A group of US lawmakers has asked the House Oversight Committee to urgently review whether their President is putting national security at risk.
In a letter late last week the members of Congress pointed out four things that could be playing into the hands of foreign powers.
The first was Trump’s alleged use of an insecure Android phone – likely a Samsung S3 – to tweet from.
“Cybersecurity experts universally agree that an ordinary Android smartphone, which the President is reportedly using despite repeated warnings from the Secret Service, can be easily hacked,” argued congressman Ted Lieu.
“This behavior is more than bad operational security – it is an egregious affront to national security.”
Not only could the President’s Twitter account be hacked “with disastrous consequences for global stability,” but the Samsung device could be infiltrated by foreign spies to “present the President with alternative information” which could have “a huge impact on his beliefs and actions,” the letter warned.
It also asks the committee to look into reports that White House staff are using “insecure, political email accounts” to conduct official business. Ironically, this is the kind of thing Trump berated his challenger Hillary Clinton for doing when she used her private email when secretary of state.
Finally, the letter claims Trump left the keys to a briefcase containing classified documents in his briefcase, further exposing poor security practice. Also, it says he openly discussed nuclear strategy with Japanese Primeminister Shinzo Abe in a dining room at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida – potentially allowing restaurant staff and patrons to overhear.
The letter’s requests are unlikely to be taken up by a committee that has so far refused to investigate assertions by the country’s own security services that Russian cyber spies may have influenced the last election after hacking and publicizing a trove of private Democrat emails.