WEBVTT 00:01.555 --> 00:03.836 - Hi, everybody, thanks for coming, like you said, on short notice. 00:05.873 --> 00:09.591 We began our work inside of the task force 00:09.591 --> 00:13.450 and quickly realized that we were gathering a lot of 00:13.450 --> 00:17.388 information and making a lot of progress 00:17.388 --> 00:22.241 and after, frankly, reading a lot of what you all have been getting, decided 00:22.241 --> 00:26.882 it was a week ago when the commandant stepped to the podium downstairs and 00:26.882 --> 00:31.928 kind of talked directly to the situation and his concerns as it related to it. 00:31.928 --> 00:38.147 And with everything that's transpired in seven days, interrupted by a storm, 00:38.147 --> 00:41.796 we decided that it's probably useful for you to have kind of a 00:44.175 --> 00:46.125 check on where we are right now. 00:46.125 --> 00:48.782 So thanks for coming on short notice 00:48.782 --> 00:52.824 and thank you for the opportunity to talk to you before the weekend. 00:52.824 --> 00:54.195 I've got a couple of prepared remarks 00:54.195 --> 00:57.285 and then I'll turn it over to Curtis Evans here 00:57.285 --> 00:58.843 and then we'll take your questions. 00:58.843 --> 01:03.353 The commandant has stated previously that Marines, by and large, possess and act 01:03.353 --> 01:06.405 in accordance with the values of honor, courage, and commitment. 01:06.405 --> 01:11.561 But he's also made it clear we have to do a better job looking out for each other. 01:11.561 --> 01:14.708 The misogynistic behavior demonstrated on 01:14.708 --> 01:19.774 for example the Marines United Facebook does not reflect the U.S. Marine Corps' values 01:19.774 --> 01:22.825 and we don't condone behavior that degrades or demeans any person, 01:22.825 --> 01:25.170 in particular another Marine. 01:25.170 --> 01:27.811 Since our first notification about this issue, 01:27.811 --> 01:29.843 we've made steady strides towards addressing it 01:29.843 --> 01:32.462 in terms of our immediate actions to support victims, 01:32.462 --> 01:35.818 taking actions to address gaps in policy, 01:35.818 --> 01:39.089 identify gaps, and begin to address gaps in policy, 01:39.089 --> 01:42.594 encouraging victims to come forward and begin to work through how this issue 01:42.594 --> 01:45.754 will be addressed in the mid to long term. 01:45.754 --> 01:50.422 To that end, the commandant mentioned last week that he established a task force 01:50.422 --> 01:53.285 which received initial guidance just this past Friday. 01:53.285 --> 01:57.368 The folks you saw walking out of this room a moment ago are part of that task force. 01:57.368 --> 02:00.060 This is our first major update to the assistant commandant, 02:00.060 --> 02:02.296 who's leading the task force. 02:02.296 --> 02:05.070 And I'm sure you're going to have a bunch of questions about it. 02:05.070 --> 02:09.594 One that's already come up multiple times and really is what compelled us to have this 02:09.594 --> 02:11.811 meeting is, is it diverse? 02:11.811 --> 02:14.750 I'll say it is diverse. 02:14.750 --> 02:19.508 While we continue to bring on new members each day as we find new areas to explore, 02:19.508 --> 02:23.557 we obviously recognize the need for diversity, 02:23.557 --> 02:26.757 in particular the input of female Marines. 02:26.757 --> 02:31.983 Clark mentioned a moment ago that I'm heading up the Current Operations aspect of that team. 02:34.991 --> 02:38.365 And initially we didn't set out with a goal but I'll just tell you that we have over 02:38.365 --> 02:42.439 40% of the team, my team specifically, 02:42.439 --> 02:44.764 over 40% of that team is representative females 02:44.764 --> 02:48.288 at the moment from the rank of sergeant through lieutenant colonel. 02:48.288 --> 02:51.620 So we're covering everything in between. 02:51.620 --> 02:57.535 And overall, the entire task force, which is in excess of 30 folks right now, 02:57.535 --> 03:00.204 is about the same composition. 03:00.204 --> 03:02.716 I'll talk to you about the one I'm most familiar with, 03:02.716 --> 03:06.096 the current ops aspect of it. 03:06.096 --> 03:10.093 The questions we're asking ourselves from a current operational perspective is, 03:10.093 --> 03:12.626 what types of things can we do? 03:12.626 --> 03:14.836 Like right now, what can we do 03:14.836 --> 03:18.171 to facilitate reporting? 03:18.171 --> 03:23.240 What can we do to assist folks who have been subjected to this type of behavior? 03:23.240 --> 03:27.262 What can we do as alleged perpetrators are identified? 03:27.262 --> 03:28.295 You can go down a list. 03:28.295 --> 03:31.237 We can continue the conversation, it's what can we do. 03:32.430 --> 03:33.754 There's what should we do? 03:33.754 --> 03:37.562 What should come...What are the next steps, the things that we should do? 03:37.562 --> 03:39.771 A lot of the questions that you've been asking folks 03:39.771 --> 03:42.694 throughout the week, and we're exploring some of those questions. 03:42.694 --> 03:45.006 And then finally, what could we do? 03:46.230 --> 03:51.380 If there were policies or resources available, 03:51.380 --> 03:53.427 what could we do? 03:53.427 --> 03:55.457 And I'll be very honest with you, that's very nascent. 03:55.457 --> 03:59.010 We don't quite know that yet, we're more focused in the near term. 03:59.010 --> 04:01.933 But our goal is to ensure that Marines are equipped 04:01.933 --> 04:04.386 to identify, seek, and take the appropriate action 04:04.386 --> 04:06.719 against intolerant behavior online 04:06.719 --> 04:10.092 so that all Marines, but in this case in particular female Marines, 04:10.092 --> 04:13.058 will know that they're a respected and valued member of the team. 04:14.869 --> 04:17.234 Now since our meeting with Thomas Brenner, 04:17.234 --> 04:20.885 who did much of the work behind the scenes, 04:20.885 --> 04:23.577 our first meeting with him was on the 21st of February. 04:24.958 --> 04:27.223 Since then, we have made 04:27.223 --> 04:31.022 pretty good progress, I would assess, in notifying our resource providers 04:31.022 --> 04:36.199 of the issue and ensuring that the resources that are currently in place 04:36.199 --> 04:39.731 to support other things, 04:39.731 --> 04:42.773 so sexual assaults or equal opportunity complaints 04:42.773 --> 04:45.669 or sexual harassment, things that we already recognize, 04:45.669 --> 04:48.575 that those support mechanisms are in place 04:48.575 --> 04:53.411 and supporting folks that have been subjected to this kind of behavior. 04:54.414 --> 04:57.729 Secondarily, we've provided guidance to leadership across the Marine Corps. 04:57.729 --> 05:00.939 The commandant mentioned last week his white letter that he was preparing. 05:00.939 --> 05:02.596 That's been published. 05:02.596 --> 05:04.814 This week, and many of you reported on it, 05:04.814 --> 05:07.509 we released an All Marine message 05:07.509 --> 05:09.554 that updates our social media guidance 05:09.554 --> 05:13.129 to make it crystal clear. In the coming days, 05:13.129 --> 05:15.949 it's going to be news to the entire Marine Corps 05:15.949 --> 05:20.327 that they'll all be required to sign, on a formal basis, 05:20.327 --> 05:23.290 that they have read and understand that guidance 05:23.290 --> 05:25.664 on the usage of social media. 05:25.664 --> 05:29.739 And then finally, of course, we've established a task force that has the authority... 05:29.739 --> 05:31.290 And why the task force? 05:31.290 --> 05:33.212 What's important about the task force? 05:33.212 --> 05:35.375 Many of you are up here in the building 05:35.375 --> 05:40.431 and you understand the bureaucracy that comes with a headquarters staff of this level. 05:40.431 --> 05:43.533 Our task, specifically, is to bypass that 05:43.533 --> 05:48.464 traditional bureaucracy, those processes, to expedite action, 05:48.464 --> 05:51.646 to answer, again in my case the one I'm most familiar with... 05:51.646 --> 05:56.554 The future ops group is just looking a little deeper at the cultural underpinnings 05:56.554 --> 06:01.066 of what has to change in order to affect that culture. 