Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Monday, November

From: To: Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Monday, November 16, 2020 Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2020 11:27:50 +0000 c Importan e: Normal Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. • 'FBI News Briefing • TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020 6:30 AM EST TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Kelly Joins At Least 12 GOP Lawmakers Calling For Trump To Give Biden Access To Classified Intelligence Briefings. PROTESTS • FBI Probing Post-Election Vandalism Targeting Government. • Trump Denounces "Antifa Scum" For Clashes After His Supporters DC Rally. • Nearly Two Dozen Arrested In Washington, DC Trump Protests. • WPost Analysis: Following Summer Of Demonstrations, Americans Voted In Favor Of Criminal Justice Reform. • Even With New Police Law, Critics Feel Baltimore County Has A Great Deal More To Do. • NYTimes Al: Some Staff Members At New York City Police Watchdog Claim Recent Layoffs At Agency Were Due To Retaliation. • Minneapolis Sees Surging Violence As Droves Of Officers Leave Police Department. • NYC Pilot Program Will See Dispatchers Send Mental Health Units To Respond To Mental Health Calls Instead Of Police. • Louisville Family Still Getting Harassed By Neighbor Who Allegedly Painted Racist Message On Their Driveway. • Rittenhouse's Mother Slams Biden For Showing Son In Campaign Ad. OPERATION LEGEND • Nearly 360 Arrests In St. Louis Area Under Operation LeGend. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Two Testify Against Alleged Ringleader Of Minnesota Mosque Bombing. • Nevada Man Sentenced To Two Years In Bomb Plot Case. • Biden Urged To Create White House Position Tasked With Combatting Domestic Terrorism. • NYTimes Al: Intelligence Officials Confirm Israeli Operatives Killed Key Al Qaeda Leader In Iran. • French Government Defends Response To Islamist Terrorist Attacks. • Ethiopian Security Officials Arrest Suspected Members Of Al-Shabaab, ISIS Accused Of Plotting Terror Attacks. EFTA00148963 • Eleven Germans Charged With Belonging To Far-Right Terror Group. • Local Insurgency In Mozambique Increases Allegiance To Islamic State. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Biden Transition, Some Republicans Critical Of Trump's Refusal To Share Classified Information. • Following Promotion, Giuliani Spreads Conspiracy Theories About Electronic Voting Machines. • Federal Prosecutors Tell Barr They Saw No Evidence Of Substantial "Irregularities" During Elections. • Washington Reacts To Possible Ouster Of CISA Director. • Extremists Turn To Fringe Social Networks To Spread Post-Election Disinformation. • McCabe Says Further Trump-Russia Declassifications "Unflattering" For President. • QAnon Conspiracy Thriving Internationally. • Government Urges FISC To Reject ACLU Appeal. • ODNI Taps Matthew Kozma As IC's New CIO. • NSA General Counsel Pick Setting Off Alarm Bells Among Experts. • Atlas 5 Rocket Carrying NRO Satellite Launched November 13. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Bond Reduced For Three Michigan Men Charged In Whitmer Kidnap Plot. • Judge Denies Bond To Men Charged With Killing Arbery. • Prosecutors: Guards At Federal Prison In Virginia Were Bribed By Prisoners. • FBI Captures Fugitive Who Escaped Custody Almost Five Decades Ago. • FBI Following New Lead In 2004 Death Of Kansas Man. • Fourth Suspect Charged In Mississippi Murder-For-Hire Case. • FBI Offers Reward For Information On Georgia Double Murder Case. • Ex-Illinois Police Officer Sentenced In Uzi Coverup. • Boy Scouts Facing More Than 82,000 Sex-Abuse Claims. • New Mexico Man Pleads Guilty To Hitting Federal Officer. • Man Charged With Taking Gun From Kansas City Homicide Scene. • Wisconsin Man Charged With Abducting Missouri Minor. • Drug Cartels Funneling Meth Into Las Vegas. • Brevard County Sheriff's Office Publishes Video Showing Moments Preceding Death Of Army Veteran Inmate. • Florida Man Sentenced Over Plan To Kill Judge, Prosecutor. • FBI Searching For Colorado Man. • Mother, Son Facing Charges After Drugs Recovered From New Mexico Homes. • Colorado Man Arrested In Connection To New Jersey Bank Robberies. • Georgia Resident Sentenced To Nearly 20 Years In Prison For Distributing Meth. • Virginia Man Tied To Meth Purchase In Georgia Gets 151-Month Prison Sentence. • Texas Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. • California Man Arrested In Connection To Hate Crime. • FBI Investigating Texas Gang. • Pennsylvania Grand Jury Charges Man With Sexual Extortion Of Minors. • Virginian Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. • Texas Youth Coach Sentenced Over College Admissions Investigation. • Alaska Man Sentenced For Armed Robberies. • FBI Captures Suspect In Connecticut, Pennsylvania Bank Robberies. