First paragraph (Teaser):

In this article I present an updated letter concerning evidence of covert domestic assault of American citizens by elements connected to the Department of Defense in the United States.

Rest of the text:

To whom it may concern,

My name is David Astin. I am able to produce strong and compelling evidence that elements connected to the Department of Defense have been involved in domestic harassment and assault of American citizens from the years 2001 to 2006; this concerns issues that are sensitive (see note 1) that cannot be made public at the present time. I am trying to contact an appropriate Congressional committee (see note 2) so I can provide the aforementioned evidence.

Some of the evidence that I wish to report about touches on information is clearly sensitive in that it, if publicly expressed, could have a negative impact on national security. Additionally, other evidence that is not, in and of itself, sensitive can 'point to' the abovementioned sensitive information or, in my judgment, could compromise efforts to expose the covert activities that I am alleging occurred. Eliciting responses to, and providing date-substantiated recordation of, my claims are two of the objectives of this document and earlier related documents.

I contend that:

(1) In early 2001 I contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in West Los Angeles by telephone regarding observations that I made, beginning in October 2000, indicating possible industrial espionage and related activity occurring at my then residence and office (workshop/lab) located at 2310 28th Street in Santa Monica California; that in February 2001 I contacted the National Security Agency (NSA) to which I provided the aforementioned observations; that I provided my name, social security number and reason for calling so that the NSA could "open a file"; that beginning in February 2001, I was repeatedly assaulted and driven from my residence/office; and that harassment and assault continued after having been driven from my residence/office in 2001.

(2) In early 2001 at least two intellectual properties were illegally obtained from my residence/office in Santa Monica California.

(3) I am able to produce strong and compelling evidence that elements connected to the Department of Defense were responsible for the aforementioned assault.

(4) I am able to produce strong and compelling evidence that elements connected to the Department of Defense have been involved in domestic harassment and assault of American citizens from the years 2001 to 2006 and that this concerns issues that are sensitive that cannot be made public at the present time.

(5) These events have had an immense impact on my life and career.

As of the writing of this document (August 7, 2006), I have not been approached by law enforcement or by any other public official in an openly-identified manner regarding this matter (see Note 3).

Initially, at the time of the assault I am alleging, I had been working on multiple projects simultaneously at the 2310 28th Street location. There is strong indication that intellectual properties connected with one project were illegally obtained by a company in southern California (see note 4) and that technical insights constituting an invention (see note 5) relating to a second project were taken with the implication that I would not receive credit for my work although it was my choice to willingly provide information about the second project to our government in the interest of national security.

I am a non-degreed engineer and inventor. My work generally draws from wide variety of fields and areas of study that include aspects of electronics and applied physics. In October 2000, in what appears to be a response to my communication with another company, I became aware that industrial espionage may be occurring at my residence/office located at 2310 28th Street in Santa Monica California. I then further investigated this possibility which yielded additional indication that theft of intellectual property may have occurred and may have been ongoing; this included the possible use of surveillance equipment to receive and make intelligible electromagnetic emissions from computer systems (see note 6). I subsequently informed local law enforcement who referred me to federal authorities. I contacted federal authorities which included the FBI and in February 2001 the NSA.

By about late February 2001 it became apparent that federal authorities and/or operatives for federal authorities, hereafter referred to as "federal authorities," had arrived. However I came to this conclusion by observation and was never contacted in what I would consider a "direct manner" with one exception; a person who I have known for many years who had contacts at, and a relationship with, the Department of Defense; I will refer to this person with the pseudonym "Bob." [ On and about February 19th 2001 I contacted Bob concerning assistance in this matter and he informed me that he was no longer working with DoD but that he would see what he could do to help.] [ The afore-mentioned term "observation" comprises detailed descriptions that I am not presently including in this document.]

Beginning in about February 2001 I received a threatening letter and note: (1) A posted hardcopy letter from a hotel/motel located in Santa Monica; the letter using very specific/unique terminology that I would regularly use. This letter was, from my view, seemingly "well thought out," having a coherence, but an 'odd rambling' using the aforementioned terminology and requesting that I rent my house while leaving all of the contents in the house; the letter was signed "Sindy Hawke". And, (2), a note from a small 'spiral-bound' note-pad placed on my mailbox, asking me to please consider the proposition in the first letter. About one month before and through this point in time numerous important pieces of mail (hardcopy) consistently did not arrive thus causing disruption; I repeatedly verified that these items of mail had been sent.

In about late February or early March (2001) a rapid succession of 'door to door' sales people comprised of three sets of sales people over approximately a 10 day time-span appeared at my door. The first two visits were from two males each time, one of these being the same person both times, who were "selling magazines" for the local high school. The man who was present during both of these visits did most of the talking during both visits and he first introduced himself to me with an unusual name; the name was voiced such that it sounded like two words, Bob's actual name and the word "tell"; that is "Bob tell". Immediately after he told me his name, he said "funny name, huh" and then he repeated the name in the same broken way as before. I asked him what he was selling but he did not seem very interested in selling anything to me and instead, he asked me "how is your work going," and I said "it has been difficult." He then told me to "just hang in there for a little while longer" and to "just keep working." The conversations during both of these visits centered on telling me to "just keep working" and to "just hang in there" without any significant focus on selling anything.

The third visit was from a man asking for donations for "Vietnam Veterans"; he opened a folder with approximately eight 20 dollar bills fanned across one side. He rapidly rendered a sales-pitch and after he had finished I told him that I was very low on money and thus could not donate right now but that as soon as I was able to that I would donate. He kindly acknowledged, he thanked me, and then his demeanor changed and he angrily said "we better get what we want" and then walked away.

