Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell on Tuesday hit back against recent criticism of the reorganization of intelligence community (IC) agencies from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffIntelligence chief Grenell hits back against Schiff criticism of agency reorganization Schiff, Nadler call on DOJ watchdog to investigate Barr’s remarks about firing of intelligence community IG Pelosi to appear on ‘Fox News Sunday’ for first time since 2017 MORE (D-Calif.). 

Grenell wrote to Schiff that the reorganization under his leadership came on the heels of calls for change from intelligence committee staffers. 

“Career IC officials have conducted four studies in the last two years calling for reforms at the ODNI [Office of the Director of National Intelligence], and the career officials are eager to implement the recommendations,” Grenell wrote in a sharply worded letter to Schiff. “It is my duty to listen to these ODNI career employees who have ideas on how to improve the work we do for the American people.” 

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Grenell added that he would “encourage” Schiff to “think of the relationship between your committee and the IC as that between the legislative and executive branches of government, rather than that between a hedge fund and a distressed asset, as your letter suggests.”

Grenell’s letter was sent two weeks after Schiff sent him a missive strongly criticizing steps he had taken to reorganize the intelligence community since being appointed acting director of national intelligence.

Schiff noted that Grenell was pursuing leadership changes at intelligence agencies without seeking authorization from Congress and raised questions about the removal or departure of every Senate-confirmed official at the ODNI. 

Schiff also accused Grenell of allowing his staff to “interfere with the production and briefing of intelligence information” on election security that was given to Congress during a March 10 all-members briefing on election security. 

Grenell wrote to Schiff that intelligence community staff were “offended” by his allegations that they did not give “unvarnished” intelligence reports to Congress. 

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“As the Acting DNI, I am compelled to defend these career officers from unsubstantiated indictments of their motivations and judgment,” Grenell wrote. “Many are offended by the accusations that they did not share unvarnished assessments. If you share with me the reports you believe provide evidence for these claims, I can promise you that I will review them with the seriousness such accusations demand.” 

Another issue raised by Schiff was the decision by President TrumpDonald John TrumpPelosi: Trump ‘engaged in distractions’ amid ‘total failure’ on testing Harvard responds to Trump: Taxpayer funds will aid students affected by coronavirus Poll: More than 70 percent of Americans support coronavirus stay-at-home orders MORE to fire Michael Atkinson, the now-former acting inspector general of the IC. Atkinson alerted Congress to the anonymous whistleblower complaint around Trump’s July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that ultimately kicked off the impeachment investigation into Trump.   

Schiff’s concerns over Atkinson’s dismissal, along with other staffing issues, were not addressed by Grenell in Tuesday’s letter, something Schiff expressed frustration over in a statement provided to The Hill on Tuesday. 

“In his letter, Acting Director Grenell did not respond in any way to our oversight requests regarding the decision to fire the IC IG, sudden staffing changes at the NCTC, and his pursuit of structural and personnel changes at the ODNI without the approval of Congress,” Schiff said. “The Acting Director failed to respond to important questions about whether the IC IG was investigating matters that may go uninvestigated as a result of his firing by Trump.”

Schiff emphasized that “the simple fact he was not willing to respond to a reasonable request from his agency’s oversight committee raises new basis for our concerns, particularly given this Administration’s history of covering up blatant misconduct.” 

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Grenell did comment on staffing changes at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), but only to criticize Schiff for not addressing the increased “diversity” in the intelligence community through the appointment of Lora Shiao as acting director of the NCTC and of Clare Linkins as the executive director of the NCTC. 

“Diversity of the IC workforce should always be celebrated, and I am proud that we increased diversity within the ODNI’s senior ranks, to include more women and members of the LGBT community,” Grenell wrote. 

Shiao and Linkins were appointed following the retirement of former acting NCTC Director Russell Travers in March. President Trump nominated Christopher Miller to serve as a permanent director of the NCTC last month. 

Grenell pointedly ended his letter by telling Schiff he hoped future letters would be more bipartisan, as Schiff was not joined by any committee Republicans in sending his initial letter. 

“I strongly agree with your statement of a bipartisan legislative commitment to the IC,” Grenell wrote. “I would hope to see this commitment reflected on the signature line of your future letters.” 

Schiff told The Hill that while his committee “remains ready” to work with the ODNI, Grenell must “rise to meet the serious responsibilities of his office as long as he occupies it.”

