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United States Government

Laptop Stolen From Pelosi's Office During Storming of US Capitol, Says Aide (reuters.com) 393

A laptop was stolen from the office of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, one of her aides said on Friday. From a report: Drew Hammill, an aide to Democrat Pelosi, said on Twitter that the laptop belonged to a conference room and was used for presentations. He declined to offer further details. The theft of electronic devices from congressional offices has been a persistent worry following the invasion by pro-Trump followers. They were encouraged by Republican President Donald Trump at a rally beforehand to march to the Capitol while Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden's Nov. 3 election win. Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, said on Twitter on Thursday that a laptop was taken from his office.
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Laptop Stolen From Pelosi's Office During Storming of US Capitol, Says Aide

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  • Idiots (Score:5, Informative)

    by lsllll ( 830002 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @02:41PM (#60911904)
    I've been on the wrong side of the Federal government and faced 6 months in jail for making a U turn that went 2 feet over their grass. WTF are these idiots thinking? They'll spend a decade in jail for pulling this stunt.
    • Re:Idiots (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Actually, I do RTFA ( 1058596 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @02:44PM (#60911916)

      They were thinking they would be successful and they would get pardoned by president-for-life Trump. Which is why I'm fine with it taking 2 weeks to start rounding them all up.

      There's no evidence he follows through to help out the little people who help him - even where it costs him nothing. But he might do it as a middle finger to everyone who didn't support him. Better to not have their names while he's president.

      • Re:Idiots (Score:5, Interesting)

        by thaylin ( 555395 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @02:48PM (#60911938)

        Unfortunately the problem is Trump could just grand amnesty to anyone involved, which is a blanket pardon for everyone there.

        • Shh... he doesn't know that and I think people might not tell him that. Plus, he's totally willing to throw the group under the bus - he might just save the most photogenic ones.

          • Re:Idiots (Score:5, Informative)

            by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @03:40PM (#60912248)

            They're already disavowing everyone in there. They are calling most people in that building, except the woman who got shot tried to break into where Pence was hiding, antifa. They're saying the whole thing was false flag. (Except the woman being shot, because they need a martyr.) They are showing police (who were surrounded), falling back from one fence way outside the building .. as evidence Trumpers were "allowed in." Nevermind the hundreds of videos showing them breaking into the building.

            I guess it's a good thing them disavowing these people ..it'll be a deterrence that anyone who does anything stupid will be disavowed.

            • Re:Idiots (Score:5, Funny)

              by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @04:12PM (#60912392) Journal

              Pretty hard to claim that when the most recognizable person in the entire angry mob was a guy who calls himself Q Shaman, and is well known for showing up at similar alt-right demonstrations.

              Here's another tip for would be insurrectionists; don't wear a fucking buffalo costume.

              • Re: Idiots (Score:3, Interesting)

                by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

                Well, there was also the guy decked out in full tactical gear, armed with a pistol, and hopping over benches in the House gallery with a fistful of flexcuffs. Remember the plot in Michigan to kidnap the governor? That's what you had here. You had right wing extremist militias there looking to take Congressmen hostage.

                https://slate.com/news-and-pol... [slate.com]?

        • Now that we've thrown our punch (and missed), let's just call the whole thing off and start mending this rift immediately, whaddya say? No harm no foul?
        • Unfortunately the problem is Trump could just grand amnesty to anyone involved, which is a blanket pardon for everyone there.

          Only if he has names. He can't grant *.* pardons.

          • Re:Idiots (Score:5, Insightful)

            by nomadic ( 141991 ) <<nomadicworld> <at> <gmail.com>> on Friday January 08, 2021 @03:11PM (#60912090) Homepage

            Eh, there's precedent -- Jimmy Carter gave a blanket pardon to everyone who dodged the draft.

            • Re:Idiots (Score:4, Insightful)

              by Amouth ( 879122 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @03:23PM (#60912172)

              But that's just symbolic, not law - a DA could go after them and easily - and to stop them the sitting president would then have to pardon the person the DA goes after.

              Also to actually pardon them he has to pardon the person (name) of the crime (charges brought). As smart DA will wait to file charges till after DT has no power. The statute of limitations for treason/terrorism is indefinite, and the patriot act made it clear we can hold suspected terrorists without charge indefinitely, even if they are US citizens.

