EFTA00160235.pdf

From: FBI News Briefing <fbinewsbriefing@barbaricum.com> To: "FBINewsBriefing" <FBINewsBriefing@ic.fbi.gov> Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Daily News Briefing - January 8, 2024 Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2024 11:15:03 +0000 Importance: Normal View in Browser ptFederal Bureau of Investigation Seal January 08, 2024 Federal Bureau of Investigation Daily News Briefing (In coordination with the Office of Public Affairs) Email Public Affairs to subscribe to the Daily News Briefing. Mobile version and archive available here. Table of Contents IN THE NEWS • US Attorney General Convenes Panel on Violent Crime • Special Counsel Smith Has Spent More Than $12 Million On Trump Cases So Far • Iowa School Shooter Posted on Discord He Was 'Gearing Up' Before Gunfire • U.S. Grounds Some Boeing Max Planes for Safety Checks COUNTERINTELLIGENCE • Former Burisma Lawyer Registers Retroactively As Foreign Lobbyist After Biden Investigations • A Kansas Man Pleaded Guilty to Selling Plane Parts to Russia • FBI Issues Warning of China's Government Possibly Targeting U.S. Citizens in Texas • Why the U.S. Says China Is Stealing Al Secrets to Turbocharge Spying CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Nearly 3,000 Pages Of Jeffrey Epstein Documents Released, But Some Questions Remain Unanswered • Michigan Man Gets 15 Years in Prison for Asking 13-Year-Old to Send Him Sexually Explicit Images • A Man Charged With Punching a Flight Attendant Also Allegedly Kicked a Police Officer in the Groin • Connecticut Military Veteran Charged With Making Threats Against Member of Congress, VA • Margaritaville Cruise Bartender Accused of Sexually Assaulting Two Women in Cabin, Impregnating One • The Questions That Remain a Year After Tyre Nichols's Death • Ex-FBI Informant Accused of Stabbing Derek Chauvin in BLM-Inspired Prison Attack Pleads Not Guilty • Heavy Police Presence in Massachusetts as FBI, ATF Assist Local Police With Search • Pennsylvania Journalist Charged With Sex Crimes Now Facing New Charges Involving Another Minor • Man Arrested After World of Warcraft Game Helps Police in Florida Find Missing 16-Year-Old Girl From Ohio EFTA00160235 CYBER DIVISION • Cyber-Focused FBI Agents Deploy to Embassies Globally • FBI Warns Chinese Students in U.S. Of Extortion Scam INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS • U.S. Fugitive Nicholas Rossi Extradited From Scotland • FBI Seeks Info on New Jersey Man Missing in Italy CAPITOL VIOLENCE NEWS • The Supreme Court Will Decide If Donald Trump Can Be Kept Off 2024 Presidential Ballots • FBI Arrests Three In Florida On Charges Of Assaulting Officers In Jan. 6 Insurrection • New Video Shows Republican Congressman Scolding Jan. 6 Rioters Through Barricaded House Chamber • Jack Smith Responds To Trump Legal Team Arguing For Special Counsel To Be Held In Contempt • Jan. 6 Attack Resonates In Smaller-Scale Acts Of Political Violence • Three Years Later, Jan. 6 By The Numbers: More Than 1,200 Charged, More Than 460 Imprisoned For Role In Capitol Attack • Mike Pence Denounces Debunked FBI Jan 6 Conspiracy Theory Promoted by Trump • Bodycam Footage Details Rough Encounter Between Ex-Trump Campaign Aide, Smith Case Agents • Court Says Even Passive Members Of Jan. 6 Mob Can Be Convicted Of Disorderly Conduct • Google Location Data Was Used To Find Jan. 6 Rioters. It's Disappearing. • To Plead Or Not To Plead? That Is The Question For Hundreds Of Capitol Riot Defendants • Judge Rejects Lawsuit To Disqualify Georgia's Lieutenant Governor For Acting As Trump Elector • Three Years After Jan. 6, Trump's Immunity Claims To Take Center Stage • Former Law Enforcement Officer Says Biden Has Been Weak In Denouncing Jan. 6 Attack • Trump Vows To 'Take Over Our Capitol' On Anniversary Of Deadly Riot • Jan. 6 Defendants Plot New Strategy To Delay Cases • Special Counsel Probe Uncovers New Details About Trump's Inaction On Jan. 6: Sources • 'Qanon Shaman' Demands the FBI Return the Horns He Wore During Riot • FBI Still Looking For Person Who Planted Pipe Bombs Ahead of Jan. 6 Capitol Riot • $30 Million Suit Filed Over Jan. 6 Protester Ashli Babbitt's Death • Editorial: Three Years Later, Beware Dangerous Revisionism of Jan. 6 OTHER FBI NEWS • Democrats Urge DOJ to Get Tougher on White-Collar Criminals • Worries Fly After Florida Journalist's Home Raided by FBI for Kanye West Video INTERNATIONAL NEWS • Israel Says Hamas Has Been Destroyed in North Gaza • Hezbollah Fires Rocket Barrage Into Israel as Blinken Mounts New De-Escalation Push • Israel Presses Egypt to Better Secure Borderland Against Hamas Smugglers • Short on Shells, Ukraine Relies on Explosive Drones to Hold Russia Back • Some Families of Kidnapped Migrants Paid Ransoms, Mexico Minister Says • A Small-Town Stabbing Takes On a Larger Significance for France EFTA00160236 • Woman Rescued From Rubble in Japan Five Days After Deadly Quake • A Year After Pro-Bolsonaro Riots and Dozens of Arrests, Brazil Is Still Recovering • Norwegian Mass Killer Attempts to Sue the State Once More for an Alleged Breach of Human Rights • India Court Restores Life Prison Sentences for 11 Hindu Men Who Raped a Muslim Woman in 2002 Riots OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Supreme Court Allows Idaho To Enforce Near-Total Abortion Ban • House Republicans Ready Contempt of Congress Charges Against Hunter Biden for Defying a Subpoena • Ex-Cop Gets 14 Months in Jail in Death of Elijah McClain, Whose Mom Calls Him 'Bully With a Badge' • U.S. Moves Closer to Filing Sweeping Antitrust Case Against Apple • After Part Of A Plane's Wall Blew Out, Feds Ground Some Boeings • Congress Has a Deal to Fund the Government and Not Much Time to Pass It • Johnson Gets Direct Channel With Senate Border Negotiators • A New Immigration Policy That Avoids A Dangerous Journey Is Working. But Border Crossings Continue • A California Law Banning The Carrying Of Firearms In Most Public Places Is Blocked Again • John Turscak, Accused Of Stabbing Derek Chauvin In Prison, Pleads Not Guilty • U.S. Released More Than 2.3 Million Migrants At Border Since 2021, Data Show • The U.S. Sees A Drop In Illegal Border Crossings After Mexico Increases Enforcement BIG PICTURE • New York Times • Wall Street Journal • Washington Post • Financial Times • ABC News • CBS News • NBC News • Fox News WASHINGTON SCHEDULE IN THE NEWS US Attorney General Convenes Panel on Violent Crime US Attorney Genera! Convenes Panel On Violent Crime VOA News (01/05, Staff Writer) reported that Attorney General Merrick Garland convened a panel at the Department of Justice Friday to discuss violent crime in the United States, efforts to combat it, and how to share those methods with areas of the country that need it. The article indicated that speaking to reporters as the meeting began, AG Garland, along with Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, said they were also addressing what AG Garland called "a deeply disturbing" spike in threats against public servants, including law enforcement personnel, judges, members of Congress and election workers. According to the article, agencies represented at the meeting included the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Marshalls, and other department officials. The article detailed that the attorney general said recent data shows encouraging progress against violent crime nationwide, with the FBI reporting a 6% drop in homicides nationally EFTA00160237 from 2021 to 2022, and the Major Cities Police Chiefs Association reporting a double-digit drop in murders in 69 major U.S. cities in the past year. AG Garland, the article continued, credits his department's violent crime reduction strategy launched in 2021 in response to a spike in crime during the pandemic. The article explained that the strategy includes sharing technological tools with state and local enforcement officials. The department, the article elaborated, has also shared prosecutorial tools to help state and local agencies arrest and convict repeat offenders and criminal organizations that Garland called the principal driven of violent crime. The storyline was also reported on by News Nation (01/05, Markham) and WGHP (Fox-8) (01/05, Martin). New Gun Law Has Blocked Over 500 Firearms From Being Bought By Young People, Attorney General Says The Associated Press (01/05, Whitehurst) reported that Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday, the day after a school shooting in Iowa left a sixth-grader dead, that more than 500 gun purchases have been blocked since a new gun law requiring stricter background checks for young people went into effect in 2022. According to the article, the bipartisan law passed in June 2022 was the most sweeping gun legislation in decades and requires extra checks for any gun purchases by people under age 21. Those denied a gun purchase, the article detailed, include a person convicted of rape, a suspect in an attempted murder case, and someone who had been involuntarily committed for mental-health treatment, according to the Justice Department. The article indicated that President Joe Biden applauded the news, calling it an important milestone. The 2022 law, the article explained, was passed after a series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school. The article noted that the measure was a compromise that also included steps to keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people found to be dangerous, and it mandates extra checks with state and local officials for young buyers, along with the FBI databases typically searched before someone is approved to buy a gun. AG Garland, the article elaborated, said those steps have so far blocked 527 guns from being