Grenell, who formerly served as U.S. ambassador to Germany, was appointed acting director of national intelligence in February by Trump after Joseph MaguireJoseph MaguireIntelligence chief Grenell hits back against Schiff criticism of agency reorganization Schiff, Nadler call on DOJ watchdog to investigate Barr’s remarks about firing of intelligence community IG Democrats request probe of Barr’s remarks on firing of intelligence community IG MORE stepped down from the role.

Maguire, who had also been serving in an acting capacity, left the position after being strongly reprimanded by Trump for allowing officials in the intelligence community to brief the House Intelligence Committee, including Schiff, on concerns that Russia may be seeking to interfere in the 2020 presidential election in an effort to reelect Trump.

-Updated at 3:20 p.m. to include input from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. 

Nearly 8,000 small businesses that applied for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program had their information exposed to other applicants on the agency’s loan application site.

“Personal identifiable information of a limited number of Economic Injury Disaster Loan applicants was potentially exposed to other applicant’s on SBA’s loan application site,” a senior administration official told CNBC. “We immediately disabled the impacted portion of the website, addressed the issue and relaunched the application portal.”

The EIDL program is different from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP requires small businesses to work with banks and credit unions to access the money, but the EIDL program is a direct loan that businesses apply for from the SBA. The loan can be up to $10,000 and doesn’t have to be paid back.

CNBC’s Kate Rogers reported that the SBA notified all of the affected businesses and offered them a year of free credit monitoring. The agency said that there isn’t any evidence of an attempt to misuse the data that was leaked.

The loan program will receive $50 billion of additional funding in the latest stimulus package that was finalized Tuesday.

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Fast-casual chain restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay a record $25 million fine to settle criminal charges over a string of foodborne illnesses that infected more than 1,100 customers between 2015 and 2018.

The restaurant chain was charged with adulterating food in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. By agreeing to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, implementing an improved food safety program and paying $25 million — the largest fine ever for a food safety case — Chipotle can avoid conviction.

“Chipotle failed to ensure that its employees both understood and complied with its food safety protocols, resulting in hundreds of customers across the country getting sick,” Nick Hanna, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement.

He added, “Today’s steep penalty, coupled with the tens of millions of dollars Chipotle already has spent to upgrade its food safety program since 2015, should result in greater protections for Chipotle customers and remind others in the industry to review and improve their own health and safety practices.”

According to the deferred prosecution agreement, the company was involved in five separate outbreaks of foodborne illnesses between 2015 and 2018, including an outbreak of norovirus, a highly infectious pathogen that can cause severe diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain.

Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill’s newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you don’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter with this LINK.

Welcome! Follow our cyber reporter, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and tech reporter, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@chrisismills), for more coverage.

NEW INTEL REPORT ON RUSSIAN MEDDLING: The Intelligence Community was correct in its assessment of Russian meddling in the lead-up to the 2016 elections, a bipartisan report released by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday concluded.

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The report, which is the fourth of an expected five volumes to emerge from the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, digs into the Intelligence Community’s Assessment (ICA) of Russian active measures used to sway the election. 

The assessment, made public in early 2017 shortly before President Obama left office, concluded that Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinHillicon Valley: Senate report backs intel findings on Russia | GOP senator ramps up pressure on Apple, Google | Facebook grapples with coronavirus protests Bipartisan Senate report reaffirms intelligence findings that Russia meddled in 2016 elections Will crashing oil prices put American energy in its coffin? MORE “ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election,” and that there was a “clear preference” for now-President TrumpDonald John TrumpPelosi: Trump ‘engaged in distractions’ amid ‘total failure’ on testing Harvard responds to Trump: Taxpayer funds will aid students affected by coronavirus Poll: More than 70 percent of Americans support coronavirus stay-at-home orders MORE to win the election on the part of the Russians.  

The committee concluded that the ICA “presents a coherent and well-constructed intelligence basis for the case of unprecedented Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” and that all analysts involved in compiling the ICA were under no pressure to come to a specific conclusion. 

Steele Dossier addressed: The panel also concluded that information provided to analysts by Christopher Steele, a former MI6 agent who compiled opposition research against Trump, was not used to reach any conclusions in the ICA. 

Lawmakers’ message: Committee leaders warned that Russian interference in the 2016 elections could easily happen again during the presidential elections later this year, an issue that government officials and experts have increasingly warned may be a problem. 

Read more.

SENATOR PRESSES APPLE, GOOGLE: Sen. Josh HawleyJoshua (Josh) David HawleyHillicon Valley: Senate report backs intel findings on Russia | GOP senator ramps up pressure on Apple, Google | Facebook grapples with coronavirus protests Hawley presses Apple, Google to make CEOs personally liable for contact-tracing data GOP lawmaker introduces bill to put national security warnings on TikTok, FaceApp MORE (R-Mo.) sent letters to Apple and Google on Tuesday urging the tech giants to make their CEOs personally liable for data collected in their joint coronavirus contact-tracing project.

