Top NASA Official Jailed Under Suspicious Circumstances

a reply to: Navarro

Donald Lawson was NASA's Communication Security Administrator (COMSEC Admin) for the past thirty years. Since the Reagan Administration, Lawson has been the man in charge of controlling information coming out've NASA. Whatever the government deemed too sensitive for public dissemination, Lawson was tasked with overseeing the effort to keep those NASA secrets a secret. The policy of "Never A Straight Answer" was the brainchild of this man. In all history, never has someone fallen from so high in the space secrecy apparatus.

That's a very dramatic way of saying he was responsible for not letting NASA's payroll records get hacked. He probably also made sure that classified DoD documents were handled properly (unlike over at State *ahem*). As Security Dude he probably figured he was safe surfing the net at work. Not responsible for covering up the Pyramids of Mars, I'm afraid.

fas.org...

originally posted by: HawkeyeNation
What they do now is label and prosecute someone falsely with child porn. Pretty much once that happens you are no longer viable to the public.

Doesn't mean you can't be an excellent athletics coach.
Although he's sitting in jail, somewhere, I can still see his towering frame, his head looming near the ceiling,
like a balloon, over the sea of wet or drying heads
scanning his domain, the locker room, and also the stalls
during shower, and pausing on me, the frozen glint of glare on his lenses with our thoughts possibly in synch, wondering why oh why I didn't sign on for basketball, 4 years ago.

They were good. Almost insane. Next year, they took state.
I don't think anyone turned pro, though. Dunno.

I was glad to get out of there. My grad pic looked like a face that would never buy a clue, and that's what saved me. That, and the Beatles.
I must have been
the sole survivor of a rampant coke dusting that covered the few acres of waste dump the asbestos palace was built upon, which went on for years after the goldrush. Some say it continues, of course it does. Why wouldn't it? It's already in there, naturally, innit? But I want it, what's coming to me: the world, and I want it NOW!

Hang. Each. Night.
On Rapture.

But back to The Weather, so sorry.
This you can take to The Vatican:
They can do this. To just about anyone.

# 588

OK. I've looked into this as much as I easily can. It looks to me like the linkedin profile and this Donald Lawson are the same guy based on his claim to have worked for Big Brother. This is also claimed by the articles detailing the arrest.

But there is no evidence this guy controlled what NASA could say or not say to the public. There is no evidence that he had access to any great secrets. And there is no evidence that he was ever a "top NASA official." There is no evidence at all that he is responsible for the NASA "Never a straight answer" dictum. There is no evidence he was ever in a position of great responsibility.

All we have is what appears to be an inflated resume on Linkedin, and from that inflated resume OP concluded that this guy was a high-ranking public official. All these accolades of such a great job appear to be based on abject speculation and flights of fancy.

Much ado about nothing and not particularly noteworthy.

Disappointing.

a reply to: schuyler

Surely the head security guy would be a NASA employee in the GS super grades. I'm thinking there are two different guys here or at least some of this information is wrong. Someone working on "IT infrastructure" is not a top level official. This is grunt work. It's intelligent grunt work. I get that. It's not mopping floors, but it's still grunt work.

It's the same guy. At least everything else I can find on it shows and discusses the same man.

The lowly perv got away with this for years and his luck finally ran out this time around.

originally posted by: tsurfer2000h
a reply to: Navarro

Top NASA Official Jailed Under Suspicious Circumstances

You may want to fix that headline as it is very wrong...

Lawson, a contractor for NASA working on their IT infrastructure, was fired May 29 "for multiple agency violations" after 30 years of working in administration at the Kennedy Space Center, the documents said

www.nydailynews.com...

But way to get hits calling him a top NASA official, when he is far from that.

You could be right. When I identified Lawson as an official and described his apparent role and prominence, I did so based on a news article associating the man with a Linkedin page, which states in part:

Donald Lawson
Titusville, Florida

Manage(s) the NASA Central Office of Record for COMSEC Accounting at the working level. Oversee 19 NASA COMSEC Accounts, write COMSEC accounting procedures for the agency, conduct periodic audits at each COMSEC account, and provide general COMSEC support and guidance to all agency levels.

