[EXTERNAL EMAIL) - FBI Daily News Briefing - March 4, 2025
| Federal Bureau of Investigation - | March 04, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Seal | Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| Daily News Briefing | |
| (In coordination with the Office of Public Affairs) |
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Table of Contents
IN THE NEWS
• Head of FBI New York Office Says He's Retired From the Bureau After Being Ordered to Do So
• AG Pam Bondi Says FBI Delivered 'Truckload' of Epstein Files
• Director Patel Disputes Whistleblower Revelation About FBI 'Honeypot' Agent Spying on Trump Campaign
• Continued Reporting: Dan Bongino Named Deputy Director of the FBI
COUNTERTERRORISM
• Who Are Rafael Caro Quintero and the 28 Other Alleged Criminals Extradited to the U.S. From Mexico?
• Border Patrol, FBI Leaders Who First Identified Tren de Aragua Recount Gang's Rise to Power
• ICE, FBI Arrest International Gang Leader With Terrorist Affiliation Living In Maryland
• Senate Democrats Warn of 'Brain Drain' in DOJ Immigration Focus
• Editorial: America Must Confront Domestic Terrorism
• Opinion: The U.S. Must Distance Itself From Iranian Terrorist Cult MEK
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
• Highland Park Parade Shooting Suspect Changes Plea to Guilty on Day Trial Was Set to Begin
• Search Underway for Missing Two-Year-Old Boy in Oregon
• House Democrats Investigate DOJ's Decision to Drop Eric Adams Charges
• EPA Calls for Watchdog to Probe $20 Billion Climate Fund
• Suspect Shot, Killed During FBI Response in Northern Arizona
• FBI Agent Testifies at Feeding Our Future Trial
• Continued Reporting: Feds Subpoena Dolton, Illinois Records Tied to Ousted Mayor's Boyfriend
• San Antonio Bookkeeper Arrested by FBI Again
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• Frontier Airlines Passenger Who Punched Window and Was Restrained by Crew and Other Fliers Is Charged
• New York Cop Allegedly on Mafia Payroll 'Sold His Badge to the Bonanno Crime Family'
• Continued Reporting: FBI Looking for More Victims of East Memphis Doctor
• Trial of Music Teacher Accused of Sexual Abuse Stirs Painful Memories
• Old-Fashioned Train Heists Yield Modern-Day Loot: Nike Air Jordans
CYBER DIVISION
• Defense Secretary Hegseth Orders Suspension of Pentagon's Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia
• Face Swap Attacks Surge 300%, FBI Warns
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
• France Mass Rape Case: New Charges Expected as Former Doctor Joel Le Scouarnec Admits Assaulting Granddaughter
OTHER FBI NEWS
• FBI Agent Rebuffed On Appeal in Basic Training Overtime Suit
• FBI Scientist Who Led the COVID Lab Leak Investigation Speaks Out
• Opinion: President Trump Should Not Be Afraid to Fire People at the FBI
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
• Trump Says Canada-Mexico Tariffs Will Take Effect, 'No Room Left' for Talks
• U.S. Pauses All Military Aid to Ukraine
• Car Plows Into Crowd in Germany, Leaving Two Dead
• With Cease-Fire Shaky, Israel and Hamas Weigh Diplomatic and Military Options
• Kim's Sister Threatens a Response to a U.S. Carrier's Deployment in South Korea
• East Congo Rebels Abduct at Least 130 Hospital Patients
• How Trump's History With Russia and Ukraine Set the Stage for a Blowup With Zelenskyy
• A Thousand Snipers in the Sky: The New War in Ukraine
OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS
• Democratic Governors Recruit Government Workers Laid off by Trump
• Senate Confirms McMahon to Lead Education Department as Trump Pushes to Shut It Down
• Bill to Ban Trans Athletes From Girls' and Women's Sports Teams Fails to Advance in Senate
• Federal Workers Face Second Musk Deadline to Explain Their Work Last Week
• Attorneys Are Suing to Keep 10 Migrants Out of Guantanamo Bay as Others Say They Were Abused There
• U.S. Health Agency Says Employees Can Apply for Early Retirement
• Trump Talks Hegseth's Role Pardoning Service Members Accused of War Crimes
• In Speech to Congress, Trump Is Expected to Boast About DOGE Cuts and Ukraine
• U.S. Congress Nowhere Close to Deal to Avert Shutdown Ahead of March 14 Deadline
• U.S. Attorney Rebuffed by Justice Dept. in Push to Escalate Inquiry into Schumer
• Justice Dept. to Review Election Tampering Conviction of Pro-Trump Clerk
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" Leaders of a Group Suspected of Smuggling 20,000 Immigrants Are Arrested in Los Angeles
BIG PICTURE
" Wall Street Journal
• New York Times
" Washington Post
• Fox News
• CNN
" ABC News
• NBC News
" CBS News
WASHINGTON SCHEDULE
IN THE NEWS
Head of FBI New York Office Says He's Retired From the Bureau After Being Ordered to Do So The Associated Press (03/03, Tucker) reported that James Dennehy, head of the FBI's New York field office, has retired from the FBI. Dennehy said in a message to colleagues that he was told late Friday to put in his retirement papers but was not given a reason. According to the article, Dennehy had resisted Justice Department efforts to scrutinize agents who participated in politically sensitive investigations, including a demand for a list of agents involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. "I've been told many times in my life, 'When you find yourself in a hole, sometimes it's best to quit digging.' Screw that," Dennehy wrote in the message informing colleagues that he had been forced out as leader of one of the FBI's busiest and most prestigious offices, a job he'd held for several months. "I will never stop defending this joint. I'll just do it willingly and proudly from outside the wire?' The article noted that in a top 10 list of things he said he would miss about the FBI, he wrote: "The independence. We will not bend. We will not falter. We will not sacrifice what is right for anything or anyone." Dennehy was put in charge of the New York field office last September by then-FBI Director Christopher Wray. He joined the FBI as a special agent working on counterintelligence in the New York field office in 2002. Additional reporting on the story was provided by CBS News (03/03, Milton, Triay, et al.), CNN (03/03, Campbell, Prokupecz), Daily Mail (03/03, Chain), Fox News (03/03, Wehner, Deppisch), Hindustan Times (03/04, Vaidyanathan), NBC News (03/03, Dilanian, Dienst, et al.), New York Daily News (03/03, Niemietz), New York Post (03/03, Marino, Nesi), New York Times (03/03, Goldman, Rashbaum, Barrett), Newsmax (03/03, Katz), Newsweek (03/03, Sheth, Whisnant), Raw Story (03/03, Burris), Reuters (03/03, Lynch), The Blaze (03/03, Staff Writer), The Daily Beast (03/03, Ornedo), WABC (ABC-7) (03/03, Staff Writer), Washington Examiner (03/03, Oliver), Washington Times (03/03, Picket), and WNYW (Fox-S) (03/03, Flanagan). NBC News (03/03, Video) and MSNBC (03/03, Video) also published broadcast coverage of the story.