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The two tech giants announced earlier this month that they would be creating a voluntary contact-tracing network using Bluetooth Low Energy transmissions.

The software would use the signals to track individuals that participants who have opted-in to the program have been in contact with, and then notify those people if they’ve come near someone who tests positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Privacy alarm: Critics have raised concerns about potential risks to privacy from the project.

Apple and Google have included many checks for those concerns, but for Hawley those are not enough.

Hawley’s message: “If you seek to assure the public, make your stake in this project personal,” he wrote to Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai. “Make a commitment that you and other executives will be personally liable if you stop protecting privacy, such as by granting advertising companies access to the interface once the pandemic is over.”

Read more.

FACEBOOK CHALLENGED BY PROTESTS: Demonstrations against stay-at-home orders are presenting a new challenge for Facebook in its efforts to combat misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic.

The social media giant is allowing the groups to operate Facebook event pages in some states, while taking down content in others. A spokesperson for the company told The Hill it’s taking its cue from state governments on whether to remove pages and factoring in federal guidelines on social distancing.

In the past week, a string of small rallies — featuring between dozens and hundreds of demonstrators — have popped up across the country to protest state orders to stay at home, close nonessential businesses and restrict travel in an effort to curb the coronavirus.

Many of those demonstrations, which have involved individuals violating social distancing guidelines, have been organized on Facebook.

Facebook taking some down: But a company spokesperson said Facebook is doing its part by taking down event pages in states like California, Nebraska and New Jersey after consulting with governors about their stay-at-home orders.

“We reached out to state officials to understand the scope of their orders, not about removing specific protests on Facebook,” the spokesperson said. “We remove the posts when gatherings do not follow the health parameters established by the government and are therefore unlawful.”

Conservative condemnation: “Why is @Facebook colluding with state governments to quash peoples free speech?” Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, tweeted. “Regardless of what you think about the lockdowns or the protests against them, this is a chilling & disturbing government directed shutdown of peoples 1st Amendment rights. Very dangerous!”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), an outspoken critic of Silicon Valley, quote-tweeted news of the removals, asking: “Because free speech is now illegal America?”

Authenticity questioned: Many of the largest groups organizing the events are run by four brothers with a history of creating anti-gun control and anti-abortion groups, suggesting many of the demonstrations are not organic but rather driven by conservative activists, according to The Washington Post and NBC News.

The groups set up by Chris, Ben, Aaron and Matthew Dorr have reportedly amassed more than 200,000 members collectively, including in states where they don’t reside.

Read more.

NEW INTERNET ACCESS BILL: Rep. Grace MengGrace MengHillicon Valley: Senate report backs intel findings on Russia | GOP senator ramps up pressure on Apple, Google | Facebook grapples with coronavirus protests House Democrat introduces bill to ensure students have internet access amid pandemic Minority caucuses endorse Texas Afro-Latina for Congress MORE (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at ensuring that students have access to the internet amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Emergency Educational Connections Act of 2020 would create a special $2 billion fund for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to disburse for schools and libraries to buy Wi-Fi hotspots, routers and internet connected devices.

“COVID-19 has forced over 55 million students to stay home during this national health crisis and adjust to a new future that requires internet access and a computer to continue their studies,” Meng, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.

“Today, with schools across the country having moved learning entirely online, including class meetings, explanations of new content, virtual field trips, homework, and learning exercises, this gap seems more like a chasm. Students without internet service will fall further behind as students with internet service at home can continue advancing in their studies. Whether they live in urban centers, suburbs, or exurbs, or small communities in rural America, all students require internet connectivity to succeed during this pandemic.”

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Sen. Ed MarkeyEdward (Ed) John MarkeyHillicon Valley: Senate report backs intel findings on Russia | GOP senator ramps up pressure on Apple, Google | Facebook grapples with coronavirus protests House Democrat introduces bill to ensure students have internet access amid pandemic Democrats warn against pausing WHO aid: Coronavirus not time to ‘upend our relationship’ MORE (D-Mass.) tweeted Tuesday that he would be introducing companion legislation in the Senate. The Hill has reached out to the Massachusetts lawmaker’s office for more information on his planned bill.

Read more.

TIKTOK TARGETED AGAIN: Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced legislation Tuesday that would send consumers warnings before they download applications developed in countries considered national security risks.

If passed, the bill would mean that users would be alerted about alleged risks of downloading the hugely popular short-form video platform TikTok, which is linked to Chinese company ByteDance.