              • Re:Idiots (Score:5, Interesting)

                by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @04:41PM (#60912520)

                But that's just symbolic, not law - a DA could go after them and easily

                A DA has no authority to prosecute violations of federal law.

                the sitting president would then have to pardon the person the DA goes after.

                There is ample precedent for pardons given to people who have not yet been charged.

                An obvious example is Ford's pardon of Nixon.

            • Eh, there's precedent -- Jimmy Carter gave a blanket pardon to everyone who dodged the draft.

              Yes, but the Army obviously had a list of everyone who dodged the draft. Even though their individual names weren't listed on the pardon, the government knew in advance exactly how many and who they were.

          • Uncertain. Carter did this for draft dodgers. However where were no prosecutions there to test if this pardon would have been upheld. And Carter did this at the start of his administraiton, and essentially it was more of a signal that no prosecutions would be done for at least four years. I don't think the Reagan administration tried to go back and attempt prosecute those dodgers who did move back to the US.

            In this particular case, we have a new presidential administration coming in, and if there was a b

        • Probably he's going to be too busy trying to keep his on fat out of the fire to worry about the little guys.

        • If the event becomes a matter of impeachment, that explicitly precludes any pardons.

          Article II, Section 2, clause 1:

          ... and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

          • Of himself or anyone involved in the case of impeachment. Until he's no longer President he can still pardon.
          • If the event becomes a matter of impeachment, that explicitly precludes any pardons.

            Article II, Section 2, clause 1:

            ... and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

            Current reports are indicating the House will have Articles of Impeachment ready by Monday. This after VP Pence has not indicated he will use the 25th Amendment to remove the seditious traitor. Supposedly there are many more Republicans who will sign onto the Articles this time around, and more Senators as well.

            The White House counsel who oversaw the first impeachment is considering resigning [cnn.com]. If the impeachment comes through, he will not be participating. Reports are saying the traitor is in crisis manag [cnn.com]

          • by DarkOx ( 621550 )

            So the import questions are: 1) can Congress impeach a president AFTER his term of office. 2) Is Trump savy enough to wait to pardon himself until the final hours to prevent a quick special session impeachment and Sentate conviction which (unlike last time I suspect is quite possible this time).

            • The Democrats are preparing for the articles to be read on the House Floor on Monday. It's looking like they're going to push for a highly accelerated schedule, and since the House has far few procedural hurdles, or at least they are easier to surmount, than the Senate, it is conceivable that the Articles could be voted on and transmitted to the Senate very quickly, perhaps that same day. If enough Republican Senators are motivated to throw him out of the White House, they could conceivably hold a very swif

          • by sconeu ( 64226 )

            It's open to interpretation, but I read that as he can't pardon someone who's been impeached (to remove the impeachment trial/proceedings/results)

        • by Holi ( 250190 )
          Blanket pardons have ever been tested in court. It's uncertain how the Supreme Court would rule.
      • Re:Idiots (Score:5, Insightful)

        by LucasBC ( 1138637 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @03:01PM (#60912026)

        There's no evidence he follows through to help out the little people who help him

        I rack my brain wondering why ANYONE believes Trump is looking out for their interests and those of the "average American." That's the biggest fraud that has been committed over the last 4+ years. He has been, and always will be, interested ONLY in himself. Period.

        • I mean, pre-2015 I though he ripped people off to save money for himself. But it's apparent that he won't even do almost nothing to help people at no cost to himself.

          I mean, in 2015 I knew he wasn't going to pay that guy's legal bills when Trump told the guy he would pay for a lawyer if he punched the protestor. Cause that cost him money. But a pardon costs him literally nothing, but he'll only do it to piss off his enemies, not help the person being pardoned.

          • by spun ( 1352 )

            He's a malignant narcissist. Probably the only thing that gives his tiny mushroom a semi-chub these days is hurting or killing people.

        • There's no evidence he follows through to help out the little people who help him

          I rack my brain wondering why ANYONE believes Trump is looking out for their interests and those of the "average American." That's the biggest fraud that has been committed over the last 4+ years. He has been, and always will be, interested ONLY in himself. Period.