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • Florida High School Coach Arrested For Allegedly Defrauding PPP Of Almost $1M. • Virginia Man Sentenced For PPP Fraud. EFTA00148964 • Former Wells Fargo CEO Settles Claims As Other Former Official Faces Fraud Case. • Ex-Deputies Sue Texas AG Paxton For Retaliation. • US Charges Massachusetts Tribal Chairman With Bribery In Casino Development. • Illinois Developer Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud. • FBI Arrests Texas Man On Fraud Charges. • FBI Searching For Man Accused Of Stealing Trade Secrets From Texas Firm. • FBI Arrests California Man In Fraudulent Manure-To-Methane Project. • Nine Arrested In California Money Laundering Scheme. • Washington Insurance Agent Charged With Stealing From Clients. CYBER DIVISION • WSJournal Al: Schools Throughout US Contending With Ransomware Attacks. • Microsoft: Vaccine Researchers, Companies Targeted By North Korean, Russian Hackers. • DHS Says Becton Medical Pump Has Cybersecurity Issues. • ByteDance Granted 15-Day Extension To Divest TikTok. • Qualcomm Gets US Permission To Sell 4G Phone Chips To Huawei. • North Korea-Linked Twitter Accounts Garnering Attention. • Google Unable To Resolve Dispute With DOJ Over Protective Order. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • NYTimes Analysis: NYPD Insufficiently Disciplining Officers Accused Of "Serious Misconduct." • Recreational Marijuana Industry Players Preparing To Operate In New Jersey Following Approval Of Ballot Measure. • Judge Provides DOJ With Single Day To Explain Why Woman's Execution Should Not Be Put Off Due To COVID Infections Among Lawyers. • Maryland Judiciary Halts Jury Trials For Remainder Of 2020 Amid Rising Coronavirus Cases. • Arlington's Leading Prosecutor, Public Defender Engaged In Legal Challenges To County Judge. • Judge Rebukes Fairfax County Law Enforcement, Prosecutors For Not Providing Exculpatory Evidence In Murder Case In Timely Manner. • Poll: About 80% Of Americans Believe Crime Has Risen During Past Year. OTHER FBI NEWS • DOJ Report Says FBI Wanted To Arrest Epstein At Virgin Islands Beauty Pageant Before Plea Deal. • Tennessee Man Convicted Of Homicide Seeks New Trial Because Testifying Officer Is Under FBI Probe. • Four Colorado Detectives Honored By DOJ For Busting Gift Card Scam. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Trump Says "I Concede Nothing," Criticizes Media For Calling 2020 Election For Biden. • US Adds Another Million Coronavirus Cases In Under A Week. • Administration Officials, Republican Governors Call On Americans To Take Surging Coronavirus Cases Seriously. • Biden Advisers, Democrats Urge Americans To Take Pandemic Seriously. • More States Enact Tough Restrictions As Coronavirus Spreads. • Trump Hails Progress On Vaccine, Says It Will Be Available Within "Weeks," Though Not In New York. • CDC Urges Americans To Wear Masks. • Alito Describes Covid-19 As "Constitutional Stress Test." • More Than 130 Secret Service Agents In Quarantine. • Pfizer Could Apply For FDA's Emergency Authorization Of Vaccine As Soon As This Week. • Physicians, Nurses Retiring Early, Leaving Jobs During Pandemic. • Republicans Showing Little Interest In Pursuing Biden Investigations. • Millions Face Loss Of Unemployment Benefits If Congress Fails To Reach Deal On Coronavirus Relief. EFTA00148965 • Trump Allies See Newsmax As Potential Rival To Fox News. • Judge Rules Wolf Serving Illegally, Invalidates His Suspension Of DACA. • Miller: Americans Are "Not A People Of Perpetual War." • Bolton: Recent Pentagon, NSA, DHS Firings Are "Very Damaging." • SpaceX Launches Four Astronauts Into Orbit On NASA Mission. • SCOTUS Has Not Acted On Trump Tax Suits In Weeks. • Hollyanne Milley Saves Man Who Collapsed During Veterans Day Ceremony. • Explosion At VA Hospital Complex In Connecticut Leaves Two Dead. • WPost Al: McEntee Leading Purge Of "Insufficiently Loyal" Administration Officials. INTERNATIONAL NEWS • UK Prime Minister To Self-Isolate After Contact With Lawmaker With COVID-19. • Coronavirus Cases In Italy's Hospitals Threaten To Outstrip Spring Peak. • Germans Should Expect Another 4-5 Months Of "Lockdown Light," Economy Minister Says. • French Police Break Up Parties That Violate Second Lockdown Restrictions. • Classrooms Remain Open Across Europe Despite Lockdowns. • Asian Economies Recovering Fastest From Coronavirus. • India To Fly In Physicians, Take Other Steps To Stem Surge Of Virus Cases In Delhi. • Mexico Tops 1M Coronavirus Cases