06:01.066 --> 06:05.978 But the immediate actions to support victims and create mechanisms to hold people accountable. 06:05.978 --> 06:09.874 Okay, so currently we're refining our reporting mechanisms for both 06:09.874 --> 06:13.125 victims and those who have information relating to online misconduct. 06:13.125 --> 06:16.026 And I'll let you talk about one of them, for example, 06:16.026 --> 06:18.304 and what it's meant to us this week alone. 06:18.304 --> 06:22.112 We're planning focus groups here in the not too distant future 06:22.112 --> 06:25.697 across the force to better understand the root of the issue. 06:25.697 --> 06:29.301 How do folks out there that aren't here in the National Capital Region 06:29.301 --> 06:31.674 understand and appreciate this issue? 06:31.674 --> 06:36.288 How does it affect them directly, both the behavior as well as the resources 06:36.288 --> 06:38.246 that are available to address it? 06:39.410 --> 06:40.906 And 06:40.906 --> 06:43.615 we're developing what we're calling right now 06:43.615 --> 06:45.862 my group's calling it "the commander's toolkit", 06:45.862 --> 06:52.089 that walks a situation from the moment you become aware of it 06:52.089 --> 06:54.358 all the way through to 06:54.358 --> 06:57.060 the potential outcomes, administrative, 06:57.060 --> 06:59.297 judicial or otherwise. 06:59.297 --> 07:03.286 And runs the entire gamut in kind of a flowchart-like way. 07:03.286 --> 07:05.422 We're getting that worked out so we can get it out 07:05.422 --> 07:08.369 to commanders and leaders in the field 07:08.369 --> 07:09.996 so they know what's going on. 07:09.996 --> 07:13.639 So I'm going to look to my NCIS friends here, 07:13.639 --> 07:15.884 and I want to thank them right up front. 07:15.884 --> 07:19.470 It's been a journey of immense collaboration since we started this task force. 07:22.163 --> 07:24.099 They've invested an incredible amount of effort 07:24.099 --> 07:25.528 and made quite a bit of progress. 07:25.528 --> 07:28.177 And, Curtis, I'll turn it over to you and you can talk a little bit about that. 07:28.177 --> 07:29.689 - Thank you, sir, I appreciate it. 07:29.689 --> 07:33.940 My name is Curtis Evans and I'm a division chief, actually a supervisory special agent 07:33.940 --> 07:35.825 with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. 07:35.825 --> 07:38.744 This is an extremely important matter to the United States Marine Corps. 07:38.744 --> 07:42.867 So therefore it is an extremely important matter for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. 07:44.111 --> 07:47.484 We have allocated a significant amount of 07:47.484 --> 07:50.095 resources to do this investigation. 07:50.095 --> 07:54.553 With the information that we have received from the Marine Corps and external sources, 07:54.553 --> 07:56.893 we have launched an aggressive investigation. 07:56.893 --> 08:01.059 We have requested tips at the initial onset of the investigation. 08:01.059 --> 08:04.054 We have received some really, really great tips through the NCIS tip line. 08:04.054 --> 08:07.953 With these tips we have expanded the investigation 08:07.953 --> 08:12.932 outside of the original Marines United site, 08:12.932 --> 08:15.639 which, to dispel any theories, 08:15.639 --> 08:19.446 the Marines United site is not open for business anymore, it's a down site at this point. 08:20.559 --> 08:22.844 With that, we have invited our 08:22.844 --> 08:25.709 other partners to assist us in this investigation. 08:25.709 --> 08:28.941 So at this point it is NCIS, 08:28.941 --> 08:31.872 it is the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 08:31.872 --> 08:35.501 it is the Army Criminal Investigations Division, 08:35.501 --> 08:38.137 it is the Coast Guard Investigative Service, 08:38.137 --> 08:42.479 and of course we work hand in hand with our Marine Corps CID every day. 08:42.479 --> 08:48.968 So we have formed a military criminal organization task force to address this matter. 08:48.968 --> 08:51.960 So this task force is housed at the 08:51.960 --> 08:55.017 NCIS headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. 08:55.017 --> 08:57.775 We're all in one room, sharing information, 08:57.775 --> 09:01.272 collaborating the intelligence we are getting in 09:01.272 --> 09:03.952 and going after the criminal violations. 09:03.952 --> 09:08.295 We are ID'ing the criminal violations and we're aggressively investigating those. 09:08.295 --> 09:11.857 Information that does not meet a criminal violation threshold 09:11.857 --> 09:15.281 is still captured and turned over to the Marine Corps to take appropriate 09:15.281 --> 09:19.629 administrative measures. 09:20.932 --> 09:27.146 We are in search of additional tips of criminal intelligence. 09:27.146 --> 09:30.668 We are simply looking for individuals that 09:30.668 --> 09:35.482 had explicit photos taken without their consent and posted online. 09:35.482 --> 09:38.124 If anybody has direct knowledge of this information, 09:38.124 --> 09:40.933 if they would please report that to the NCIS tip line. 09:40.933 --> 09:43.651 It is an anonymous tip line but we can still 09:43.651 --> 09:47.835 communicate with the tipster without revealing their identity to get additional information 09:47.835 --> 09:50.904 to help us further our investigation. 09:52.366 --> 09:55.346 There has been some information put out about 09:55.346 --> 10:01.421 the Marines United and the amount of active duty personnel that have been investigated by NCIS. 10:01.421 --> 10:04.101 We had received information from a source 10:04.101 --> 10:09.067 of approximately a little over 1200 screennames of a site. 10:09.067 --> 10:12.269 That does not imply any criminal allegation 10:12.269 --> 10:14.521 with those individuals. 10:14.521 --> 10:17.413 The limited amount of individuals that are involved 10:17.413 --> 10:20.613 in criminal activities, we have opened up criminal investigations on. 10:20.613 --> 10:24.574 But once again, I want to express that does not meant that there are 10:24.574 --> 10:28.521 all these individuals are involved in criminal activity. 10:32.144 --> 10:34.060 I'm open to questions. 10:34.060 --> 10:36.189 - So, go ahead Clark. 10:36.189 --> 10:37.816 We'll make our way down and if we play by the rules 10:37.816 --> 10:39.171 we'll make it all the way around and we'll come back- 10:39.171 --> 10:42.980 - [Clark] So I'm just looking if you could give us some more specific numbers. 10:42.980 --> 10:47.211 The 1200 are Marines who have screennames who were 10:47.211 --> 10:52.382 participating in the Marines United site, is that accurate? 10:52.382 --> 10:54.056 - From the information we have. 10:54.056 --> 10:56.798 Of course we could not actually go to Marines United because it's a down site. 10:56.798 --> 10:58.880 But from the screenshots that we received 10:58.880 --> 11:01.110 there were 1200 names. 11:01.110 --> 11:04.244 And some were Marines we have identified, some were Marine reservists, 11:04.244 --> 11:09.610 some were Navy, and a lot were not identified, we couldn't figure out who they were. 11:11.075 --> 11:13.847 So yes, we do have this information but these screenshots 11:13.847 --> 11:17.095 did not allege criminal activity with these individuals. 11:17.095 --> 11:20.964 - [Clark] Right, I understand that, but is it 1200 total military 11:20.964 --> 11:23.091 or 1200 total and only a portion... 11:23.091 --> 11:27.695 Can you break out that 1200 and then break out the actual criminal investigation portion? 11:27.695 --> 11:31.867 What numbers are you at and what number as far as tips are you at? 11:31.867 --> 11:34.408 Could you give us an update on those numbers? 11:34.408 --> 11:35.825 - Yes, (inaudible). 11:35.825 --> 11:37.550 The numbers are kind of similar. 11:37.550 --> 11:40.100 We received about 1200 names. 11:40.100 --> 11:42.697 And these are screennames. 