so much for staying in this fight, Sharyl! Most everyone else would have thrown in the towel long ago saying it's not worth it. But we know you're doing this not just for yourself, but for all of us that wouldn't stand a chance against Goliath.
Don't lose heart. Remain encouraged by the small victories. Never forget why you started this fight in the first place. We need you. Thanks for all you do.
You go, Sharyl! I first learned about this despicable action from our government when you posted the video on Gab about the FBI intending to plant child porn on your husband's computer. Reprehensible!
https://gab.com/CharlesSpurgeon/posts/108306697171849239
Stick it to 'em!