Federal Bureau of Investigation Daily News Briefing - July 25, 2023

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July 25, 2023
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

• Justice Department Sues Texas Over Border Buoy Barrier
• Hunter Biden Goes to Court as Fight Continues Between GOP and White House
• Russia Attacks Ukrainian Grain Terminal, Blames Kyiv for Fresh Drone Strikes

COUNTERTERRORISM

• Radical UK Islamist Preacher Anjem Choudary Charged With Three Terrorist Offences
• Taliban Persistently Refute al-Zawahiri's Death By U.S. Drone Strike, One Year On
• Man Plotted To Attack His Platoon With Strangers Online. But He Might Have Been the Only Conspirator Who Was Real.

COUNTERINTELLIGENCE

• The FBI's All-in on Section 702
• Nikki Haley: 'Every Company Needs To Have a Plan B' on China
• U.S. Intelligence Agencies Reviewing Evidence in Discord Leak Case
• Pro-China Influence Campaign Infiltrates U.S. News Websites

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

• Death of Intellectually Disabled Inmate at Virginia Prison Drawing FBI Scrutiny, Document Shows
• Gilgo Beach Murders: Police Searching Suspect's Walk-in Vault
• Home-Invasion Murder Suspect's Blood on Doorknob Led to Arrest Four Decades Later
• Fury as Man Who Killed Black Victim in 'Hate Crime' Not Yet Charged
• Bryan Kohberger Claims DNA May Have Been Planted at Idaho Murders Scene — As Alibi Deadline Looms
• NCIS, FBI Lead Cold Case Training to Local & Regional Law Enforcers
• He Built a Booming Black Market Empire Inside L.A. County Jails. It Ended With His Murder
• Atlanta Suburb Strives To Recover Nearly $800,000 Lost in Email Scam
• Former U.S. Prison Employee to Admit to Accepting Payments From Rajaratnam
• Third Person Charged in Arson Attack on California Planned Parenthood
• Carlee Russell Has Admitted She Wasn't Kidnapped, Her Attorney Says
• Scammers Are Impersonating Law Enforcement, and the Call You Get May Convincing, Authorities Warn
• Gang Violence in Cleveland a High Priority for FBI as Justice Dept. Pushes Steeper Charges
• Georgia Police and FBI Investigating Racist Flyers Thrown Across Several Neighborhoods
• Madalina Cojocari Vanished After Getting off Her School Bus. Her Parents Never Even Reported Her Missing
• Democrat's Child Porn Charges Draw Conservative Outrage
• Six Men Arrested on Child Sex Charges by Alabama Police and FBI
• New Mexico State Police Sergeant Faces Child Pornography Charges
• FBI Operation Cross Country Helps Locate High Risk Runaways in East Hawai'i
• NXIVM Cult Leader Keith Raniere Claims FBI Planted Child Porn Found on His Computer as He Seeks New Trial for Sex Trafficking Crimes
• The FBI 'Hung up on Me': Epstein Victim
• FBI Offers $25K Reward for Cold Case Murder of Seven Year Old Girl

FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS

• DOJ Corporate Crime Policies Survive Challenge in Cognizant Case

CYBER DIVISION

• Florida Senator Calls for FBI Investigation Into Recent Health Care Data Breaches
• Washington Tries to Add Some Teeth to Its Cyberdefenses

LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES

• Effort to Curb Police Use of Google Data Stalls as California Lawmakers Struggle to Shield Abortion Seekers

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

• Defense Lawyers Push Judge to Reveal Secret Country that Helped FBI Wiretap the World
• FBI Returns Manuscript Signed by Hernan Cortes in 1527 to AGN in Mexico

