[EXTERNAL EMAIL) - FBI Daily News Briefing - June 6, 2024

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FBINewsBriefing

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Key Information:

Organization: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Date: June 06, 2024
Publication: Daily News Briefing
Coordination: Office of Public Affairs

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Table of Contents

IN THE NEWS

• Continued Reporting: Attorney General, Director Wray Face Congress Amid Rising Political and International Tensions

• FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran Speaks at 2024 Boston Conference on Cyber Security

• Appeals Court Halts Trump's Georgia Case During Appeal of Order

COUNTERTERRORISM

• Washington Man Sentenced for 20 'Swatting' Calls of False Threats in U.S., Canada

• Counterterrorism Chief to Step Down After Three Years on the Job

• California Man Found Convicted for Threatening to 'Unabomb' FBI Field Office in L.A.

• Canada Court Upholds Conviction and Life Sentence in Via Rail Terror Plot Case

• Opinion: Russian Migrant Terrorist Case Clearly Shows the Danger of Open Borders

COUNTERINTELLIGENCE

• US, 'Five Eyes' Allies Warn China Recruiting Western Military Trainers

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

• Hunter Biden's Ex-Wife, Ex-Girlfriend Testify About Drug Use in Gun Trial

• Judge Reshuffles Hearings in Trump Documents Case

• Detroit Nonprofit CFO Accused of Stealing $40 Million

• Continued Reporting: Deliberations Continue in Feeding Our Future Fraud Trial Roiled by Bag of Cash for a Juror in Minneapolis

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• Continued Reporting: FBI Agent Testifies at Menendez Trial About Texts That Allegedly Show How Senator's Wife Got a Mercedes

• Arrests Made, Guns and Drugs Seized During Operation Trigger Lock in Florida

• FBI Portland Division Warns of Rise in Scammers Impersonating Agents, Others in Government to Get Cash, Gold

• FBI Raids Atlanta Corporate Landlord in Probe of Rental Market Price Fixing

• Continued Reporting: What Will Become of the Epoch Times With Its Chief Financial Officer Accused of Money Laundering?

• Over 850 Murders Linked to Long-Haul Truckers

• Another Victim From Suspected Serial Killer's Indiana Farm ID'd as Man Who Went Missing in 1993

• Continued Reporting: Federal Officials Make Arrest in Alleged NBA Betting Scheme Involving Jontay Porter

• FBI Warns of Rise in Work-From-Home Scams

• Sentencing Handed down After FBI Tip Leads to Arrest in Indiana Child Porn Case

CYBER DIVISION

• Al Fuels Rise in Attacks From 'Unsophisticated Threat Actors,' Federal Cyber Leaders Say

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

• Four Arrested for Allegedly Attempting to Sabotage Interpol Criminal Search System

CAPITOL VIOLENCE NEWS

• Retired NASCAR Driver and Son Arrested for Alleged Assaults on Police During Jan. 6 Riot

• FBI Reinstates Security Clearance for Former Employee Who Raised Questions About Jan. 6 Attack

• Jan. 6 Rioter Caught in a Woman's Bumble Dating App Sting Sentenced to Prison

• Three Washington D.C. Cousins Arrested After FBI Investigation Into Jan. 6 Riot

• Democrats Blocked Trump's Agent From Refuting Tale About Jan. 6 Limo Battle, Report Says

• Inside the Supreme Court Decision That Could Lop Years Off Sentences For Capitol Rioters

• 'Racial Resentment' a Factor in Violence of 6 January 2021, Study Says

OTHER FBI NEWS

• FBI Reveals the 95 ITSSS-2 Winners

• House Appropriators Reject GSA's $3.5B Plan for New FBI Headquarters

• Republicans Target FBI, Trump Prosecutors Post-Verdict

• Chicago Police Claim Mass Arresting DNC Protesters Are 'Last Resort!