As Country Continues To Defy Accepted Prevention Practices. • ESwatini's Prime Minister Tests Positive For COVID-19. • WPost Al: Trump Has Worsened Iran Crisis Since Taking Office. • India Denies Pakistan's Claim It Funded Militant Groups. • US Condemns Tigray Forces' Attacks On Eritrea. • Israel Advances Plan To Build 1,200 Apartments In East Jerusalem Settlement. • Macron: Europe Needs Its Own Sovereignty In Defense Strategy. • Sandu Leads Moldova Presidential Run-Off. • Belarus Police Detain Hundreds Amid Raid On Protester's Shrine. • Azerbaijan Delays Takeover Of Disputed Territory. • Erdogan Visits Northern Cyprus, Calls For Two-State Solution For Island. • Moroccan Forces Clash With Western Sahara Fighters. • Peru's Interim President Steps Down Amid Protests. • WPost Al: Brazil Grapples With Racial Redefinition Amid US Protests. • Death Toll In Philippines Typhoon Rises To 67. • NYTimes Analysis: Chinese Legal System Fails To Protect Women From Domestic Violence. • Mahuta Named First Maori Woman In New Zealand Cabinet. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Kelly Joins At Least 12 GOP Lawmakers Calling For Trump To Give Biden Access To Classified Intelligence Briefings. On CBS This MorningVi (11/13, 2.36M), Paula Reid reported a "growing number of Republicans...say that Biden should at least get...access [to classified intelligence briefings], including the President's allies like" Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Ted Cruz (R-TX). On NBC's TodayVi (11/13, 2.87M), Kristen Welker reported, "At least a dozen [Republican EFTA00148966 lawmakers are] now saying Mr. Biden should receive classified intelligence briefings, which are being blocked by the White House." Politico (11/13, Lippman, 4.29M) reports former White House chief of Staff John Kelly in an interview on Friday argued Biden "should start receiving intelligence briefings, and the delay in allowing the transition to officially get started is damaging U.S. national security." Kelly said, "You lose a lot if the transition is delayed because the new people are not allowed to get their head in the game." Kelly added, "The president, with all due respect, does not have to concede. But it's about the nation. It hurts our national security because the people who should be getting [up to speed], it's not a process where you go from zero to 1,000 miles per hour." Meanwhile, Reuters (11/13, Lewis) reports that Biden transition official Jen Psaki on Friday "said the fact that Biden was not yet receiving classified intelligence briefings could hurt his preparations to govern," but she announced that Biden "will be briefed by national security experts next week." The Washington Times (11/13, McLaughlin, 492K) reports Symone Sanders, a senior adviser to Biden, during an appearance on CNN "said Friday the growing chorus of Republicans calling for Mr. Biden to start receiving intelligence briefings shows it is time for...Trump to throw in the towel." However, Politico (11/13, Forgey, 4.29M) reports former President Barack Obama in an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" scheduled to air this weekend "said...it `has been disappointing' to see congressional Republicans remain supportive of...Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and his refusal to concede the 2020 White House race to...Biden." He said, "There's damage to this." Obama added, "What happens is that the peaceful transfer of power - the notion that any of us who attain an elected office, whether it's dog catcher or president, are servants of the people, it's a temporary job, we're not above the rules, we're not above the law - that's the essence of our democracy." In addition, Obama "described the fraud allegations leveled by GOP lawmakers as disingenuous, saying that `they obviously didn't think there was any fraud going on, because they didn't say anything about it for the first two days' after Election Day, when the results in some key swing states were still unsettled." In addition, Terry Moran said on ABC World News TonigLitVi (11/13, story 4, 3:31, Muir, 6.44M) that Trump's refusal to concede "is throwing a wrench into Biden's plan to tackle the virus. His team has been blocked from coordinating with the White House coronavirus task force." Under the headline "Trump's Stonewalling Of Biden's Transition Team Threatens National Security, Democrats Say," the New York Times (11/13, Sanger, Stolberg, 18.61M) reports that as they have been "deprived of access to secure government communications by the Trump administration, Mr. Biden's team of more than 500 former officials and outside experts has embraced workarounds." In an analysis, the Washington