CAPITOL VIOLENCE NEWS

• Special Counsel Received Documents From Giuliani Team That Tried To Find Fraud After 2020 Election
• Man Who Beat Officer With Flagpole During Capitol Riot Is Sentenced to Over Four Years in Prison
• Florida Couple Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach
• Special Counsel Scrutinizing February 2020 Meeting Where Trump Praised U.S. Election Security Protections
• Unanswered Questions About Trump's Looming Jan. 6 Indictment
• Former Trump DOJ Official Richard Donoghue Has Met With the Special Counsel's Office
• Majority Says Federal Prosecutors Have Strong Case Against Trump in Jan. 6 Probe
• Former NYPD Commissioner Turning Over Documents to Georgia Election Workers Suing Giuliani
• Trump Causes Confusion by Sharing Meme Calling Jan 6 a 'Government Staged Riot' Even Though He Was in Power
• Jan. 6 Rioter Says His Supreme Court Petition Could Affect 'Hundreds' of DOJ Cases
• Mike Pence Won't Call the Former President's Actions 'Criminal'
• Texts Show Mark Meadows Ridiculing Trump's Election Lies
• GOP Field's Jan. 6 Tightrope

OTHER FBI NEWS

• The Virginia Delegation Is Balking at New FBI Headquarters Criteria, Continuing Their Fight to Bring the Bureau to the Commonwealth.
• Pennsylvania Police Sergeant Jeffrey Murphy Receives FBI LEEDA Trilogy Award
• FBI Investigations, Not Like You See on TV

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• U.S. Weighs Potential Deal With China on Fentanyl
• In Singapore, Loud Echoes of Beijing's Positions Generate Anxiety
• U.S. Navy Secretary Says Australian Multination Military Exercise Demonstrates Unity to China
• John Kerry in Beijing: Can U.S. and China Set Aside Rivalry for Climate Action?
• North Korea Hasn't Answered U.S.'s Calls on Detained Soldier Travis King
• North Korea Fires Two Missiles After U.S. Submarine Arrives in South
• Ukraine's Stalled Offensive Puts Biden in Uneasy Political Position
• As Japan Aligns With U.S. Chip Curbs on China, Some in Tokyo Feel Uneasy
• New Evacuations Ordered in Greece as High Winds and Heat Fuel Wildfires
• Typhoon Doksuri: Taiwan Cancels Han Kuang Military Drills
• Denmark Quran Burning: Muslim Nations Condemn Far Right Group's Action

OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS

• Continued Reporting: Biden Investigation
• Continued Reporting: Trump Indictment
• Body of Obamas' Personal Chef Recovered From Martha's Vineyard Lake
• U.S. Supreme Court Faces 'Outright Defiance' From Alabama
• Republican Infighting Could Stall House Spending Bills
• Why the Fed Isn't Ready to Declare Victory on Inflation
• White House Says Biden Will Veto Republican-Backed Bills Over Spending Cuts
• Abortion Measures Draw Biden Veto Threat
• UFO Whistleblower To Go Before House Panel
• GOP, McCarthy on Collision Course Over Expunging Trump's Impeachments
• Trump Rages Over Legal Problems on Truth Social
• Marjorie Taylor Greene Rages at 'Stupid Conspiracy Theories' Made About Her

BIG PICTURE

• New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• Washington Post
• Financial Times
• ABC News
• CBS News
• NBC News
• Fox News

WASHINGTON SCHEDULE

White House
President Biden
• 10:00 AM: The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
• 12:00 PM: The President signs a proclamation to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Illinois and Mississippi; The Vice President participates
• 3:00 PM: The President delivers remarks on expanding access to mental health care

Vice President Harris
• 12:00 PM: The President signs a proclamation to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Illinois and Mississippi; The Vice President participates

US Senate
• An oversight hearing to examine artificial intelligence, focusing on principles for regulation. — 3:00 PM — Host: Judiciary Committee

US House of Representatives
• Business Meeting: H.R. 4366 Military Construction Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act 2024• S.J. Res 9 A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5 United States Code of the rule submitted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service relating to "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants• Lesser Prairie-Chicken• Threatened Status with Section 4d Rule for the Northern Distinct Population Segment and Endangered Status for the Southern Di — 3:00 PM — Host: Committee on Rules

Cabinet Members
• No events scheduled.

Visitors
• No events scheduled.

