Earlier this month, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (EARN IT) Act. This bill threatens encryption, the process in which files or messages you send can only be viewed by its intended recipients. In recent years, law enforcement agencies, such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have advocated against encryption, bringing up terrorist attacks such as the 2015 San Bernardino massacre to stoke the public's fears and to use it to attack encryption. Attorney General William Barr has also "blamed encryption for sexual crimes against children."
As it turns out, Graham and Blumenthal have each received a significant amount of money from the aforementioned law enforcement agencies during their most recent Senate campaigns. Below is the amount each received from each agency:
DOJ: Throughout his 2020 re-election campaign, Graham and his affiliated PAC, Fund for America's Future, have collectively received $41,600 from DOJ lobbyists -- namely Norman Brownstein ($5,600), Adnan Jalil ($5,600), C. Stewart Verdery Jr. ($5,000), Manus Cooney ($3,000), Kirk Blalock ($2,800), Kirsten Chadwick ($2,800), Kate Hull ($2,500), Aleix Jarvis ($2,500), Michael A. Tongour ($1,800), Harold Kim ($1,500), Michael Drobac ($1,000), Susan Hirschmann ($1,000), Ashley Hoy ($1,000), William E. Moschella ($1,000), Tyler Stephens ($1,000), Todd Thorpe ($1,000), Craig Albright ($500), Jon Beamer ($500), Karina Lynch ($500), Travis Norton ($500), Brian Wild ($500), James R. Edwards Jr. ($250), and Greta Joynes ($250). He has also received $11,600 from family members of Brownstein ($5,600), Cooney ($1,000), and fellow lobbyist Brian D. Ballard ($5,000).
Blumenthal, on the other hand, when he ran for re-election in 2016, took $41,699 from these lobbyists -- namely Nancy Zirkin ($5,400), John M. Albertine ($4,000), Richard A. Gephardt ($3,000), Michael A. Merola ($3,000), Norman Brownstein ($2,700), Robert Raben ($2,500), Elizabeth Gore ($2,000), Thomas J. O'Donnell ($2,000), Robert W. Helm ($2,000), Tony Podesta ($2,000), Christopher Putala ($1,833), Claudia James ($1,500), Kevin M. Richards ($1,500), Holly Fechner ($1,000), Fred Humphries ($1,000), Jennifer Navarro ($1,000), James P. Smith ($1,000), Robert Zucker ($850), Francine Friedman ($750), Andrew M. Rosenberg ($666), Anne Saunders Fabry ($500), David Hampton Pryor Jr. ($500), William A. Reinsch ($500), David S. Adams ($250), and Mark Tavlarides ($250). Additionally, family members of Podesta contributed $5,400.
FBI: During the 2020 election, Graham has taken $18,000 from the PACs of lobbying firms representing the FBI -- namely the Real Estate Roundtable ($5,000), Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck ($3,500), Viacom International ($3,000), Bracewell LLP ($2,500), Oracle Corporation ($2,500), and K&L Gates ($1,500). As aforementioned, Wild (who is also an FBI lobbyist) also donated $500 to Graham.
Meanwhile, Blumenthal took $30,500 from the same type of PACs -- namely Squire Patton Boggs ($10,000), the Real Estate Roundtable ($9,000), Oracle Corporation ($5,000), SAP America ($3,500) and the Transportation Trades Department, AFL–CIO ($3,000) -- in 2016. Additionally, Richards (who is also an FBI lobbyist) contributed $1,500, as mentioned above.
Given the large amount of money Graham and Blumenthal have each received from lobbyists for the DOJ, as well as from PACs of lobbying firms that represent the FBI, it should come as no surprise that they have introduced legislation to achieve a long-sought goal of these agencies. Hopefully, their bill will not see the light of day, and Americans' rights to message each other without fear of intrusion will not be infringed upon. Sadly, however, these lobbyists and PACs have donated to several other members of Congress, so the prospects of that happening may be grim.
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