sold, adding that still, "This is not a time to relax our efforts," and "We have so much more to do?' Garland Says US Witnessing 'Deeply Disturbing Spike In Threats' Against Public Servants Fox News (01/05, Norman) reported that Attorney General Merrick Garland is warning that the U.S. is "witnessing a deeply disturbing spike in threats against those who serve the public," as the country continues to battle a "scourge in violent crime." According to the article, AG Garland spoke Friday in Washington, D.C., as he gathered leaden from the Justice Department's law enforcement components — including the FBI, ATF, DEA, and U.S. Marshals Service — to discuss combating violent crime and prosecuting and deterring those who would criminally threaten public servants. The article quoted the Attorney General as saying, "Violent crime is not just a threat to people's physical safety, it is a threat to their ability to freely go about their daily lives. Violent crime isolates people and communities. It deepens the fractures in our public life, and when it is not addressed can undermine people's trust in the government and in each other," and "This department and our state and local partners will not rest until every community in our country is safe from the scourge of violent crime," while "At the same time that we are seeing an encouraging downward trend in violent crime, we are also witnessing a deeply disturbing spike in threats against those who serve the public." The Washington Post (01/05, Stein, Barrett) noted that this week alone, officials are investigating bomb threats that forced evacuations at several courthouses and state capitols across the country. The attorney general, the article detailed, said federal officials also arrested and charged a man for threatening to kill a congressman and his children, which is "just a small snapshot of a larger trend that has included threats of violence against those who administer elections, ensure our safe travel, teach our children, report the news, represent their constituents and keep our communities safe," adding that "These threats of violence are unacceptable. They threaten our fabric of democracy." According to the article, the attorney general said officials would be discussing how best to "double down" on efforts to fight the rise in threats against government workers. The article indicated that while threats are increasing, homicide numbers across the country have declined: From 2021 to 2022, homicides dropped 6 percent. The attorney general, the article continued, also cited numbers from the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which reported a "double-digit decrease" in murders in 69 major cities between much of 2022 and 2023. The article added that Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told reporters Friday that officials in Baltimore said homicides had dropped by more than 20 percent this past year, and Detroit recorded the fewest homicides last year since 1966 — along with double-digit reductions in shootings and carjackings. The story was also reported on by Bloomberg (01/05, Monyak). Garland Warns DOJ Will Enforce 'The Law Without Fear Or Favor' In Lead Up To Jan. 6 Anniversary The Associated Press (01/05, Video) featured a video of AG Garland speaking and warning that the Justice EFTA00160238 Department will continue to enforce "the law without fear or favor" in the lead-up to Jan. 6 anniversary. Additional broadcast coverage was provided by C-Span (01/OS, Video) and MSNBC (01/05, Video). Special Counsel Smith Has Spent More Than $12 Million On Trump Cases So Far The Washington Post (01/05, Barrett, Stein) reported that special counsel Jack Smith spent more than $7 million over six months last year as he indicted and prepared to prosecute former president Donald Trump, bringing the total cost of Smith's work to date to over $12 million, according to Justice Department figures released Friday. The article indicated that the bulk of his expenses are for paying the salaries of the people who work for him. The expense accounting released by the department Friday, the article continued, said other parts of the Justice Department provided support and resources to Smith's office worth an additional $7.3 million during the same six- month time period. In total, the article elaborated, Justice Department officials released spending documents Friday for four different special counsels — three of whom are still operating. According to the article, special counsel Robert Hur, who was appointed last January to investigate whether President Biden mishandled classified materials stemming from his time as vice president and senator, spent more than $2.8 million between April and September 2023. The article detailed that about half of that, $1.4 million, went to paying salaries. In Hur's office, nearly $800,000 was paid for rent and other operational costs over that time, while an additional $182,000 covered travel expenses. The article noted that combined with a prior spending report showing that Hur spent about $616,000 between January and March 2023, Hur's investigation has cost taxpayers nearly $3.5 million. In the few months covered by the third special counsel David Weiss's spending report, he spent relatively little, possibly because so much of the investigative work in the Hunter Biden case had already been done. The article explained that the Justice Department said Weiss's office spent $182,683, while separately, other Justice Department offices spent $132,098. Officials, the article added, also filed what may be the final spending records from a different special counsel, John Durham, who spent nearly $550,000 between April 2023 and September 2023 as he was shutting down operations. The article concluded that in all, Durham's probe has cost taxpayers more than $8 million since he was formally appointed a special counsel in 2020. CNN (01/05, Rabinowitz) noted that the report is the second released by the Justice Department since Smith was appointed special counsel. Last year, the article detailed, Smith and the Justice Department reported spending more than $9.2 million between November 2022 and March 2023. The article pointed out that although Smith's price tag tops those of special counsels Robert Hur and David Weiss and former special counsel John Durham, his spending is still less than the nearly $32 million that Robert Mueller spent during his yearslong probe into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Trump. ABC News (01/05, Mallin) suggested that the new expenditure reports show how Smith's investigations expanded significantly during the period when his prosecutors returned two separate indictments charging Trump with unlawfully retaining classified documents after leaving office and attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. Politico (01/05, Swan) highlighted that security costs for special counsel Jack Smith have risen dramatically in recent months, with nearly a third of the expenses on his investigations being security-related over the latest reporting period. The article detailed that between April and September of last year, the Justice Department spent more than $14.6 million on Smith's work, specifying that more than $4.4 million of that money covered the U.S. Marshals Service, which provides security for Smith and his team. The new data, the article pointed out, represents a jump from Smith's security costs in the first four-and-a-half months of his tenure. The article added that during that initial period — Nov. 18, 2022, through March 31, 2023 — nearly $2 million went to U.S. Marshals protection. The New York Post (01/05, Nava), The Daily Beast (01/05, Alfred), The Hill (01/05, Bertsch), Raw Story (01/OS, Culliton), The Epoch Times (01/06, Ozimek), and USA TODAY (01/05, Video) also reported on the story. Iowa School Shooter Posted on Discord He Was 'Gearing Up' Before Gunfire The Associated Press (01/06, Karnowski) reported that in a tragic school shooting in Perry, Iowa, a 17-year-old named Dylan Butler killed an 11-year-old student and wounded seven others at Perry High School using a shotgun, handgun, and a disarmed improvised explosive device. According to the article, the FBI and state investigators are probing Butler's social media, including a TikTok post made shortly before the shooting with the caption "now we wait" and a song titled "Stray Bullet." Authorities, who believe Butler acted alone, are interviewing his friends and analyzing his online presence, including photos of him with firearms and posts on TikTok and Reddit. NBC News (01/07, Goggin) explained that in the minutes leading up to the shooting, Butler posted a video to TikTok from an account with the username "tooktoomuch" in what appeared to be a school bathroom. The Discord account that appeared to be posting about the shooting used the name "took2much." A Discord spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that the company believes the "took2much" screen name belonged to Butler. The user "took2much" was also part of a chatroom dedicated to discussing school shootings called "School Massacres Discussion," according EFTA00160239 to a Discord user who saw the user in the chat. The article noted that the Discord user said they had flagged the chatroom to the FBI in November, after which an FBI agent reached out over email and asked for more information. The user emailed the FBI agent screenshots of the server but did not hear back. The user said their report to the FBI did not include mention of the user "took2much." The chatroom was closed before the shooting. The article added that the FBI declined to comment. Additional reporting on the story was provided by the New York Post (01/07, Propper), People (01/06, Hernandez), MSNBC (01/06, Lim), CNN (01/05, Wolfe, Razek, Yan, Williams), Al Jazeera (01/05, Staff Writer), Independent (01/06, McHardy), Rolling Stone (01/05, Madarang), BBC (01/05, Kim), The Hill (01/05, Irwin), ABC News (01/05, Deliso), Business Insider (01/06, Balevic), Associated Press (01/06, McFetridge, Foley, Funk, Ingram), UN (01/07, Moran), NBC News (01/05, Burke, Arkin, Broaddus), USA TODAY (01/05, Rodriguez, Mendiola, Thornton), and Today (01/07, Video). U.S. Grounds Some Boeing Max Planes for Safety Checks CBS News (01/07, Chasan) reported that the FAA grounded Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after an emergency exit door blew out mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines plane, requiring an emergency landing in Portland. According to the article, the FBI is assisting in locating parts that detached during the flight, with an FBI spokesperson stating they are in "an on-call status." The incident, involving rapid decompression after a door plug departed the airplane, is under investigation by several agencies, including the FAA, NTSB, Boeing, and the FBI. Additional reporting on the story was provided by two articles from the Associated Press (01/07, Olson), CNBC (01/07, Joseph), Reuters (01/07, Shepardson, Insinna, Hepher), BBC (01/07, Leggett), Daily Mail (01/07, Wright), Financial Times (01/06, Pfeifer, Bushey), New York Times (01/06, Walker, Chokshi), NBC News (01/06, Blackman, Romero), NPR (01/06, Kim), Politico (01/06, Pawlyk), CNN (01/07, Smart, Paget, Muntean, Razek), Al Jazeera (01/07, Staff Writer), Bloomberg (01/05, Schlangenstein, Johnsson, Philip, Beene, Lee), Wall Street Journal (01/07, Sider), and Business Insider (01/06, Niemeyer). Back to Top COUNTERINTELLIGENCE Former Burisma Lawyer Registers Retroactively As Foreign Lobbyist After Biden Investigations Reuters (01/05, Scarcella) reported that eight years ago, the New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, represented Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company with Hunter Biden on its board, in meetings with U.S. officials. The firm disclosed this under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) after discussions with the Department of Justice regarding the law's scope. The disclosure included representing Burisma's owner Mykola Zlochevsky in potential U.S. governmental investigations, with Cravath receiving nearly $350,000 for legal services between March 2016 and August 2017. Fox News (01/05, Morris) explained that then-Vice President Biden and Hunter Biden allegedly "coerced" Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company fired, according to allegations contained in an unclassified FBI document released last July by Sen. Chuck Grassley. Grassley said he released the document, which describes an alleged criminal bribery scheme involving Joe Biden and a Ukrainian business executive so that the American people can "read this document for themselves without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats." The article noted that the document in question was an FBI-generated FD-1023 form — a confidential human source (CHS) reporting document — that reflected the FBI's interview with a "highly credible" confidential source who detailed multiple meetings and conversations he or she had with a top executive of Burisma Holdings over several years starting in 2015. Washington Examiner (01/05, Bedford) and Bloomberg (01/05, Ackley, Wise) also reported on the story. A Kansas Man Pleaded Guilty to Selling Plane Parts to Russia Business Insider (01/05, Syme) reported that Kansas business owner Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering for selling aircraft parts to Russia, circumventing U.S. export laws. According to the article, Buyanovsky was involved in a scheme to sell avionics equipment to Russian customers, including Russia's security agency, the FSB, by filing false export forms and removing and replacing FSB stickers on equipment. The article noted that the DOJ highlighted that Buyanovsky and his associate, Douglas Robertson, attempted to conceal their illegal activities, with Buyanovsky admitting to dealing with the FSB and facing up to 25 years in prison. "Buyanovsky's guilty plea serves as a reminder to those who defy U.S. law to support Russia's aggression — know you will be held accountable for your actions," said Executive Assistant Director Larissa Knapp of the FBI's National Security Branch in the December press release. "The FBI, along with our partners, works EFTA00160240 diligently to identify and prevent illegal transfers of sophisticated equipment to hostile nations and will pursue those who support such smuggling operations." FBI Issues Warning of China's Government Possibly Targeting U.S. Citizens in Texas KPRC (NBC-2) (01/05, Taylor) reported that the FBI Houston issued a warning about the Chinese government potentially targeting individuals in the U.S., particularly in Texas, who challenge the Chinese Communist Party. According to the article, the warning highlighted concerns of cyberstalking, physical intimidation, and harassment by the People's Republic of China against Chinese citizens, naturalized U.S. citizens, and families of dissidents. Why the U.S. Says China Is Stealing Al Secrets to Turbocharge Spying A podcast from the Wall Street Journal (01/05, Podcast) reported on the U.S.'s concerns regarding China's alleged stealing of Al secrets to enhance its spying capabilities. The podcast discussed the ongoing battle between China and the U.S. for supremacy in artificial intelligence. U.S. government officials have accused hackers associated with the Chinese government of pilfering extensive amounts of data, including American trade secrets. This theft is feared to potentially enable China to develop advanced Al that could significantly improve its hacking capabilities. The podcast featured WSJ senior reporter Aruna Viswanatha and host Alex Ossola discussing the potential impact of these developments on individual Americans and the measures being taken in response. Back to Top CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS Nearly 3,000 Pages Of Jeffrey Epstein Documents Released, But Some Questions Remain Unanswered The Associated Press (01/05, Staff Writer) reported that for nearly two decades, journalists, police detectives, FBI agents, lawyers, and amateur sleuths have pried into the depraved world of Jeffrey Epstein. Yet even after the release of thousands of pages of court records in recent days, some questions about the millionaire pedophile remain unanswered. The documents have gotten a lot of attention, but they shed little new light on the financier's habitual sexual abuse of underage girls. CNN (01/05, Delouya, Winter, Valle) reported that the unsealed documents are part of a 2015 civil defamation suit brought by , an American woman who claimed Epstein sexually abused her as a minor and that Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, aided in the abuse. The unsealing this week stems from a December 18 court order from the judge overseeing the lawsuit, a response to the media's legal efforts to publicly release the documents. The Telegraph (01/07, Johnston) reported that a lawyer representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein has urged the FBI to release CCTV footage that he claims could show Prince Andrew at the pedophile's mansion. The article noted that Spencer Kuvin, an attorney who has represented nine victims of Epstein, is urging U.S. law enforcement to release the footage from home surveillance cameras in the wake of newly released records detailing Andrew's connections to the convicted sex offender. The article mentioned that the Florida-based attorney claimed that senior FBI officers seized the hard disks and stored videos and wants the bureau to now allow the public to see what material is on those videos. Fox News (01/05, Ruiz, Casiano), the Guardian (01/06, Epstein), NBC News (01/07, Ortiz), New York Post (01/06. Nathan, Fleming), CBS News (01/06, Gualtieri, Tabachnick), the Independent (01/07, Marcus), Daily Mail (01/07, Callery), and an additional Associated Press (01/05, Staff Writer) article. Michigan Man Gets 15 Years in Prison for Asking 13-Year-Old to Send Him Sexually Explicit Images WWJ (CBS-62) (01/05, Powers) reported that a Michigan man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to get a 13-year-old boy to send him sexually explicit images online, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced. Raymond Alexander Elliot, 35, of Columbus, Michigan, was arrested in January 2022 after admitting to possessing and distributing child pornography and communicating with a 13-year-old victim who lived in Missouri. The article noted that the FBI started investigating Elliot after a victim reported him and gave his cell phone to authorities so they could communicate with him. While authorities had the victim's cellphone, Elliot contacted the victim via social media and requested that they start their sexual conversations again. In addition, he asked the victim to send him photos, unaware he was communicating with an FBI agent. The article quoted Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, who said, "The FBI prioritizes the protection of children from dangerous predators and is fully committed to investigating those who seek to harm the most vulnerable members of society, those who make the unconscionable decision to victimize innocent children will be brought to justice. We would like to extend our appreciation to our wide network of law enforcement partners for their critical support. The FBI urges the public to report alleged crimes of child sexual or physical abuse." EFTA00160241 A Man