Post (11/12, Phillips, 14.2M) says that national security officials "are concerned...other countries - and the coronavirus - could take advantage of a slowed transition for...Biden," and democracy experts "warn that the Republican Party is undermining the foundations of the U.S. electoral system and that the GOP is mirroring authoritarianism." PROTEST FBI Probing Post-Election Vandalism Targeting Government. The Oregonian (11/13, Bernstein, 1M) reports, "Federal officials are investigating a cluster of vandalism that appears to target government employees in the Pacific Northwest and Portland area in the wake of the presidential election, according to a federal source familiar with the cases." According to the Oregonian, "On Wednesday morning, a federal law enforcement officer's unmarked take-home work vehicle was set on fire outside his Washington County home. The officer works at a federal building in downtown Portland, the source said. The FBI, the U.S Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington County Sheriff's EFTA00148967 Office and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue are investigating the fire. No arrest has been made, sheriff's Sgt. Robert L. Rookhujizen said Friday." Trump Denounces "Antifa Scum" For Clashes After His Supporters DC Rally. The Washington Times (11/15, Mordock, 492K) reports President Trump on Saturday "slammed 'ANTIFA SCUM', the media and D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser as pro-Trump supporters and leftist activists violently clashed in Washington." The Times adds, "More than 20 people were arrested, according to statements from the U.S. Park Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. D.C. Police said two of its officers were injured late Saturday evening." Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said on Fox News' MediaBuzz (11/15, 536K) it is "shameful that some of the competing networks whether it be CNN or MSNBC have not covered it the way that they should. The fact of the matter is these were peaceful protesters, so to speak, folks who were going to talk about their support for President Trump, and out of nowhere Antifa and these BLM protesters come in and start hitting them. ... These aren't Trump supporters that are showing up and committing the violence. I think the media needs to cover this, and I do think that whether it be the DC police or the DOJ, there have to be immediate crackdowns on groups like Antifa because this isn't how society is supposed to wok." Nearly Two Dozen Arrested In Washington, DC Trump Protests. The AP (11/15, Khalil, Freking) reports, "Demonstrations over President Donald Trump's loss at the polls have resulted in charges against nearly two dozen people in Washington, including a person accused of setting off a commercial firework and four people accused in an assault that left the victim unconscious on the street." According to the AP, "The arrests came during and after protesters and counterdemonstrators clashed Saturday in Northwest Washington. Several thousand people rallied during the day in support of Trump, whose motorcade briefly drove by the gathering protesters Saturday morning on the way to the president's Northern Virginia golf club. Trump supporters marched from Freedom Plaza to the Supreme Court Building, across from the Capitol, during the day. Their activities and those of counterdemonstrators grew increasing tense and took a violent turn in the early evening." WPost Analysis: Following Summer Of Demonstrations, Americans Voted In Favor Of Criminal Justice Reform. A Washington Post (11/13, Berman, Jackman, 14.2M) analysis says that after going into "the streets for extended demonstrations this summer to protest police violence and racial injustice," Americans "took to the voting booth" on Election Day "to endorse criminal justice and policing reforms." Americans "backed a string of measures increasing police oversight, elected reform- minded prosecutors, loosened drug laws and passed other proposals rethinking key elements of law enforcement and justice in their communities." The Post adds, "These votes, taken together, signal that after a summer of protest brought renewed scrutiny to the justice system, many Americans were open to rethinking how it functions - particularly on the state and local level, where policies have a stark impact on how people interact with the justice system." However, The Hill (11/14, Axelrod, 2.98M) reports Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) "said progressives' calls to 'defund the police' were in part to blame for Democratic losses in the House in a cycle when the party was expected to gain seats." While on WAMU's "Politics