Users would also be notified if trying to download FaceApp, a product with ties to Russia that saw significant use last summer.

“Some phone apps are fun and useful, others are counterintelligence threats,” Banks said in a statement.

“Americans should know which is which before they hit the download button. Parents and consumers have a right to a warning that by downloading some apps like Russia’s FaceApp or China’s TikTok, their data may be used against the United States by an adversarial or enemy regime.”

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In addition to Russia and China, apps from Venezuela, Syria, Sudan, Iran and North Korea would have warnings attached to them.

Read more.

SBA PORTAL COMPROMISED: Nearly 8,000 small businesses that applied for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program had their information exposed to other applicants on the agency’s loan application site.

“Personal identifiable information of a limited number of Economic Injury Disaster Loan applicants was potentially exposed to other applicants on SBA’s loan application site,” a senior administration official told CNBC. “We immediately disabled the impacted portion of the website, addressed the issue and relaunched the application portal.”

The EIDL program is different from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP requires small businesses to work with banks and credit unions to access the money, but the EIDL program is a direct loan that businesses apply for from the SBA. The loan can be up to $10,000 and doesn’t have to be paid back.

Read more.

 

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An op-ed to chew on: How human-centered tech can beat COVID-19 through contact tracing

NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: 

People Are Making Bots to Snatch Whole Foods Delivery Order Time Slots (Motherboard / Joseph Cox)

EPIC director leaves after backlash over handling of COVID-19 test (Protocol / Issie Lapowsky)

The Company Running An Oregon Online Coronavirus Symptom Tracker Now Says It Won’t Sell Your Data To Advertisers (BuzzFeed News / Caroline Haskins)

The new speakeasy: Uber Eats has turned into a rogue cocktail bar (Washington Post / Faiz Sidduiqi)

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Lawmakers on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee have announced two pieces of draft legislation that together would invest  $19.5 billion into the country’s water infrastructure. 

One draft bill, America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 (AWIA 2020) would aim to increase water storage, offer flooding protection and repair wastewater and irrigation systems among other measures. 

The other, the Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 aims to help communities meet their drinking water needs.

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“The draft legislation will help ensure American-made goods are safely shipped from one state to another and that the water Americans are drinking is safe,” said Committee Chairman John BarrassoJohn Anthony BarrassoOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Why oil prices fell into negative territory — and why it might happen again| Bipartisan senators announce .5B water infrastructure proposal| Earth Day goes online amid coronavirus pandemic Bipartisan senators announce .5B water infrastructure proposal The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Trump turns to lawmakers to advise on reopening MORE (R-Wyo.) in a statement. 

He added that the bills, in addition to a highway bill that has already been introduced, would answer calls from President TrumpDonald John TrumpPelosi: Trump ‘engaged in distractions’ amid ‘total failure’ on testing Harvard responds to Trump: Taxpayer funds will aid students affected by coronavirus Poll: More than 70 percent of Americans support coronavirus stay-at-home orders MORE for Congress to “pass comprehensive infrastructure legislation, once we are past the immediate health crisis.”

Barrasso and top EPW Democrat Tom CarperThomas (Tom) Richard CarperBipartisan senators announce .5B water infrastructure proposal White House pushed EPA for looser ‘forever chemical’ regulation: documents Democrats slam EPA proposal not to tighten air quality standards MORE (Del.) announced the legislation together in a statement, which said that the bills will build upon the committee’s bipartisan 2018 water infrastructure legislation. 

Carper said in the statement that the new legislation “would improve projects’ resiliency to extreme weather events, increase the transparency and accountability of federally-funded projects and ensure that every community can benefit from federal funding and support — especially the smaller, rural and vulnerable communities that have been disregarded for far too long.”

The draft AWIA 2020 legislation would authorize $17 billion in new infrastructure projects. It would also set a two-year goal for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete feasibility studies for potential projects and aim to increase Western water storage and build flood management infrastructure in the Midwest. 

The draft Drinking Water Infrastructure Act legislation would cost $2.5 billion. It would reauthorize the  Safe Drinking Water Act emergency fund , which provides resources to communities with dangerous water issues. It would also authorize $300 million in grants to help deal with contaminants, focusing on a class of cancer-linked chemicals called PFAS.

President Trump signed the committee’s 2018 legislation, which had passed the Senate 99-1 in October of that year. 