Experience
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
COMSEC Administrator
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
September 1985 – Present (30 years 7 months)
Linkedin

Based on everything we know about the man, this profile does seem legitimate. He assigns himself the title of "NASA COMSEC Administrator," which sounds very official. He goes on to say that he "manage(s) the NASA Central Office of Record for COMSEC Accounting," which suggests that he's NASA's top official when it comes to Communications Security. I do regret having speculated about his prominence and specific role within the agency. I think I was very caught up in the moment at that point. However, I don't regret identifying him as an official, because this information very much suggests that he is, or at least intended to generate that belief in the reader. People do enjoy playing themselves up on resumes and on the internet, but stating that you "manage" a place where you're just a lowly employee there is pretty audacious.

Since Lawson is suggesting that he's the Manager of NASA COMSEC, I decided to search that job title. I wasn't able to find very much at all. I didn't find anything linking him to the role, nor did I find anyone listed in that position, past or present. I did however find many references to the position. For example, this is claimed to be out of the NASA Security Handbook. It makes fourteen references to the NASA COMSEC Manager:

TEMPEST countermeasure(s) determination decisions and Red/Black separation criteria will be coordinated with the NASA COMSEC Manager.

...the NASA Installation TEMPEST Officer/TEMPEST Focal Point should always review a security and cost analysis and coordinate with the NASA COMSEC Manager.

...shall be addressed early in the facility design phase, and coordinated with the NASA COMSEC Manager prior to approval.

...the NASA COMSEC Manager and apprising Installation Directors, through appropriate Associate Administrators...

Ensuring the NASA COMSEC Manager's involvement and concurrence is obtained from the conceptual stage for all COMSEC systems.

Ensuring secure communications systems are approved by the NASA COMSEC Manager prior to commencing classified or unclassified, but sensitive, operation.

Coordinating with the NASA COMSEC Manager, prior to the release of any Requests for Proposals (RFP), Statements of Work (SOW), or other contract packages where COMSEC measures may be required.

Identifying and prioritizing COMSEC requirements to protect NASA telecommunications and providing such information to the NASA COMSEC Manager.

...the NASA COMSEC Manager, will collaborate with NSA and appropriate foreign governments or international military authorities ... Such actions shall be limited to COMSEC matters for each specific release authorized by national authorities.

Naming a COMSEC representative responsible for consulting with the NASA COMSEC Manager on COMSEC issues impacting on their respective Field Installation operation, and attending any COMSEC conferences or working groups prescribed by the NASA COMSEC Manager.

....coordinating with the NASA COMSEC Manager details concerning TEMPEST countermeasure(s) applications.

A single individual may be designated for these functions with the concurrence of the NASA COMSEC Manager.

Ensuring Field Installation COMSEC custodians coordinate the following with the NASA COMSEC Manager:

Staff assistance visits including an audit of each NASA COMSEC account will be conducted periodically. NASA contractor accounts established solely for the purpose of servicing NASA will continue to be audited by NSA.

Alleged NASA Security Handbook

If Lawson was indeed the NASA COMSEC Manager has he claimed on Linkedin, then he was about as official as it gets. I think it's clear that his role is COMSEC, and I think it's clear that he was saying that he's the NASA COMSEC Manager. What's unclear is whether or not he actually was, but given that I can't determine who holds that position now, nor can I find anyone ever associated with the position, makes the issue a non issue. He says that's who he was, and there's nothing to suggest otherwise. In that case, I think he was the NASA COMSEC Manager, and considering some of the roles outlined for him in the alleged handbook, it very much looks like the buck stopped with him. He was the guy that everyone was going to hat-in-hand for directions and permissions. He was the guy working with NSA. This is what the man's alleged profile suggests, and this alleged guidebook suggests.