General Events
• Brookings Institution: Soldiers of democracy? The Tunisian military and the presidential coup — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: Online Event, 11:00 AM. Although long hailed for its professionalism, the Tunisian military aided President Kais Saied's power grab on July 25, 2021, by shuttering the parliament. Military courts have since prosecuted dissidents, while the country backslides toward authoritarianism. In his new book, "Soldiers of Democracy? Military Legacies and the Arab Spring," Brookings Nonresident Fellow Sharan Grewal examines the Tunisian military's role in Saied's coup, showing how the military's norms, interests, and politics have shaped its behavior. On July 25, two years after the coup, the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings will host a virtual discussion on the findings from Grewal's new book and the evolution of Tunisia's military. Expert panelists will examine key questions such as why the military agreed to close the parliament, how civil-military relations are shifting today, and the implications for U.S. policy.

• Brookings Institution: Lost and broken: Rep. Adam Smith's reflections on mental health health care, and the US armed forces — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: The Brookings Institution, 2:00 PM. To most, he was at the peak of success — a husband and father, elected representative of the 9th District of the state of Washington, and top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. Yet every day was a ruthless, unseen battle for Rep. Adam Smith. Debilitating anxiety, fear, and severe physical pain were his constant shadows. Thus began his six-year journey looking for the right diagnosis and treatment and facing the severe shortcomings of our nation's health care system and mental health stigmas. In his memoir "Lost and Broken: My Journey Back from Chronic Pain and Crippling Anxiety," Rep. Smith candidly details his path from rock bottom to self-love, self-worth, and understanding and shares what he learned along the way in the hope that he can help others facing similar challenges. On July 25, join the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings for a fireside conversation with Rep. Smith on his personal story, mental health, and the health care system writ large, and, more specifically, the importance of addressing the state of mental health in our armed forces.

• CSIS: The Dangers of Premature Peace Plans in the Russo-Ukrainian War — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: CSIS, 9:00 AM. Please join the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development and the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, in partnership with Chatham House, for a panel discussion on proposed ideas for a long-term plan for peace in Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion, and the dangers of certain peace plans. As discussed in this new report from Chatham House, the resolution of this war will have implications for the entire European security framework. For a Ukrainian victory to happen, there needs to be a vision for peace that both ensures Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence and inhibits Russia's ability to continue threatening its neighbors in the future. Conditions for success have ranged from completely restoring Ukraine's borders prior to 2014 to granting territorial concessions to Russia, and more. With new election cycles beginning in Western democracies, many are asking what peace could look like in this conflict, and how to support Ukraine in the aftermath.

• CSIS: National Security and Spectrum for 56 — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: CSIS, 2:00 PM. The United States must allocate more mid-band spectrum for licensed commercial 5G use to enhance its economic and national security priorities. If it is not addressed, the present spectrum shortage in the United States could hinder technological innovation and give China a path to global leadership in the increasingly connected twenty-first century. Join CSIS for a fireside chat on the strategic national security imperative for reallocating spectrum for 56 with Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, followed by a panel of industry experts. Additional panelist information is forthcoming. To learn more, listen to this podcast for an insider's look at spectrum allocation, and check out these CSIS publications on spectrum, the national security benefits of reallocating spectrum, and U.S. leadership in next-generation networks.

• CATO Institute: Tax Expenditures and Tax Reform — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: CATO Institute, 12:00 PM. The 118th Congress is considering several tax reform proposals. Down the road, presidential candidates may propose tax reforms, and Congress will extend or allow to expire provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. When Congress considers tax changes, tax expenditures usually come into play. In recent years, policymakers have battled over the state and local tax deduction, energy tax incentives, capital expensing, and many other tax provisions. Which tax expenditures are justified? How are official tax expenditure lists flawed? Have recent tax changes increased or decreased tax expenditures? What reforms are needed for a simpler and flatter tax system? Please join us at noon on Tuesday, July 25, in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2060, as our panel of experts discuss tax expenditures, tax reform, and what's next on Washington's tax agenda.

• PIIE: Summers and Zoellick on industrial policy and US foreign policy — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: Online Event, 9:30 AM. Lawrence H. Summers and Robert B. Zoellick both oppose various elements of "the new Washington Consensus" that is emerging against trade and for industrial policy. They share their different perspectives on the impact of this new approach on the US and global economies in a discussion hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PliE) on July 25, 2023. Zoellick has written on the subject in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that President Biden's "industrial policy doesn't serve consumers, but its rules and subsidies will be hard to undo." Adam S. Posen contributed to the topic in a Foreign Policy essay in March, "America's Zero-Sum Economics Doesn't Add Up." Summers and Zoellick have also coauthored two recent pieces in Foreign Affairs and the Washington Post on using Russia's seized assets for rebuilding Ukraine. A Q&A with PlIE president Adam S. Posen follows.