President TrumpDonald John TrumpPelosi: Trump ‘engaged in distractions’ amid ‘total failure’ on testing Harvard responds to Trump: Taxpayer funds will aid students affected by coronavirus Poll: More than 70 percent of Americans support coronavirus stay-at-home orders MORE said Tuesday that he is going to ask large businesses and institutions such as Harvard University to return money that they received as part of a coronavirus relief package. 

“I’m going to request it,” Trump told reporters at the White House, singling out the Ivy League school. “Harvard is going to pay back the money. They shouldn’t be taking it.”

“I’m not going to mention any other names, but when I saw Harvard — they have one of the largest endowments anywhere in the country, maybe in the world. They’re going to pay back the money,” the president added.

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The $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package signed into law last month included hundreds of billions of dollars for small businesses impacted by state shutdowns due to the coronavirus while separately allocating billions to support higher education institutions.

Reports surfaced last week that Harvard would receive more than $8 million in funding.

A university spokesman emphasized in an emailed statement Tuesday that Harvard did not receive funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a small-business loan program under the relief package, and that the school is committed to using all of the funds to cover financial assistance to students.

“Like most colleges and universities, Harvard has been allocated funds as part of the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Harvard has committed that 100% of these emergency higher education funds will be used to provide direct assistance to students facing urgent financial needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Harvard spokesman Jonathan Swain said.

“This financial assistance will be on top of the support the University has already provided to students – including assistance with travel, providing direct aid for living expenses to those with need, and supporting students’ transition to online education,” Swain added.

Trump’s remarks Tuesday came after he was asked about money issued through the PPP, which has come under scrutiny amid revelations that major restaurant chains, hotels and other big businesses were able to tap into funds meant for businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

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The small-business loan program, initially funded at $350 billion, ran out of money last week. The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to replenish the program’s coffers.

Asked later in the briefing if he was confident he would be successful in asking Harvard to return the money, Trump said that if the university “won’t do that, then we won’t do something else.” The president also noted the size of the university’s $40 billion endowment.

Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinHarvard responds to Trump: Taxpayer funds will aid students affected by coronavirus Democrats urge Treasury to assist Social Security recipients who miss key coronavirus payment deadline On The Money: Senate passes 4B coronavirus relief package | Confusion reigns as IRS starts issuing coronavirus payments | Why oil prices fell into negative territory — and why it might happen again MORE told reporters at Tuesday’s briefing that the Treasury Department would be issuing guidance on the certification that businesses need to meet in order to qualify for the PPP loans. 

Shake Shack, a major burger chain, announced Monday it would return $10 million it received through the program.

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“We have over a million companies that have received this with less than 10 workers. There is very broad participation in really small business. I will comment there have been some big businesses that have taken these loans. I was pleased to see that Shake Shack returned the money,” Mnuchin said. “The intent of this was not for big public companies that have access to capital.”

Mnuchin also said he wanted to give companies the “benefit of the doubt” by assuming they didn’t understand the requirements but warned of consequences for large businesses that take advantage of the program.

Asked to expand on what those consequences could be, Mnuchin did not provide any specifics.

“We’re going to put up very clear guidance so that people understand what the certification is, what it means if you are a big company,” Mnuchin said.

Some have called for reform to the program, run by the Small Business Administration, in order to ensure that the funds go to small businesses in need.

The Senate on Tuesday afternoon passed legislation allocating more than $300 billion more for the lending program. Trump has endorsed the legislation, which was the product of negotiations between the White House and Congress, and Mnuchin said he expects the House to pass it on Wednesday.

Updated: 7:42 p.m.

Americans’ concerns about the capacity of hospitals dipped in a Gallup poll released Wednesday.

The percentage of Americans very or moderately worried about the availability of “hospital supplies, services and treatment” in their local area dropped to 58 percent in this week’s poll. The previous week, the percentage was at 64 percent.

Now, the number of respondents worried about hospital capacity is about equal to the 59 percent of Americans very or moderately concerned about the availability of coronavirus tests. This number remained within the margin of error from last week’s poll.

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The drop in concern about hospital capacity comes as New York Gov. Andrew CuomoAndrew CuomoSurge of unemployment claims crashed New York’s system, Cuomo says USNS Comfort to return to Virginia after Trump, Cuomo agree it’s no longer needed in NY 17 things to know for today on coronavirus MORE (D) has reported that the hotspot state’s hospitalization rates are decreasing on April 19, the last day of the poll. 

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A total of 27 percent of Republicans in the Gallup poll reported concern about the hospital capacities, 10 percentage points lower than last poll. Independents said they were worried about hospital capacity at a rate of 56 percent — a 9 percentage point drop.

Democrats worried more, reporting concern at a rate of 82 percent, with the numbers remaining steady from the previous poll.