During and after this above referred "10 day time-span" what I would describe as a vapor or gas, having a smell that I have not been able to identify, began to fill the airspace in my shop causing my eyes and lungs to have a strong and painful burning sensation and causing significant disruption to my work. I tried to isolate the source and remedy the problem to no avail. Subsequently, a sequence of events then 'unfolded' into what I would characterize as culminating in "a dispute" with federal authorities; the details of which touch an issue that is clearly 'sensitive' and that I will not detail in this document.

My shop was entered with clear indications that documents (paper documents) had been examined. All my Internet connected computers crashed, and repeatedly and rapidly crashed with 'fresh' OS installs after reconnection to the Internet; it was no longer possible to connect a computer to the Internet without the computer becoming inoperable.

I was subjected to what I would plainly characterize as "violent assault" that included the use volatile chemicals; I will not detail this aspect of the assault here in this document. One example is as follows: about late March 2001 what appeared to be acetone (or a similar solvent) was delivered by what sounded like three 'shots' from a 'paintball gun' to a small opening near an electrical junction box for cables in the wall of the back workroom of my shop. I was nearly overwhelmed by the fumes and driven from the room.

At this point in time I no longer felt that local police would take me seriously since what I was alleging was so unusual and since I had contacted local police (SMPD) in Janurary 2001 and an officer was sent out. I explained the situation and observations to the officer (as it was at that point in time) but I did not provide the officer with significant evidence supporting my statements.

The harassment and assault continued and certainly there was no way to remain in my residence/office. After many weeks of trying to remain in my residence/office I left to stay at my mother's house; this actually happened in a manner where I repeatedly came back to my residence/office, tried to resume work, and was again driven out. By mid to late April of 2001 my shop (and my work) had been largely abandoned with me only returning for a few minutes at a time in order to feed my cats. To my knowledge, the address 2310 28th Street no longer exists; the units 2308 and 2310 were combined to form the address 2308.

In the course of telephone conversations with Bob in February/March/April 2001, he suggested to me that I was in trouble for "trying to do business with a known spy." Bob explained to me that there was nothing that he could do to stop the continued assault, that I should "just try to stay alive" and many other details including, at a later date, instructions that I was to move all of my materials into storage with the qualification that "you can take your books" but that "you should not take your laptop computer"; that "the laptop must remain in storage." I was also informed by Bob that "you will never get credit for your work". These conversations, and subsequent conversations, with Bob were extensive, explicit and detailed in a manner that strongly indicates that Bob was, in effect, acting on instructions from the parties responsible for the assault.

The storage location is located at Westwood Self Storage; I have not entered this unit since depositing the remaining contents of my shop into the unit in 2001 however I have reason to believe that the unit may have been accessed and some of its contents altered and/or destroyed.

By July 2001 I was working at a 9-5 job as Quality Assurance Technician/Engineer and living at my father's house in West Los Angeles.

I have known Bob since childhood and he has always been of sound mind, dependable and honest. However, after summer of 2001 Bob began to display signs of extremely unusual personality change. It became clear to me that it was likely that Bob was being assaulted by use of drugs and other means. This was/is not the Bob that I have known for more than thirty years. According to Bob's wife, upon Bob arriving back from the Army War College (post 2001 - year not provided in this document) that Bob was mentally incapacitated for some period of time. And while talking with Bob by telephone when he was overseas in 2004 he appeared to me to have been drugged. As of the 030606 writing of this document (prior document) Bob was no longer talking with me directly about these events and in conversations with Bob prior to 030606 he appeared to be frightened; it appeared that he had been somehow threatened.

Bob has now progressed into actively denying any knowledge of my understanding of our conversations. During a set of telephone conversations in about March 2006 I identified multiple inconsistencies in Bob's description of our communication from February 2001 to March 2006 including information that Bob could not have known unaided. The last time we spoke in person in early 2006, I asked Bob who gave him directions as to what to say to me; I asked if he could give me a name or names. He said to me, "I don't know what you are talking about," and then he said to me "there are certain battles that you cannot win."

Intermittent harassment and assault has continued up until recently, some examples include being 'drugged'; a threatening telephone call received at work in essence stating that "those who talk die"; verbally-delivered threats to my own well being and well being of loved ones; twice having automobiles attempt to 'run me off the road;' disappearance of emails from Bob and unauthorized access to at least one of my voice messaging systems. These are examples that constitute a small portion of the harassment and assault that I am alleging occurred.

I have been reduced to survival; being cautious about many aspects of my life. My outward manifest productivity has dropped to near zero. These events have had a profound impact on my life and career. I write this letter with the understanding that there is likely significant risk to my personal safety involved. I love my country; and what I have seen makes me realize that because of my nature I have no choice but to continue to try to report to the proper authority about these crimes.

I request that readers of this document assist in disseminating this document to the proper authorities (see note 2) since I have not received any verification that my attempts to deliver this document have been successful.

David A. Astin

080706 Los Angeles, California

Notes:

(1) In this document, the term "sensitive" should be seen as equivalent to "clearly sensitive" and "likely sensitive."

(2) Any Congressional committee that has been authorized to hear highly sensitive defense or intelligence-related information.

(3) Excepting local law enforcement (January 2001).

(4) Encrypted descriptive string: rxojjhrnsdkiazggkeqrbmdhzxhm.

(5) Description of an invention having potential significant military and civilian applications (description not provided in this document).

(6) 'TEMPEST' technology

(7) This letter was generated using earlier versions of this letter, corrections to these versions, and related letters.

(8) Earlier versions of this letter have been emailed and/or hand delivered to public officials including members of Congress, to the ACLU and NSWBC and to news services however I have thus far not received a response from any of the aforementioned with the exception of two referral letters from the ACLU.