Hour," Warner on Friday said, "I think the ability, using terms like 'defund the police' have led to Democratic losses in this last year." WPost Analysis: How Biden Approaches Police Violence "Could Provide Some Answers To Concerns" Black Voters Have Regarding Democratic Party. In another Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) analysis, Eugene Scott says, "Because the Democratic Party didn't benefit from the blue wave that many expected on Election Day, some lawmakers and party leaders are suggesting Democrats need to distance themselves from the messaging and, perhaps, ideas surrounding one of the most popular issues with the party's base. That could EFTA00148968 mean disappointing one of the groups that can take credit for Joe Biden's victory: Black voters." A Post-Ipsos poll from June shows that "Black voters considered racism and policing to be among their top issues heading into the election." The Post adds that a large number of Americans want Biden "to approach concerns about police violence differently than Trump. How his administration responds could provide some answers to concerns of Black voters that the Democratic Party is always ready to take their votes but not fully address their issues." Even With New Police Law, Critics Feel Baltimore County Has A Great Deal More To Do. The Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) says Baltimore County in October approved a policing law that, among other things, "compels officers to intervene if they witness excessive use of force." Moreover, the bill is meant "to curtail the use of chokeholds by county officers, allowing that use of force only in defense against death or serious bodily injury." Critics, however, "say that while the legislation and other recent changes have some merit, the county has much more to do." NAACP Baltimore County Branch President Tony Fugett said, "The proof is in the pudding," adding, "You've checked all the boxes. Now the work has to begin, and are you really in earnest going to do the work?" Fugett "said the NAACP has been `screaming at the top of our lungs' about the police department's issues internally and with traffic stop disparities, but he is glad the county is finally taking steps to address it." NYTimes Al: Some Staff Members At New York City Police Watchdog Claim Recent Layoffs At Agency Were Due To Retaliation. On its front page, the New York Times (11/12, Al, Southall, 18.61M) reported, "Four senior officials at the New York City agency that examines allegations of police misconduct were laid off abruptly on Thursday in what officials described as a restructuring meant to expand its investigative muscle." However, a number of staff members at "the agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, said the layoffs were retaliation for the officials' roles in criticizing how the board responds when the Police Department refuses to cooperate with its investigations." The Times adds, "The layoffs came after several high-profile police killings of Black people, including George Floyd in Minneapolis, touched off huge protests against police brutality across the United States and led to a surge of complaints against officers in New York and other cites." Minneapolis Sees Surging Violence As Droves Of Officers Leave Police Department. The Washington Post (11/12, Bailey, 14.2M) reports that about half a year after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis precipitated enormous "protests and left a wide swath of the city burned and destroyed, Minneapolis is grappling with dueling crises: an unprecedented wave of violence and droves of officer departures that the Minneapolis Police Department warns could soon leave the force unable to respond to emergencies." According to the Post, "Homicides in Minneapolis are up 50 percent, with nearly 75 people killed across the city so far this year. More than 500 people have been shot, the highest number in more than a decade and twice as many as in 2019. And there have been more than 4,600 violent crimes - including hundreds of carjackings and robberies - a five-year high." NYC Pilot Program Will See Dispatchers Send Mental Health Units To Respond To Mental Health Calls Instead Of Police. Bloomberg (11/13, Akinnibi, 4.73M) reports that New York City "plans to test out a program where dispatchers send out emergency medical services and mental health crisis workers, instead of police officers, to mental health-related calls, making it the latest city to attempt a pivot away from policing as a cure-all." Bloomberg adds, "The city's mental health teams will work in two high-need communities starting in February." The teams are going to respond instead of