11:42.697 --> 11:44.582 We have to verify who these individuals are. 11:44.582 --> 11:47.930 I mean, any of us right now can make a Facebook site for anybody in this room. 11:47.930 --> 11:50.525 So based on the data we got and the profile name, 11:50.525 --> 11:53.541 we do database checks and that's how we got to this information. 11:53.541 --> 11:56.967 So they have not been verified that yes, they are in fact the individual. 11:56.967 --> 11:59.487 But about 725 are active duty, 11:59.487 --> 12:01.981 150 are Marine reservists, 12:01.981 --> 12:04.675 15 active duty Navy members, 12:04.675 --> 12:09.948 and about 310 non-military individuals that received our initial look. 12:09.948 --> 12:11.966 These are not verified individuals. 12:11.966 --> 12:15.889 So from that, there is a limited amount of criminal intelligence there 12:15.889 --> 12:18.245 to be launched criminal investigations on. 12:18.245 --> 12:22.209 We've expanded our scope of the investigation 12:22.209 --> 12:26.549 outside of Marines United based on the tips that we received through the NCIS tip line. 12:28.723 --> 12:31.583 - [Man] How many have you got? - Investigations, we have numerous. 12:31.583 --> 12:33.926 I don't really want to go into how many we have open at this time. 12:33.926 --> 12:36.222 - [Man] Tips, how many tips? - Oh, tips, we've received hundreds of tips at this point. 12:36.222 --> 12:39.790 - [Clark] But we were told less than 10 last week. 12:39.790 --> 12:42.332 Can you update us on- - Less than 10 tips? 12:42.332 --> 12:45.882 - [Clark] No, less than 10 investigations and victims. 12:45.882 --> 12:48.682 - Okay, the exact amount of victims I do not know. 12:48.682 --> 12:51.425 We are opening investigations each day as we get criminal intelligence. 12:51.425 --> 12:53.094 - [Clark] Can you give us a sense of it? 12:53.094 --> 12:55.575 Dozens, a handful? 12:55.575 --> 12:57.638 Just give us a broad number. 12:59.871 --> 13:03.320 - I mean, we're upwards for probably, for victims, at this point 20. 13:03.320 --> 13:12.216 - [Clark] And would that equal upwards of 20 investigations, or is that not- 13:12.216 --> 13:14.768 - Some of our investigations do contain more than one victim. 13:16.622 --> 13:19.112 - [Woman] Just to follow up on that. 13:19.112 --> 13:22.265 Each investigation deals with a specific person? 13:22.265 --> 13:25.101 (inaudible) 13:25.101 --> 13:29.078 - No, ma'am, we have expanded it based on the criminal intelligence that has come in 13:29.078 --> 13:31.838 to other groups outside of Facebook groups too. 13:34.626 --> 13:36.601 - I want to make sure everybody here understands, 13:36.601 --> 13:39.679 back to Marines United and these Facebook groups. 13:39.679 --> 13:43.110 Many of you are digital natives, right? 13:43.110 --> 13:44.703 I'm a digital immigrant. 13:44.703 --> 13:47.944 But if you're a digital native, you implicitly get this. 13:47.944 --> 13:51.131 But for example, Marines United is a closed Facebook page. 13:51.131 --> 13:55.401 So to the questions that were posed to us earlier on how do you not know about this, 13:55.401 --> 13:58.840 you can go out there tonight, well you can't now, 13:58.840 --> 14:02.938 but in the past you could go look for any closed Facebook page 14:02.938 --> 14:04.762 or any closed social media page 14:04.762 --> 14:09.084 and you might get to the front page of it, only to learn that it's closed. 14:09.084 --> 14:11.452 But in terms of what goes on behind that door, 14:11.452 --> 14:15.206 you're not going to get that unless or until 14:15.206 --> 14:17.442 you get into that group. 14:17.442 --> 14:20.429 And so you've travelled down this path enough yourselves already 14:20.429 --> 14:23.754 in terms of what can you say in a group like that 14:23.754 --> 14:26.615 that's allegedly a private group until somebody 14:26.615 --> 14:29.244 gets into that group. 14:29.244 --> 14:35.809 And so that's part of the challenge that we face with Marines United 14:35.809 --> 14:39.843 and any other closed or restricted access page. 14:39.843 --> 14:42.499 It's not unique to us in this case. 14:42.499 --> 14:44.302 We're all dealing with the same problems. 14:44.302 --> 14:47.099 But I want to make sure we're all clear on how that goes. 14:47.099 --> 14:51.954 - [Woman] So there's the Marines United Facebook page and then there's this Google Drive 14:51.954 --> 14:56.177 that a subset of Marines United members circulated. 14:56.177 --> 14:59.543 Has NCIS actually accessed the drive itself? 14:59.543 --> 15:02.565 - We have not, the access to that drive has been taken down. 15:02.565 --> 15:05.977 We are seeking input from people with direct knowledge 15:05.977 --> 15:08.057 that maybe their pictures are on that drive 15:08.057 --> 15:10.722 to assist us in getting into that drive. 15:12.442 --> 15:13.861 - [Woman] And then... 15:15.216 --> 15:16.833 I don't know. 15:17.804 --> 15:18.841 - Let me take somebody from the phone. 15:18.841 --> 15:20.738 Does anybody on the phone have a question? 15:20.738 --> 15:24.317 - [Man on Phone] Michael Gordon, I have a quick question. 15:24.317 --> 15:29.694 Has the investigation expanded into gay porn sites? 15:32.435 --> 15:36.250 - No, we have not got any allegations at this point 15:36.250 --> 15:38.397 of gay porn sites. 15:38.397 --> 15:41.596 - [Man on Phone] David Marks here. 15:41.596 --> 15:48.183 I just couldn't hear, you gave a number, you said upwards of some number of criminal investigations begun. 15:48.183 --> 15:49.650 What was that number? 15:49.650 --> 15:52.854 - It was number of victims identified and it was upwards of 20. 15:52.854 --> 15:55.689 - [Marks] Upwards of 20 victims, okay. - Yes, sir. 15:55.689 --> 15:58.854 - [Gordon] Upwards means more than 20? 15:58.854 --> 16:00.538 - I don't have the exact number. 16:00.538 --> 16:04.183 My task force is working as we speak, so I don't want to misquote what my task force is doing. 16:07.663 --> 16:08.579 (inaudible) 16:10.239 --> 16:13.046 - [Man] Yeah, I'm wondering...Two part question. 16:13.046 --> 16:19.524 First, do you expect that number of 20 victims to increase as you continue your investigation? 16:19.524 --> 16:26.862 And secondly, the 1200 names, I understand there were about 30,000 members. 16:26.862 --> 16:30.411 Why are you looking at that 1200 subset? 16:32.097 --> 16:36.392 - As we...The original part is yes, we do expect the victims to increase as we get more tips in 16:36.392 --> 16:38.972 and we are investigating those allegations. 16:38.972 --> 16:40.984 The second part, as we already said, 16:40.984 --> 16:44.273 when we got notified, the Marines United site was down, 16:44.273 --> 16:47.019 so I could not go into the site or get invited in there or anything else 16:47.019 --> 16:49.798 to be able to see how many actual members are in there. 16:49.798 --> 16:55.427 The information that has been provided to us by screenshots of the old Marines United 16:55.427 --> 16:58.898 was primarily screenshots of usernames. 16:58.898 --> 17:01.808 So on the page it just has different usernames. 17:01.808 --> 17:03.431 Page by page by page of usernames. 17:03.431 --> 17:06.099 So that is the intelligence that we have, 17:06.099 --> 17:07.589 that is the criminal intelligence turned over to us 17:07.589 --> 17:10.005 of these 1253 names. 17:10.005 --> 17:13.564 I cannot speak to the 30,000 because we do not have access 17:13.564 --> 17:16.152 to this particular site at this point. 17:16.152 --> 17:19.643 - I think some of the... 17:19.643 --> 17:21.890 Some of the 17:21.890 --> 17:24.427 confusion or speculation about the numbers is 17:24.427 --> 17:26.773 none of us are on the inside of Marines United. 17:26.773 --> 17:28.429 Thomas Brennan was. 17:30.056 --> 17:32.318 What he's provided, in terms of support to this to 17:32.318 --> 17:34.938 where we are able to investigate, 17:34.938 --> 17:38.972 we have no choice but to go with the numbers that he provided in the beginning. 