• 'The Man Who Conned the Pentagon' Can't Pursue Lawsuit Against FBI for Raiding Home, Ninth Circuit Rules

• FBI Holds Shooter Response Training in Massachusetts

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Israel Strikes U.N. School and Shelter in Gaza, Says Hamas Was Operating There

• U.N. Atomic Agency Censures Iran Over Nuclear Actions Despite Retaliation Threat

• Gunman Attacks U.S. Embassy in Lebanon

• A Russian American Is Sentenced in Russia Over Social Media Posts

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• Slovak Prime Minister Speaks Publicly for First Time Since Assassination Attempt

• Israel Secretly Targets U.S. Lawmakers With Influence Campaign on Gaza War

• Israeli Nationalists, Marching in Jerusalem, Balk at U.S. Cease-Fire Push

• Putin's Existential Problem: Not Enough Russians

• A War on the Nile Pushes Sudan Toward the Abyss

• World Leaders, Veterans, Commemorate D-Day's 80th Anniversary in Normandy

OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS

• Speaker Johnson Appoints Two Trump Allies to a Committee That Handles Classified Intelligence

• Pro-Palestinian Protesters Arrested at Stanford After Takeover of President's Office

• Democratic Contraception Access Bill Fails in U.S. Senate

• NYPD Moves to Revoke Trump's License to Carry a Gun

• Republicans Vindicated by Reports About Biden's Fitness for Office

• Small Shift Toward Biden After Trump Verdict

• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Abruptly Halts Manhattan Congestion Pricing

• House Republicans Consider Another Angle to Take on Attorney General Garland

• Bankruptcy Judge Spares Alex Jones' Media Empire for Now as Sandy Hook Families Pursue Liquidation

• Psychiatrist Henry Jarecki Says Relationship With Epstein Accuser Was Consensual

• At Least One Person Seriously Injured, Structures Damaged After Tornadoes and Storms Sweep Through Maryland

• Alito's Account of the Upside-Down Flag Doesn't Fully Add Up. Here's Why.

• U.S. May Revive Some Shut Nuclear Plants to Help Meet Emissions Goal, Energy Chief Says

BIG PICTURE

• New York Times

• Wall Street Journal

• Washington Post

• ABC News

• CBS News

• NBC News

• Fox News

. CNN

WASHINGTON SCHEDULE

IN THE NEWS

Continued Reporting: Attorney General, Director Wray Face Congress Amid Rising Political and International Tensions

The New York Post (06/05, Keane) reported that Attorney General Merrick Garland warned of an increased terror threat in the U.S. since October 7, stating that the threat level "has gone up enormously." Garland expressed his concerns during his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, highlighting his daily worries about a possible terrorist attack. He said, "I am worried about the possibility of a terrorist attack in the country after October 7. The threat level for us has gone up enormously. Every morning, we worry about this question. We try to track anyone who might be trying to hurt the country. Of course, this is a major priority for the Justice

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Department." USA TODAY (06/05, Russell) explained that Garland testified for nearly five hours on a variety of topics before the House Judiciary Committee, addressing allegations from former President Donald Trump's Republican allies who questioned the integrity of the Justice Department. Committee chair Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio stated, "Many Americans believe there's now a double standard of our justice system. They believe that because there is." In his defense, Garland emphasized the importance of maintaining the integrity of the Justice Department's operations, saying, "I view contempt as a serious matter. But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations. I will not be intimidated."

Director Wray Testifies Before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee

According to the New York Post article, Director Wray echoed these concerns in his testimony earlier the same day before a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Director Wray emphasized the elevated nature of current threats, stating, "I'd be hard-pressed to think of a time where so many threats to our public safety and national security were so elevated all at once." He further noted that the ongoing conflict in Gaza has significantly increased the threats against the U.S., bringing them to "a whole 'nother level" and contributing to a rise in antisemitism and hate crimes. The Epoch Times (06/05, Duchamps) noted that Director Wray also made his case on the FBI's budget request totaling $11.3 billion for Fiscal Year 2025, saying the requested resources are crucial for the law enforcement agency to continue "national security, intelligence, criminal law enforcement, and criminal justice services missions." In a statement, Director Wray said, "As described in this threat summary, our adversaries are not scaling back their efforts because of the constrained budget environment. In fact, threat actors may try to take advantage of federal budget reductions to conduct nefarious activities. The FBI cannot afford to be playing catch-up to the People's Republic of China, Hamas, transnational organized criminals coming across the border, and cyber actors. With the requested resources, the FBI will have the talent, tools, and authorities to do more to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution." Director Wray also noted that the FBI has no information to indicate whether Hamas has either the intent or capability to conduct a terrorist attack inside the United States but pointed out that the agency cannot discount that possibility because of the likelihood of "Hamas supporters engaging in violence on the group's behalf." "We are concerned with any FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization) that may exploit the attacks in Israel as a tool to mobilize their followers around the world. In recent years, there have been several events and incidents in the United States that were purportedly motivated, at least in part, by the conflict between Israel and Hamas," he said. Another article from The Epoch Times (06/05, Phillips) reported that Director Wray stated that the United States needs "a whole lot more from Mexico" to effectively combat drug cartels and stop the flow of narcotics into the country. Director Wray acknowledged some successes with Mexico but emphasized, "We need a whole lot more from Mexico than we've gotten in terms of shutting down the cartels and stopping the flow of the precursors." He also highlighted a recent FBI raid in New Mexico that uncovered enough fentanyl to kill hundreds of thousands of people, along with "hand grenades, ballistic vests, you know, the whole nine yards." Additionally, Director Wray testified that threats against the Jewish community in the U.S. have risen since the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, noting, "Religiously motivated hate crimes, close to 60 percent of them, are targeted at the Jewish community."

