Health And Human Services Ex-Cybersecurity Director Convicted Of Kiddy Porn
from the guarding-the-chicken-coop dept
There seems to be someone asleep at the wheel in the federal government’s HR department, given how many questionable people have been put in high profile/high responsibility security positions. Kieth Alexander, uber-Patriot, locked his cyber-security expertise up with a patent. The White House’s cyber-security guy can’t wait to tell you how little he knows about his job. Homeland Security’s former Inspector General was accused of a ridiculously long list of questionable behavior (in addition to having no qualifications for the job). And now, ex-director of cybersecurity for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been convicted on kiddy porn charges.
Timothy DeFoggi, 56, formerly of Germantown, Md., is the sixth individual to be convicted as part of an ongoing investigation targeting three child pornography websites, the Justice Department said. He faces sentencing on Nov. 7 based on the findings Tuesday that he engaged in a child-exploitation enterprise, conspired to advertise and distribute child pornography, and accessed a computer with intent to view child pornography in connection with his membership in a child-pornography website.
Oh, well that’s just great. The head cyber-security guy for a government organization that includes divisions for preventing child abuse and child support enforcement was a pedophile at best. Let’s be clear: according to the evidence presented by prosecutors, DeFoggi is simply as bad as it gets.
“Through the website, DeFoggi accessed child pornography, solicited child pornography from other members, and exchanged private messages with other members where he expressed an interest in the violent rape and murder of children,” prosecutors added. “DeFoggi even suggested meeting one member in person to fulfill their mutual fantasies to violently rape and murder children.”
I’d like to take a moment to remind everyone reading this that the United States federal government has engaged in widespread surveillance on its own people. They’re watching what you do, particularly online. They’re intruding on our lives in ways Orwell couldn’t have dreamed of. And they’re doing it all under the notion that it’s for our protection. If we must live with that kind of intrusion for the time being, is it too much to ask that the government manage to weed out violent child-rapists from their own ranks as some kind of accommodation?
Filed Under: child porn, cybersecurity, doj, health and human services, timothy defoggi
Comments on “Health And Human Services Ex-Cybersecurity Director Convicted Of Kiddy Porn”
the usa is fucked
only way you solve this shit is another revolution ….those in power are too entrenched otherwise
If we must live with that kind of intrusion for the time being, is it too much to ask that the government manage to weed out violent child-rapists from their own ranks as some kind of accommodation?
Isn’t that what they just did? I hope he enjoys he “special” attention he will doubtless get from his new circle of friends.
Child pornography is bad enough. When you add to it the idea that the head of the DOJ can’t seem to get up the needed will power to go after those that crashed the economy. That congress can’t seem to muster the will power to put up rules and laws about preventing it from happening again. That the tax branch is being used as a political weapon to reduce the competition. That those with in the executive branch can at will ignore congressional subpenas and congressional official condemnation without punitive damage to themselves personally. That a president can show racial favoritism strictly because of race, to address one citizen’s killing but not another under the near identical circumstances. That government officials can lie under oath without penalty. Or that we have a government that can ignore some laws while enforcing others, it tells you the problem isn’t just with one person but rather a systemic problem pervading the entire government.
The only way to fix this I know of is either to replace them all (which just puts in a new set of problems) or to revolt against what this country has become and revoke the consent to govern. Honestly I see no other choices as bad as I want to find one.
We are beset with criminals and crooks in the highest offices and everything that comes through their hands is filtered with that reality.
“If we must live with that kind of intrusion for the time being…”
What do you mean, “must”? I don’t think so.
Guarding the chicken coop
From the tone of the above comments, it is now being recognized that we are being governed by corrupt officials, and have been so for a long time. The usual push back for doing a ‘re-start’ on the government is that we will create more problems because we lose all that ‘institutional knowledge and experience’, but the reality is that it is that ‘knowledge and experience’ which is at the heart of the problem! We desperately need a clean slate, new players and new rules. To BOTH political parties: THE PARTY IS OVER! Go home!
Re: Guarding the chicken coop
What most people don’t seem to grasp is the government is “of the people”, and those who work in government are just “the people”. Saying you don’t trust the government is to say you don’t trust yourselves, which is really important here.
The “corruption” of government is pretty much the will of the people. You know all those people who do drugs, drive drunk, drive too fast, park illegally, don’t pay taxes, and a myriad of other “little” offenses against the state (and each other) each day? They are the ones creating the situation. The tolerance of casual law breaking, of ignoring the law in a manner that everyone sees and knows, that is an issue. Your corrupt government officials are just the corrupt citizens given a job with enough power and money to make it really worthwhile.
