{"id":522832,"date":"2021-05-18T18:20:09","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T22:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=522832"},"modified":"2021-05-18T18:20:18","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T22:20:18","slug":"gop-senator-asks-two-biden-cabinet-members-whether-high-ranking-officials-are-using-encrypted-apps-to-cloak-communications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-senator-asks-two-biden-cabinet-members-whether-high-ranking-officials-are-using-encrypted-apps-to-cloak-communications\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Senator Asks Two Biden Cabinet Members Whether \u2018High Ranking\u2019 Officials Are Using Encrypted Apps To \u2018Cloak\u2019 Communications"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-senator-asks-two-biden-cabinet-members-whether-high-ranking-officials-are-using-encrypted-apps-to-cloak-communications%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=522832&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A top GOP senator is demanding answers after hearing allegations of high-ranking Biden administration officials cloaking communications using encrypted apps, potentially blocking conversations from public information requests.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.senate.gov\/services\/files\/0DA669DF-CE0F-48AA-8992-0F1A27238436\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sent<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.senate.gov\/services\/files\/5B6B244B-8B6A-40EC-9411-FB4AAE5E7CB3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">letters<\/a> to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Monday, expressing his concerns about the reports. Sources who have recently interacted with the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Department of Energy (DOE) on environmental policy notified Barrasso\u2019s office that officials had been using encrypted messaging apps to communicate with each other, his spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRanking Member Barrasso\u2019s office was notified by individuals who interact with the Biden administration on environmental policy,\u201d the spokesperson said. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/13\/department-of-energy-john-barrasso-jennifer-granholm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Top House Republican Opens Oversight Investigation Into Energy Secretary\u2019s \u2018Concerning\u2019 Ownership Of Green Energy Firm)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Barrasso expressed concern that using such software to conduct official government communications could shield conversations, which are subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. It could also potentially hide communications regarding \u201cillicit\u201d activity, the senator said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe use of these encrypted applications, such as Signal, could represent an effort to cloak certain communications, limit Administration accountability, and potentially obscure illicit activity,\u201d Barrasso wrote to <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/02\/15\/deb-haaland-interior-profited-fossil-fuels\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Haaland<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/04\/27\/john-barrasso-energy-secretary-jennifer-granholm-inspector-general-conflict-of-interest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Granholm<\/a> in the letters obtained by the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese reports are deeply concerning,\u201d he said. \u201cAs you know, it is imperative that executive branch officials, especially unelected appointees, operate with the utmost integrity and transparency to maintain the public trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7194637\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"32\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7194637\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7194637\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231890289-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Sen. John Barrasso speaks during a confirmation hearing on March 23. (Greg Nash\/Pool\/Getty Images)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231890289-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231890289-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231890289-620x413-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231890289-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231890289-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231890289-2048x1366-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7194637\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sen. John Barrasso speaks during a confirmation hearing on March 23. (Greg Nash\/Pool\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Barrasso asked both Haaland and Granholm for additional details on how officials communicate. He also asked if DOI and DOE officials have used encrypted software to contact the White House.<\/p>\n<p>He gave them one week to respond to his inquiry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not aware that any of the employees at the department are using encrypted messaging apps or devices if that\u2019s the proper term to conduct government business,\u201d Robert Anderson, who is a nominee for DOI principal deputy solicitor, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/bzo-uZ6OUWE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a> Barrasso during a hearing on Tuesday. \u201cThe mere fact that you raised this question with me is going to cause me to make some inquiries at the department and let folks know that this is not a permissible way to do business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anderson noted that federal officials received mandatory ethics training during their first week in office and were instructed to keep \u201cgovernment records as government records\u201d during the sessions.<\/p>\n<p>The DOI is currently reviewing Barrasso\u2019s letter, a department spokesperson told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>The DOE didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A top GOP senator is demanding answers after hearing allegations of high-ranking Biden administration officials cloaking communications using encrypted apps, potentially blocking conversations from public information requests.Senate Energy and Natural &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2278489,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231890289-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"GOP Senator Asks Two Biden Cabinet Members Whether \u2018High Ranking\u2019 Officials Are Using Encrypted Apps To \u2018Cloak\u2019 Communications","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-522832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1231890289-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"GOP Senator Asks Two Biden Cabinet Members Whether \u2018High Ranking\u2019 Officials Are Using Encrypted Apps To \u2018Cloak\u2019 Communications","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2278489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}