Younger Americans aged 18 to 29 recorded an 11 percentage point drop in concern over the hospitalization capacity, down to 72 percent from 83 percent in last week’s poll.

Similarly, 57 percent of those with an income less than $36,000 said they were very or moderately concerned about hospital capacities — also 11 percentage points lower than the previous poll.

Seven percentage point decreases were documented among women, people aged 30 to 49, people without a college degree, and people living in the suburbs, a small town or a rural area.

Gallup’s poll surveyed 8,106 adults older than 18 between April 13-19. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points. Gallup noted that more than half of the respondents answered before the protests erupted across the country against stay-at-home orders.

The Pentagon’s watchdog in a report released on Wednesday said it was not able to “definitively determine” whether the White House influenced the Department of Defense’s (DOD) decision to award a $10 billion cloud-computing contract to Microsoft over Amazon.

The department’s inspector general office said it was unable to rule on the issue because the DOD’s general counsel instructed witnesses not to answer questions about conversations between the White House and Pentagon because of “the assertion of a ‘presidential communications privilege.’”

The report did find, however, that department personnel who evaluated proposals and awarded the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract were not pressured by any senior Pentagon leaders.

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The 317-page document also determined that giving the JEDI contract to a single company — Microsoft — rather than dividing it among competitors was “consistent with applicable acquisition standards.”

The Pentagon awarded the lucrative military contract to Microsoft in October of last year.

Amazon quickly filed a lawsuit seeking to halt or overhaul the contract, claiming the process was improperly influenced by President TrumpDonald John TrumpRepublicans go on attack as loans for small businesses start to run out Warren: If Biden asked me to be VP, I would say yes NFL considers playing in empty stadiums with 2020 season set to start in September: report MORE, who publicly and privately indicated that he did not want the contract to go to Amazon, which is owned by a frequent target of the president’s criticism, Jeff BezosJeffrey (Jeff) Preston BezosHillicon Valley: Pentagon IG could not determine if White House interfered in cloud contract | Amazon firings fuel controversy over virus response | States begin shifting to mail-in voting | Agencies warn of North Korean cyber threats Pentagon watchdog unable to ‘definitively’ determine if White House influenced JEDI contract Amazon firings fuel controversy over its virus response MORE.  

The report released Wednesday also evaluated claims made by Oracle, who had been cut in a previous round of bidding for the contract, that some Pentagon employees were favoring Amazon with unethical behavior.

The watchdog’s report added evidence to allegations of ethical misconduct against Deap Ubhi, a Pentagon employee involved in the early stages of the JEDI program who then went to work for Amazon.

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However, the inspector general did not find evidence of ethical misconduct by other senior defense officials, including former Defense Secretary James MattisJames Norman MattisPentagon watchdog unable to ‘definitively’ determine if White House influenced JEDI contract Debrief — America needs a ‘ferociously bipartisan’ coronavirus commission Mattis defends Pentagon IG removed by Trump MORE, who attended a dinner with Amazon officials organized by his former aide Sally Donnelly.

Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Robert Carver said in a statement that Wednesday’s report “confirms that the Department of Defense conducted the JEDI Cloud procurement process fairly and in accordance with the law.”

“The IG’s team found that there was no influence by the White House or DoD leadership on the career source selection boards who made the ultimate vendor selection,” he said, although the watchdog explicitly said it could not determine the “full extent or nature of interactions” that administration officials had with the DoD over the contract.

“This report should finally close the door on the media and corporate-driven attacks on the career procurement officials who have been working tirelessly to get the much needed JEDI cloud computing environment into the hands of our frontline warfighters while continuing to protect American taxpayers,” Carver continued.

Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw said that Wednesday’s report “makes clear the DoD established a proper procurement process.”

“At this stage, Amazon is both delaying critical work for the nation’s military and trying to undo the mistake it made when it bid too high a price,” he added in a statement.

Updated: 4:19 p.m.

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Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill’s newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you don’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter with this LINK.

Welcome! Follow our cyber reporter, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and tech reporter, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@chrisismills), for more coverage.

 

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DEMS KEEP ON PUSHING: The Democratic chairs of key House committees on Friday called on Congress to send $4 billion to states to allow for mail-in voting and other efforts to conduct elections during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the right to vote “may be in jeopardy” without action. 