the conventional "police and paramedic teams, except in cases that involve a weapon or imminent danger, according to a statement from Mayor Bill de Blasio's office this week." EFTA00148969 Louisville Family Still Getting Harassed By Neighbor Who Allegedly Painted Racist Message On Their Driveway. The Washington Post (11/13, Salcedo, 14.2M) says that in June, Connie and Michella Pineda went outside their Louisville home and discovered "a bright orange swastika and a racist message spray-painted on their driveway." Upon checking a security camera, the Pinedas, "who are Latina and Filipina, respectively," discovered "they knew the attacker, they later told police," with the perpetrator being their neighbor. That individual, Suzanne Craft, in July "was charged with criminal mischief and later sentenced to seven days of jail and house arrest for violating a no-contact order with the couple, as reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal." Now, however, the Pinedas indicate that "they suspect Craft is still targeting them and their five children with racist harassment." The Post says it was told by the Pineda's attorney that their security cameras during recent weeks captured Craft putting "cat litter in their fountain and" leaving "what appeared to be a bag of threatening letters on their lawn." Rittenhouse's Mother Slams Biden For Showing Son In Campaign Ad. The Washington Times (11/13, Blake, 492K) reports, "The mother of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager facing murder charges for the deaths of two people shot this summer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, slammed Joseph R. Biden for including her son in a campaign ad." During a Thursday interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson, Wendy Rittenhouse said regarding Biden, "I will take him down," adding, "Cheaters don't win, and he used my son's image to get votes," OPERATION LEGEND Nearly 360 Arrests In St. Louis Area Under Operation LeGend. KMOV-TV St. Louis (11/13, 362K) reports, "St. Louis is leading the pack when it comes to arrests through Operation LeGend," which "brings in federal law enforcement agencies to work with state and local law enforcement to try and root out violent crime." KMOV-TV adds, "Since the program first came to St. Louis, 828 people have been arrested, including 43 homicide suspects, and 359 guns were seized. According to officials, 357 people have been federally charged in the area. `Through Operation LeGend, we have dedicated over 1,000 federal agents and tens of millions of dollars to the cities. This includes our agents and intelligence analysts, fugitive trackers, forensic experts to work with our task forces to take violent criminals off the street. We have already seen some excellent results around the country,' said U.S. Attorney General William Barr." COUNTER-TERRORISM Two Testify Against Alleged Ringleader Of Minnesota Mosque Bombing. The AP (11/13) reports from St. Paul, Minnesota, "Two Illinois men who pleaded guilty to a 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque testified that the group's alleged ringleader recruited them for an unspecified job and didn't fill them in on his plan until they neared their target." Michael McWhorter, 31, and Joe Morris, 25, "testified that Michael Hari hated Muslims, and they said they participated in the attack at Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center at Hari's instruction," but "Hari's trial was stopped abruptly Friday after a juror's spouse tested positive for COVID-19. The Star Tribune reported that the trial will be in recess while tests are done to determine if the jury was exposed. It will resume late next week at the earliest." The Minneapolis Star Tribune (11/13, Mannix, 1.04M) reports, "As they drove through their rural community in central Illinois in summer 2017, Michael Hari asked Joe Morris if he wanted to take a job. `He said that it wouldn't be exactly legal,' Morris, 25, recounted to jurors in St. Paul's federal courthouse on Friday, `but we were going to harass the untouchables.' The `untouchables; Hail told Morris, included people the government couldn't get to, such as EFTA00148970 George Soros, antifa and ISIS, according to Morris's testimony. And 'harass' meant to 'take the money, destroy their buildings,' said Morris, swiveling back and forth in his chair in the courtroom. On the fifth day of Hari's domestic terrorism trial, Morris, a key witness for the prosecution, told the jury that Hari planned and recruited him to help carry out the Aug. 5, 2017, bombing of Dar Al-Farooq mosque in Bloomington. Hari, 49, of Clarence, Ill., has pleaded not guilty to five federal charges, including