Charged With Punching a Flight Attendant Also Allegedly Kicked a Police Officer in the Groin The Associated Press (01/05, Staff Writer) reported that a man accused of punching a flight attendant later kicked a police officer in the groin and spit on officers who were removing him from the plane in Texas, according to a newly released report by an FBI agent. Keith Edward Fagiana faces charges of interfering with a flight crew and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He is scheduled to make his first federal court appearance Monday in Amarillo, Texas. The article noted that Fagiana was a passenger on an American Airlines flight Wednesday from Fort Worth, Texas, to Bozeman, Montana. Pilots landed the plane in Amarillo instead. The article stated that the FBI agent's account was in unsealed court documents Friday. A flight attendant told the FBI that another passenger complained that Fagiana was violently kicking their seat. The flight attendant said when he asked Fagiana to stop, the man swore at him, punched him in the stomach, then stood up and hit him three more times. The New York Post (01/05, Steinbuch), and CNN (01/05, Sykes) also reported on the story. Connecticut Military Veteran Charged With Making Threats Against Member of Congress, VA The Associated Press (01/05, Staff Writer) reported that a Connecticut military veteran has been arrested on allegations he threatened government officials, including showing up at a Congress member's office wearing a tactical vest with knives, federal authorities said Friday. Aubrey Wayne Rose Jr., 43, of Hartford, was charged with making threats against members of Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Haven, and other government employees over several months in 2023. No one was injured in any of the incidents. The article noted that Rose told federal agents he has post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered a traumatic brain injury from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and he believed the Defense Finance Accounting Service was not calculating his benefits correctly. The article mentioned that after sending emails to government officials in March and May threatening to exercise his 2nd Amendment right to bear arms, Rose showed up at the Hartford office of an unnamed member of Congress in June wearing a tactical vest and armed with knives, the FBI said in an arrest warrant affidavit. Rose was upset about his retirement and disability benefits being too low. Staff at the office locked the door before he could enter, authorities said. Rose left, but returned later that day and made threats over the building intercom, the FBI said. According to the article, Rose was arrested two days later on a state misdemeanor charge of breach of peace for the incident, but the charges were later dropped and Rose was referred for mental health treatment, according to the affidavit. On Dec. 20, Rose went into the VA Medical Center in West Haven wearing a tactical vest and carrying a bullhorn, authorities said. He threatened to come back with a weapon if the VA did not help him. Margaritaville Cruise Bartender Accused of Sexually Assaulting Two Women in Cabin, Impregnating One Fox News (01/05, Coulter) reported that a bartender on the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise ship who was convicted on criminal charges after pocketing a room key and raping an unsuspecting passenger now faces a civil lawsuit from her cabin roommate who claims he raped her, too, and got her pregnant. The article noted that Hoobesh Kumar Dookhy, 24, pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact, reduced from harsher initial charges, when a passenger identified as HB in court documents sued Classica Cruise Operator Ltd for the May 2023 incident. The article mentioned that her cabinmate, identified only as "Jane Doe" or "SE" in court documents, brought additional allegations against him in her complaint filed in West Palm Beach, Florida. The article added that Dookhy was serving both women on May 5 during the ship's cruise from the Port of Palm Beach to the Bahamas, according to the complaint. HB recalled that she had been "pretty intoxicated" after reaching her 10 drink limit, and returned to their room around 1 a.m. Unbeknownst to her, the women claim, Dookhy had pocketed the key he had used to charge the drinks to her room. Dookhy let himself into their room about an hour later, according to court documents. The article stated that at the time, according to the complaint, the woman recalled in interviews with cruise ship security and FBI agents that her roommate was asleep during the assault, per the complaint. Dookhy admitted that he had been drinking that night, in his interview with FBI agents, he initially claimed that his sex with HB had been consensual, before taking a plea deal to avoid life in prison in October, the Palm Beach outlet reported. The Questions That Remain a Year After Tyre Nichols's Death The New York Times (01/07, Cochrane, Rojas) reported that Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black FedEx worker, was beaten by Memphis police officers for roughly three minutes on the evening of Jan. 7, 2023, after he was stopped for what the police initially said was reckless driving. The stop escalated into a violent confrontation that ended with Nichols hospitalized in critical condition. Three days later, he died. The article added that Nichols, a father who had a young son and who loved photographing sunsets and skateboarding, had run toward his mother's home, EFTA00160242 crying out for her as he was beaten. Five police officers, all of whom are also Black, were fired and later charged with various state felonies, including second-degree murder, and separately indicted by a grand jury on federal civil rights, conspiracy, and obstruction offenses. One officer has since taken a plea agreement, which included pleading guilty to two felony charges in federal court. According to the article, the case drew a national outcry and closer scrutiny of policing practices after the city of Memphis released graphic footage that showed officers punching, kicking, and using a baton to beat Nichols as he begged them to stop. The article addressed that a year after Nichols was killed, there are several unanswered questions about what led to the traffic stop, how much the policing culture in Memphis has changed, and how the legal investigations and court proceedings will play out. Ex-FBI Informant Accused of Stabbing Derek Chauvin in BLM-Inspired Prison Attack Pleads Not Guilty WCCO (CBS-4) (01/06, Staff Writer) reported that the man accused of stabbing Derek Chauvin 22 times in prison pleaded not guilty on Friday. John Turscak was charged with attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury after the stabbing in November. The article noted that charging documents state he stabbed Chauvin with an improvised knife in the law library of the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson. He told agents he had been thinking of assaulting Chauvin for roughly one month because of his high-profile nature. The article mentioned that Chauvin is serving a 22-year sentence after he was convicted of killing George Floyd during an arrest in May of 2020. Chauvin was badly hurt in the stabbing but was in stable condition soon after. Heavy Police Presence in Massachusetts as FBI, ATF Assist Local Police With Search WFXT (Fox-25) (01/05, Papadopoulos) reported that federal authorities are responding to assist local police in a search in Plainville, officials said. The FBI Boston's Evidence Response Team is among federal authorities taking part in a search that is related to an ongoing local investigation, an FBI spokesperson confirmed Friday. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also responding. The article noted that Plainville Police Chief James Floyd said on Friday afternoon that the police response is part of an investigation in a case that occurred two weeks ago. The police chief said the reason for the heavy police response is because they are a small department. Floyd said that Friday's response does not have anything to do with a homicide or any missing person. Pennsylvania Journalist Charged With Sex Crimes Now Facing New Charges Involving Another Minor KDKA (CBS-2) (01/06, Damp) reported that the man who served as the managing editor of the Centre County Gazette in State College is now facing new charges in relation to a new incident from 12 years ago. The article noted that 54-year-old Christopher Morelli is alleged to have messaged a woman on Facebook in the fall of 2011 when she was 14. The conversation, provided by the woman, was about sex. She also told police that the conversations started after she went to his house in September 2011 to go swimming. The criminal complaint alleges that Morelli gave the woman and her friend alcohol when they went swimming at his house. According to the article, he was arrested late last year after he attempted to arrange a meeting with a 14-year-old girl. Morelli had been talking to who he thought was a 14-year-old girl on a social media app but turned out to be an FBI agent undercover. He allegedly attempted to get the girl to send him sexually explicit photos and meet him at a hotel. Along with already facing charges of unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility, he is now facing charges of solicitation to commit statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors. Man Arrested After World of Warcraft Game Helps Police in Florida Find Missing 16-Year-Old Girl From Ohio CNN (01/06, Smart, Williams) reported that authorities say they were able to locate a missing 16-year-old girl from Ohio at a residence in Florida