[EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Daily News Briefing - January 18, 2023
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Federal Bureau of Investigation - January 18, 2024
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
• U.S. Navy Carries Out New Round of Strikes Against Houthis in Yemen
• The Supreme Court Wrestles With Major Challenges to the Power of Federal Regulators
• Chinese-Manufactured Drones Pose a Significant Risk to Critical Infrastructure and U.S. National Security,' DHS and FBI Warn • Federal Investigators Asked Banks to Comb Customer Data for MAGA,"Trump' Terms
COUNTERTERRORISM
• Package Mailed to Rural California Elections Office Tested Positive for Fentanyl, Authorities Say
• Donald Day Allegedly Had Buckets of Ammunition and Threatened FBI Agents
• Club Q Shooter Faces More Than a Century in Prison for Hate Crime Charges
• 14-Year-Old Charged In Connection With School Bomb Threat
• Hackers Level Bomb Threats Against Hospitals
• Bomb Threats Received at Montana Schools, Investigation Continues
• Opinion: Biden Administration May Be Reviving Effort to Label Concerned Parents as 'Domestic Terrorists'
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE
• Inside Biden's Secret Surveillance Court
• Pentagon Faces Questions for Funding Top Chinese Al Scientist
• Analysis: The Case for Counterintelligence Against Chinese Espionage
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
• Trump Lawyers Preview Arguments of 'Political Bias' in Classified Documents Case
• DOJ Further Acknowledges Hunter Biden's Laptop Is Real
• 'Suitcase Killer' Heather Mack Sentenced to 26 Years for Cold-Blooded Murder of Mom Over $1.5m Trust Fund
• MS-13 Terrorized Northern Virginia by Killing at Random, Witnesses Say
• Man Wanted by FBI for Ponzi Scheme Charged for Stealing $100M From Investors
• FBI Investigating Multiple Quickmed Locations
• Mistrial for 72-Year-Old Accused of Killing a Deputy Five Decades Ago
• Palestinian Students Shot in Vermont Say the Suspect Waited for and Targeted Them
• FBI Investigating Oregon Transgender Woman Over Racist, Antisemitic Social Media Posts
• FBI Investigating Georgia County's Delayed Waste-To-Fuel Project
• Colorado Funeral Home Owners Apparently Sought to Cover Up Money Problems by Abandoning Bodies
• Ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Reportedly Under FBI Inquiry for Alleged Sex Crimes
• Eric Adams Hauls in $650,000 for NYC Mayor's Legal Defense Fund Amid Federal Investigation
• Investigation Into High School Student Threatened Online Gets Attention From FBI
• Three Arrested in Bay Area Retail Theft Ring That Stole $650K in Merchandise
CYBER DIVISION
• CISA-FBI Cybersecurity Advisory Details Indicators of Compromise From Androxgh0st Malware Attacks
• Continued Reporting: FBI Warns of Escalating Online Sextortion Targeting Minors
LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
• Republicans Unveil Legislation Expanding Federal Law to Prohibit Swatting
• Anonymous Tips Work to Prevent School Shootings and Suicides, New Study Finds
CAPITOL VIOLENCE NEWS
• Rep. Elise Stefanik Faces Censure Effort for Calling Jan. 6 Defendants 'Hostages'
• Proud Boys Member Who Attacked at Least Six Officers on Jan. 6 Sentenced
• Maine Court Defers Ruling on Election Official Disqualifying Trump Because of 14th Amendment
• The 'Sleeping Giant' Case that Could Upend Jack Smith's Prosecution of Trump
• Judge Rejects Donald Trump Motion to Compel Jan. 6 Committee Evidence
• Suit Seeking Ken Paxton's Jan. 6 Communications Can Move Ahead
• Woman Who Marched With Proud Boys at Capitol Riot Deserves Prison Time: Feds
• Jan. 6 Influencer Credited With Turning Insurrection Into Story of Victimhood: Report
• Lawmakers Call For IRS Scrutiny of Trump-Backed Nonprofit That Aids Jan. 6 Rioters
• Analysis: Jan. 6 Documentary Produced by The Epoch Times
• Continued Reporting: Law Enforcement Investigating Remarks Allegedly Made by Roger Stone
OTHER FBI NEWS
• Chinese Lab Mapped Covid-19 Virus Two Weeks before Sharing Information Globally, Documents Reveal
• America First Legal Launches Investigation into the FBI's "Chief Diversity Officer" for Alleged Illegal Racial and Sex Discrimination
• FBI's New Orleans Field Office Gets New Special Agent in Charge
• FBI El Paso Launches Official Instagram Account
• Gov. Wes Moore Promises No Tax Hikes, Trims Money for State Programs in a 'Refocus'
• Vexed House Committee Calls Mayorkas to Carpet for Ducking Impeachment Testimony
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
• U.S. Moves to Bar Guatemala's Ex-President From Entry
• Pakistan Conducts Airstrikes in Iran
• Belgian Customs Seized Record Amount of Cocaine as EU Faces Rise in Drug-Related Violence
• China Goes All In on Green Industry to Jolt Ailing Economy
• The U.S. Plan for a Postwar Middle East Isn't Gaining Any Traction
• Cult Leader in Kenya to Face 191 Charges of Child Murder
• Fireworks Factory Explosion in Thailand Kills at Least 20
• He Killed a Man. Turks Wonder Why a Well-Connected Somali Went Free.