The other anonymous said:
We are beset with criminals and crooks in the highest offices and everything that comes through their hands is filtered with that reality.
Delete the words “highest offices” and you describe the US completely. Criminals and crooks at every turn, everyone thinking they are above the law, and that they can choose to follow or not follow the law as they see fit.
The problem isn’t the government. The problem is the people.
Re: Re: Guarding the chicken coop
You’re right. I don’t trust other people to govern me. Why would I?
Re: Re: Guarding the chicken coop
The problem was always the people, and democracy was the solution. Just not a very good one.
As Madison noted in the Federalist papers, men are neither angels nor ruled by angels.
But what he didn’t expect is that we are barely men. We don’t act based on rationality. We don’t vote in our best interests and we haven’t been vigilant about keeping the Democracy clean.
And now it’s no longer a Democracy, but the parody of one.
Re: Re: Guarding the chicken coop
The tolerance of casual law breaking, of ignoring the law in a manner that everyone sees and knows, that is an issue.
Do you realize that the same way the Govt is made of people and prone to mistakes (such as hiring the pedophile) it CAN ENACT BAD LAWS?
Let it sink. Work the idea. I hope you come back a more informed and reasonable person after it.
Criminals and crooks at every turn, everyone thinking they are above the law, and that they can choose to follow or not follow the law as they see fit.
But not Ferguson police, right? The black guy was at fault, the press was shoving cameras at them, right?
Re: Re: Re: Guarding the chicken coop
People, “Whatever” is just “Average Joe” continuing his tooling ways. That said, I do indeed love the “the problem is government is made of people” and the “people don’t follow the law” dichotomy. Way to completely obviate your own argument, Joe….
Re: Re: Re:2 Guarding the chicken coop
Makes sense although he did trick me because AJ was incredibly obnoxious right from the start. He started light with this pseudonym.
Re: Re: Guarding the chicken coop
“You know all those people who do drugs, drive drunk, drive too fast, park illegally, don’t pay taxes, and a myriad of other “little” offenses against the state (and each other) each day”
Oh, Republicans!
Thanks for clearing that up, kid.
Re: Re: Guarding the chicken coop
What most people don’t seem to grasp is the government is “of the people”
If you actually believe this, you’re completely out to lunch.
The government is “of the lobbyists and those with political connections.” Sometimes their interests coincide with the interests of “the people,” but just as often, they are diametrically opposed.
Besides: the government is not just supposed to be “of the people.” It is also supposed to be by the people, and for the people. Interesting how you conveniently left off those parts of the Gettysburg Address.
and those who work in government are just “the people”.
No. They are people, but they are not “the people.”
That means that they are prone to the same corruption as any other people who are given power. They’re only human. But don’t for one instant think that their corruption represents the will of “the people.”
Do you honestly believe the police tactics used in Ferguson represent the will of “the people?”
You know all those people who do drugs, drive drunk, drive too fast, park illegally, don’t pay taxes, and a myriad of other “little” offenses against the state (and each other) each day? They are the ones creating the situation.
Here’s the difference: when those people break the law, they are punished. When the people in political power break the law, they get away with it. They are, after all, the ones who created the law in the first place.
For example, if you’re a member of Congress, you are explicitly allowed to drive to fast and park illegally. Congress has also written tax law “perks” that are only beneficial to themselves.
But if that were the extent of their wrongdoing, nobody would really care.
Criminals and crooks at every turn, everyone thinking they are above the law, and that they can choose to follow or not follow the law as they see fit.
Here, you’re just proving my point. If “everyone” does not follow the law, then that law is against the will of the people. Conversely, if the law really did represent the will of “the people,” then “the people” (more or less) would follow it by choice.
Really, you are just an apologist for bad laws and bad lawmakers. It’s appropriate that your username is “Whatever,” since that’s the only response your post really deserves.
Re: Re: Guarding the chicken coop
All that roundabout and you basically just said “If your government isn’t working, it’s your fault! The government isn’t to blame for anything!”
What a shocker, to see you pandering to blow the cock of authority once again.
They still wonder why we don’t trust or respect them. How are we supposed to “trust them” when we physically can’t? We can’t unlearn how to not trust liars and hypocrites.
They say that if reporting and exposing crimes are harshly punishable, then it must mean that the real criminals are in charge. Reports that reveal the child molesters, arms traffickers, junkies, extortionists, war criminals, and other creeps within the already broken system only confirm this.
We expect our leaders to be of a higher caliber than the normal citizen. Yet when the news is filled with wrong doing by them, you can’t expect the trust in government to remain.