• Atlantic Council: The rising female workforce in Saudi Arabia and its impact on the private sector — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: Online Event, 12:00 PM. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has seen a remarkable increase in the participation of women in the private sector. This shift is fueled by a combination of factors, including proactive government policies advocating for women's economic empowerment, rising educational attainment among Saudi women, and increased demand for female labor in the private sector. As a result, from late 2018 to the end of 2022, the labor force participation rate for Saudi women has been on the rise, moving from 20 percent to 35 percent. Recognizing this positive dynamic, the Atlantic Council's Women Innovators Fellowship (Win) is hosting a workshop titled 'The rising female workforce in Saudi Arabia and its impact on the private sector'. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, July 25th, from 12:00-1:00 pm ET/7:00-8:00 pm KSA Time. The Win Fellowship is led by the Atlantic Council's empowerME initiative in cooperation with Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business with support from US Embassy in Riyadh and PepsiCo. Our yearlong program, running from June 2023 to March 2024, is providing thirty-four Saudi women entrepreneurs the opportunity to extend their networks, gain practical knowledge, and develop meaningful US-Saudi people-to-people and business ties. This will empower them to scale their businesses at the local, regional, and global levels. The Atlantic Council is also set to produce publications featuring insights, case studies, and policy recommendations as part of the program.

• Wilson Center: To Speak or Not to Speak: Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: Online Event, 10:30 AM. This event, an address by Dr. Shahidul Alam, a photojournalist and activist from Bangladesh, marks the 2023 Asma Jahangir Memorial Lecture. It is part of an annual lecture series in honor of the late Asma Jahangir, a leading human rights activist from Pakistan who passed away in 2018. The lecture features an annual address by a distinguished scholar, opinion leader, or activist who addresses issues of democracy and human rights in South Asia. This series is hosted by the Wilson Center's Asia Program and South Asia Institute, and South Asia Democracy Watch (SDW), a nonprofit organization that promotes social justice, human rights, and equality in South Asia through educational programs, conferences, and symposia. In his lecture, Alam will speak about his past and current work as a photojournalist documenting rights and democracy in Bangladesh. He will also speak about his past incarceration, his current situation, and the broader state of play with rights and democracy in Bangladesh today.

• Wilson Center: A Conversation on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: Wilson Center, 12:30 PM. Working closely with its partners and allies to ensure stability and security in the Indo-Pacific has been a priority for the Biden administration. Launched in May 2022, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is the cornerstone of the White House's strategy in the world's most dynamic region. IPEF aims to enhance economic partnerships that would bolster a rules-based order and promote growth. At the helm of advancing IPEF is Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Please join us on Tuesday, July 25 for a fireside chat with Secretary Raimondo and Dr. Sadek Wahba, Chair of the Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition (WISC) and Chairman and Managing Partner, I Squared Capital. The discussion will focus on the path forward for IPEF and Secretary Raimondo's efforts to enhance American economic security and spur private sector investment in areas of strategic economic importance. The event will include a conversation with a panel of experts as well as speakers including Ambassador Mark A. Green, President & CEO of the Wilson Center, and the Hon. Mark Kennedy, Director, Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition (WISC) at the Wilson Center.

• The Hudson Institute: Lessons from the World War II Arsenal of Democracy — Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Location: The Hudson Institute, 1:00 PM. To defend Ukraine against Russia and deter China from invading Taiwan, the United States needs to rapidly increase weapons production and enhance its arms. Tapping American innovation and rebuilding the US defense industrial base will be crucial. The mobilization effort during World War II offers a range of lessons for policymakers today on how to stimulate innovation, collaboration, and growth to rebuild the "arsenal of democracy." Senior Fellow and Director of the China Center Miles Yu will introduce this session. Distinguished Fellow Lewis Libby will moderate a panel with three leading historians on this topic: Professor Larrie D. Ferreiro, Professor Mark Wilson, and Hudson Senior Fellow Arthur Herman.

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