with the help of the popular online video game World of Warcraft. The FBI contacted the Marion County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday seeking help finding the teenager, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff's office in north-central Florida. The article noted that investigators learned the teen's account for World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, was active at a residence in Dunnellon, Florida, authorities said in the post. An MMORPG is a video game that takes place in a virtual environment called a persistent-state world, according to Techopedia, where potentially millions of players can develop their role-playing characters and interact together. The article stated that according to authorities, the residence was the home address of Thomas Ebersole, 31, whose World of Warcraft account was also pinged at the location. Ebersole initially denied knowing the 16-year-old, but later allegedly admitted he had driven to Ohio to meet up with her and bring her back to Dunnellon, according to the post from the sheriff's office. Fox News (01/06, Pandolfo) also reported on the story. EFTA00160243 Back to Top CYBER DIVISION Cyber-Focused FBI Agents Deploy to Embassies Globally Dark Reading (01/OS, Staff Writer) reported that the FBI is adding six new positions to American embassies to combat global cybercriminal issues, according to reports. The article noted that the positions will be located in Brasilia, New Delhi, and Rome, bringing the total number of cyber-related FBI agents in American embassies up to 22 (a 40% increase in cyber assistant legal attaches globally). That's according to Brian Abellera, an FBI cyber assistant legal attaché stationed in Ottawa, who said that the program is meant to bolster coordinated international law enforcement actions. The article quoted Abellera, who said, "What if 60 agencies across 16 countries, across 10 time zones, within one day, were able to lash up as one unified team and conduct an action together?" The article stated that the added positions highlight the FBI and DOJ's increasing focus on actively combatting cybercrime in a time when it is difficult to coordinate and investigate certain threat actors that are located internationally. The cyber agents are tasked with disrupting the work of these criminal threat actors, allowing for fewer ransom payments being paid and targeting the criminal acts as they happen instead of after the fact. FBI Warns Chinese Students in U.S. Of Extortion Scam UPI (01/OS, Moran) reported that the FBI is warning the public about impostors posing as Chinese police officers trying to extort money from Chinese university students in the United States, telling them they are being investigated, the bureau announced Thursday. The article noted that the FBI warning follows numerous messages issued by Chinese and Australian officials last year and comes after the first well-documented "cyber kidnapping" case in the United States where police in Riverdale, Utah, said they found 17-year-old Kai Zhuang, a Chinese exchange student, freezing in a mountain side tent. Officials say Chinese impostors had convinced Zhuang to isolate himself and swindled his family out of $80,000. Back to Top INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS U.S. Fugitive Nicholas Rossi Extradited From Scotland The Associated Press (01/OS, Melley, Schoenbaum) reported that an elusive U.S. fugitive accused of faking his death and traveling the globe to avoid rape charges has been extradited to Utah from Scotland, the Utah County prosecutor's office said Friday. The article mentioned that the man known in the U.S. as Nicholas Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, is charged with sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in 2008, according to local prosecutors. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence. Rossi, 36, was Utah-bound on Friday and will stand trial in Utah County for felony rape charges, county prosecutor David Leavitt said. According to the article, authorities in Rhode Island have said Alahverdian is wanted in the state for failing to register as a sex offender, though his former lawyer there, Jeffrey Pine, said that the charge had been dropped when he left the state. The FBI has said he also faces fraud charges in Ohio, where he was convicted of sex-related charges in 2008. Police in England said they also were investigating and seeking to interview Rossi in connection with an older rape allegation made in April 2022 in the city of Chelmsford. BBC (01/06, Staff Writer), the Salt Lake Tribune (01/OS, Miller), Business Insider (01/06, Thompson), the Guardian (01/OS, Brooks), and the Independent (01/06, Gregory, Dalton) also reported on the story. FBI Seeks Info on New Jersey Man Missing In Italy WNBC (NBC-4) (01/OS, Staff Writer) reported that the FBI's office in Newark is asking for the public's help finding a 36-year-old New Jersey man who was last seen hiking in a remote area of Italy more than four years ago. Uam Biran left his Marlboro home on April 8, 2019, to visit his grandparents in Israel, and from there, he traveled to wine country in Italy. Biran had planned to go to France after that. He was booked on a flight to return to the U.S. on May 16, 2019, a little more than a month after his initial departure. Biran was not on that flight, the FBI says. The article noted that the last known activity related to Biran was a purchase made on his credit card for a train ticket to Turin, Italy. Italian police detectives have also learned, over the course of their investigation, that Biran was in the Aosta Valley, stayed in multiple hostels, and became friendly with other travelers there. Before his trip, Biran spent time living and working in New York City and New Orleans. EFTA00160244 Back to Top CAPITOL VIOLENCE NEWS The Supreme Court Will Decide If Donald Trump Can Be Kept Off 2024 Presidential Ballots The Associated Press (01/05, Sherman, Riccardi) reported that the Supreme Court will decide if former President Donald Trump can be kept off the 2024 presidential ballots due to his role in the events leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. According to the article, Colorado's Supreme Court ruled that Trump should not be on the Republican primary ballot, the first use of the 14th Amendment in this context, and Trump is also appealing a similar ruling in Maine. The article noted that the high court's involvement in this matter marks its most direct engagement in a presidential election since Bush v. Gore in 2000, with all justices participating despite some calls for Justice Clarence Thomas to step aside due to his wife's support for Trump's efforts to overturn the election. The New York Times (01/05, Liptak), Washington Post (01/05, Marimow, Marley), CNN (01/05, Cole), BBC (01/05, Staff Writer), Newsweek (01/05, Jackson), Fox News (01/05, Rumpf-Whitten, Mears, Bream), NPR (01/05, Johnson), Independent (01/05, Woodward), CBS News (01/05, Quinn) and PBS (01/05, Video) also reported on the story. FBI Arrests Three In Florida On Charges Of Assaulting Officers In Jan. 6 Insurrection The Associated Press (01/06, Spencer) reported that the FBI arrested three Florida residents, Jonathan D. Pollock, Olivia M. Pollock, and Joseph D. Hutchinson, on charges related to assaulting officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Arrested at a ranch in Groveland, Florida, they had been indicted in April 2021, with Jonathan Pollock going into hiding shortly after the attack and his sister and Hutchinson fleeing before their trial in March 2022. According to the article, the indictment alleges Jonathan Pollock and Hutchinson punched officers and used riot shields as weapons, while Olivia Pollock is accused of punching and elbowing an officer. Axios (01/06, Miranda), The Hill (01/06, Thomas), Law & Crime (01/06, Kandel), HuffPost (01/06, Boboltz), The Messenger (01/06, Dent), Barrons (01/06, Staff Writer), ABC News (01/06, Deliso), Al Jazeera (01/06, Staff Writer), CNN (01/06, Shelton), and NBC News (01/06, Reilly) also reported on the story. New Video Shows Republican Congressman Scolding Jan. 6 Rioters Through Barricaded House Chamber CBS News (01/06, Tanyos) reported that a new cell phone video released by the Justice Department shows Republican Congressman Troy Nehls scolding Jan. 6 rioters barricaded outside the House Chamber. According to the article, Damon Beckley, a Capitol rioter convicted of obstructing an official proceeding and interfering with law enforcement, is connected to the video. Beckley, arrested by the FBI less than two weeks after the attack, faces a requested 37-month prison term by federal prosecutors. The article noted that nearly 1,200 people have been charged and over 700 have pleaded guilty in connection with the Capitol riot, where 140 police officers were assaulted. CNN (01/06, Zanona, lyer), Newsweek (01/06, Venegas), NBC News (01/06, Reilly), Independent (01/06, O'Connell), Washington Times (01/06, Miller). Broadcast coverage was provided by CNN (01/06, Video), NBC News (01/06, Video), and CBS News (01/06, Video) also reported on the story. Jack Smith Responds To Trump Legal Team Arguing For Special Counsel To Be Held In Contempt NBC News (01/05, Reilly, Lebowitz) reported that Special Counsel Jack Smith's team responded to former President Donald Trump's legal team's request to hold Smith in contempt for filing motions ahead of deadlines in a federal election interference case related to the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. According to the article, Smith's office argued they did not violate a court order by providing discovery ahead of deadlines and dismissed allegations of partisanship