17:40.704 --> 17:43.245 And now, to what was provided to NCIS, 17:43.245 --> 17:45.783 subsequent to the release of his story, 17:45.783 --> 17:48.008 is what 17:49.078 --> 17:51.962 Curtis Evans is telling you right now. 17:51.962 --> 17:53.756 This is what we have to work with. 17:53.756 --> 17:57.600 We don't have 30,000 people to work with, we have around 1200 to work with. 17:57.600 --> 18:01.527 Within those 1200, the vast majority of them did not participate. 18:01.527 --> 18:06.152 From what we can tell now, until we get other leads to take us down a different path, 18:06.152 --> 18:10.474 but those folks who we talk about have not participated in illegal or 18:12.046 --> 18:15.666 conduct that would be prejudicial to good order and discipline. 18:17.425 --> 18:19.666 And the story alleges otherwise. 18:19.666 --> 18:25.819 What we have to work with, and this is really the point I want to send to you right now, 18:25.819 --> 18:27.591 this is what we're working with. 18:27.591 --> 18:29.970 It doesn't mean we don't recognize it as a big problem. 18:29.970 --> 18:31.527 It doesn't mean we're not doing things about it. 18:31.527 --> 18:34.208 But to the interest in the numbers and what's going on, 18:34.208 --> 18:36.387 this is exactly where we are right now. 18:36.387 --> 18:38.764 And some of the complications with... 18:38.764 --> 18:42.646 You're familiar with Article 120C and Article 134, 18:42.646 --> 18:44.784 you're familiar with the elements of those, 18:44.784 --> 18:48.310 these guys have to find and provide those elements to us 18:48.310 --> 18:50.616 in order to proceed down a criminal path. 18:50.616 --> 18:53.094 Without those, it comes back in our lane 18:53.094 --> 18:56.429 for okay, what other administrative action might we consider? 18:56.429 --> 18:58.870 And we're... 18:58.870 --> 19:01.728 It's not migrated back this direction just yet. 19:01.728 --> 19:07.437 - [Man] Do you still believe about 500 site users accessed the photos 19:07.437 --> 19:09.926 could be involved in the long run? 19:09.926 --> 19:12.235 - We have no way of verifying that 19:12.235 --> 19:13.856 because we can't get into the site. 19:13.856 --> 19:16.404 - That's what he told us. - That's the intelligence we received. 19:16.404 --> 19:19.937 - [Man] Yes, sir, that's what he told us. 19:19.937 --> 19:24.503 - [Man on Phone] This is Jamie McIntyre from The Examiner, can I get a question in? 19:24.503 --> 19:26.067 - Go ahead, Jamie. 19:26.067 --> 19:30.568 - [McIntyre] Okay, so my question is, a lot of the reporting is focused on 19:30.568 --> 19:33.214 nude or salacious pictures, 19:33.214 --> 19:37.783 but some of the abuses, apparently disparagement of women, involved 19:37.783 --> 19:43.176 people whose picture were taken and they weren't that explicit in any way. 19:43.176 --> 19:45.883 But they were still disparaged online. 19:45.883 --> 19:48.299 Of the victims that you've talked about, 19:48.299 --> 19:55.663 how many of them are people that don't involve explicit photos in any way but just 19:55.663 --> 19:58.723 normal photos of people that then are 19:58.723 --> 20:02.116 subject to online harassment or disparagement? 20:02.116 --> 20:06.825 - We are focusing on the explicit photographs that meet the criminal statutes, 20:06.825 --> 20:08.861 the statutes we're looking at. 20:08.861 --> 20:12.893 If it goes into a harassment or a stalking or a communication or a threat, 20:12.893 --> 20:15.384 we look at it underneath those proper codes. 20:15.384 --> 20:19.339 So there is the ability to have a clothed individual that we will investigate 20:19.339 --> 20:22.177 depending on the circumstances of the criminal allegation. 20:23.631 --> 20:25.810 - Jamie, I'll tell you, from the Marine Corps perspective, 20:25.810 --> 20:29.984 we're looking, in concert with NCIS obviously, 20:29.984 --> 20:31.897 while they look at the criminal side of it, we're looking at the other ones. 20:33.900 --> 20:36.079 And it's a tedious process but we're looking at it 20:36.079 --> 20:38.135 because clearly taking a picture of someone 20:38.135 --> 20:40.924 and making a disparaging comment about them 20:40.924 --> 20:43.910 is prejudicial to the good order and discipline 20:43.910 --> 20:45.856 of the organization. 20:47.240 --> 20:51.031 How we identify who took the photo, how we identify who made the comment, 20:51.031 --> 20:53.295 how we identify where they put it, 20:53.295 --> 20:56.312 how we identify what unit it's prejudicial to, 20:56.312 --> 20:59.616 you start to get an idea of the complexity of the challenge. 20:59.616 --> 21:02.742 But we're working through that step by step. 21:02.742 --> 21:06.622 - [McIntyre] My question is, which is the bigger 21:06.622 --> 21:10.217 number of potential victims? 21:10.217 --> 21:14.145 Because my sense of it was while there was a significant number of people involving 21:14.145 --> 21:19.666 explicit photos, that there was potentially an even larger universe of women who were simply 21:19.666 --> 21:27.944 harassed and disparaged and made to feel very uncomfortable that might even be a much larger number. 21:27.944 --> 21:29.784 So I was trying to get a sense of that. 21:29.784 --> 21:34.301 - Again, we only have the information that were provided by the victims that call us, 21:34.301 --> 21:36.684 or individuals with direct knowledge that give us 21:36.684 --> 21:38.749 particular screenshots. 21:38.749 --> 21:43.256 We don't have access to the site, so I cannot tell you what that Google Drive had in it. 21:43.256 --> 21:47.720 So we have had some individuals that have come forward that have taken screenshots 21:47.720 --> 21:51.115 of said sites and we've done the proper investigative steps from that. 21:51.115 --> 21:53.631 And with that, as we're doing investigative steps, 21:53.631 --> 21:56.810 if it does not meet the criminal threshold for NCIS, 21:56.810 --> 21:59.220 we're still documenting that and turning it over to the Marine Corps so that 21:59.220 --> 22:01.451 they can take appropriate action. 22:01.451 --> 22:05.990 (crosstalk) 22:08.826 --> 22:12.337 - I'm going to go to Tara first and then we'll come back around, okay? 22:12.337 --> 22:15.558 - [Tara] Thank you, (inaudible). 22:15.558 --> 22:18.490 You mentioned earlier that there was going to be this policy that everyone 22:19.015 --> 22:22.381 will be required to sign, and I wanted to know what the enforcement will be. 22:22.381 --> 22:27.184 Say someone does sign this new policy and then they go post. 22:27.184 --> 22:29.085 What can they be held accountable to? 22:29.085 --> 22:36.189 - Well the idea is that you acknowledge that you have read and understand 22:36.189 --> 22:38.143 the policy and the guidance. 22:38.143 --> 22:43.504 And then once you have demonstrated conduct that is contrary to that, 22:43.504 --> 22:47.370 it lessens the administrative burden for proof 22:47.370 --> 22:53.534 that, well I didn't know that my online persona was an extension of me as a person. 22:53.534 --> 22:58.050 Which then opens up the range of options 22:58.050 --> 23:00.022 inside the UCMJ depending on the... 23:00.022 --> 23:03.380 It's hard for me to say, well it's this article, that's probably what you want me to say. 23:03.380 --> 23:07.309 But I can't say it's this article because it depends on the situation. 23:07.309 --> 23:10.904 But you will have violated clear guidance 23:10.904 --> 23:14.577 published in an All Marine message from the commandant of the Marine Corps. 23:14.577 --> 23:21.396 - [Tara] So possibly administrative or criminal depending on what (inaudible). 23:21.396 --> 23:24.773 - That's right, I mean, if it's criminal, then it's an investigative thing. 23:24.773 --> 23:26.430 But there's clearly administrative action 23:26.430 --> 23:30.082 that could be taken for violation of that guidance. 23:30.082 --> 23:32.854 - [Tara] Okay, and the second thing, for NCIS, 23:32.854 --> 23:36.116 you said the investigation has been extended to the Air Force. 