Former Twitter Employees Charged With Spying for Saudi Arabia

The Arab Spring was deliberately derailed by the unholy alliance of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Israel with the US, UK, and France complicit including under Obama.

Remind me why the Trump administration (especially Jared Kushner) is still "besties" with the Saudis?

Spy on me once, shame on you Spy on me more than once, shame on me

I can't help but wonder what side Trump is on in this criminal Saudi enterprise. And how many more undiscovered Saudi agents continue to nose around? Surely, no matter what the talented, patriotic investigators of the US Justice Department discover, Trump himself won't dare do or say anything that might ruffle the gilded robes of the Saudis.

Trump loves the Saudi Crown Prince - the guys behind this creepy move and the murder, jailing, and torture of hundreds of human rights activists and - I'm sure he's taking note.

"Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who was critical of the way Saudi Arabia is run, was murdered last year by Saudi agents in Istanbul." murdered last year by Saudi agents in Istanbul on the order of Saudi Arabia’s absolute rulers Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Life in prison, please.

60,000 Saudi citizens are educated in the US every year. Their tuition paid for by Saudi government. It’s their way of keeping the educated out of the kingdom but I guess they “owe” them and this must be how they pay back.

A good counterintelligence story. Amid all the political noise and jostling at the top, it's easy to forget the daily work that people do to keep the United States safe. Well done on the women and men of the Justice Department. Lest we forget: Saudi Arabia may splurge on American weapons, but they are another hostile foreign power.

Planting a spy in a social media company just goes to show the value of our personal data, and the lengths some will go to get it.

Technology that was supposed to empower and liberate us is now suppressing us and our thoughts.

What about the Twitter user realdonaldtrump working to make Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel and Vladimir Putin and Russia great again at the cost and expense of American interests and values?

“trained and vetted” is another example of semantic surrealism. What can- does this description garbed as an adequate explanation, while attempting to “cover up” a screw-UP mean? And to whom. Two Saudi men, “ dismembering,” private data, from a country which is starving children to death in Yemin, led by a Prince who is personally unaccountable for his words and deeds- including dismembering one of his own, have been charged. The company, instead of choosing to be accountable, as a much needed example during these troubling times, and noting: WE are doing the best that we can, given human and systemic flaws, and realities’ ever-present interacting uncertainties, unpredictabilities, randomness and lack of TOTAL control, notwithstanding one’s efforts, timely as well as not, WE are committed to “Fail better...” chose a tee-shirt mantra. To be twittered and tweeted!

Twitter and other tech companies have to more diligent about vetting and monitoring their employees. I'm curious about the timing of this. Last week's Twitter announces no more political ads and this week the government accuses former employees of espionage. Anything from the current administration is suspicious and corrupt. Let's be clear, Saudi Arabia is not our ally. All, but one, of the highjackers on 9/11 were Saudi citizens. We should get out of business with the Saudis. Below is an excerpt from the arms deal Trump made selling arms to Saudis. Why are we selling arms to our enemies? ______________________________ On May 20, 2017, U.S. President Trump and Saudi Arabia's Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a series of letters of intent for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to purchase arms from the United States totaling US$110 billion immediately, and $350 billion over 10 years

But what consequences are there for the Saudi government? Is the Saudi royal family exonerated with another heavy gold chain given to Trump?

Some people, make that most people, will do anything for money.

It never ceases to amaze me how national leaders can be so....obtuse. So, ham-handed, scatter-shotted in their approach to modernity, to a changing global reality. Hacking Twitter accounts? Trying to quiet global criticism? It’s like using a fly shatter to try and take down a missile. Saudi Arabia, China....wake up. Try actually doing positive things for your citizens, for world order, et all positive outcomes. We ordinary people dream of the power you have. Use it for good- not petty spying on thousands of critics. A definite critic of Saudi Arabia, I have hope that, following your recent changes in travel restrictions on women, you might also ban those pathetic all-encompassing robes that force women to view the world through a narrow eye slit. That would take care of thousands of critics in one fell swoop. Leading the world in developing solar technology might not be a bad idea, either. China- make trade, political agreements with Hong Kong, Taiwan- force, tear gas- so....retro. The Middle East must deal with it’s Sunni, Shia divide. Iran, Saudi Arabia- talk. Talk borders, talk coexistence. Stop enabling your extremist elements. We oldsters have had to adapt to so much change. It truly is a ‘new world’. Wake up and- deal with it!

The Saudis are awful. Why do we consider them allies? Their government is responsible for 9/11.

It would seem no one remembers anything Edward Snowden warned us about, and that was from within our government. These "social media" companies are anything but American, and with our traitor in the WH cozying up to murderers like Mo Bone Saw, Kim and pooty, it's obvious some within those companies think nothing of abusing their power (sound familiar?). These transnational corporations, especially FB, must be treated not as Americans, but as visiting foreign corporations, which they are. They do NOT reflect any of the values of our country. NONE.

The House of Saud is an international criminal organization. It should be shut down. No nation or corporation should do business with Saudi Arabia. They should be shunned by the world until the current regime is overthrown and replaced with actual human beings who do not behave like monsters.

The platform is chock full of disinformation deliberately created to sow doubt, confuse, redirect and obfuscate the truth on a variety of political subjects on a daily basis. It is a technology that has devolved civil discourse and political debate. Worse, it is a refuge for lazy journalists that can sit in a cafe and write copy all day doing nothing but reading twitter rants.

It was once said that members of a tribe in a remote jungle refused to have their pictures taken by anthropologists because they feared photography would capture their souls. Considering social media, I would say the traditional people were on to something. Stay away from social media; it is some bad juju.

