Pirozzolo Company Public Relations

Llewellyn King on Scaramucci’s Quest to Stop the Leaks

 

Anthony Scaramucci makes an impression on The New Yorker

When Anthony Scaramucci first showed up he began with Italo-American gangsta-rap while speaking to Chris Cuomo on CNN's New Day and slid into vulgarity of the worst stripe with The New Yorker. He's made an impression all right and. Now as far as the PR profession's hand-wringing over Sean Spicer's ethics as White House communication chief goes—boring. The Mooch has laid raw the real PR problem: he came into an organization in disarray, with no clear direction from the CEO and communication department staffers spending all their time watching their own butts. If he thinks he can fix the messaging by simply shutting them up, well fuhgeddaboudit! 

That's pretty much how Llewellyn King, PBS-TV's White House Chronicle host and Inside Sources columnist sees the President's hard line on leaks and his effort to plug them. 

Scaramucci’s Vain Quest to Stop the Leaks

By Llewellyn King

There’s a new sheriff in town. He has strapped on his shooting irons and has been hunting down varmints — varmints right in the ranch house.

The sheriff is Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director, and the varmints are the “leakers.” Watch out!

Scaramucci has threatened to fire people. He says he may be contacting the FBI and the Justice Department. He has also hinted that the leakers are high officials who are using juniors to contact the press.

This is a strange interpretation of “communications.”

The White House is leaking because it isn’t talking coherently. The Trump administration is not rooted in policy or philosophy, and the White House staff is divided against itself; a deeply unhappy place wanting in direction and internal clarity.

So, it leaks. It leaks for personal reasons. It leaks for patriotic reasons. It leaks out of frustration. And it leaks because no one

Llewellyn King

is in charge administratively: too many assistants — including Scaramucci — are reporting directly to the president, eschewing the line of command that normally flows through the chief of staff and the national security adviser. With Scaramucci on the loose, Reince Priebus is chief of staff in title only: a male nipple.

The communications failure is enormous and extends down to the inability of the press office to answer simple questions, like who was playing golf with the president? One wouldn’t assume this to be a state secret, but reporters ask and get no answer. They aren’t rebuffed, they’re just not answered.

In this instance, a question not answered is a revelation of another sort: the communications staff members are willfully kept in the dark. It isn’t claimed that state secrets and initiatives are being discussed on the greens. It’s a simple matter of the president’s recreation. Is Trump ashamed of the company he keeps?

The avalanche of leaks are cries for clarity in a chaotic administration. They are the symptoms, not the disease.

The leaks may just get worse. But the mechanics or leaking will get more inventive as Scaramucci ferrets around, suspecting his colleagues who will live in increasing fear.

Leaking is as old a journalism and was going on long before the invention of movable type. Journalists regard it with equanimity, as part of the trade, an integral part of the job — also as part of their right to collect the news, and the public’s right to know.

However, leaking does have large consequences when it comes to how the government makes decisions. The anti-leakers have a point here: Nowadays, ideas can’t be batted about inside government with abandon. Particularly, they can’t be committed to writing without the fear of them getting into the press.

Leaking classified information is criminal. WikiLeaks troubled many journalists; delicate choices in a democracy.

But that’s not what Scaramucci is fishing for; he wants to end the embarrassment of the president.

For those who keep secrets, technology has made the job a thousand times harder. When I was a young reporter, a congressman or White House staffer wishing to show you some document — to leak it — either had to tell you what it said or allow you to see and copy it by hand. This was risky, as only a few hands would’ve had access to the document or letter.

The Xerox machine changed that instantly, and the arrival of the digital age put a leak a keystroke away. Privacy and secrecy aren’t what they used to be.

But the hunt-and-kill mission Scaramucci is on won’t stop this White House — this seething hive of fear and ambition, this policy free for all, this scarcely controlled chaos, this gyre of half-formed purposes — from leaking.

With Sheriff Scaramucci nosing around, casting doubt on everyone, the leaking might accelerate but will be more devious: Tell a junior to tell friend to tell a reporter, rather than telling the reporter something directly. Email and telephones will be eschewed, or used with great care.

If the communications director wants to control leaking, he should try communicating. He shouldn’t send the press secretary out there looking like a pudding before the custard is poured over it, without her knowing what the president’s policies are or what he meant by his latest enigmatic tweet.

Sheriff, calm the chaos, and start communicating. Then, pardner, the leaks will dry up like them thar desert.