The best evidence that I've found so far which might contradict this is a PDF file off of NASA's website of a newsletter titled "Space Port News." On page six, Donald E Lawson is one of five individuals listed as "Space Gateway Support."
Space Port News

I've investigated the other four names listed along-side him, and two of them are prominent figures at NASA. The other two I wasn't able to find information on. Lawson is listed in the middle, so there's no suggestion about of his prominence there. I'll provide an example of one of the two prominent figures, Larry D Davis:

• Chief, Operations Division, Mission Operations Directorate (1998-2005)
• Chief, Training Division, Mission Operations Directorate (2005-Current)

AWARDS & CITATIONS :
• Sustained Superior Performance Award, 1984
• NASA Exceptional Service Medal, 1984
• Certificate of Commendation, 1989
• Outstanding Performance Award, 1990
• Superior Accomplishment Award, 1991
Larry D Davis Biography

It could be that I haven't found much information about Lawson because NASA made an effort to purge references to him. It could be that the nature of his role at NASA tended to keep him out of the lime light. It could be that those two individuals I wasn't able to find information on either suffered similar circumstances. Or it could just be that I'm not searching hard enough

a reply to: Sublimecraft

Sounds like he was about to go public, probably with info that makes Gary McKinnons NASA hack look like childs play.

Well he did say what he had on his computers were a bit more than just child's play...so in that respect your right.

I imagine what he had on his computer was going to keep him from going public anytime soon. And by his own confessions it had nothing to do with NASA.

originally posted by: Navarro

Based on everything we know about the man, this profile does seem legitimate. He assigns himself the title of "NASA COMSEC Administrator," which sounds very official. He goes on to say that he "manage(s) the NASA Central Office of Record for COMSEC Accounting," which suggests that he's NASA's top official when it comes to Communications Security. I do regret having speculated about his prominence and specific role within the agency. I think I was very caught up in the moment at that point. However, I don't regret identifying him as an official, because this information very much suggests that he is, or at least intended to generate that belief in the reader. People do enjoy playing themselves up on resumes and on the internet, but stating that you "manage" a place where you're just a lowly employee there is pretty audacious.

Since Lawson is suggesting that he's the Manager of NASA COMSEC, I decided to search that job title. I wasn't able to find very much at all. I didn't find anything linking him to the role, nor did I find anyone listed in that position, past or present. I did however find many references to the position. For example, this is claimed to be out of the NASA Security Handbook. It makes fourteen references to the NASA COMSEC Manager:

Not a chance. This guy was a contractor. NASA has any number of people who must adhere to the COMSEC security measures, but that does not make them THE Comsec security manager. You are inflating the prominence of this guy's position beyond belief--not that he didn't help you along by inflating his own role in his Linkedin profile. People tend to do that in resumes. What you are claiming is like saying because he had to have a Top Secret Security Clearance he therefore was in charge of Top Secret Security.

You did not find his name connected to NASA because he never held a position with NASA. You're making a HUGE leap here when you jump from what this guy says he did to the idea that he managed ALL communications from NASA. he was a low-level contractor TO NASA who worked in the filed of IT infrastructure, which put him in contact with security issues that he was supposed to follow, as per COMSPEC. He may very well have been tasked with adhering to COMSPEC guidelines for his team, but there is no evidence whatsoever that he was involved in any high level information.

This is a very good example of seeing an unexplained light in the night sky and claiming it is aliens from space.

a reply to: Navarro

No matter what the circumstances are, or what comes of this, you have done some extremely good research on this topic. I really appreciate such effort on the part of ATS members!

Another interesting point here is that this man would appear to be very close to the data itself; rather than some high level NASA Muckety–muck from the government elite. Such a position would be similar to that of another gentleman we all know and love: Edward Snowden

-dex

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: tsurfer2000h
a reply to: Navarro

You may want to fix that headline as it is very wrong...