Please tell me nobody's surprised by this. If you have any online footprint at all, you can be found. Most of us in an instant...those who make an effort to be anonymous, with a little effort by a skilled hacker. Just imagine what governments with unlimited resources and zero regard you your well-being can do.

If they found two, it's reasonable to believe that there are many more. These two just happened to be caught and are among many working for a concerted effort from the MBS regime. We have no idea how many others are installed within Microsoft, Facebook, Adobe, etc etc all over the world stealing data and funnelling it to Saudi. Data centers are global and this is a global danger to nations all over the world. Saudi Arabia may have been doing this for years, and we are none the wiser.

Trump also acts as a foreign agent inside the US. What’s different?

Was surprised this column was three or four down. I would have expected this to be front page headlines in the New York Times. Who still have an ax to grind with the Saudis and can never get or print enough negative stories about Saudi Arabia, the government who masterminded the 9/11 attacks. According to your readers.

They were probably doing a quid pro quo for Kushner and the Saudi prince, all with the blessings of DJT.

This is revolting. I have been consistently critical of Mohammed Bone Saw and his murderous instincts, which have created a needless, absolutely horrific humanitarian disaster in Yemen, killed a US journalist in the most barbaric fashion imaginable -- and initiated criminal ties with Kushner and Trump -- for the sole benefit of protecting his regime. I stand by my statements, but fear for those who have been similarly critical and could suffer a fate like that of Khashoggi. The Americans would do well to reappraise their loyalties to the al Sauds, because nothing good has ever come of it.

It's so terrible how Trump is best buds with MBS. Presumably, Trump is financially benefiting for his support of MBS. And, I'm betting that when it's time for Trump to avoid going to jail, he'll go to Saudi Arabia, to live out his life there in exile.

Talk about 14th ammendment violation. Rudy gets to skate but these guys are a threat to national security? Plus FBI/NSA does more Twitter spying then anyone, ie national "security" letters. I have no love for Saudi or MBS, but this Twitter-related nonsense. Not really matters of State. Besides, aren't MBS and POTUS best buds?

The two men were charged with acting as agents of a foreign power inside the US. Trump could be charged with acting as an agent of a foreign power inside the US.

MBS will be the next Saddam Hussein who will come back to haunt the US and the West years from now. The man is dangerous, and power hungry. Keep in mind that he is being doing all of this before ascending to the throne. Just think for a minute what he will do when he becomes King. Western countries are more than happy to deal with him because he is allowing their companies to make money,with ideas such as making Aramco a public company, enriching Banks and bankers who control US politicians. Why would anyone invest in a company that could be brought down by a Houthi missile anytime? Political stability is a sine qua none condition for economic development. Iran that is barred from selling its oil will do all it can to sabotage Aramco. Anyone investing his money in that company should request the highest possible dividend. Trouble is looming over Saudi Arabia. Trump and Kushner have si far protected Bin Salman, for their personal benefits and against US long term interests. But what happened when Trump is gone? This MBS experiment will not end well for Saudi Arabia, the region and the US.

someone tell me how TWITUS couldn't also be compromised by this or similar tweet tracking? we KNOW don the con is in the thrall of the Faux News network, surmise that funds into his DC hotel are emoluments, and suspect that his massive business debts have compromised him- who else is blackmailing him to act in an interest other than the American People and the Constitution???

Saudi Arabia once again attacks the USA. Yet we call them friends and have sent US troops there to protect them. With friends like these who needs enemies. Money, money, money! I wonder what's happening at Facebook etc. On another point, when will our legislators wake up and realize that regulation of social media is urgent and way past due.

And please consider how many like 'deep agents', who are immigrants and/or still closely connected to their country of origin, are operating throughout America? I would hazard a guess, and likely a pretty good one, that there are quite a few foreign spies implanted all over the US from the most dangerous players around the globe - Russia, China, North Korea, and most every Middle East country including Israel. Yet another reason why we need strict immigration controls.

On the one hand you have the Saudi's, Zuckerberg, and the Chinese, on the other you have Trump, Giuliani, Don Jr., Jared, etc. Which is worse? Was it Stalin who said: "Better a smart enemy than a stupid friend"

How long before that Presidential pardon? This harassment of button polishers is REALLY bad for business.

American companies of all stripes hire foreign nationals in disproportionate numbers. This is especially true of technology companies. Yes, supposedly, foreign workers are cheaper but American companies have gone off the deep end. I’ve spent 30 years working in the computer field and have met hundreds of Indian workers from TATA Consulting and Infosys. This started with Bell Laboratories in the early 1980’s and has only gotten worse. When I worked for a company called Unidata in the 1990’s, the FBI raided their offices and charged about a dozen Chinese workers with stealing company software. These Chinese nationals were working with Chinese nationals who worked for a NASA contractor out of Boulder. My first experience with workplace espionage. To this day I don’t think the FBI ever returned Unidata’s servers. Of course, recently a Chinese national just absconded with Tesla’s Autopilot software; the sole reason why I won’t buy a Tesla...ever. I’m not saying Indian workers are spies, quite the contrary. I’ve met mostly wonderful Indian workers. I understand their motivation to come here. I do not think Indian workers are spies. But I don’t recall an American worker ever spying, ever. And to think, not only have American companies shipped our jobs overseas but they gladly hand over the Crown Jewels to any foreign national that walks through the door. Capitalism at its best.

Gee.. I’m surprised Saudi didn’t just ask Don Jr. or Rudi for the info... or is that something we’ll learn about next month?

I guess this explains a great deal about trump and Twitter. Ha! The art of trump’s deal...

Oh geez more people with dual loyalties!