 

For InsideSources 

How the Russian Bear outfoxes Unwary American Business Execs Using Cyber Hacks and Spycraft

Business Travelers: Don’t drop your cyber guard in Russia or China and Iran

Beware Russian Meddling, Kremlin agents are cunning and uncompromising

Your host kindly greets you the minute you arrive at your hotel, casually directing the bellhop to take your bags to your room”including the one containing your laptop that is mysteriously delayed on its way to your floor.

He generously puts his luxury sedan at your disposal, with a driver whose English language skills appear to be limited so that you feel free to discuss your negotiating stance for an upcoming meeting in his presence.

Your smartphone runs out of juice, but fortunately your hotel and the local airport are conveniently equipped with charging stations. Unfortunately, the devices exchange a little bit of electricity for all of your data.
 
When FBI Special Agent James Corbett, a counterintelligence specialist, spoke to members of the New EnglandCanada Business Council NECBC, he told the group of business and financial executives that foreign governments and businesses will stop at nothing to get a competitive edge. He regularly warns Americans who travel internationally on business that seemingly innocent gestures should raise a red flag.

Agent Corbett put it this way: “In many countries respect for and an expectation of privacy is simply a foreign notion. Cleverness is respected far more than fair play,” which includes enticing executives into compromising positions.

Check out the FBI’s Cyber Security Travel Tips.

Jubin Pejman, managing director of FCM360, an internet service provider specializing in financial transactions and cybersecurity counter measures concurs. “Tablets, laptops and smart phones are so convenient and powerful that it’s easy to become complacent when it comes to securing the vast amounts of data they store—especially overseas where corporate and government spies will go to extremes to gather any information they can to gain an advantage.”

Foreign governments will piece together information from several travelers from the same company or government agency to create a composite picture that will provide competitors with your intellectual property, customer lists, passwords and more. “The bad actors are no surprise with Russia, China and Iran heading the list.” Says Pejman an Iranian native who left the country when the Shah was deposed in 1979.

To combat corporate espionage, “Sanitize all your devices before you go. Erase the memory, leaving only the operating systems and bare-bones applications. If this is too inconvenient buy a spare smart phone for foreign travel. While overseas, keep all contact information, notes, plans and documents that you need on a thumb drive and keep it in your possession at all times throughout your trip.

Do not rely on the guestroom safe for security,” says Agent Corbett, adding “When you return, have your company’s Information Security Officer examine your devices for suspicious access and spyware installations.”

  Agent Corbett warns business executives to suspect any delay—when government customs officers see a potentially high-value target they often coordinate an eavesdropping effort with covert agents at local hotels before they let you pass.

In addition to electronic surveillance and cyber theft, one can also encounter old-fashioned tradecraft when overseas. Agent Corbett confirms that there is plenty of truth to the dramatic FX TV series, The Americans in which actors Keri Russell and Mathew Rhys portray KGB agents masquerading as The Jennings, a typical American family next door. Agent Corbett emphasizes, “Beware of friendly strangers and compromising situations.”

 

FBI Special Agent Corbett's Cyber Safety Rules for Business Travel in Russia

Before you go, sanitize all electronic devices leaving only the operating system and basic applications in memory.

Keep all personal and company data on a thumb drive and keep it in your pocket.

Beware of undue delay when entering the country and when arriving at your hotel. Missing bags or your room not being ready are tip-offs that spies are at work.

Keep rechargeable power sources on hand. When you need to charge your phone, or tablet, charge up the power source first and then charge your device from the battery pack. Charge cords plugged directly into electric wall outlets are safe.

Do not use your host’s company computer to log into you’re your corporate offices back in the US; it’s an invitation to install spyware.

Cyber spies can turn on the mic in your smartphone remotely. Keep smartphones turned off when not in use and do not discuss confidential information via phone.

Clear your Internet browser after each session, deleting history, caches, cookies and temporary Internet files.

Discard thumb drives given out as advertising premiums at trade shows as they often contain malware that can automatically copy your data and transmit it the next time you log onto your company system.

Be aware that the expectation of privacy is not the same overseas as it is in the US. Expect cabdrivers, waiters, customs officials and others to relay anything you talk about to your hosts or their government.

Clean out voice mail immediately, as passcodes can become compromised when retrieving messages.

Change your passwords as soon as you return home.

By Dick Pirozzolo is managing director of Pirozzolo Company Public Relations, an international marketing communication firm headquartered in Boston.