Lawson, a contractor for NASA working on their IT infrastructure, was fired May 29 "for multiple agency violations" after 30 years of working in administration at the Kennedy Space Center, the documents said

www.nydailynews.com...

But way to get hits calling him a top NASA official, when he is far from that.

THAT'S what I said above. This guy could not possibly be the "head on NASA's security since the Reagan administration." which is what OP is claiming. He's a contractor working for a Beltway Bandit. I used to be one of these guys (on Trident nukes.) We'd get government contracts to perform specific tasks, but we were NOT 'part of government.'

Surely the head security guy would be a NASA employee in the GS super grades. I'm thinking there are two different guys here or at least some of this information is wrong. Someone working on "IT infrastructure" is not a top level official. This is grunt work. It's intelligent grunt work. I get that. It's not mopping floors, but it's still grunt work.

I mean, look at this guy's house (in the link above.) Does that look like the house of a "top NASA official" to you? No way in hell.

I discussed this subject in detail in reply to to the post you're quoting, and I invite you to read that and to tell me what you think. I'd like to remark on the house matter though. There's many people who own properties that you wouldn't expect them to own. As a teenager I was shocked when I learned that my congressman lived a few blocks down from me. The area wasn't the best. It was in fact just beyond the edge of a slum. I believe my parents house was valued at about $80,000 at the time, and my congressman's house looked less impressive. I myself own a beat up 2001 Volkswagen Jetta that's broke down more often than it's running. It's a bucket. I bought it many years ago when it was the best I could afford. Today I could afford to buy a brand new car and pay for it with cash. Yet I don't.

Maybe it's an old house that he keeps as a memento, and he actually resides elsewhere. Maybe it's an investment property. Maybe he works so much that he's rarely home at any rate. Maybe he just doesn't care. Who know why he might own that house, or if the news even photographed the correct property. We can't always judge a man's success by the things he owns. Still, you could be right. The photograph isn't exactly suggestive of the lifestyle that we'd expect from a man of significance.

Here exactly what Comsec does and what the manager does.

What is Communications Security (COMSEC)?
Measures and controls taken to deny unauthorized persons information derived from telecommunications and to ensure the authenticity of such telecommunications. COMSEC includes cryptosecurity, transmission security, emission security, traffic-flow security. and physical security of COMSEC material.

The NASA Headquarters COMSEC program is responsible for providing safe, secure communication methods to Headquarters users in support of NASA programs. The most common secure device used at Headquarters is the Secure Terminal Equipment (STE). The STE is an encrypted telephone communications system for wired or landline communications.

The Headquarters COMSEC Account Managers oversee COMSEC-related activities within Headquarters to ensure compliance with National-level COMSEC security doctrine, and that COMSEC materials entrusted to Headquarters users are being properly safeguarded and controlled.

itcd.hq.nasa.gov...

SO essentially he oversees the people that keep the encrypted telephone communications systems going. SO nothing more than an IT department with a fancy name.

originally posted by: schuyler
Not a chance. This guy was a contractor. NASA has any number of people who must adhere to the COMSEC security measures, but that does not make them THE Comsec security manager. You are inflating the prominence of this guy's position beyond belief--not that he didn't help you along by inflating his own role in his Linkedin profile. People tend to do that in resumes. What you are claiming is like saying because he had to have a Top Secret Security Clearance he therefore was in charge of Top Secret Security.

You did not find his name connected to NASA because he never held a position with NASA. You're making a HUGE leap here when you jump from what this guy says he did to the idea that he managed ALL communications from NASA. he was a low-level contractor TO NASA who worked in the filed of IT infrastructure, which put him in contact with security issues that he was supposed to follow, as per COMSPEC. He may very well have been tasked with adhering to COMSPEC guidelines for his team, but there is no evidence whatsoever that he was involved in any high level information.

This is a very good example of seeing an unexplained light in the night sky and claiming it is aliens from space.