Additionally, WABI (CBS-5) (06/05, Whaley) and WGME (CBS-13) (06/05, Murtagh) reported that Director Wray addressed the issue of illegal marijuana grow operations in Maine, following questioning from Sen. Susan Collins. Collins highlighted a recent bust in Somerset County involving 1,500 marijuana plants and other drug-related materials. Director Wray explained, "Our assessment is that it's a combination of the fact that it is activity that can be done relatively cheaply, and by comparison to other drugs in the United States, the consequences that they face from a legal perspective are not as severe as that they might be in other countries where they might also want to operate. So, it makes for an attractive business proposition." He noted the absence of ties to the Chinese government but confirmed links to Chinese organized crime and mentioned that illegal grows are also appearing on tribal lands.

" Additional reporting on the story was provided by Strat News Global (06/05, Revi), Algemeiner (06/05, Walker), and Economic Times (06/05, Staff Writer).

" CBS News (06/05, Video) and Fox News (06/05, Video) provided video coverage.

• MSNBC (06/05, Benen) and the Boston Globe (06/05, Stohr) provided opinion pieces on the story.

FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran Speaks at 2024 Boston Conference on Cyber Security

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Bleeping Computer (06/05, Gatlan) and CyberDaily (06/06, Croft) reported that the FBI has recovered over 7,000 decryption keys from the LockBit ransomware and is urging past victims to come forward to reclaim their data for free. According to the articles, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran announced at the 2024 Boston Conference on Cyber Security, "From our ongoing disruption of LockBit, we now have over 7,000 decryption keys and can help victims reclaim their data and get back online." He further encouraged victims to visit the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Vorndran's keynote provided an analysis of Operation Cronos and its findings, revealing that "LockBit was set up by a Russian coder named Dmitry Khoroshev," who uses online aliases like 'Putinkrab,"Nerowolfe,' and 'LockBitsupp.' Vorndran stated, "He maintains the image of a shadowy hacker... But, really, he is a criminal, more caught up in the bureaucracy of managing his company than in any covert activities." The articles explained that Khoroshev, who has been sanctioned by the US, UK, and Australia, attempted to mitigate his situation by betraying his competitors. "Khoroshev then tried to get us to go easy on him by turning on his competitors, naming other ransomware-as-a-service operators," said Vorndran. "So, it really is like dealing with organized crime gangs, where the boss rolls over and asks for leniency. We will not go easy on him." The articles noted that the FBI discovered that LockBit and its affiliates were keeping stolen data even after receiving ransom payments, despite assurances to victims that the data had been deleted.

Appeals Court Halts Trump's Georgia Case During Appeal of Order

The Associated Press (06/05, Brumback) and the Washington Post (06/05, Gardner) reported that an appeals court has paused the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump while it reviews a ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the case. According to the articles, Trump and eight others had sought to remove Willis, arguing that her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had previously found no conflict of interest but allowed the appeal to proceed. The Court of Appeals has scheduled a tentative hearing for October 4, with a ruling expected by mid-March, delaying any potential trial until after the November general election. The articles noted that this development makes it even more unlikely that the case will go to trial before Trump is expected to be the Republican nominee for president. The story was also reported on by ABC News (06/OS, Rubin), Axios (06/0S, Doherty), BBC (06/OS, Matza), CBS News (06/05, Quinn, Eggleston), CNBC (06/05, Mangan), CNN (06/05, Cohen, Murray, Morris), Fox News (06/05, Herlihy), The Hill (06/05, Lee, Schonfeld), NBC News (06/05, Gile, Gregorian), New York Times (06/OS, Fausset), Politico (06/05, Cheney), and Reuters (06/05, Goudsward).

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