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WASHINGTON There is a new sheriff in charge of the United States of America who is more than willing to listen to law enforcement leaders about the issues they face in the communities that span far and wide across the country.

On Tuesday, one of those prominent voices at the nations capital was a man who has dedicated the last 30 years to protecting and serving the residents of North Carolinas North Star.

The invitation was part of a week-longtrip to the nations capital to attend the association's winter conference, where Page also met with fellow members of the NSA Immigration and Border Security Commission for a convened meeting.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page was one of nearly a dozen sheriffs from the executive committee of the National Sheriffs Association on Feb. 7 that joined President Donald Trump in the White House to discuss immigration, border security and the leadership direction of the executive branch of government.

Vice President Mike Pence was also in attendance.

An NSA spokesperson told the Huffington Post on Saturday that the group who spoke with Trump wasa combination of leadership chosen by the association and certain elected officers who were requested by the White House.

The meeting was the first of its kind between the National Sheriffs Association and a sitting president. Members of the meeting were also invited into the Oval Office following the roundtable talk with the president.

Page also presented Trump with a red hat in the president's office, with white lettering that read, Sheriffs for Trump.

We appreciate you being where you are at, said Page to President Trump during the open discussion that focused on several topics, including the opioid epidemic across the nation, border security and illegal immigration.

The first responsibility of government is to protect its people as we are elected by the people and you are elected by the people, we got that. When you said there is a new sheriff in town, we relate to that. You are about the rule of law we haven't seen that in many years and we appreciate that.

Page has been a vocal leader over the last six years in regards to advocating that the U.S. Government enforces existing federal law to protect national borders specifically to help eliminate illegal drug trade.

The Sheriff also shared with the President his appreciation for John F. Kelly, who was named the fifth United States Secretary of Homeland Security on Jan. 20.

He went to the border, Page said. He looked at the assets and he asked the law enforcement down there whats going on and what can we do to help fix this situation down here. Youve got a good team and youre putting together a good team and you have the support of sheriffs from across the country and we appreciate what you are doing.

Page, who was elected as sheriff of Rockingham County in 1998, also served as the President of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association during the 2010-11 term.

The former Eden Police officer planned to stay in Washington DC until Feb. 9.

The sheriff also has scheduled meetings with Rep. Mark Walker and Sen. Richard Burr during his visit to the capital.

Contact Joe Dexter at (336) 349-4311, ext. 6139and follow @DexterJoe_RCN on Twitter.

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Sheriff Page, NSA leaders, meet with President Trump at White House - Greensboro News & Record

Harold Thomas Martin III, 52, faces 20 counts of willful retention of national defense information.

The indictment alleges Martin removed classified documents from 1996 to 2016. He is accused of keeping documents in his home or car.

The documents include highly classified materials from the National Security Agency, the US Cyber Command, the CIA and the National Reconnaissance Office. Among the documents are ones that reveal US military gaps, capabilities and operations, as well as ones that contained foreign intelligence collection methods, targeting information and technical user materials.

Martin's attorney had no comment when contacted by CNN.

FBI investigators haven't concluded what Martin's motivation was for stealing the documents. At a hearing in late October a public defender representing Martin said his client was a hoarder who was "completely out of control."

Before his arrest in August, Martin worked as a contractor to the National Security Agency through consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, which fired him after he was charged. He has a long history working with sensitive government intelligence, and served in the US Navy and Naval Reserves for more than 10 years, reaching the rank of lieutenant.

The information he had digitally in his car, the feds said, was equivalent to approximately 50,000 gigabytes, enough to store 500 million documents containing images and text.

The government said Martin had a document "regarding specific operational plans against a known enemy of the United States and its allies." That document was not only classified but marked need-to-know only, and Martin should not have been privy to that information, prosecutors said in court filings.

Also found were files containing personal information of government employees, and an email chain with "highly sensitive information" on the back of which were handwritten notes "describing the NSA's classified computer infrastructure and detailed descriptions of classified technical operations."

Among the documents the FBI believes Martin stole were some detailing a hacking tool that the NSA developed to break into computer systems in other countries, law enforcement sources said when he was arrested. Documents detailing the tools were posted on the Internet in recent months, though no connection to Martin has been offered.

Martin's attorneys have argued previously in court that he is not a flight risk because he does not have his passport and has a wife and home in Maryland. They noted his military service.

Martin will make his next appearance in court on February 14.

CNN's Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

See more here:
Former NSA contractor indicted in stolen data case - CNN

John Schindler claims NSA fears Trump administration cannot be trusted with sensitive information. 'Since January 20, we've assumed that the Kremlin has ears inside the SITROOM,' he cites Pentagon official as saying.

The National Security Agency has been withholding information from the White House, fearing that President Donald Trump and his staff cannot be trusted not to leak sensitive information, a former NSA analyst claims.

In a column written by John R. Schindler for The Observer, the security expert and former professor at the U.S. Naval War College claims that the NSA has stopped its decades-old practice of preparing special reports for U.S. presidents since Trump took office.

Schindler added that the NSA's concerns were shared across the American intelligence community, and it appears that other agencies are withholding intelligence from the White House as well.

According to Schindler, the intelligence community's fears were prompted by the ties of senior members of the Trump administration to the Kremlin, as well as "nagging questions about basic competence regarding Team Trump."

"Since January 20, weve assumed that the Kremlin has ears inside the SITROOM," Schindler cites a senior Pentagon official as saying, meaning the White House Situation Room where the president is briefed on intelligence matters.

Schindler's claims echo a January report on Yedioth Ahronoth by Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman, which said that Israeli intelligence officials are concerned that the exposure of classified information to their American counterparts under a Trump administration could lead to their being leaked to Russia and onward to Iran.

According to Bergman, the American intelligence officials implied that Israel should be careful when transferring intelligence information to the White House and the National Security Council (NSC) following Trump's inauguration at least until it is clear that Trump does not have inappropriate connections with Russia.

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NSA Withholding Intelligence From 'Untrustworthy' Trump Administration, Former Analyst Claims - Haaretz

Will Edward Snowden Return To The US? NSA Leaker Not Afraid If Russia Hands Him Over To Washington

Edward Snowden tweeted Sundaythat he is not afraid of being handed over to the U.S. after a report stated that Russia is consideringsending the whistleblower to his home country as a gift to President Donald Trump. In his tweets, Snowden implied that these rumors are a result of his criticism of Russian governments new law that allows surveillance in a bid to counter terrorism in the country. Snowden has dubbed it the Big Brother law. On Friday, NBC News reported, citing two senior U.S. officials, Russia is mulling over the idea to send the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor to the U.S. to curry favor with Trump. The U.S. president, on his part,has been looking to establishbetter

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Will Edward Snowden Return To The US? NSA Leaker 'Not Afraid' If Russia Hands Him Over To Washington - Yahoo News

Foreign Policy (blog)

NSA Contractor Could Face 200 Years in Prison for Massive Breach Foreign Policy (blog) Prosecutors allege Harold T. Martin III stole a huge trove of classified documents, which he stored at his home in Maryland, while working as a contractor to the NSA and other intelligence agencies. While the full scope of Martin's collection of top ... Ex-NSA contractor stole secrets for nearly two decades, feds sayFox News Ex-NSA Contractor Accused Of Taking Classified Information Is IndictedNPR NSA contractor indicted for stealing more than 50TB of government ...The Verge Politico -PC Magazine -Wall Street Journal -Reuters all 94 news articles »

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NSA Contractor Could Face 200 Years in Prison for Massive Breach - Foreign Policy (blog)