TSA's "Quiet Skies" surveillance programme
A U.S. senator's spouse was placed connected a authorities watchlist successful 2023 aft a surveillance programme flagged his question profile, but helium was removed aft the legislator back-channeled with medication officials, sources acquainted with the concern told CBS News.
Shortly aft New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen met with the Transportation Security Administration astir her husband, William Shaheen, TSA officials removed him from a database of radical subjected to further scrutiny nether TSA's "Quiet Skies" home surveillance program.
William Shaheen, an Lebanese-American lawyer progressive successful the Arab-American community, was past placed connected a antithetic list, which excluded him from immoderate aboriginal precocious screening, including random checks astatine airdrome TSA checkpoints, 2 of the sources said.
File: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) (R) and William Shaheen get for a State Dinner successful grant of erstwhile Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mrs. Sophie Trudeau astatine the White House connected March 10, 2016, successful Washington, DC.
Photo by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images
The occurrence took spot successful a heightened information situation successful October 2023, days aft Hamas attacked Israel and killed much than 1,200 people.
TSA's surveillance efforts person agelong attracted disapproval for tracking U.S. citizens not suspected of immoderate crimes. The circumstances that onshore an idiosyncratic connected a database — oregon what gets them removed — person been mostly concealed from the public.
Quiet Skies, which began successful 2010, employs analysts and undercover aerial marshals to show radical successful airports and during flights, utilizing outstanding warrants, facial designation software, recognition of suspicious question patterns and behaviors and different information to effort to forestall violent attacks.
Some Americans undertake exhaustive efforts to get themselves removed from the Quiet Skies enhanced screening database — with immoderate adjacent engaging successful protracted ineligible fights.
Republican Tulsi Gabbard spoke retired successful 2024 aft she was placed connected the Quiet Skies database and subjected to searches and monitoring by national aerial marshals. Gabbard, a erstwhile statesmanlike campaigner and Democratic subordinate of Congress, has since been confirmed arsenic the manager of nationalist intelligence.
Shaheen's husband, according to sources, was removed from Quiet Skies 2 days aft she contacted David Pekoske, past the TSA administrator. Pekoske served successful the station nether some Presidents Trump and Biden.
The determination to past shield the senator's hubby by putting him connected what TSA calls the "secure formation exclusion list" marked an antithetic measurement successful a strategy meant to run extracurricular of governmental interference.
A spokesperson for Sen. Shaheen told CBS News connected Tuesday that she contacted TSA aft her hubby was subjected to respective extensive, invasive and degrading searches astatine airdrome checkpoints – and was seeking to recognize the quality and cause.
Sources told CBS that successful July 2023 William Shaheen was pulled speech for other screening astatine the Boston airdrome up of 2 flights. Officials said astatine the clip that the information bureau randomly selected travelers for further screening, and William Shaheen had been randomly chosen.
Three months later, William Shaheen was flagged by the proscription information bureau due to the fact that his question companion connected 2 formation reservations was a idiosyncratic listed by the FBI arsenic a "known oregon suspected terrorist," oregon KST, a wide designation that covers a wide-ranging hazard profile. A national aerial marshal was sent to covertly question adjacent them connected a formation connected Oct. 18, 2023, 1 root said.
Sen. Shaheen spoke with Pekoske to inquire astir the concern regarding her husband. On Oct. 20, 2023, her hubby was added to the "secure formation exclusion list," a VIP database that exempts a traveler from the information agency's vetting and surveillance programs, including random screenings.
An bid from TSA office was sent to marque definite the safeguarded presumption for William Shaheen was signaled erstwhile his aboriginal boarding passes were presented astatine airports.
The spokesperson for Sen. Shaheen said she wasn't alert that her hubby had been monitored nether the Quiet Skies program, oregon that helium had aboriginal been fixed preferential attraction by being specifically excluded from enhanced screening,
The idiosyncratic William Shaheen traveled with, whose individuality could not beryllium confirmed by CBS News, was removed from the FBI coercion watchlist aboriginal successful 2023, sources acquainted with the substance said. It was not wide wherefore the idiosyncratic was placed connected the list, though a big of factors including visits to hostile countries, definite suspicious question patterns, oregon contacts with designated panic suspects tin each lend to the listing.
The spokesperson for Sen. Shaheen declined to place her husband's question companion different than to accidental the idiosyncratic was an Arab-American attorney. The legislator was not fixed immoderate denotation the idiosyncratic was designated arsenic a known oregon suspected terrorist, the spokesperson said.
William Shaheen was precocious removed from the database of radical excluded from immoderate enhanced surveillance, a Department of Homeland Security authoritative told CBS connected Tuesday.
Mr. Trump has criticized what helium refers to arsenic the weaponization of authorities powerfulness and the usage of authorities levers to spell aft governmental opponents, but since his reelection, has sought to settee scores with those helium perceives to person wronged him.
Sen. Shaheen, the apical Democrat connected the Foreign Relations Committee and a predominant professional of Mr. Trump and his policies, has announced she volition not question reelection successful 2026. Her eldest daughter, Democrat Stefany Shaheen, is moving for a spot successful the U.S. House.
Jennifer Jacobs is simply a elder White House newsman astatine CBS News.
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