A brief overview of government surveillance of MIT, from COINTELPRO to Chelsea Manning

1. Surveillance of MIT:
From Cointelpro to Chelsea Manning
Saul Tannenbaum
@stannenb
saultannenbaum.org

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3. COINTELPRO –
Counterintelligence Program
“The FBI began COINTELPRO in 1956 to disrupt the
activities of the Communist Party of the United States. In
the 1960s, it was expanded to include a number of other
domestic groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, the Socialist
Workers Party, and the Black Panther Party. All
COINTELPRO operations were ended in 1971. …
COINTELPRO was later rightfully criticized by Congress
and the American people for abridging first amendment
rights and for other reasons.” - vault.fbi.gov

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5. Some things don’t change
“serious-mind young people … little time for outside activity”
July, 1968

6. They read The Tech to discover
“ringleaders”

7. Problem: MIT Humanities Dept.
employing “radical-type” instructors
June, 1969

8. Tangible Results
Instructor’s “automatic” renewal of contract halted
June 1969

9. “The Daily Reamer”: “not … sufficiently
obnoxious to warrant” interference with
advertising, except the NSA
January 29, 1969

10. It’s not like harassment was a
secret
From The Tech
October 31, 1967

11. Chelsea
Manning
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13. Wikileaks Timeline
✤
Early January 2010: Manning downloads Iraq/Afghan
war logs
✤
Late January 2010: Manning visits Cambridge and MIT
independent living group PIKA
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Early February 2010: Manning provides Wikileaks with
war logs

14. MIT/Manning Connections
Manning PGP key signed by Daniel Clark, PIKA resident

15. Manning/MIT Connections
✤
David House, then MIT researcher, founded Bradly Manning Support
Network
✤
Laptop seized without warrant at the border
✤
Summoned before Wikileaks Grand Jury
✤
Wikileaks Grand Jury has subpoenaed one other unnamed “Cambridge
resident”
✤
Wikileaks Grand Jury still sitting, investigation still open
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Wikileaks investigation seems pretty clearly to have used all the NSA
“dragnet” techniques that have been disclosed

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17. How many hops away from a “terrorist” are you?