and prosecutorial misconduct as baseless. The article noted that a U.S. District Judge paused proceedings while an appeals court considered dismissal on presidential immunity grounds, with Smith's team stating they continued to voluntarily comply with established deadlines and plan to maintain this approach to facilitate resuming the pretrial schedule. Washington Examiner (01/05, Deese), CNN (01/05, Rabinowitz), New York Times (01/05, Feuer), New York Sun (01/05, Hoffman), and The Hill (01/05, Robertson) also reported on the story. Jan. 6 Attack Resonates In Smaller-Scale Acts Of Political Violence The Wall Street Journal (01/06, Gurman) reported that three years after the January 6 Capitol riot, authorities are facing a surge in politically motivated violence and threats, with the FBI reporting a significant increase in domestic violent extremism cases. According to the article, the Justice Department has pursued charges against over 1,200 people related to the Capitol assault, with Director Wray highlighting the elevated threat level across various domains. "I've never seen a time where all the threats or so many of the threats are all elevated all at exactly the same time," Director Wray told lawmakers at a hearing in December, stressing that the domestically generated EFTA00160245 challenges had been compounded by rising threats of international terrorism and against Jews and Muslims in the U.S. since Hamas's Oct. 7 assault on Israeli civilians and Israel's invasion of Gaza. The article assessed that this landscape of heightened political tension and violence is exacerbated by divisive rhetoric, as President Biden and former President Trump continue to offer contrasting narratives about the January 6 events and their implications for American democracy. Three Years Later, Jan. 6 By The Numbers: More Than 1,200 Charged, More Than 460 Imprisoned For Role In Capitol Attack ABC News (01/05, Mallin) reported that three years after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, over 1,265 individuals have been charged, with more than 718 guilty pleas and 171 convictions at trial. According to the article, the FBI continues to seek public assistance in identifying over 80 suspects involved in assaults on law enforcement during the riot. The article explained that while 467 individuals have been sentenced to imprisonment, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matt Graves warned that the statute of limitations for many charges will expire on January 5, 2026, marking the riot's fifth anniversary. CBS News (01/05, Legare), Axios (01/05, Solender), and The Hill (01/05, Irwin) also reported on the story. Mike Pence Denounces Debunked FBI Jan 6 Conspiracy Theory Promoted by Trump Independent (01/06, O'Connell) reported that former Vice President Mike Pence denounced the debunked conspiracy theory, promoted by Donald Trump, that the FBI instigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. According to the article, Pence, speaking in Tel Aviv, expressed his gratitude for the FBI's efforts in arresting those responsible for the attack, emphasizing the need for them to be held accountable. The article noted that Trump continues to promote false claims about the riot and election fraud, facing federal and Georgia state charges for his alleged efforts to overturn the presidential election, with the House select committee identifying him as the "central cause" of the riot. Politico (01/07, Garrity), New York Post (01/07, King), and CNN (01/07, Lotz) also reported on the story. Bodycam Footage Details Rough Encounter Between Ex-Trump Campaign Aide, Smith Case Agents Fox News (01/06, Creitz) reported that Harrison Floyd, a former Trump campaign aide, was involved in a contentious encounter with FBI agents, as depicted in newly obtained bodycam footage. According to the article, Floyd, who was indicted in the Georgia election case, claimed the agents used overblown tactics and didn't properly identify themselves. His attorney criticized the agents' conduct, noting inconsistencies in the case report and questioning the manner of Floyd's arrest, which occurred 10 hours after he reported the incident to Maryland police, where he was initially listed as a victim. The article noted that the incident relates to a subpoena requiring Floyd to turn over contacts and documents connected to the Trump administration and election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani. Floyd has been charged under Georgia's RICO statute but has yet to be indicted by special counsel Jack Smith. Court Says Even Passive Members Of Jan. 6 Mob Can Be Convicted Of Disorderly Conduct Politico (01/06, Cheney) reported that a federal appeals court ruled that January 6 defendants can be convicted of disorderly or disruptive conduct inside the Capitol even without engaging in violence or destruction. According to the article, this decision supports the Justice Department's approach in charging over 1,200 defendants with such misdemeanors. The ruling, which upheld the conviction and one-year prison sentence of defendant Russell Alford, emphasizes that even passive participation in the mob is culpable, highlighting the case's importance in the broader context of the January 6 Capitol riot prosecutions. The article noted that the court's decision was unanimous, with Judge Karen Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee, authoring the opinion. The Washington Examiner (01/05, Seven) also reported on the story. Google Location Data Was Used To Find Jan. 6 Rioters. It's Disappearing. Washington Post (01/06, Weiner, Harwell) reported that Google's location data, used to identify hundreds of participants in the January 6 Capitol riot, will soon become inaccessible for law enforcement, as Google plans to stop storing such data. According to the article, Special Counsel Jack Smith utilized this data to create a map tracing supporters from Trump's speech to the Capitol. The use of Google's data, under geofence warrants, has been controversial, with debates over its constitutionality and privacy concerns. The Justice Department used this data to support the largest investigation in U.S. history, charging over 1,200 people. The article noted that Google's shift aligns with Apple's practice, significantly limiting future law enforcement access to this type of data. To Plead Or Not To Plead? That Is The Question For Hundreds Of Capitol Riot Defendants EFTA00160246 The Associated Press (01/06, Kunzelman) reported that hundreds of defendants charged in the January 6 Capitol riot face a dilemma: plead guilty and accept consequences or risk longer sentences by going to trial. The article explained that the average prison sentence for those convicted after a trial is about two years longer than for those who pleaded guilty. The article noted that the trend of harsher sentences for trial defendants is evident across various charges, with one notable case being Guy Reffitt, who faced a significantly higher sentence recommendation after trial compared to a pre-trial plea offer. Judge Rejects Lawsuit To Disqualify Georgia's Lieutenant Governor For Acting As Trump Elector The Associated Press (01/06, Amy) reported that a judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to disqualify Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones from office due to his role as a Trump elector in 2020, ruling that the plaintiffs couldn't use their legal action to challenge Jones' actions as a state senator. According to the article, the lawsuit is part of broader efforts to hold accountable those who falsely claimed to be valid Trump electors, with Jones facing potential state charges, but a special prosecutor has not been appointed. The article noted that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Trump's appeal regarding a similar situation in Colorado, related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and the 14th Amendment's provision on barring individuals who engaged in insurrection from holding public office. Three Years After Jan. 6, Trump's Immunity Claims To Take Center Stage The New York Times (01/05, Feuer, Savage) reported that three years after the Capitol riot, former President Donald Trump's legal team is arguing in a federal appeals court that he should have complete immunity from actions undertaken as president, including efforts to overturn the 2020 election. According to the article, this argument is central to Trump's strategy to delay any trial until after the 2024 election, with the potential for re- election allowing him to drop federal charges against himself. The article noted that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a related case on Trump's eligibility for Colorado's Republican primary ballot, stemming from his alleged involvement in insurrection. Former Law Enforcement Officer Says Biden Has Been Weak In Denouncing Jan. 6 Attack USA TODAY (01/05, Kochi) reported that retired D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone, who defended the Capitol during the January 6 attack, criticized President Joe Biden for being too weak in denouncing the riot. The article explained that in an MSNBC interview, Fanone expressed disappointment with Biden's response, despite acknowledging efforts like the Justice Department's prosecutions and states' actions against Donald Trump. The article noted that former Capitol Police officers Harry Dunn and Sergeant Aquilino Gonell also shared their reflections on the attack and its impact on their lives, with Gonell noting the end of his career due to injuries sustained during the riot. Trump Vows To 'Take Over Our Capitol' On Anniversary Of Deadly Riot The Daily Beast (01/06, Alfred) reported that former President Donald Trump, on