23:36.116 --> 23:41.241 I just wanted to know what type of evidence have you seen that justifies bringing in 23:41.241 --> 23:45.083 the investigation to Air Force and the Coast Guard also? 23:45.083 --> 23:48.193 - We've requested their assistance to help with this investigation. 23:48.193 --> 23:51.745 As we look into this, I'm sure we're going to have other services involved. 23:51.745 --> 23:54.391 It's not just a Marine Corps thing. 23:54.391 --> 23:57.230 So our other partners have come in to help us with this. 23:57.230 --> 23:59.880 They're proactively working with us with this. 23:59.880 --> 24:02.483 So any criminal intelligence that comes in, no matter what 24:02.483 --> 24:04.424 organization it may be through, 24:04.424 --> 24:08.014 the task force is looking at it. - [Tara] But to date you have not received or seen 24:08.014 --> 24:11.252 any Air Force-specific evidence that would lead you to... 24:11.252 --> 24:13.116 - I have not seen that, no, ma'am. 24:13.116 --> 24:15.898 - We're going to go to Ryan Brown and then back to the phone. 24:15.898 --> 24:17.733 Ryan, go ahead. 24:17.733 --> 24:19.385 - [Ryan] Thank you, I just wanted to follow up 24:19.385 --> 24:25.628 I believe you said this goes beyond Marines United and actually identified other sites as well. 24:27.772 --> 24:30.052 Is this the migration of folks to other sites 24:30.052 --> 24:32.678 or are these separate sites, like the 2.0s 24:35.140 --> 24:39.193 (inaudible) Are these independent, separate sites, could you give us how many you can identify? 24:39.482 --> 24:41.797 - As you can imagine, in the digital world, we're always trying to catch up. 24:41.797 --> 24:46.329 Some of these sites are coming up for one or two days, they take them down, 24:46.329 --> 24:47.949 they move on to other sites. 24:47.949 --> 24:51.507 So as we get criminal intelligence, we're immediately trying to go into... 24:51.507 --> 24:54.644 Criminal intelligence, there's criminal activity occurring on these sites. 24:54.644 --> 24:56.563 So that's one thing I want to focus on. 24:56.563 --> 24:58.907 We're not just out there looking at sites, we're looking at sites where there's been 24:58.907 --> 25:01.421 allegated criminal activity going on, 25:01.421 --> 25:04.725 pictures posted without consent of service members. 25:04.725 --> 25:06.837 So that's the sites we're looking to get into. 25:06.837 --> 25:10.270 And a lot of these are in fact private sites, so that's another hurdle for us. 25:10.270 --> 25:14.317 So we're looking for individuals that may be on these sites to come forward 25:14.317 --> 25:17.203 with us to help us get in these sites so we can collect the evidence 25:17.203 --> 25:19.829 so we can prosecute the individuals doing these things. 25:19.829 --> 25:22.574 Yes, there has been Facebook sites 25:22.574 --> 25:24.280 but it's going to other sites. 25:24.280 --> 25:27.500 So we're looking at closed groups but we're looking at intelligence on other sites 25:27.500 --> 25:29.847 that we are looking at that criminal activity is occurring on. 25:30.748 --> 25:32.912 - [Ryan] Do you have a rough number of how many sites (inaudible)? 25:33.986 --> 25:35.886 - I'd rather not speculate on that on this time. 25:35.886 --> 25:38.583 - We're going to go back to the phone, Wall Street Journal? 25:40.799 --> 25:42.767 - [Man on Phone] Hey, this is Ben (inaudible) from the Wall Street Journal. 25:42.767 --> 25:45.844 I've got two questions for you, I just want to make sure I understand. 25:45.844 --> 25:52.861 The investigation now, the included task just focusing on surreptitious photos 25:52.861 --> 25:59.498 taken without permission and then has moved into the cyber 25:59.498 --> 26:02.721 harassment field, right? 26:02.721 --> 26:05.855 Not just NCIS but the branches themselves looking to 26:05.855 --> 26:10.416 (inaudible) out punishment to the people who are involved in that, is that correct? 26:12.164 --> 26:13.368 - Yes. - Yes. 26:13.368 --> 26:17.956 - Yeah, NCIS looks first and foremost at the criminal aspect of it, and when it 26:17.956 --> 26:21.286 doesn't meet that threshold, it's fed back into 26:21.286 --> 26:24.882 and he mentioned some of the other agencies, in our case the Marine Corps, 26:24.882 --> 26:27.558 the Marine Corps Criminal Investigative Division, 26:27.558 --> 26:30.187 and then we proceed down that path. 26:30.187 --> 26:32.676 - [Ben] Great, and the second question I have is 26:32.676 --> 26:36.579 what's the involvement of civil authorities? 26:36.579 --> 26:39.887 So civilian law enforcement in this. 26:39.887 --> 26:43.980 And has there been any discussion of turning over any investigations or 26:43.980 --> 26:49.827 are any of the services found to engage in this stuff over to civilian authorities 26:49.827 --> 26:55.184 or allowing them to be subject to civilian prosecution? 26:55.184 --> 26:59.842 - Absolutely, as we're investigating these individuals, as we get the complaints coming in, 26:59.842 --> 27:02.850 we're collecting the evidence, and if it's outside of our purview 27:02.850 --> 27:08.306 we absolutely contact the appropriate civilian authorities, state, federal or local, 27:08.306 --> 27:12.388 and turn over the information we collected to those individuals. 27:12.388 --> 27:16.209 Each state, approximately 32 states we've seen so far, 27:16.209 --> 27:19.009 have laws on the books kind of addressing, 27:19.009 --> 27:22.190 for lack of a better word, revenge porn and all that kind of stuff. 27:22.190 --> 27:25.355 So we've been reading those to know what the elements are and turning 27:25.355 --> 27:28.133 stuff over to the proper individuals. 27:28.133 --> 27:30.995 - [Ben] And has that been done to this point? 27:30.995 --> 27:34.279 Have you all turned stuff over and have any service members been 27:34.279 --> 27:40.642 questioned or apprehended by those authorities? 27:42.130 --> 27:43.737 - That's kind of getting into the heart of the investigation. 27:43.737 --> 27:46.237 I'd rather not address that at this point. 27:46.237 --> 27:48.204 - [Ben] Roger, thank you. 27:48.204 --> 27:50.765 - [Woman on Phone] It's Jennifer Griffin from Fox News. 27:50.765 --> 27:51.887 I have a question. 27:51.887 --> 27:56.480 Is the FBI cooperating with you and are Facebook and Google cooperating with you? 27:57.776 --> 28:00.406 - Yes, ma'am, they are cooperating within the confines of the law. 28:00.406 --> 28:02.612 So, yes, ma'am. 28:02.612 --> 28:07.571 - [Griffin] And are there certain laws or changes to the UCMJ that you're seeing 28:07.571 --> 28:12.395 you might need in order to prosecute these kinds of cases? 28:12.395 --> 28:15.002 - Ah man, that's outside of my lane. 28:15.002 --> 28:17.892 - Not yet, I mean, we're looking very, very closely at it 28:17.892 --> 28:20.461 and what the implications of the way, 28:20.461 --> 28:23.231 for example, Article 120C is currently worded 28:23.231 --> 28:26.396 and how it's been interpreted to date 28:26.396 --> 28:29.154 to see if any modifications are warranted. 28:29.154 --> 28:34.294 So we haven't ruled that out but there aren't any that have been tabled thus far. 28:34.294 --> 28:37.112 - [Griffin] Okay, and just to clarify, 28:37.112 --> 28:39.277 you are working with the FBI? 28:39.277 --> 28:42.758 - We're working with all of our federal partners on this, ma'am. 28:42.758 --> 28:44.415 - [Griffin] Thank you. 28:44.415 --> 28:46.440 (crosstalk) 28:46.440 --> 28:48.443 - Hold on, we'll go back to the phone in a second. 28:48.443 --> 28:53.475 - [Man on Phone] Mr. Evans, you said in your opening statement, you ask for 28:53.475 --> 28:58.453 individuals who had explicit photos taken without their consent and put online 28:58.453 --> 29:01.986 to come forward and identify themselves. 29:01.986 --> 29:05.512 Do the photos have to be taken without their consent in order 29:05.512 --> 29:08.660 for it to be a criminal activity? 29:08.660 --> 29:11.675 - It depends on the criminal statute you're looking at. 29:11.675 --> 29:16.147 - [Man on Phone] So this is the 32 states that have revenge porn. 29:16.147 --> 29:18.493 - There are some UCMJ statutes, it depends. 