On the contrary, I view your response as an example of seeing a light in the sky and deciding to take the very "cool" position of being the first to state that it's not aliens from space, despite that your statement is unfounded. My post went into great detail which I think favored the potential for Lawson being prominent within NASA. You, however, ignored those points and cut them out've the quote, which is a classic debunking tactic.

Furthermore, you're making claims that aren't reasonable. The man specifically states that he manages NASA COMSEC. It's logical to conclude that he's suggesting that he's the NASA COMSEC manager. I wasn't able to find any evidence to contradict him, but I was able to find many references to the position, which impress upon the reader that the holder of that title isn't a nobody.

If you wish to conclude that Lawson is a nobody, then so be it. It's possible that he wasn't a "top official," but that's not guaranteed. Who he was and what his prominence and responsibilities were are still very much in question. I won't state that he isn't something when I don't know that to be true, and I certainly won't state that he had no access to information of significance when even the mostly lowly COMSEC technician could potentially gain such information. Downplay him as the janitor if you like, but I'm more interested in determining the truth rather than settling for speculation.

originally posted by: tsurfer2000h
Here exactly what Comsec does and what the manager does.

What is Communications Security (COMSEC)?
Measures and controls taken to deny unauthorized persons information derived from telecommunications and to ensure the authenticity of such telecommunications. COMSEC includes cryptosecurity, transmission security, emission security, traffic-flow security. and physical security of COMSEC material.

The NASA Headquarters COMSEC program is responsible for providing safe, secure communication methods to Headquarters users in support of NASA programs. The most common secure device used at Headquarters is the Secure Terminal Equipment (STE). The STE is an encrypted telephone communications system for wired or landline communications.

The Headquarters COMSEC Account Managers oversee COMSEC-related activities within Headquarters to ensure compliance with National-level COMSEC security doctrine, and that COMSEC materials entrusted to Headquarters users are being properly safeguarded and controlled.

itcd.hq.nasa.gov...

SO essentially he oversees the people that keep the encrypted telephone communications systems going. SO nothing more than an IT department with a fancy name.

I wouldn't describe it as "nothing more than an IT department with a fancy name," but your point is well taken. It's certainly turning out to appear as though Lawson wasn't the significant figure that he initially seemed to me to be. Just the same, I'm beginning to wonder if we're getting too caught up in a title. When you hear of "White House Insiders" and "White House Whistleblowers," it's not likely that the source is Barack Obama himself, nor is it necessarily anyone very important. The news articles may be entirely truthful, and they increasingly appear to be so. Still, I don't think it would be terribly shocking to anyone if he had acquired information which they didn't want him to have. Nor would it be an incredible leap to suggest that he planned to disseminate it.

I think it's clear at this point that he did have access to sensitive information, even if that information wasn't meant for him. It appears unlikely that his mind is filled with knowledge of great significance, yet at the same time thirty years is a long time. He could've intercepted a great deal. After all, one of my favorite whistle blowers was an airman who came into a facility to repair a component, and says he saw pictures taken by NASA of alien structures on the moon. I've always found his testimony more believable than most, and received confirmation from someone else there.

Anyone can learn something that they shouldn't. The primary question is, did Lawson?

a reply to: Navarro

Quite interesting! Hadn't heard anything of this before, and when I first read the OP, I thought it most likely he was legitimately a child porn scumbag, but it flushed out for me pretty quickly as I continued to read through the first page that there's more to it. Impressive OP & thread. I'll be reading on further.

a reply to: tsurfer2000h

Good catch -- but he might have had sysadmin rights on the NASA networks ... and he could have gotten into networked drives containing stuff that would be very....interesting to us here on ATS

Just because you don't work with the stuff directly doesn't mean your security access on-network prevents you from seeing it

originally posted by: schuyler

But there is no evidence this guy controlled what NASA could say or not say to the public. There is no evidence that he had access to any great secrets. And there is no evidence that he was ever a "top NASA official." There is no evidence at all that he is responsible for the NASA "Never a straight answer" dictum. There is no evidence he was ever in a position of great responsibility.

