Chat Records Reveal Epic Meltdown In Federal Agency After Trump Win
A scandal-plagued federal agency’s top IT officer led what one participant called “a high-ranking IT official.” “the most partisan meeting I have ever attended” The day after Donald Trump was elected President, 2016, despondent bureaucrats suffered a collective panic attack. This was according to internal messages that The Daily Wire has uncovered.
David Shive, chief Information Officer for the General Services Administration (GSA), spoke to a key technology department during an a “town hall” The shocking comments were made on Nov. 9, 2009. The Technology Transformation Service (TTS), the department he talked to, has since been cited. “gross misconduct” Security violations
“That was the most partisan meeting I have ever attended in government. David Shive joking that he dressed like a Republican (because he wore a suit and tie?) and concern about the ‘white men’ and what steps needed to be taken to protect us from the new President-elect (‘having allies’),” One attendee wrote about Slack later. “I’m not even a Republican and I’m offended! The point of the meeting was to reassure the staff that everything will be all right and that certainly could have been done without the copious partisan overtones.”
The Daily Wire reported last week that GSA’s inspector general found that the TTS tricked federal agencies into violating security standards by omitting facial recognition from software designed to lock up highly sensitive information, privately reasoning that such software was racist. It obtained $197,000,000 partly by lying to customers and funders that the company was in compliance with NIST standards that required biometrics. Separately, the IG discovered “gross mismanagement” This happened while the group was busy with pronouns, building a social justice bot, and Shive was blamed for not being more attentive.
The Daily Wire obtained internal chat records from the government’s central technology agency through the Freedom of Information Act. These records show that the group believed their job as government bureaucrats was not to provide services under the direction of government but to advance a Democratic agenda.
“It’s not easy. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. Pet all the pets. Squeeze all the fam and friends.”
While some employees were shocked by Shive’s partisan tone and one employee thought that the fears were exaggerated, others found internal messages that showed widespread partisanship. The Daily Wire received messages that contained reactions and quotes from the Zoom meeting, as well questions that were sent to the speakers.
Although they were able to work remotely and had IT jobs that were comfortable, they expressed concern for their security. “safety.”
“I want to know what we can do to ensure that this remains a safe working environment for everyone,” Shawn Allen, a participant, said so.
Allen was listed in the Slack screenname as Allen. This is similar to several other people who were afraid for their wellbeing with Trump’s presidency-elect.
“It falls to all of us in the organisation, but most of all to those of us who feel safer than others, to uphold our diversity practices, continually improve them, and spread them throughout government,” Yoz Grahame (“SFO, he/him”) wrote.
“Thank you all for making me feel safe :heart:,” Rebecca Refoy-Sidibe wrote.
Jez Humble (“SF, he”GSA, which also manages federal property, was to prevent the Trump Organization from purchasing a hotel.
“Quite simply, I believe the GSA should end the contract. They should simply terminate it,” He wrote.
Noah Kunin, 18F’s infrastructure director, informed them that Dennis McDonough (Bill Obama’s chief-of-staff) had warned them not to work. This was apparently in reference to over a three day weekend. “Straight from Dennis: *do not work*. Engage in self care,” Kunin wrote.
Kara DeFrias added: “The emotional labor will be high all around for awhile, but especially today and this week. Take the time you need. It’s not easy. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. Pet all the pets. Squeeze all the fam and friends. Listen more than you speak. Embody empathy. Breathe.”
Many people expected to keep their jobs, but refused to accept work for Trump’s projects. Alan Atlas wrote that he “was told on joining that we have always had a policy of not forcing people to do work they were uncomfortable with.”
Eric Schles (“he or him”) wrote: “Question: what is your advice for speaking truth to power? How could / should we engage when we are asked to do things we don’t necessarily agree with?”
“We should have space for realignment there that doesn’t mean leaving government,” Kaitlin devine wrote.
Some managers tried to calm the pessimism through rhetoric about their job to serve America. But the government’s techno workers were not interested. “With due respect, we have not always been the beacon of rights. I don’t want to distract from the larger point, but this nation was built by enslaved people,” Annalee Flower Horne”She/They”) wrote.
Gail Swanson called in: “I think it’s worth noting that some folks may not be in a place to hear optimism quite yet.”
Patrick Bateman (another employee) pointed out that the “real or imagined” The idea that they were not partisan was offered simultaneously as a coping strategy to the one that contradicted it. “On one hand, lots of talk of the non-partisan aspects (real or imagined) and popularity of what we do; on the other hand hearing a lot of ‘we have allies’ on the hill, in GSA etc… can’t square that,” He wrote.
Dave Zvenyach (then-TTS Director) tried to tread a fine line by reminding employees that their jobs were civil servants. However, Trump’s views were so offensive to employees that they went beyond partisanship into morality.
“I want to work for a government that respects us and democracy,” Jesse Taggert wrote.
“How do we comport the difference between what a president thinks and believes and our own needs (not just values but safety and care)?” Jessie Posilkin asked.
Zvenyach wrote, “I kinda want to tell folks: look, if you feel like you want to leave on political grounds, GREAT! that’s a totally acceptable reason. But don’t try and make this a moral conundrum to justify your otherwise political decision… I’m not so fine with a policy that says people can choose not to do work because they don’t like the politics.”
Zvenyach seemed to change his tune. Perhaps he was referring to identity politics-fused statements, which suggested that Zvenyach couldn’t grasp the meaning of white men like him.
“There are hard questions that many people of color, will have to wrestle with moving forward. It has nothing to do with the oath we swore or our obligation to American citizens,” Erren Lester wrote.
Zvenyach finally retreated: “My comments on the oath of office are based on personal experiences that — based on what i’m hearing from others — must have sounded totally ridiculous.”
Despite the fact that techies claim to be motivated by government support, “transparency” Through “open data,” Their leader seemed to believe that some facts are better kept secret. “I’m wiped out thinking about the morality of the open data APIs we’ll be asked to build in the next administration [sic],” Zvenyach wrote.
Billy Griffin wrote: “Sincere thanks to everyone for speaking your minds, and to <@U03V848BQ> for being vulnerable and recognizing your blind spots and being thoughtful about addressing real concerns people have.”
The GSA refused to comment on and provide video from The Daily Wire.
One civil servant, an experienced one, tried to tell her colleagues that she was being hyperventilating.
“I have 16 years in public service, and I have served under 2 Republican Presidents (soon to be 3), and 2 Democrats…and honestly…neither party has ever had a HUGE effect on my public service. I do not see this one being any different,” The employee wrote.
History would show her right: The TTS team carried on as normal, and implemented a far-left agenda in Trump’s administration. This would lead to the “equity”This month, the Inspector General discovered a malicious cyber vulnerability and false statements that were inspired by hackers.
This is the fourth in a series.
Part 1: Feds Jeopardized Security Of 1M Americans’ Online Accounts, Citing ‘Equity’
Part 2: Federal Tech Arm Had Pattern Of ‘Gross Mismanagement’ Before ‘Equity’-Induced Cybersecurity Fiasco
Part 3: Federal Agency Focused On Leftist Politics And Pronouns As ‘Gross Mismanagement’ Put Cybersecurity At Risk
“From Chat Records Shows Epic Meltdown in Federal Agency after Trump Win“
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