From today’s news headlines alone:
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/26/6655649/arrest-rate-in-california-senate.html
http://news.yahoo.com/former-iowa-republican-official-admits-to-accepting-payment-for-support-of-ron-paul-s-presidential-campaign-195206164.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/27/house-republicans-money-laundering_n_5717877.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/26/iowa-mayor-resigns-after-charges-of-raping-sexually-abusing-two-young-girls/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/imf-chief-christine-lagarde-investigation-article-1.1918482?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nydnrss%2Fsports%2Fbasketball%2Fnets+%28Sports%2FBasketball%2FNets%29
http://observer.com/2014/08/irs-shocker-filing-reveals-lerner-blackberry-destroyed/
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/08/26/2008-meltdown-was-worse-than-great-depression-bernanke-says/
Without looking hard, these are the headlines. What it does is show the public our trust is seriously misplaced, along with our votes. We hear a lot of political bickering and nothing to actually address the real problems of this nation. We can spend as much money as it takes to fight two wars but we can’t spend the money to fix bridges, infrastructure, uphold the promise of social security after taking the money out of your paycheck for your whole life because they’ve already spent the money and left IOUs in it’s place.
It’s time to ask some seriously hard questions and demand some serious answers and that done without pussyfooting around dodging these questions. It’s time to take the money out of politics and limit the amount of time politicians have to set up political dynasties that don’t serve the public.
A govt. official
Apparently, the only ways for government officials to be held responsible for their actions is to download child porn or blow the whistle on government violations of the constitution.
A whole new thang
He should have been the Executive in Charge of Cyberdorking…
Oh, wait he was. Nevermind.
Everyone who thinks this was the ONLY guy...
…raise your hand.
I no longer consider accusations made by the Department of Justice to be convincing and will withhold any judgment of the defendant until after he has had his day in court.
Re: My mistake
I misread the article and see now that he has been convicted by the courts.
Re: Re: My mistake
Considering the process that passes for conviction in the DoJ these days, I’d continue to question. It’s commonplace for police to lie and for judges to collude with the prosecution in order to convict the innocent.
Which has the incidental effect of closing the case so that any actual guilty parties go free while innocent scapegoats languish in our Hell that is corrections.
Despite that there are probably horrible people in jail, our Bastille day cannot come too soon.
The guy was a Bush appointee, working for the government from 2008 to early 2014.
Why am I not surprised?
Re: Re:
You’re not surprised because he was last President the Press held accountable.
Re: Re: Re:
Satire! Awesome
I’m not sure what’s most troubling here…
Some head of cyber-security does not know how to avoid being tracked – or does not know enough to stay away from certain sites?
Or is it a case that he thought he was being clever, but tracking technology is better than he thought? (again, competence)
Let’s be fair. I’m not going to blame his department for this anyway – short of administering arousal tests to each job applicant for what their fantasies are (can you defeat that with the right medication? I suspect most males would fail the “potential sexual harasser” test) it’s amazing what’s buried deep in people’s minds that nobody else suspects. Plus, there’s no suggestion he did this from work. Finally, there’s no suggestion that he took steps to act out his fantasies. He was just warped, and stupid enough to seek out illegal gratification – even more so because he should have known it was too easy to get caught.
Re: Re:
The investigators were able to compromise the site he used (they left the administrator password on one of their servers blank) and inserted a drive-by-download that infected the users’ computers. It doesn’t matter how much you obscure your traffic if your computer itself is directly telling the FBI where you’ve been. I’m sure it’s possible to set up a system that could block this, but it would be a huge hassle and you could never be sure you got it right.
As far as “not knowing enough to stay away from certain sites”… well, I think any site where you share child porn counts as a site to stay away from, so I guess I can’t really argue with that.
I love to see the US government embarassed, but don’t people see a certain irony in an article that asks “…is it too much to ask that the government manage to weed out violent child-rapists from their own ranks as some kind of accommodation?”, when that article is about the trial and conviction of someone from the governments own ranks?
What are you asking for? The only reason you know about this is he was investigated, tried and convicted. Apparently what you want is for no one to be investigated, tried and convicted or if they are for the news that it had happened to be withheld from you so that you’d never be aware that sometimes people who commit crimes get into positions of power before being discovered.
It happens, if people, especially if they happened to be powerful people, are not rendered immune to investigation, prosecution or conviction on account of that power then it would seem that part of the system is in fact working as one would hope it would.
Obviously, none of it needs the kind of surveillance that governments are so fond of these days, but that is a separate issue.