the third anniversary of the Capitol riot, called for the release of those who committed violent crimes on his behalf during the attack. The article explained that while speaking at an Iowa rally, he vowed to "take over our Capitol" and federalize Washington, D.C. if re-elected, to combat violent crime. The article noted that Trump criticized President Biden, insinuating that Biden orchestrated an FBI and DOJ plot against his presidential campaign, and cast himself as a potential "dictator for one day" if re-elected. Jan. 6 Defendants Plot New Strategy To Delay Cases The Hill (01/06, Schonfeld, Lee) reported that Jan. 6 defendants are strategizing to delay their cases until the Supreme Court decides on the legitimacy of an obstruction charge used in prosecuting many rioters. This charge, under scrutiny in the case Fischer v. United States, has been a key tool for prosecutors to frame the rioters' actions as part of a larger plot to obstruct the 2020 presidential election certification. With over 332 defendants charged under this statute, the Supreme Court's decision could significantly impact these cases, leading to potential delays, new trials, or dismissals. The article noted that judges handling Jan. 6 cases have given mixed responses to defendants' requests for delays, with some granting pauses and others proceeding with sentencings. Special Counsel Probe Uncovers New Details About Trump's Inaction On Jan. 6: Sources ABC News (01/06, Faulders, Levine, et al.) reported that Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot has revealed new details about former President Donald Trump's inaction during the attack. According to the article, key insights were obtained from Trump's former deputy chief of staff, Dan Scavino, and other White House advisers, revealing that Trump was "not interested" in intervening as the violence escalated. The article noted that the probe's findings, including Trump's response to being informed about then-Vice EFTA00160247 President Mike Pence's safety, highlight Trump's alleged indifference to the riot and his focus on claims of election fraud. 'Qanon Shaman' Demands the FBI Return the Horns He Wore During Riot The Daily Beast (01/06, Daly) reported that Jacob Chansley, known as the "0Anon Shaman" and a prominent figure in the January 6 Capitol riot, is demanding the FBI return his horned fur headdress, which was seized following his arrest. According to the article, Chansley argued that since his case is concluded, there is no reason for the FBI to retain his headdress, which became symbolic of the insurrection. The article noted that despite his conviction and imprisonment for obstructing democracy, Chansley, now released and on probation, is challenging the FBI's continued possession of his headdress, with his attorney suggesting the agency is employing "shifting excuses" for not returning it. FBI Still Looking For Person Who Planted Pipe Bombs Ahead of Jan. 6 Capitol Riot CBS News (01/06, Legare, Herridge, Triay) reported that three years after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the FBI continues to search for the individual responsible for planting pipe bombs at the Democratic and Republican party headquarters in Washington, D.C., offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The article explained that despite detailed investigations, including security footage and descriptions of the suspect's attire, the perpetrator remains unidentified. The article noted that the FBI has dedicated significant resources to the case, with former FBI Washington field division special agent Steven D'Antuono emphasizing the extensive efforts and high priority given to solving this mystery, involving comprehensive data analysis and extensive lab tests. $30 Million Suit Filed Over Jan. 6 Protester Ashli Babbitt's Death The Washington Examiner (01/05, Bedard) reported that a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the federal government over the Capitol Police shooting of Ashli Babbitt during the January 6 Capitol riot. According to the article, filed by Judicial Watch on behalf of Babbitt's estate and her husband, the lawsuit alleges negligence by Lt. Michael Byrd, the officer who shot Babbitt, claiming he was incompetent and that Babbitt posed no threat. The D0J investigated the shooting but decided not to charge Byrd. The lawsuit detailed Babbitt's experience during the shooting, and her subsequent suffering, and argues that she was unaware of Byrd's presence and received no warning before being shot. Editorial: Three Years Later, Beware Dangerous Revisionism of Jan. 6 The Washington Post (01/05, Editorial) reported that three years after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, a significant portion of Americans hold distorted views on the event and the 2020 election, influenced by former President Trump's repeated falsehoods. According to the article, Director Wray, appointed by Trump, has categorically denied under oath any FBI involvement in instigating the Capitol attack, calling such conspiracy theories "ludicrous." The author's overall takeaway is that despite the challenges in changing public opinion and holding Trump accountable, the U.S. election system remains secure, and the best way to counter any potential threat posed by Trump is through informed and fair voting in future elections. Back to Top OTHER FBI NEWS Democrats Urge DOJ to Get Tougher on White-Collar Criminals The Washington Post (01/05, Davidson) reported that Congress is bringing more attention to white-collar and corporate crooks through bicameral legislation that would require the D0J to gather, analyze, and publish data on federal corporate crime. The sponsors aim for greater oversight, enforcement, and deterrence. The article noted that the size and scope of corporate crime are massive, with an annual price tag exceeding $300 billion, according to FBI data cited by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL). The street crime tab, by comparison, is a meager $16 billion. Yet, while corporate crime costs much more, it is prosecuted far less, Durbin told a pre- Christmas Senate hearing, colorfully titled "Cleaning Up the C-Suite: Ensuring Accountability for Corporate Criminals." The article quoted Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), as she introduced the House bill, who said, "While the D0J regularly collects data on nearly every type of street-level crime, there is very little reporting of corporate and white-collar crimes, with the last thorough D0J report on corporate crime being in 19797. Worries Fly After Florida Journalist's Home Raided by FBI for Kanye West Video EFTA00160248 The Tallahassee Democrat (01/05, Soule) reported that in May 2023, the FBI raided the home of a Florida journalist who published an unedited Fox News video of the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, making antisemitic comments. The article noted that now, a multitude of press and civil rights organizations are calling for more transparency from the federal government about the reason for the raid, and for the return of seized items and materials "unrelated to any legitimate investigation." The article added that the journalist in question is Timothy Burke, who lives in Hillsborough County with his wife, Tampa City Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak. The article stated that in 2022, Fox News released an edited video of an interview between Ye and its former anchor Tucker Carlson. Burke obtained and helped news outlets publish the unedited interview, which showed Fox News had cut out the rapper's antisemitic comments and one where he said he was vaccinated against C0VID-19. According to the article, the federal government searched Burke's home last year and seized equipment and materials, looking into whether he illegally obtained the video, such as through hacking, according to court records. Burke and his attorneys adamantly deny that. They say in a legal filing Burke got the video through a publicly accessible internet address. Back to Top INTERNATIONAL NEWS Israel Says Hamas Has Been Destroyed in North Gaza • New York Post: Israel Says Hamas Has Been Destroyed in North Gaza • Associated Press: Israel Says Hezbollah Struck Sensitive Air Traffic Base in the North and Warns of Another War' • Aljazeera: Israel Signals Bombardment of Northern Gaza Set to End • BBC: Hamas Command in North Gaza Destroyed, Israel Says • Financial Times: Israel Says It Has Destroyed Hamas as a Fighting Force in North Gaza Hezbollah Fires Rocket Barrage Into Israel as Blinken Mounts New De-Escalation Push • Wall Street Journal: Hezbollah Fires Rocket Barrage Into Israel as Blinken Mounts New De-Escalation Push • Associated Press: Israel Says Hezbollah Struck a Sensitive Air Traffic Base in the North and Warns of Another War' Israel Presses Egypt to Better Secure Borderland Against Hamas Smugglers • Wall Street Journal: Israel Presses Egypt to Better Secure Borderland Against Hamas Smugglers Short on Shells, Ukraine Relies on Explosive Drones to Hold Russia Back • Wall Street Journal: Short on Shells, Ukraine Relies on Explosive Drones to Hold Russia Back Some Families of Kidnapped Migrants Paid Ransoms, Mexico Minister Says • Reuters: Some Families of Kidnapped Migrants Paid Ransoms, Mexico Minister Says A Small-Town Stabbing Takes On a Larger Significance for France • New York Times: A Small-Town Stabbing Takes On a Larger Significance for France Woman Rescued From Rubble in Japan Five Days After Deadly Quake • New York Times: Woman Rescued From Rubble in Japan Five Days After Deadly Quake • Associated Press: Thousands Forced From Homes by Quake Face Stress and Exhaustion as Japan Mourns at Least 161 Deaths A Year After Pro-Bolsonaro