          Oh come on. That's not true. The con artist definitely looks out for the average American. Hasn't everyone grown up in a household where your son/daughter can ride a fake stuffed lion under Swarovski chandeliers [blogspot.com]?

    • What happened? It's that really it? You just drive over 2 foot of their grass?

      • I'll believe it. I left a "You're parked in my neighbor's handicapped spot, she needs a wheelchair ramp on her van, you must move before she returns" note on the windshield of a FBI guy and they threatened me with all sorts of things.
        • Video. I believe you, but more and more I'm realizing that's the burden of proof (and with the advent of cheap CCDs/storage/internet, the ubiquitous option) nowadays.

      • Re: Idiots (Score:5, Interesting)

        by lsllll ( 830002 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @03:04PM (#60912044)

        Long story, involving a late night rebuilding a NetWare 3.11 server and starting restores, going home and catching a couple of hours of sleep before heading back into the office at 6 to make sure everything was okay and a moment of rage making a U turn that went over a newly seeded (not even sodded) shoulder which had been utterly destroyed by construction equipment tires elsewhere since there was construction across the narrow street. The VA Police called me to go in and when I did, they arrested me for destruction of government property with a mugshot and everything, and set a court date. When I pointed out that 10 feet away from where my tire marks were the ground was utterly destroyyed because of trucks having made U turns, they said "Well, nobody reported seeing those trucks, but someone did you." Apparently one of the construction workers I got into an argument with over getting into my parking lot saw me make the U turn and reported me to the feds. I talked to a lawyer and technically they could have thrown me in jail for 6 months for as much as spitting on government property. You have no idea what kind of strings I had to pull before they dropped the case and settled for my paying them $156 in 1995 dollars for the damage.

        I would have been okay if I hadn't gotten into an argument with the construction worker. No witness, no crime. These idiots whose pictures are plastered all over the internet destroying fed property and opening Nancy's mail (I mean, come on! EVERYONE knows it's a federal crime to open someone else's mail) are not going to be happy when the FBI shows up on their doorsteps 2 weeks after Biden becomes president.

        • And then you went by too see the construction workers drive over that piece of lawn, and got them arrested for it. Yeah, I know you didn't, but I also know it was on your mind for a long time... ;-)
    • #declarationTruth It's all a ruse, [dailymail.co.uk] pass it on.

    • "I've been on the wrong side of the Federal government and faced 6 months in jail for making a U turn that went 2 feet over their grass. WTF are these idiots thinking? They'll spend a decade in jail for pulling this stunt."

      Since a cop died, aren't they all being jailed for felony murder?

    • I've been on the wrong side of the Federal government and faced 6 months in jail for making a U turn that went 2 feet over their grass. WTF are these idiots thinking? They'll spend a decade in jail for pulling this stunt.

      Wonder if it's the same guy who had his picture taken in the Speaker's office chair [cnn.com]?

    • finally.
      we will know if the senator uses linux.
      i for one need to know before i vote again

    • by DrXym ( 126579 )
      The irony is president dumbshit himself signed an executive order enforcing harsh sentences for destruction / vandalism of public property. At the time he meant "antifa" but it applies equally now, if not more so. Any and all of these fuckwits that are identified will enjoy charges ranging from misdemeanour trespass all the way up to theft, assault, murder and insurrection. For the feds it is probably like shooting fish in the barrel.
  • by Krishnoid ( 984597 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @02:42PM (#60911910) Journal

    Storming and ... burglary? Larceny? (mini)-looting?

    • It's at the very least obstruction of congressional proceedings (18 USC 1505 - 5 years in prison) with a sweetener of domestic terrorism (18 USC 2331 - raising it to 8 years). And that would be if one guy managed to sneak in a gun and just wave it around in the gallery overlooking the proceedings. Add in the mob, and you get fun stuff like rioting, sedition or insurrection. When stealing the laptop, it's at least burglary and theft.

    • by Joe2020 ( 6760092 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @03:02PM (#60912028)

      A cop has now died, too.

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/wor... [bbc.co.uk]

      • Because they didn't immediately release every piece of data regarding that and because it was unclear for a while what happened, the right wingnuts will _never_ believe he died due to an attack by them (if that's what happened). It doesn't matter if they find video of some right wingnut bashing his head in, they will never, ever believe it.

