First Draft on Politics: C.I.A. Leaks

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, March 8, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [The C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, Va. If the WikiLeaks documents are authentic, the release would be a serious blow to the agency.]( The C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, Va. If the WikiLeaks documents are authentic, the release would be a serious blow to the agency. Jason Reed/Reuters Good Wednesday morning, Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: - Documents that appear to be from the C.I.A., [released by WikiLeaks]( describe software intended to hack smartphones, computers and internet-connected TVs. They indicate that the agency, by compromising the phones entirely, was able to gain access to the contents of encrypted messaging apps like Signal and WhatsApp. - Before the overhaul bill for the health care system has even reached House committees, conservative senators and groups have [come out against the plan]( to replace the Affordable Care Act. - Americans in their 50s and 60s would be [especially likely]( to find coverage unaffordable in a system providing tax credits of $2,000 to $4,000 per year based on age. - [Chinese anger]( over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea is splintering the delicate international front against North Korea. - The Trump administration’s suspension of refugee admissions [puts in doubt]( an Obama administration program meant to aid Central American children. — The First Draft team HAVE A CONFIDENTIAL NEWS TIP? Do you have the next big story? Want to share it with The New York Times? We offer several ways to get in touch with and provide materials to our journalists. [Learn More »]( ADVERTISEMENT [With WikiLeaks Claims of C.I.A. Hacking, How Vulnerable Is Your Smartphone?]( By STEVE LOHR AND KATIE BENNER [An iPhone streamed a Facebook Live feed of the lobby at Trump Tower in November.]( An iPhone streamed a Facebook Live feed of the lobby at Trump Tower in November. Drew Angerer/Getty Images [WikiLeaks]( on Tuesday released a significant cache of documents that it said came from a high-security network inside the [Central Intelligence Agency](. [WikiLeaks called the documents Vault 7]( and they lay out the capabilities of the agency’s global covert hacking program. What is the C.I.A. program? By the end of 2016, the C.I.A. program had 5,000 registered users, including government employees and contractors. And they had produced more than a thousand hacking systems. The agency’s arsenal, the documents indicate, included an array of malware ranging from viruses to clandestine “zero day” vulnerabilities in the software of major companies. The files have circulated among former United States government hackers and contractors in “an unauthorized manner, one of whom provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive,” WikiLeaks said. WikiLeaks said it was publishing the documents while redacting and anonymizing some passages, including the names of “tens of thousands” of C.I.A. targets. WikiLeaks said it was not distributing “armed cyberweapons.” How vulnerable is my smartphone? The software targeted by the hacking program included the most popular smartphone operating systems: Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. [Read more »]( [The Morning Briefing. In Your Inbox.]( Sign up for the Morning Briefing. Get what you need to know to start your day, delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday. [• Sign up »]( [WikiLeaks Releases Trove of Alleged C.I.A. Hacking Documents]( By SCOTT SHANE, MATTHEW ROSENBERG AND ANDREW W. LEHREN The documents describe agency tools used to hack into smartphones and TVs, as well as to bypass encryption on programs like Signal and WhatsApp. [WikiLeaks Reignites Tensions Between Silicon Valley and Spy Agencies]( By VINDU GOEL AND NICK WINGFIELD Leaked documents appear to indicate that the C.I.A. was collecting cyberweapons that can break into smartphones and even internet-connected televisions. [North Korea Tensions Pose Early, and Perilous, Test for Trump]( By DAVID E. SANGER, CHOE SANG-HUN, CHRIS BUCKLEY AND MICHAEL R. GORDON The North’s provocations and Chinese anger over the deployment of a missile defense system in South Korea are creating a difficult balancing act for the new administration. [G.O.P. Health Bill Faces Revolt From Conservative Forces]( By JENNIFER STEINHAUER Before the bill has even reached House committees, conservative senators and groups have come out against the plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. [Obamacare Took Months to Craft; Repeal May Be Much Swifter]( By ROBERT PEAR In comparison with the pace of work on the Affordable Care Act in 2009, the timetable for the Republicans’ health care bill is lightning fast. Public Health [Why Even Some Republicans Are Rejecting the Replacement Bill]( By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ The bill seems unlikely to lower costs, does less to open up the market than conservatives had hoped and offers subsidies still seen as too generous. [Millions Risk Losing Health Insurance in Republican Plan, Analysts Say]( By ABBY GOODNOUGH AND REED ABELSON Americans in their 50s and 60s would be especially likely to find coverage unaffordable in a system providing tax credits of $2,000 to $4,000 per year based on age. [Republicans’ Changes to Medicaid Could Have Larger Impact Than Their Changes to Obamacare]( By HAEYOUN PARK Exploring the long-term impact on states. [Before Elections, Dutch Fear Russian Meddling, but Also U.S. Cash]( By DANNY HAKIM AND CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE American conservative activists are supporting Europe’s far-right figures like Geert Wilders, who are campaigning against the European Union. [Trump’s New Ban Leaves Few Spots for Refugees, Even the Hunted]( By FRANCES ROBLES AND KIRK SEMPLE A suspension of refugee admissions to the United States puts in doubt an Obama administration program meant to aid Central American children. [Trump Aides Address His Wiretap Claims: ‘That’s Above My Pay Grade’]( By GLENN THRUSH AND MAGGIE HABERMAN The president’s team has been uncharacteristically muted when pressed about Mr. Trump’s explosive and unproven accusations about President Barack Obama. Economic Scene [Trump Budget Proposal Reflects Working-Class Resentment of the Poor]( By EDUARDO PORTER By protecting Social Security and Medicare while going after anti-poverty programs, the plan suits a constituency that strongly backed the president. ADVERTISEMENT  [Trump Grants Oval Office Meeting to TMZ Founder]( By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM President Trump met for an hour with Harvey Levin, the tabloid emperor, in a session that was not listed on the president’s public schedule. [Democrats Seek Special Counsel to Investigate Russian Election Interference]( By CHARLIE SAVAGE AND ERIC LICHTBLAU Senator Dianne Feinstein said the move was necessary to shield the inquiry from the appearance of political interference by the Trump administration. [Fact-Check: Trump Is Wrong About Guantánamo Detainees]( By CHARLIE SAVAGE President Trump’s assertion that 122 former prisoners released during the Obama administration have returned to militant activity is false. [E.P.A. Head Stacks Agency With Climate Change Skeptics]( By CORAL DAVENPORT Scott Pruitt seems intent on building an E.P.A. leadership that is fundamentally at odds with the officials who carry out the agency’s missions. [A Lefty Legend Pleads for a Return to a New Deal Ethos]( By JONATHAN MARTIN At 90, Charles Peters, founding editor of Washington Monthly and author of a new book, wants “to grab people by the lapels and say, ‘We’ve got to change.’” [The Huge January Trade Deficit Shows Trump’s Hard Job Ahead]( By NEIL IRWIN What matters is not whether the deficit is rising or falling, but why. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [washington-newsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:washington-newsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback). 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