Riots and Dozens of Arrests, Brazil Is Still Recovering • Associated Press: A Year After Pro-Bolsonaro Riots and Dozens of Arrests, Brazil Is Still Recovering Norwegian Mass Killer Attempts to Sue the State Once More for an Alleged Breach of Human Rights EFTA00160249 • Associated Press: Norwegian Mass Killer Attempts to Sue the State Once More for an Alleged Breach of Human Rights India Court Restores Life Prison Sentences for 11 Hindu Men Who Raped a Muslim Woman in 2002 Riots • Associated Press: India Court Restores Life Prison Sentences for 11 Hindu Men Who Raped a Muslim Woman in 2002 Riots Back to Top OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS Supreme Court Allows Idaho To Enforce Near-Total Abortion Ban • NBC News: Supreme Court Allows Idaho To Enforce Near-Total Abortion Ban • New York Times: Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Idaho's Strict Abortion Ban • CNN: Supreme Court to Decide if Emergency Room Doctors Can Perform Medically Necessary Abortions in States That Prohibit Them • Washington Post: Supreme Court to Decide if U.S. Law Requires Some Emergency Room Abortions • USA TODAY: Supreme Court Allows Idaho's Near-Total Abortion Ban in Emergency Room In Blow to Biden House Republicans Ready Contempt of Congress Charges Against Hunter Biden for Defying a Subpoena • Associated Press: House Republicans Ready Contempt of Congress Charges Against Hunter Biden for Defying a Subpoena • NBC News: House Republicans Move Toward Holding Hunter Biden in Contempt of Congress • CBS News: House Republicans to Move Toward Holding Hunter Biden in Contempt of Congress • ABC News: House Republicans to Move Forward on Holding Hunter Biden in Contempt of Congress • New York Post: Hunter Contempt Hearing Booked — As Republicans Eye Joe Biden Impeachment Ex-Cop Gets 14 Months in Jail in Death of Elijah McClain, Whose Mom Calls Him 'Bully With a Badge' • Associated Press: Ex-Cop Gets 14 Months in Jail in Death of Elijah McClain, Whose Mom Calls Him 'Bully With a Badge' • CBS News: Former Aurora Police Officer Sentenced; Elijah McClain's Mother Reacts: "He Stole My Son's Life" • Washington Post: Ex-Cop Sentenced to Over a Year in Jail for Elijah McClain's Death • Denver Gazette: Former Aurora Police Officer Sentenced to Jail and Probation in Elijah McClain's Death • Denver Post: Only Aurora Police Officer Convicted in Elijah McClain's Death Receives 14-Month Jail Sentence U.S. Moves Closer to Filing Sweeping Antitrust Case Against Apple • New York Times: U.S. Moves Closer to Filing Sweeping Antitrust Case Against Apple • New York Post: DOJ Close to Filing Massive Antitrust Suit Against Apple Over iPhone Dominance: Report • CNBC: Apple Shares Slip on Report U.S. Government Preparing Antitrust Lawsuit • The Verge: Apple Might Be the Next Big Tech Company Facing Antitrust Charges in the US • Market Watch: Department of Justice Edges Toward Antitrust Case vs. Apple: Report After Part Of A Plane's Wall Blew Out, Feds Ground Some Boeings • Washington Post: After Part Of A Plane's Wall Blew Out, Feds Ground Some Boeings • New York Times: Boeing Again Under Scrutiny After Latest 737 Max Problem • New York Times: F.A.A. Orders Airlines to Ground Some Boeing 737 Max 9 Jets After Midair Emergency • New York Post: Boeing Asked FAA to Exempt New 737 Max 7 Jet From Safety Inspection — Just Weeks Before Alaska Airlines Window Blow • Associated Press: Federal Officials Order Grounding of Some Boeing 737 Max 9 Jetliners After Plane Suffers a Blowout EFTA00160250 Congress Has a Deal to Fund the Government and Not Much Time to Pass It • Washington Post: Congress Has a Deal to Fund the Government and Not Much Time to Pass It • ABC News: Congressional Leaders Announce Spending Deal That Would Avert Next Government Shutdown • NPR: Congressional Leaders Reach a Deal to Fund the Government, Avert a Shutdown • CBS News: Congressional Leaders Say They've Reached Agreement on Government Funding • CNN: Congressional Leaders Announce Spending Deal as Shutdown Threat Looms Johnson Gets Direct Channel With Senate Border Negotiators • Politico: Johnson Gets Direct Channel With Senate Border Negotiators • The Hill: Speaker Johnson Weighs Trying to Negotiate Border Directly With White House A New Immigration Policy That Avoids A Dangerous Journey Is Working. But Border Crossings Continue • Associated Press: A New Immigration Policy That Avoids A Dangerous Journey Is Working. But Border Crossings Continue A California Law Banning The Carrying Of Firearms In Most Public Places Is Blocked Again • Associated Press: A California Law Banning The Carrying Of Firearms In Most Public Places Is Blocked Again John Turscak, Accused Of Stabbing Derek Chauvin In Prison, Pleads Not Guilty • CBS News: John Turscak, Accused Of Stabbing Derek Chauvin In Prison, Pleads Not Guilty U.S. Released More Than 2.3 Million Migrants At Border Since 2021, Data Show • Washington Post: U.S. Released More Than 2.3 Million Migrants At Border Since 2021, Data Show The U.S. Sees A Drop In Illegal Border Crossings After Mexico Increases Enforcement • Associated Press: The U.S. Sees A Drop In Illegal Border Crossings After Mexico Increases Enforcement Back to Top BIG PICTURE New York limes • From Lebanon to the Red Sea, a Broader Conflict With Iran Looms • As Gaza Losses Mount Under Strikes, Dignified Burials Are Another Casualty • With Shutdown Looming, House and Senate Leaders Agree on Spending Levels • Marijuana Buyers From Texas Fuel a 'Little Amsterdam' in New Mexico • Blessing of Same-Sex Couples Rankles Africa's Catholics Wall Street Journal • Alaska Airlines Accident Could Have Been Much Worse, Investigator Says • 'Is It OK if I Hold Your Hand?': Inside the Cabin of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 • Elon Musk Has Used Illegal Drugs, Worrying Leaders at Tesla and SpaceX • Congressional Negotiators Reach Agreement on $1.6 Trillion Government Spending Level for 2024 • Forget the Wolverines. Jim Harbaugh Also Coaches His Chickens. • Fraud, or Just a Bad Deal? Oligarch and Sotheby's to Battle in Court Over Rarefied Art Trade Washington Post • 'It Could Happen to Anybody' • Alaska's Changing Climate Puts Homeless in Peril • GA. Case Co-opted by Allies of Trump U.S. Fears War's Spread • Haley Hopes for Repeat of Her 2010 Comeback EFTA00160251 • Budget Deal Would Avoid Government Shutdown Financial Times • U.S. National Rifle Association Chief Wayne Lapierre to Resign • New York Attorney-General Seeks $370MN From Trump and His Businesses • U.S. Regulator Approves Florida Bid to Import Medicines From Canada ABC News • Millions in Northeast Hit by Snowstorm; FAA Investigating Alaska Airlines Plane After In-Air Incident; Secretary of State Blinken on Diplomatic Mission in Middle East. CBS News • Fuselage of Alaska Airlines Flight Gets Blown Out Mid Flight; New York Students Learn the Craft of Boat Building. NBC News • Passengers Describe Terrifying Experience After Piece of Alaska Airlines Plane Detached Midair; Heavy Snow Blankets Parts of the Northeast, Causing Power Outages and Dangerous Road Conditions; Fallout Grows Over Defense Secretary's Secret Hospitalization; And More on Tonight's Broadcast. Fox News • 'Fear of Trump': Breaking Down Biden's Campaign Messaging; Trump Is Taking Aggressive' Steps to Keep Anyone From Catching Up Back to Top WASHINGTON SCHEDULE White House President Biden • 8:00 AM: The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing • 9:40 AM: The President departs New Castle, Delaware en route to Charleston, South Carolina • 10:30 AM: Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby will gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to South Carolina • 11:15 AM: The President arrives in Charleston, South Carolina • 12:30 PM: The President delivers remarks at a political event in South Carolina • 4:30 PM: The President departs Charleston, South Carolina en route to Dallas, Texas • 7:15 PM: The President arrives in Dallas, Texas (6:15 PM Local) • 8:05 PM: The President pays his respects to the late Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (7:05 PM Local) • 9:30 PM: The President departs Dallas, Texas en route to Joint Base Andrews (8:30 PM Local) Vice President Harris • No events scheduled. US Senate EFTA00160252 • No events scheduled. US House of Representatives • No events scheduled. Cabinet Members . Secretary of State Blinken meets with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates at 11:00 AM. • Secretary Blinken meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia at 6:10 PM. Visitors • No events scheduled. General Events . CATO Institute: Old Right New Right? What History Suggests about the Future of GOP Foreign Policy — Monday, January 8, 2024. Location: CATO Institute, 11:00 AM. The Republican Party is engaged in a more vigorous debate over foreign policy than it has been for decades. On one side is an old guard that sees no need to prioritize among threats, viewing all dangers as linked, so that facing down anything constitutes facing down everything. On the other side are the prioritizers, who have argued that America's interests and its resources both have limits. They hold that the most prominent challenge to US interests is China and that Washington should prioritize the Indo-Pacific in its spending and planning. What, if anything, does history tell us about where the right and the GOP are headed on foreign policy? How big is the generational divide on this issue? Where do the leading presidential candidates stand, and what effect will that have on where the party heads? Join us as our panel of experts analyzes and discusses this issue. Email Public Affairs to subscribe to the Daily News Briefing. Mobile version and archive available here. EFTA00160253