        They can make conspiracy theories out of even straightforward events. Something that's not immediately and conclusively shown within 2 minutes of it happening, or somethi

    • by OzPeter ( 195038 )

      Storming and ... burglary? Larceny? (mini)-looting?

      There's also the possibility of Federal murder charges. And that could be a fun one (as I understand it) because everyone who was involved in the storming could be deemed culpable for the deaths that occurred.

      ---

      Note that this is what I think I head some 3rd party say. I'm not 100% sure about extending the charges to all involved.

    • Accessory to Murder. (Federal officer died yesterday from being hit by a fire extinguisher.)

  • by MytQuinn ( 1846480 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @02:50PM (#60911956)
    Per protocol all high level government electronics are encrypted and only accessible through 2 factor authentication. They have the hardware, but not the data. You can be absolutely sure nobody elected to the highest offices in the America would do anything to put our country at risk currumventing security for their own convenience. Security is of the utmost importance atfer all. Nope we're screwed.
    • by cusco ( 717999 ) <brian DOT bixby AT gmail DOT com> on Friday January 08, 2021 @02:55PM (#60911984)

      That's why you install an email server in your bathroom, so that you can continue to use your unsecure Blackberry . . .

      • Public Service Reminder:

        The Clinton private email server was secure. The government email servers were hacked, cracked, and leaked.

    • In my experience, the more important someone perceives themselves, the more likely convenience is to override security. Let's just hope that didn't happen here. NIST 800-53 existed years before the OPM hack, and yet we saw how well that worked out.

    • by OzPeter ( 195038 )

      Per protocol all high level government electronics are encrypted and only accessible through 2 factor authentication. They have the hardware, but not the data. You can be absolutely sure nobody elected to the highest offices in the America would do anything to put our country at risk currumventing security for their own convenience. Security is of the utmost importance atfer all.

      Nope we're screwed.

      Well some of the idiots posted pics of computer systems that were left unlocked due to the rush to vacate the building. So technically there was no need to circumvent security in order to access the data available to those systems. This is one argument as to why none of those computer systems should ever be trusted again, and that they should all be trashed, as you have zero idea who actually had access to themas for how long.

  • ...Hillary's emails are on it? Or Hunter Biden's? /s

    Hopefully, it was whole disk encrypted.

  • ..doubt the vandal could guess the password so it was useless for porn surfing.

  • A conference room laptop from Congress? Viewing those Powerpoint presentations might throw a normal person into an irreversible coma!

  • by hcs_$reboot ( 1536101 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @03:02PM (#60912030)
    is that laptop Linux compatible?
  • by bistromath007 ( 1253428 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @03:03PM (#60912038)

    I can't wait to find out who took it. That's the only thing that matters, since whatever "is on it" will be completely determined by that.

  • Hopefully this laptop had full-disk encryption, if it was running Windows it was probably using TPM to manage the keys so the only way in would be to find a physical-access exploit for the Windows login screen. If it wasn't using the TPM module, they might be clever enough to try freezing the RAM and dumping it with specialized hardware.

    • use the SolarWinds hack to dump recovery keys in the registry

    • Hopefully this laptop had full-disk encryption, if it was running Windows it was probably using TPM to manage the keys so the only way in would be to find a physical-access exploit for the Windows login screen. If it wasn't using the TPM module, they might be clever enough to try freezing the RAM and dumping it with specialized hardware.

      Bubba MAGA man isn't going to be exploiting TPMs any time soon.

      • But he might hand it off to a far-right/conspiracy nut hacker before taking a crowbar to the thing to get to the files inside the computer...

  • Lots of dirt. Look at what came from Hillary's emails.

    This all could have been orchestrated to get the laptops.

    Just because I am paranoid, it does not mean that they are not out to get me too.

  • So for pure, unfiltered evil.

  • If these Trumptards get slapped with a felony they can kiss their gun ownership goodbye. The cherry on top is this https://www.foxnews.com/politi... [foxnews.com]

  • treason can get you death by firing squad!

