And they wonder why we don't trust them.
It seems the head of the NSA's Signal Intelligence Directorate could be caught up in a serious conflict of interest with a major defense contractor.
DRS Signal Solutions, a contractor offering signals intelligence (SIGINT) services to the defense industry, appears to be providing or seeking to provide services to the NSA even as it employs a vice president married to Teresa H. Shea, the head of the NSA’s Signals Intelligence Directorate. Buzzfeed’s Aram Roston, who broke the story , writes:
“Teresa H. Shea is director of the Signals Intelligence Directorate, which means she oversees electronic eavesdropping for intelligence purposes….As for Shea’s husband, James, he is currently a vice president at DRS Signal Solution…. According to its own website, DRS is seeking 15 workers for a potential SIGINT-related contract at Fort Meade, Maryland, which is the headquarters of the NSA.”
When contacted by Buzzfeed, no direct response was offered by either the NSA or any of the individuals involved. The agency turned down a public records request, citing a provision in the
1959 National Security Act, which shields the NSA from being forced to disclose its activities or “the names, titles, salaries, or number of the persons employed by such agency,” among other things.
To clarify, even when asked the simplest, most mundane questions about ethics and integrity in federal service, the NSA can invoke the legal equivalent of the Fifth Amendment.
The story comes to us via The Intercept: Powerful NSA Official Potentially Self-Dealing With Defense Contractor
Keep in mind, Shea declared in court that the strictest possible oversight is always applied to programs of mass data collection. So, the fact that the agency hides behind a 'privilege' when it comes to answering for anything resembling accountability, erases all traces of credibility when it comes to them claiming to prioritize protecting our civil rights and liberties.