House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe LofgrenZoe Ellen LofgrenHillicon Valley: House Dems push for B in state election funds | Amazon suspends over 6,000 sellers for price gouging | Google says 18M malicious coronavirus emails sent daily House Democrats push hard for mail-in voting funds Hillicon Valley: Coronavirus tracking sparks surveillance concerns | Target delivery workers plan Tuesday walkout | Federal agency expedites mail-in voting funds to states | YouTube cracks down on 5G conspiracy videos MORE (D-Calif.), House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn MaloneyCarolyn Bosher MaloneyHillicon Valley: House Dems push for B in state election funds | Amazon suspends over 6,000 sellers for price gouging | Google says 18M malicious coronavirus emails sent daily House Democrats push hard for mail-in voting funds NY, NJ lawmakers call for more aid to help fight coronavirus MORE (D-N.Y.), House Administration subcommittee on Elections Chairwoman Marcia FudgeMarcia Louise FudgeHillicon Valley: House Dems push for B in state election funds | Amazon suspends over 6,000 sellers for price gouging | Google says 18M malicious coronavirus emails sent daily House Democrats push hard for mail-in voting funds The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Miami mayor worries about suicide and domestic violence rise; Trump-governor debate intensifies MORE (D-Ohio), and Reps. Jamie RaskinJamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinHillicon Valley: House Dems push for B in state election funds | Amazon suspends over 6,000 sellers for price gouging | Google says 18M malicious coronavirus emails sent daily House Democrats push hard for mail-in voting funds Democrats call for new gas pipeline moratorium amid pandemic MORE (D-Md.) and Stephen LynchStephen Francis LynchHillicon Valley: House Dems push for B in state election funds | Amazon suspends over 6,000 sellers for price gouging | Google says 18M malicious coronavirus emails sent daily House Democrats push hard for mail-in voting funds Iconic NY Post sports photographer Anthony Causi dies of coronavirus: ‘Universally loved’ MORE (D-Mass.) criticized Congress for not doing enough to prevent barriers to vote this year. 

“Without decisive action by Congress, the coronavirus crisis may exacerbate dangerous impediments for voters, including closed or restricted access to polling places and public health restrictions that deter voter participation — all of which could result in depressed voter turnout that undermines the will of the American people and degrades confidence in our elections,” the House members said in a joint statement. 

Limited funding on the way: The coronavirus stimulus package signed into law by President TrumpDonald John TrumpMnuchin says it was his idea to put Trump’s name on stimulus checks Trump says he will use Defense Production Act to increase swabs for testing Trump’s ex-deputy national security adviser denies being ‘Anonymous’ MORE last month included $400 million to assist states conduct elections during the COVID-19 crisis. 

The amount was far lower than the $4 billion proposed in the House version of that bill rolled out by House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiHouse prepares to vote on coronavirus aid package as soon as Wednesday Trump says Fox, Chris Wallace ‘on a bad path’ after Pelosi appearance on network Sunday shows – Talk turns to reopening, protests MORE (D-Calif.) and supported by Lofgren. The House version would also have imposed requirements on states on how to use the funds, including expanding early in-person voting and ensuring every voter had the ability to vote by mail.

The version ultimately signed into law was the Senate version, which did not include any requirements on how the funds could be used, and required states to match the funding by 20 percent. The House Democratic leaders on Friday strongly criticized the funding match requirement.

“These funds must be free from burdensome matching requirements that prevent states from quickly deploying resources where they are urgently needed,” the House Democrats said. “Vote-by-mail and early voting options are commonsense and tested solutions that will both protect public health and the fundamental American right to vote.”

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Read more about their efforts here.

 

SUSPENDED: Amazon has suspended more than 6,000 vendors, totaling more than 500,000 listings, from its website for price gouging during the coronavirus pandemic, CEO and founder Jeff BezosJeffrey (Jeff) Preston BezosHillicon Valley: House Dems push for B in state election funds | Amazon suspends over 6,000 sellers for price gouging | Google says 18M malicious coronavirus emails sent daily On The Money: Millions wait for virus relief checks in major test for IRS | Senate misses deadline to replenish small-business loan program | Fresh produce goes to waste as coronavirus snarls supply chains Amazon has suspended more than 6,000 sellers for price gouging amid coronavirus crisis MORE told investors Thursday.

This comes after Amazon in a blog post last month said it had suspended over 3,900 vendors on its U.S. site.

“Amazon turned over information about sellers we suspect engaged in price gouging of products related to COVID-19 to 42 state attorneys general offices,” Bezos wrote in the letter to investors.

“To accelerate our response to price-gouging incidents, we created a special communication channel for state attorneys general to quickly and easily escalate consumer complaints to us,” he added.

Comes after previous criticism: The company has received criticism during the pandemic for the lack of availability of essential goods such as hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

Also in the letter, Bezos said that mass global testing would be needed to “get the economy back up and running” after the pandemic.