29:18.493 --> 29:20.226 We're asking anybody with any information, 29:20.226 --> 29:25.861 the first criteria we're looking for is individuals that had photos taken without their consent 29:25.861 --> 29:27.169 to come forward with us. 29:27.169 --> 29:29.941 But we will look at any criminal allegation that's brought forward to us. 29:29.941 --> 29:33.032 - It's pretty clear, to clarify, it's pretty clear 29:33.032 --> 29:35.906 and there are high-profile celebrity cases, 29:35.906 --> 29:38.061 that if a picture is taken surreptitiously 29:38.061 --> 29:40.876 without someone's knowledge or consent, 29:40.876 --> 29:42.892 that's a criminal act. 29:42.892 --> 29:45.473 No question about that. 29:45.473 --> 29:49.231 You start getting into the next level of detail when you ask 29:49.231 --> 29:51.690 if you have a picture that you took, 29:51.690 --> 29:55.404 and you put on a public-facing forum 29:55.404 --> 30:00.629 in this case social media and someone else accesses that for another purpose, 30:00.629 --> 30:04.670 then have you tripped anything that makes it... 30:04.670 --> 30:08.270 At this point, this is me, it doesn't appear criminal. 30:08.270 --> 30:12.894 That doesn't mean it's good or it should be condoned. 30:12.894 --> 30:14.369 And we're certainly looking at that. 30:14.369 --> 30:17.716 But initial indications are that is not criminal, 30:17.716 --> 30:21.960 to take someone else's picture from a public-facing venue 30:21.960 --> 30:24.554 and use it in another way. 30:26.556 --> 30:30.932 - So for the folks on the phone, I'm going to go to somebody, 30:30.932 --> 30:32.307 I'm going to pick somebody at the table. 30:32.307 --> 30:37.001 And I'll make sure I come back to you, so before you start asking for questions, 30:37.001 --> 30:40.005 I'll circle back to you guys. 30:40.005 --> 30:42.063 It's kind of getting a little bit confusing in here. 30:42.063 --> 30:44.263 So I promise I'll get back to you. 30:44.263 --> 30:46.112 Let me ask a question to somebody at the table. 30:46.112 --> 30:48.095 So, Andy, why don't you go ahead. 30:48.095 --> 30:50.882 - Thanks, Andy (inaudible) from Military Times. 30:50.882 --> 30:53.948 I've been told that the combined effort 30:53.948 --> 30:57.521 has looked at in excess of 200 30:57.521 --> 31:02.551 social media pages, groups, or additional websites. 31:02.551 --> 31:05.038 Can you confirm that's correct? 31:05.038 --> 31:08.272 - I will confirm that any site we've got a criminal allegation on 31:08.272 --> 31:10.713 we are looking into. 31:10.713 --> 31:14.629 - So you can't quantify in any way. 31:14.629 --> 31:18.687 - So as you can imagine, there's millions of sites out in the cyberspace. 31:18.687 --> 31:23.104 So we are strictly looking at the sites that we have criminal information 31:23.104 --> 31:25.123 that criminal activity has occurred on those sites. 31:25.123 --> 31:29.555 - And of the 1253 individuals that you referenced earlier, 31:29.555 --> 31:31.777 how many of those have you questioned? 31:31.777 --> 31:35.874 - That's really getting to the heart of the investigation, I'd rather not say. 31:35.874 --> 31:41.375 - Okay, then can you talk about what the process is once you identify an individual? 31:41.375 --> 31:43.864 I mean, what happens? 31:43.864 --> 31:46.372 - As far as identifying a victim or a suspect? 31:46.372 --> 31:48.282 - Sorry, a suspect. 31:48.282 --> 31:51.344 - Of course we're going to take the proper, I'll lay it out, we take the proper 31:51.344 --> 31:54.805 investigative steps to collect the evidence we need 31:54.805 --> 31:57.723 to pursue a criminal charge. 31:57.723 --> 32:03.078 So we use our cyber tools, our NCIS Cyber Division Operations 32:03.078 --> 32:05.633 is a part of our task force and 32:05.633 --> 32:09.634 is able to get a lot of information for us to be able to 32:09.634 --> 32:12.754 prove where the photos originated from 32:12.754 --> 32:17.451 and proactively potentially find other victims on certain sites. 32:17.451 --> 32:21.379 From there, we take the appropriate investigative steps as needed 32:21.379 --> 32:24.259 as the investigation dictates. 32:24.259 --> 32:27.323 - This is the last follow-up here, and I'm sorry if I missed this earlier, 32:27.323 --> 32:30.263 but is there a number you have charged at this point? 32:30.263 --> 32:33.693 - This investigation has been going on for a couple of weeks, 32:33.693 --> 32:36.673 and we do a thorough investigation for every one. 32:36.673 --> 32:39.260 As we collect the evidence, we turn stuff over to 32:39.260 --> 32:41.430 convening authorities or federal prosecution 32:41.430 --> 32:44.371 and they are the ones that confer charges. 32:44.371 --> 32:47.117 (inaudible) 32:47.117 --> 32:49.372 - No, I don't have the details right now. 32:49.372 --> 32:53.200 - Alright we'll go to Nancy and then we'll go back to the phone. 32:53.200 --> 32:54.997 - [Nancy] I just had two quick questions. 32:54.997 --> 32:58.022 One, is there a timeline that you're working on in terms on when 32:58.022 --> 32:59.819 you're going to have these investigations done? 32:59.819 --> 33:07.170 And secondly, can you talk about the numerous website you have discovered, 33:07.170 --> 33:10.216 how far back do these photos go, to what date? 33:10.216 --> 33:15.107 - On a timeline, we are aggressively taking every one of these investigations, as I mentioned 33:15.107 --> 33:17.989 previously, this is the number one priority for our agency right now. 33:17.989 --> 33:20.424 So we are throwing every resource we have at it. 33:20.424 --> 33:24.580 So as soon as an allegation comes in, we are aggressively attacking it. 33:24.580 --> 33:26.633 We are collecting evidence as fast as we can 33:26.633 --> 33:30.215 because you can imagine, in cyberspace evidence is there for one minute and the next minute it's gone. 33:30.215 --> 33:33.045 So it's a 24/7 thing for us. 33:33.045 --> 33:35.393 So we're attacking it. 33:35.393 --> 33:38.501 Yes, some of the pictures that are out in cyberspace have been 33:38.501 --> 33:40.867 there for many, many years. 33:40.867 --> 33:42.668 And some are just reposts. 33:42.668 --> 33:45.531 You can easily go on any kind of site, copy and paste it 33:45.531 --> 33:46.973 and put it on another site. 33:46.973 --> 33:51.414 So just because a photograph is uploaded by an individual does not mean that individual 33:51.414 --> 33:53.473 actually owned that photo. 33:53.473 --> 33:55.516 It's a possibility it came from somewhere else. 33:55.516 --> 33:57.022 - [Nancy] I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. 33:57.022 --> 34:01.390 I mean, what is the furthest date back in which a photo was posted on a website? 34:01.390 --> 34:03.841 (inaudible) or commented on? 34:03.841 --> 34:06.422 How far back are we talking in terms of 34:06.422 --> 34:10.513 photos pertinent to this investigation in terms of violation? 34:10.513 --> 34:13.633 - I really don't know the particulars for that, ma'am. 34:13.633 --> 34:19.077 As we get the allegations we're going for the information and pulling it at that time. 34:19.077 --> 34:23.477 - [Nancy] And also, you mentioned you're investigating things as they come up, 34:23.477 --> 34:25.087 couldn't this go on in perpetuity given that 34:25.087 --> 34:29.413 as you mentioned earlier, you're continually finding new websites? 34:30.937 --> 34:32.996 - Yes, ma'am, we are going to continue to aggressively look at this. 34:32.996 --> 34:37.007 As you said, this is an important matter for the Marine Corps, it's an important matter for NCIS. 34:37.007 --> 34:39.770 Any criminal allegation that comes in, we will look into it. 34:39.770 --> 34:41.678 - [Nancy] But could you see this open 34:41.678 --> 34:44.924 for an extended period of time that is 34:44.924 --> 34:49.681 not closing the task force, that this is something that just exists 34:49.681 --> 34:52.374 to deal with these things as they come up? 34:52.374 --> 34:56.132 - Yes, ma'am, we're going to maintain the task force as the operational tempo 34:56.132 --> 34:58.388 dictates with the tips coming in 34:58.388 --> 35:02.195 and until we really get a handle on this. 35:02.195 --> 35:05.104 But yes, we'll keep the task force open as long as we need to 35:05.104 --> 35:08.055 to address the amount of criminal intelligence coming in. 35:09.923 --> 35:11.859 - Alright so, we're going to go to the phone. 