• UN: Palestinians Are Dying in Hospitals as Estimated 60,000 Wounded Overwhelm Remaining Doctors
• A Prosecutor Investigating a TV Studio Attack in Ecuador Has Been Shot Dead in Guayaquil
OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS
• Texas Defies Federal Threat to Abandon Border Area, Setting up Legal Showdown
• Judge Threatens to Boot Donald Trump From Courtroom Over Loud Talking as E. Jean Carroll Testifies
• Johnson Casts Doubt on Border Deal to Unlock Ukraine Aid, Defying Biden
• The U.S. Plan for a Postwar Middle East Isn't Gaining Much Traction
• Fact Check: 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing Not Linked to Hillary Clinton Whitewater Scandal
• Trump Tells New Hampshire Voters He'd 'Never Allow' a Federal Reserve Digital Dollar
• Entrepreneur Ramaswamy Drops Out of White House Race, Endorses Trump
• Haley Steps up Attacks on Trump, but Some in N.H. See Her Holding Back
• Democratic Denver Mayor to Lead Coalition of Mayors Asking For Federal Help for Immigrants
• U.S. Attorney General Met With Uvalde Victims' Families Before DOJ Releases Report on Law Enforcement Response to Massacre
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
U.S. Navy Carries Out New Round of Strikes Against Houthis in Yemen The Associated Press (01/17, Copp, Baldor) and the Washington Post (01/17, Lamothe) reported that on Wednesday the U.S. military fired another wave of ship- and submarine-launch missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites, according to the U.S. Central Command. The reports stated that U.S. forces carried out the strikes on 14 missiles that the Houthis had "loaded to be fired," military officials said in a statement released by U.S. Central Command. The missiles were on launch rails and "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships and could have been fired at any time," prompting U.S. forces to strike in self-defense. According to the information, the incident occurred when a one-way attack drone was launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen and struck the Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned and -operated MN Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden. According to the Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. would continue to take military action to prevent further attacks. The story was also reported on by ABC News (01/17, Martinez), Al Jazeera (01/18, Staff Writer), Axios (01/17, Falconer), CBS News (01/17, Watson), CNN (01/17, Britzky, Liebermann), Fox News (01/17, Price), The Guardian (01/17, Wintour), The Hill (01/17, Robertson), NBC News (01/17, Schapiro), New York Times (01/18, Staff Writer), Reuters (01/18, Ali, Stewart), and the Wall Street Journal (01/17, Hookway).
The Supreme Court Wrestles With Major Challenges to the Power of Federal Regulators The Associated Press (01/17, Copp, Baldor) and the Wall Street Journal (01/17, Bravin) reported that Conservative Supreme Court justices on Wednesday voiced support for weakening the power of federal regulators. According to the articles, the Supreme Court seems poised to reverse a 1984 decision that many business groups and conservative activists believe has granted too much power to unelected executive-branch bureaucrats—a ruling that conservatives during the Reagan era initially praised as a way to reign in overbearing liberal judges. During the oral arguments on Wednesday, it was reported that Justice Neil Gorsuch took the lead in overruling the precedent, Chevron USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council. He added that by allowing agencies to interpret laws, the government always wins even when Congress does not consider the issue. The story was also reported on by ABC News (01/17, Dwyer), Axios (01/17, Baker), CBS News (01/17, Quinn), CNN (01/17, Cole), Fox News (01/17, Bream, Mears), The Hill (01/17, Schonfeld, Frazin), NBC News (01/17, Hurley), New York Times (01/17, Liptak), Politico (01/17, Guillen, Gerstein), Reuters (01/17, Kruzel, Chung), and Washington Post (01/17, Marimow).
Chinese-Manufactured Drones 'Pose a Significant Risk to Critical Infrastructure and U.S. National Security,' DHS and FBI Warn
ABC News (01/17, Barr) reported that the DHS's Cybersecurity, CISA, and the FBI warned that Chinese-manufactured drones pose a significant risk to U.S. national security and critical infrastructure, potentially allowing for the theft of American data. According to the article, this warning was based on Chinese laws that permit government access to data held by private firms, thus putting any American data connected to these drones at risk. The FBI emphasized the threats posed by these drones, stating, "The use of Chinese-manufactured UAS requires careful consideration and potential mitigation to reduce risk to networks and sensitive information." They also highlighted that a 2021 Chinese law expanded the government's access and control over companies and data within China, enforcing strict penalties for non-compliance and considering data collection as vital for China's Military-Civil Fusion strategy to gain a strategic advantage over the U.S. The article noted that CISA and the FBI urged companies and individuals to isolate Chinese-made drones from their networks and to ensure regular maintenance for adequate security measures. Additional reporting on the story was provided by CNN (01/17, Bertrand), CyberScoop (01/17, Vasquez), The Record (01/17, Smalley), BanklnfoSecurity (01/17, Riotta), and Politico Pro (01/17, Miller).
Federal Investigators Asked Banks to Comb Customer Data for 'MAGA,"Trump' Terms The New York Post (01/17, Nava) reported that federal investigators, following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, asked financial institutions to search customer data using terms like "TRUMP" and "MAGA," as disclosed by Rep. Jim Jordan. According to the article, in a letter to FinCEN's former director, Jordan highlighted that FinCEN advised financial institutions to monitor transactions for indications of "extremism," using general terms and including purchases like bus tickets or books with extremist views. The article explained that Jordan requested Director Wray to provide a senior official for an interview regarding the FBI's use of Americans' private information and its engagement with the private sector in law enforcement matters, specifically referencing the FBI's interaction with Bank of America, which, at the FBI's request, scrutinized customer data for specific purchases around the time of the riot. Additional reporting on the story was provided by Newsmax (01/17, Katz), The Epoch Times (01/17, Ozimek), Fox News (01/17, Singman), and Washington Times (01/17, Picket).
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