AG Pam Bondi Says FBI Delivered 'Truckload' of Epstein Files
Fox News (03/03, Margolis) reported that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday night, confirmed that a "truckload" of Epstein files were delivered by the FBI after she gave the agency until 8 a.m. on Friday to deliver them. "I gave the FBI a deadline of Friday at 8 a.m. to get us everything," Bondi explained. "And a source had told me where the documents were being kept, Southern District of New York, shock. So we got them all by Friday at 8 a.m." She continued, "Thousands of pages of documents. I have the FBI going through them...and Director Patel is going to get us a detailed report as to why the FBI withheld all of those documents." The article noted that the highly-anticipated rollout of the Epstein files drew criticism across the country on Thursday, disappointing those who expected a "client list" or any significant new information about the disgraced Palm Beach-based sex trafficker. CNN (03/03, Rabinowitz, Reid) highlighted that while the initial release of the files themselves did not garner support, one part of the release did: a letter from Bondi to Director Patel alleging that a "source" within the bureau told her that thousands of pages of additional documents about the "investigation and indictment of Epstein" had been withheld by the FBI's New York field office. According to the
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article, the letter once again laid bare the tensions between the Trump administration and the FBI over the bureau's investigative actions during the previous administration. Director Patel, who started in the director job only days before, said in a statement that "there will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned — and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued. If there are gaps, we will find them. If records have been hidden, we will uncover them." Additional reporting on the story was provided by New York Post (03/04, Nava), NY Sun (03/03, Rice), The Daily Beast (03/03, Martinez), The Hill (03/03, Crisp) (2), and The Independent (03/03, fLiddel). Fox News (03/03, Video) also published broadcast coverage of the story.
Director Patel Disputes Whistieblower Revelation About FBI 'Honeypot' Agent Spying on -frump Campaign The Washington Times (03/03, Picket) reported that Director Patel is disputing a bureau whistleblower who identified a female undercover FBI agent as a "honeypot" who infiltrated President Trump's 2016 campaign. He took to social media to dispute that the female agent was not a honeypot. The article explained that a honeypot is an undercover operative who feigns sexual or romantic interest to obtain information from a target. "Just like when I exposed grotesque violations and fraud leading the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into Crossfire Hurricane calling out corrupt actors; I will equally defend those attacked falsely," Director Patel said. "A female agent was falsely referenced in the media this week as part of an alleged whistleblower disclosure- she was NOT a honeypot." The article added that the agent's actions related to the Trump campaign were also reviewed by special counsel John Durham, who also found no evidence of wrongdoing by her, he said. "I will always be the first to push for accountability from within, my track record has established that, but we do not establish guilt by association in this FBI," Director Patel said.
Opinion: Director Patel's Vendetta Against FBI Headquarters An opinion piece from the Washington Times (03/03, Kessler) reported that Director Patel wants to shut down the FBI headquarters and reopen it as a museum, citing past violations of President Trump's rights. According to the author, Director Patel's plan to focus on violent crime and disperse agents from headquarters to field offices may compromise the FBI's national security mission and hinder its ability to counter terrorism and espionage. This approach may replicate the pre-9/11"wall" that prevented information sharing between agents, which could increase the risk of a foreign terrorist attack, according to author Ronald Kessler, a former investigative reporter and author of books on the FBI.
Continued Reporting: Dan Bongino Named Deputy Director of the FBI
NPR (03/03, Dreisbach, McMillan) reported that on his show, Deputy Director Bongino has previously embraced conspiracy theories about supposed complicity of the FBI in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack; called for investigating and imprisoning former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden; and discussed his own belief in the "spirit realm" and his view that some Democrats were infected with "demon energy." According to the article, Deputy Director Bongino is the first FBI director to win confirmation with the support of only one political party. However, Newsmax (03/03, Hall) reported that Deputy Director Bongino's background in law enforcement, public communication skills, commitment to accountability, understanding of national security issues, and conservative perspective make him a strong candidate for the role of Deputy Director. The article highlighted that Deputy Director Bongino wants the FBI to refocus back to its roots as the premiere law enforcement and investigative arm of the federal government. In the past, Bongino has sharply criticized the agency for focusing on so-called domestic terrorism, including targeting Jan. 6 protesters and pro-life activists. "These are threats to the United States?" Bongino asked his audience last year. "Grandma is in the gulag for a trespassing charge on Jan. 6." SLATE (03/03, Lithwick) posted an opinion piece on Deputy Director Bongino entitled: "Dan Bongino's Appointment Is a Slap in the Face to FBI Officers".