Okay, but isn't that the way disenfranchising is supposed to work. In the video at the link intrptr gave it says he was arrested for the porn thing, there's not much mention of anything else, elsewhere it seems that the porn was discovered during FBI searches of his computer/s....for what?
One NASA OIG accounting year I have read, 2012 I think, they already had a few porn users...if not including Lawson, they had extreme hacking episodes. They also had contracting fraud, and a guy locked up for spying, (as he thought it seems) for the Israelis. Now, around the same timescale they also had the 16, some who were high profile...as reported, who were caught buying child porn pictures online, as in the video I posted..names not revealed therefore it's not known if Lawson was in that group either.
So, Lawson it seems was in charge of IT safety, working for a NASA contractor, and in the timescale there was a lot crookedness going on, so there is an aura of a mystery about all this, and even the OIG admits to billions of dollars of fraud in the Federal government every year.
IMO Lawson could well be implicated in something other than child porn, or that the NASA child porn scandal is being covered up as NASA closes ranks. Certainly, the 16, or the 10 out of that number that were/are being prosecuted, (that's not so clear either) will not be named, or..at the end of the day Lawson is simply a patsy.
The thing is, this fecking child porn thing will just not go away, and each and every time there are revelations and accusations it involves high office of some sort. So, okay just ignore it.

a reply to: Natenato

Yep, if enough evidence is planted, someone will inevitably discover it!

originally posted by: Navarro
Donald Lawson was NASA's Communication Security Administrator (COMSEC Admin) for the past thirty years.

Wow - that a TS/SI/TK/Gamma clearance (bare minimum). Wonder who was blackmailing him and what he gave for their silence.

I know NASA put up at least two birds (under this guy's watch) at a level below the highlighted portion of the clearance above. I'd love to see what they're taking pictures of. Hint: they're better than the Hubble and they point our way. Not sure if they're set-up for stereo. Bet somebody here knows.

Well colour me intrigued.

From link


So for a timeline:
May 29 fired for security violations
? ? ? federal agents get a search warrant to look for NASA related material
June 2 admitted to psychiatric facility
June ? ? single image claimed to be found on drive
June ? ? at facility, gain his passwords
June ? ? find further videos


So it seems they did an unrelated search and either found compromising material, or they fabricated it, because what was on there was sensitive.
I find it somewhat hard to believe that a government technology-based agency wouldnt monitor their contractors and know this about him. Perhaps they did yet did not care, or perhaps it is fabricated. You should try emailing the authors of the article, they listed their addresses.

a reply to: Navarro


I found the following article describing a NASA employee Donald E. Lawson (age 70) arrested for secretly recording naked boys.

NASA contractor secretly recorded naked boys in bathroom, hotel

Assuming this is the same guy, they seemed to downplay his role at the agency. He was described as "a contractor for NASA working on their IT infrastructure."

The article quotes a sheriff who said, "Lawson was committed to the Wuesthoff Medical Center in Rockledge "because he was deemed a threat to himself,"".

Other articles written days later say he was in Seminole County Jail.

Former NASA worker remains in jail on child porn charges

The story does have a bad odor. It doesn't pass the smell test for me. I'd love to hear what Donald has to say.

a reply to: Navarro

Top NASA Official Jailed Under Suspicious Circumstance

Certainly does look sus.

The reason they add child porn to charges is that achieves two things.

One, it makes the masses think' "well he deserves to be put away anyway" and the other reason is that such allegations tends to kill off any support group that might crop up.

Its not uncommon for whistle blowers, for example, to have a small group of long term supporters who regularly visit them in goal and keep them company and become their public advocate.

By using child porn accusations, such people have no supporters and those few who do usually drop off after a couple of years leaving them completely isolated and silenced which impacts on their mental and physical health which leads to early death which is what the evil doers want.

I suspect this practice is at the moment, confined to those who are the greatest threat to the system in terms of revelations. We should however keep tabs on the number of people this cruel trick for which there is no defense, is played on.