  • From the EU (Score:5, Funny)

    by lorinc ( 2470890 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @03:43PM (#60912260) Homepage Journal

    Seriously guys, from the other side of the Atlantic, you lost all prestige and credibility. You have the highest defence budget in the world and you couldn't prevent some naked guy with horns looking like the Wish version of the village people and his friends to interrupt your parliament in a attempted coup. It's ridiculous.

    • Re:From the EU (Score:5, Insightful)

      by TomGreenhaw ( 929233 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @08:06PM (#60913376)
      US citizen here. Let me start by saying we are ashamed of what's been happening. We may in fact deserve some of your ridicule. But...

      We have the same class struggles that all countries have and more than most because we have a very diverse mix of cultures. We are the third most populous country on earth. Rural America wants as little interference from the federal government as possible. For example, they need their guns to protect themselves because the police are too far away to help in an emergency and they rightly fear gun control by a liberal federal government.

      48% of voters here voted for Trump. You and I may believe these are fools who believe the lies of a con man, but he had a message with a lot of appeal. Lower taxes, backing away from foreign conflicts, jobs for the disadvantaged, restrictions on abortion, improved health care, a super charged economy, safety and secure borders, and a huge litany of additional (broken) promises. Additionally, we are angry. We are angry that people fly airplanes into our buildings. We are angry when other countries threaten us with annihilation. We are angry that nation states sponsor terrorism, steal our intellectual property and continuously hack into our systems. Con men tell us what we want to hear and it works on many because they want to believe it. When a strong man says he'll put a stop to that, many embrace the possibility.

      We cherish freedom and are willing to pay the ultimate price for it. But it is a double edged sword. Freedom of speech enables cult leaders to convince many people to drink the Kool-Aid. When citizens are granted extreme degrees of freedom, human nature dictates that it will be abused. Your population's human nature is likely no different than ours. We are learning how to retain the bounty of the Internet while restricting the damage it can cause when misused. We lead the world in Covid-19 infection because our citizens are free to ignore common sense advice from the medical community.

      Our military is designed to protect us from external foes. After the 2nd world war, our country has invested in the ability to protect itself from pretty much the rest of the entire planet's nation states combined. But our military is not designed to put down an internal rebellion. In fact, our military power structure is designed to be weak against domestic threats because we never want a tyrannical government to gain power.

      Recent events prove the genius of our country's founders. Our democracy has survived the ultimate test. We have a president who using his immense power tried every possible method to become a dictator - and he failed. A significant number of respected mental health professional have stated that he is in fact clinically insane. We have a legislative branch, led by our Republican party that supported him to achieve their cynical goals - and they no longer hold the majority they need to achieve their goals. Our democratic system has removed them from their majority power.

      We have proven that a Lenin, Stalin, Putin, Mao Tse-tung, Xi Jinping cannot become a dictator here. For those of you who want that type of leader, you are welcome to give up your freedom and immigrate to a country with leaders like that.

      We know that the last four years, culminating with January 6th has caused us to lose credibility and prestige. It would be easy to say we don't care - but we do.

      I'm proud to be an American, and while I recognize the disadvantages in our system I am confident that Joe Biden is a proven moderate who will lead the American people is a respectable manner and take steps to improve our political system.

      Hopefully my grandchildren will live in a world governed by the golden rule instead of the law of the jungle. But make no mistake, if you think it cannot happen in your country you may be destined to deal with the same issues we are solving today.
      • by dryeo ( 100693 )

        From the outside, the fact that someone as incompetent as Trump almost succeeded points to the fact that next time, it might be someone competent and even Trump may yet make a comeback as he still has his cult.

  • by puddingebola ( 2036796 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @04:27PM (#60912470) Journal
    The individual who was photographed with his feet on Pelosi's desk has been arrested in Arkansas. Perhaps they can ask him about the laptop. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/u... [nbcnews.com]
  • by Applehu Akbar ( 2968043 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @04:54PM (#60912584)

    I suspect that most of the people who did this break-in don't have electricity.

  • by BardBollocks ( 1231500 ) on Friday January 08, 2021 @06:08PM (#60912906)

    ... or will we see further incompetence in goverment?

All science is either physics or stamp collecting. -- Ernest Rutherford

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