“If every person could be tested regularly, it would make a huge difference in how we fight this virus,” he wrote. “Those who test positive could be quarantined and cared for, and everyone who tests negative could re-enter the economy with confidence.”

Read more here.

 

THAT SOUNDS CONCERNING: Google saw more than 18 million malware and phishing emails related to the novel coronavirus on its service per day last week, the company revealed Thursday.

That figure is in addition to the nearly 240 million coronavirus-related daily spam messages it sees.

The malware and phishing attacks on Gmail “use both fear and financial incentives to create urgency to try to prompt users to respond,” the company said in a blog post.

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Google shared examples of scammers posing as the World Health Organization (WHO) to “solicit fraudulent donations or distribute malware,” as administrators targeting employees working from home and as government agents trying to get information to process stimulus checks.

The company says its machine learning software has been able to “block more than 99.9% of spam, phishing, and malware.”

Read more here.

 

HOUSTON, WE HAVE LIFT OFF: NASA announced Friday that its historic SpaceX launch will take place May 27 of this year at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

The launch marks the first flight of NASA crews from the U.S. since 2011 and the first launch of a rocket owned by a private company: SpaceX, the commercial space company founded by Elon MuskElon Reeve MuskHillicon Valley: House Dems push for B in state election funds | Amazon suspends over 6,000 sellers for price gouging | Google says 18M malicious coronavirus emails sent daily California hospitals say Elon Musk sent them biPAP, CPAP machines, not ventilators NASA sets date for SpaceX launch MORE.

The news comes as NASA struggles to maintain a consistent presence on the International Space Station, paying Russia $83 million per seat for a ride to the station, as U.S. shuttles have been retired, according to The Washington Post.

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NASA has assigned two of its most experienced astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, to the upcoming SpaceX mission. It’s unclear how long the mission will take.

Read more here.

 

MUSK MESS UP: Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk last month announced that his company purchased 1,255 FDA-approved ventilators from Chinese oversupply and shipped them to hospitals in Los Angeles to help treat COVID-19 patients. 

However, four of the hospitals on the list told CNN that instead of the sought-after ventilators, they received bilevel positive airway pressure (biPAP) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines from the billionaire and his electric car company.

“We received six CPAPs and we are very grateful for the gift,” a spokesperson for Sonoma Valley Hospital told the network.

The news comes after California Gov. Gavin NewsomGavin Christopher NewsomGovernors push back against White House on protests, testing claims Newsom tells protestors he won’t be swayed by politics Newsom: California has over 15K hotel rooms for homeless during pandemic MORE‘s (D) office reported on Thursday that the ventilators Musk promised never made it to their destinations. At the time, Musk responded by tweeting a list of the hospitals that he said he sent the ventilators to and asked Newsom to fix the “misunderstanding.”

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Kathleen Piché, director of public information for the L.A. County Department of Health Services, noted that the machines had “been distributed to hospitals in our system and are being used as intended.”

“These units are used for breathing and airway support, reducing the need for certain patients to be placed on mechanical ventilation,” she said.

Read more here.

 

A lighter click: Thank u Reddit

An op-ed to chew on: Women are essential helpers during crises — but they need access to the internet

 

Notable links around the web: 

In Trump’s ‘LIBERATE’ tweets, extremists see a call to arms (NBC News / Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny)

Bill Gates, at Odds With Trump on Virus, Becomes a Right-Wing Target (New York Times / Daisuke Wakabayashi, Davey Alba and Marc Tracy)

Zoom Has a Google Problem (Gizmodo / Shoshana Wodinsky)

Steve Bonnell Made Big Bucks Following a Simple Plan: Play Video Games. Troll Your Fans. Fight the Online Right. (Mother Jones / Ali Breland)

ATLANTA — THC-tainted cereal appears to be the cause of 28 Fulton County middle school students being rushed to local hospitals on Valentine’s Day last week. According to recently released test results from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations’ crime lab, 46 items of food products, including cereal, submitted by the Fulton County Schools police department revealed the presence of THC.

Initial reports said the students became ill after eating some Valentine’s Day candy. Fulton County school officials held a news conference Thursday afternoon in which they said they are still investigating who brought the items to school.

THC is a mind-altering chemical found in marijuana.

Emergency medical personnel was called to evaluate the students. The students were taken to the Hughes Spalding and Egleston campuses of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Grady Hospital.

Read more: 28 Students Sickened By Valentine’s Candy At Fulton School

AND: Cause Of 28 Sandtown Students’ Illness Still A Mystery

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the freePatch Android app here.)