35:11.859 --> 35:13.831 I've heard from CBS, I've heard from Fox, 35:13.831 --> 35:16.316 I've heard from Wall Street Journal and New York Times, 35:16.316 --> 35:18.021 who else is out there? 35:18.021 --> 35:19.840 - [Man on Phone] I've got one more from Fox. 35:19.840 --> 35:21.700 - [Man on Phone] This is the San Diego Union Tribune. 35:21.700 --> 35:24.841 - Okay, we'll take the San Diego Union Tribune, then. 35:24.841 --> 35:27.370 - [Man on Phone] Oorah. 35:27.370 --> 35:30.659 I have two questions. 35:30.659 --> 35:34.538 How difficult has it been to identify images of women who you don't know their names? 35:34.538 --> 35:37.940 How many images are there that you know of on these sites 35:37.940 --> 35:42.560 wherein you don't know the name of the potential victim, number one. 35:42.560 --> 35:47.202 And number two, how many subpoenas have you sent out for electronic records to Facebook and other sites? 35:49.167 --> 35:53.584 - As you can imagine, it is very difficult to identify everybody on these sites. 35:53.584 --> 35:56.859 We're using all of our cyber tools that we have. 35:56.859 --> 35:59.185 We have identified individuals using those tools, 35:59.185 --> 36:03.568 and yes, we have issued subpoenas to numerous different internet providers. 36:03.568 --> 36:07.036 The heart of the investigation, I'm not going to get into exact numbers, 36:07.036 --> 36:09.367 but we are using every investigative tool to 36:09.367 --> 36:12.167 aggressively go after these individuals. 36:12.167 --> 36:17.701 - And you didn't ask out there in San Diego, 36:17.701 --> 36:20.683 but it's cloudy and about 39 degrees here. 36:20.683 --> 36:23.232 (laughter) - [Man on Phone] It's about 80 and sunny. 36:23.232 --> 36:27.074 - [Woman on Phone] This is Mary Walsh, I just wanted to have a clarification. 36:27.074 --> 36:32.947 You said this investigation has not moved to gay sites. 36:32.947 --> 36:36.806 But USA Today has a story saying that it has 36:36.806 --> 36:40.928 and it quotes a spokesman from the Marine Corps, 36:40.928 --> 36:47.376 that on gay Tumblr sites that there are photos of Marines 36:47.376 --> 36:50.921 who did not agree to have their photos published there 36:50.921 --> 36:53.852 in compromising situations. 36:53.852 --> 36:57.185 So has this not moved to gay sites? 36:57.185 --> 36:58.471 To gay porn sites? 36:58.471 --> 37:01.996 - Ma'am, we have not got the criminal allegation at this point. 37:01.996 --> 37:04.625 We'll look into any criminal allegation that is received. 37:04.625 --> 37:08.346 But if anybody has that information, I would encourage them to visit the NCIS tip line. 37:08.346 --> 37:10.603 - [Man] Mary, this is Clark Carpenter. 37:10.603 --> 37:16.845 Some of the tips come in and they may have come in recently. 37:16.845 --> 37:21.049 So, yes, as tips come in, we send them up to NCIS. 37:21.049 --> 37:25.503 Does the agent here have that information? He may not know that yet. 37:25.503 --> 37:28.288 - [Mary] Okay. - So that clarifies that. 37:28.288 --> 37:32.475 So I'm going to go back to the table and 37:32.475 --> 37:37.049 Louie had his hand up. 37:37.049 --> 37:41.894 I'm going to go back to the table and I'm going to have Louie... 37:41.894 --> 37:44.513 Oh wait, did you have a question? What about you? 37:44.513 --> 37:47.697 I don't know your name. 37:47.697 --> 37:49.847 We met, what's your name again? 37:49.847 --> 37:50.801 - [Man] Phil Huntington with the LA Times. 37:53.112 --> 37:56.178 So you said about 1200 names. 37:56.178 --> 37:57.477 Are those all active duty? 37:57.477 --> 37:59.602 - No, they're not. 37:59.602 --> 38:01.918 - [Phil] Do you know approximately how many are active duty? 38:01.918 --> 38:05.225 - I'll do it one more time, about 725. 38:05.225 --> 38:09.302 Again, these are profile names, anybody can do a profile. 38:09.302 --> 38:12.073 So using that data we cross-reference through data checks 38:12.073 --> 38:15.211 so 725 active duty Marines, 38:15.211 --> 38:18.433 150 Marine reservists, 15 active duty Navy, 38:18.433 --> 38:22.297 and 310 unidentified individuals. 38:22.297 --> 38:24.513 - [Phil] Have you contacted all those individuals? 38:24.513 --> 38:26.513 - No, we have not, no we have not. 38:26.513 --> 38:29.352 There's not criminal allegations associated with all these names. 38:29.352 --> 38:33.599 - [Phil] At the top, you mentioned what you could do. 38:33.599 --> 38:37.775 What do you want to do here? 38:37.775 --> 38:41.874 Aside from stopping this, obviously. 38:41.874 --> 38:44.961 What are the measures you want to take here? 38:44.961 --> 38:49.258 Do you want to get these guys out of the Corps, or what's the point? 38:49.258 --> 38:54.619 - Our goal, sir, is to keep the United States Marine Corps operational and ready. 38:54.619 --> 39:00.334 So we will investigate any criminal allegation that's coming in by a service member or a civilian 39:00.334 --> 39:02.748 that is affecting the operational readiness of the Marine Corps. 39:02.748 --> 39:06.380 So we will take any measure necessary to accomplish that. 39:06.380 --> 39:09.853 - The point is to take the measures necessary 39:09.853 --> 39:14.845 to not permit an element of an organization 39:14.845 --> 39:18.730 to demonstrate any intolerance of any group. 39:18.730 --> 39:21.299 In this case, women. 39:24.871 --> 39:29.140 - Sir, I'll go to you, do you have a question? 39:29.140 --> 39:31.117 - Yeah, kind of just following up on that. 39:31.117 --> 39:33.305 Carl Munoz with the Washington Times. 39:36.843 --> 39:41.296 Trying to take actions for this, of what you could do to prevent something like this, 39:41.296 --> 39:49.710 setting up regulations to basically initiate to force a culture change, that's what you sort of hinted at, 39:51.077 --> 39:55.315 what level of confidence do you have 39:55.315 --> 39:57.215 that these steps will bring about that kind of change 39:57.365 --> 40:00.769 (inaudible) 40:00.769 --> 40:03.604 this stuff just kind of goes on in perpetuity? 40:04.719 --> 40:08.317 - Yeah, we have 40:08.317 --> 40:11.572 great confidence...Is it going to change overnight? 40:11.572 --> 40:13.619 No, it won't change overnight. 40:13.619 --> 40:16.815 But if an organization in this country 40:16.815 --> 40:20.581 can modify its culture and impact its behavior, 40:20.581 --> 40:25.279 I certainly have a bias but I would like to believe the United States Marine Corps will do that. 40:33.485 --> 40:34.366 - Okay. 40:36.148 --> 40:40.235 (crosstalk) 40:47.899 --> 40:48.578 - Two questions. 40:48.578 --> 40:51.883 If a male service member steps forward... 40:51.883 --> 40:55.622 I know the focus right now is only on female service members, 40:55.622 --> 41:00.991 but if a male service member says images of me were taken without my permission, 41:00.991 --> 41:03.986 is that something you'll investigate? 41:03.986 --> 41:06.490 Do you have cases (inaudible)? 41:06.490 --> 41:10.324 - Absolutely we will investigate that, it's a criminal allegation. 41:10.324 --> 41:12.485 So we will investigate that. 41:12.485 --> 41:14.991 Again, I don't want to really get into the particulars of investigations we have open. 41:14.991 --> 41:18.150 That gets to the heart and I don't want to compromise our ongoing investigations. 41:18.150 --> 41:20.966 But absolutely we will investigate that also. 41:20.966 --> 41:23.716 - Do you have any ongoing right now? 41:23.716 --> 41:27.441 - Again, that's really getting to the heart of our investigation and I don't want to speak to ongoing investigations. 