House Dems ask Oversight to investigate Trump security practices

Democrats are formally asking the House Oversight Committee to look into allegations of lax cybersecurity practices in the Trump administration. 

“This behavior is more than bad operational security — it is an egregious affront to national security,” reads a letter sent Wednesday to committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Ca.) headed the letter, which was also signed by 14 colleagues. 

{mosads}The letter specifies a few different areas of concern, including reports of President Trump’s  continued use of an unsecure, outdated Android phone, reports that his team discussed North Korea in public at his Mar-a-Lago resort last week, photos showing that the president left keys to a briefcase “containing classified documents” in the briefcase and staffers continuing to use private email accounts for official business. 

A similar case was made by Democrats on the House Science Committee this week, who used a hearing about cybersecurity to discuss Trump’s cybersecurity practices. 

“Referring to the complex problem of cybersecurity, President Trump recently said in an interview, ‘I’m not sure you have the kind of security that you need.’ We fully agree,” reads the letter. 

The letter is co-signed by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.), Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), Darren Soto (D-Fl.), Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Judy Chu (D-Ca.), Pete Aguilar (D-Ca.) and Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.).