41:27.441 --> 41:30.445 - The gist that I get here about Marines United is 41:30.445 --> 41:33.677 that essentially you are limited to screen captures 41:33.677 --> 41:36.524 that were provided to you. 41:36.524 --> 41:43.507 Because you can't get access to the Google Drive, you can't get access to the site because it does not exist. 41:43.507 --> 41:47.601 So what actually can you do with the material that was provided to you 41:47.601 --> 41:50.436 since it sounds like it's a huge limiting factor 41:50.436 --> 41:54.761 that you really can't pursue what you want, am I correct in that assumption? 41:54.761 --> 41:58.717 - What we really need are individuals to come forward to give us additional information 41:58.717 --> 42:00.403 to support our investigations. 42:00.403 --> 42:03.018 And that's why we're requesting the public's help in giving us tips. 42:03.018 --> 42:05.875 We know there's people out there that have potentially been on that site 42:05.875 --> 42:09.103 and other sites that have seen maybe their photos or individuals they know 42:09.103 --> 42:11.510 that can help us get into those sites. 42:11.510 --> 42:13.005 There are mechanisms for them to get into those sites 42:13.005 --> 42:17.706 but we have to have the intelligence and the criminal information to corroborate that. 42:17.706 --> 42:20.387 - So essentially it's going to be up to the individual stepping forward 42:20.387 --> 42:23.519 with information about material that relates to them 42:23.519 --> 42:30.037 and material to verify that that's the level of investigation (inaudible) 42:30.037 --> 42:34.830 because all this other material you were preparing to capture turned out to be (inaudible). 42:34.830 --> 42:37.069 - I'm not going to say that. 42:37.069 --> 42:38.932 That individual coming forward definitely assists our investigation. 42:38.932 --> 42:41.730 We have other tools to get around 42:41.730 --> 42:43.761 but individuals coming forward really assists us. 42:43.761 --> 42:47.718 And of course we're always looking for sources and information to help us. 42:47.718 --> 42:50.189 You know, if they can get us into a site, that's even better. 42:50.189 --> 42:53.194 - Okay, so what we're going to do is we're going to have two more questions. 42:53.194 --> 42:56.218 We're just a little over the 30 minute mark on the Q&A here. 42:56.218 --> 43:01.488 So I will go to the phone first and I will finish with you, ma'am. 43:01.488 --> 43:04.618 So who is on the phone that has not had a question yet? 43:06.492 --> 43:09.841 All right, I will go to this lady, 43:09.841 --> 43:11.285 young lady, ma'am. 43:11.285 --> 43:13.274 (crosstalk) 43:13.822 --> 43:15.737 You don't have any questions? 43:15.737 --> 43:20.240 Okay, I will go back, then, to Nancy (inaudible). 43:20.240 --> 43:22.434 Last question. 43:22.434 --> 43:23.458 - [Nancy] The focus groups. 43:23.458 --> 43:26.319 Where will they be, who will they be (inaudible) and what will they say? 43:26.319 --> 43:29.054 - So we're looking at that right now. 43:29.054 --> 43:35.332 They will be across the force, between the operating force and the supporting establishment. 43:35.332 --> 43:41.217 They're going to cover the range of obviously ranks and diversity 43:41.217 --> 43:44.037 for all the obvious reasons, I would believe. 43:44.037 --> 43:47.824 And it's initially to assess the 43:47.824 --> 43:51.186 size, scope and perception of the issue, 43:51.186 --> 43:55.928 as well as to get some feedback on some of the things that we are, 43:55.928 --> 44:03.718 that we will develop in the week or so that it takes us to get organized to do these things. 44:03.718 --> 44:07.831 You're familiar with the institutional review board process and when we're 44:07.831 --> 44:11.621 talking the numbers that we have to get through that 44:11.621 --> 44:13.987 administratively before we can proceed. 44:13.987 --> 44:15.952 - [Nancy] Can I just ask one verification? 44:15.952 --> 44:19.384 Earlier you mentioned it was kind of two tiers, 44:19.384 --> 44:22.265 there's maybe someone who took pictures of themselves and put it up, 44:22.265 --> 44:23.890 where that's consent, 44:23.890 --> 44:27.385 but then there's someone who had a picture taken of them and put up there. 44:27.385 --> 44:33.778 What about for the re-posters who don't know whether a picture of a potential victim 44:33.778 --> 44:35.895 was taken with consent or without consent? 44:35.895 --> 44:40.243 Is that going to affect what kind of punishment they might face? 44:40.243 --> 44:44.738 - When we get the complaint, an individual may just see their picture up there 44:44.738 --> 44:47.583 and then we're going to start looking into the investigation. 44:47.583 --> 44:49.550 So depending on how the investigation goes 44:49.550 --> 44:51.157 and what the criminal statute is, 44:51.157 --> 44:52.958 that is how we would dictate it. 44:52.958 --> 44:56.403 So if it doesn't meet the criminal statutes, say that it was grabbed from somewhere else and posted, 44:56.403 --> 45:00.186 we would then turn that investigative work over to the Marine Corps to see that 45:00.186 --> 45:02.360 proper administrative action to be taken with that. 45:02.360 --> 45:05.810 - And I'll clarify it, here's the way we're looking at it. 45:05.810 --> 45:09.748 So here's the way the story's gone 45:09.748 --> 45:12.358 a couple times, and I've personally engaged with folks 45:12.358 --> 45:18.478 who believe or know they've been subjected to this kind of...targeted by this kind of 45:18.478 --> 45:20.413 bullying online. 45:20.413 --> 45:25.777 I didn't know that I was depicted until a friend told me about it. 45:25.777 --> 45:28.287 A friend who was on said site. 45:28.287 --> 45:32.857 They told me about it, once I got over the initial shock and horror 45:32.857 --> 45:37.512 when I was able to view it for my own two cents, 45:37.512 --> 45:42.075 then I was able to do my own analysis of where did this come from 45:42.075 --> 45:44.619 and why did it happen to me. 45:44.619 --> 45:48.265 I don't even know the people who have commented on this picture. 45:48.265 --> 45:50.398 Why would they be commenting on it? 45:50.398 --> 45:55.760 And then it's an analysis of well jeez, those are my pictures from spring break 45:55.760 --> 45:59.079 my senior year, right before I went, 45:59.079 --> 46:02.351 but they've clearly been taken from my Instagram page 46:02.351 --> 46:05.552 and repurposed, along with other photos, 46:05.552 --> 46:08.683 and then comments made underneath. 46:08.683 --> 46:11.271 Where we institutionally come in is 46:11.271 --> 46:15.637 who got those pictures, 46:15.637 --> 46:18.657 under what auspices did they get those photos, 46:18.657 --> 46:23.161 and probably most importantly right now is what did they say? 46:23.715 --> 46:25.926 Because what you say... 46:25.926 --> 46:28.141 These guys are looking at what's the content of the photo. 46:28.553 --> 46:30.163 And what was it used for. 46:30.163 --> 46:33.561 We're certainly looking at, what was it said, 46:33.561 --> 46:39.069 and what does that represent of the order and discipline of a unit or our organization writ large? 46:40.621 --> 46:42.873 And there's 46:42.873 --> 46:49.077 a range of considerations and options in there that we're exploring every one of them. 46:49.077 --> 46:53.644 And that's what I'm doing all day every day when I'm not talking to you guys. 46:53.644 --> 46:59.283 - Ladies and gentlemen, these gentlemen have to get back to the grindstone. 46:59.283 --> 47:02.323 - Thanks for your time, it won't be the last time we'll do it. 47:02.323 --> 47:03.887 We'll try to keep you updated, because it's moving. 47:03.887 --> 47:07.108 I hope you get an appreciation, I certainly feel like it's moving 47:07.108 --> 47:09.790 and it's only been seven days. 47:09.790 --> 47:14.334 - If you have any other questions, OnTheRecord@usmc.mil. 47:14.334 --> 47:17.204 You can always come upstairs and talk to us if you're in the building. 47:17.204 --> 47:19.603 We love seeing you guys, believe it or not, in our spaces, 47:19.603 --> 47:21.618 so come by and visit. 47:21.618 --> 47:23.259 Thank you all for coming.