civil rights and hate crimes." Nevada Man Sentenced To Two Years In Bomb Plot Case. The AP (11/13, Ritter, Kunzelman) reports from Las Vegas, "A white supremacist who told an undercover FBI agent about his plans to firebomb a synagogue or attack a Las Vegas bar catering to LGBTQ customers was sentenced Friday to two years in prison." Conor Climo, 24, "apologized before U.S. District Judge James Mahan sentenced him to prison followed by six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring. Prosecutors recommended a 30- month prison sentence." Judge Mahan "gave Climo credit for the jail time he already has served since his August 2019 arrest and agreed to recommend that he serves his prison time in Louisiana, near grandparents whom he plans to live with after his release. Defense attorney Paul Riddle said his client is grateful that FBI agents arrested him when they did because he knows that he was on a 'very dark path." KVVU-TV Las Vegas (11/13, Emerson, 124K) reports, "According to court documents, Climo was communicating with members of a white supremacist group Feuerkrieg Division. Prosecutors said the group encourages attacks on federal government, infrastructure, minorities and members of the LGBTQ community. In online conversations from May 2019 to July 2019, Climo discussed setting fire to a Las Vegas synagogue and using Molotov cocktails, according to prosecutors. They said Climo also conducted surveillance on a bar located on Fremont Street he believed catered to the LGBTQ community. Climo pleaded guilty on Feb. 10 to one count of possession of an unregistered fiream; namely, components to make a bomb. Climo was investigated by an FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force." Biden Urged To Create White House Position Tasked With Combatting Domestic Terrorism. The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Levy, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Joe Biden is being urged to create a White House position responsible for the fight against ideologically inspired terrorists in the US and to increase funding to combat such groups. NYTimes Al: Intelligence Officials Confirm Israeli Operatives Killed Key Al Qaeda Leader In Iran. In a front-page article, the New York Times (11/13, Al, Goldman, Schmitt, Fassihi, Bergman, 18.61M) reports intelligence officials have confirmed "Al Qaeda's second-highest leader, accused of being one of the masterminds of the deadly 1998 attacks on American embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran three months ago." According to the Times, "Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down on the streets of Tehran by two assassins on a motorcycle on Aug. 7, the anniversary of the embassy attacks. He was killed along with his daughter, Miriam, the widow of Osama bin Laden's son Hamza bin Laden." The Times adds, "The attack was carried out by Israeli operatives at the behest of the United States, according to four of the officials. It is unclear what role if any was played by the United States, which had been tracking the movements of Mr. al-Masri and other Qaeda operatives in Iran for years." CNN (11/14, Lister, Cruickshank, Balkiz, 83.16M) reports that on Friday, a "senior counterterrorism official" told them "that Abu Muhammad al-Masri is probably dead." The AP (11/14, Lee, LaPorta) reports Al-Masri's death "is a blow to al-Qaida" and "comes amid rumors in the Middle East about the fate of the group's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The officials could not confirm those reports but said the U.S. intelligence community was trying to EFTA00148971 determine their credibility." Two officials - "one within the intelligence community and with direct knowledge of the operation and another former CIA officer briefed on the matter — said al-Masri was killed by Kidon, a unit within the secretive Israeli spy organization Mossad allegedly responsible for the assassination of high-value targets." The Washington Post (11/14, Nakashima, 14.2M) says that a "report about Masri's death was posted and quickly deleted from a private al-Qaeda forum last month, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremism online. Al-Qaeda has repeatedly failed to acknowledge the deaths of its leaders in the past two years, fearful that to do so would betray its weakness, SITE founder Rita Katz said." Reuters (11/14) reports that a US official, "speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, declined to confirm any details of the Times story or say whether there was any U.S. involvement. The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment." The Hill (11/14, 2.98M) also runs a report, among others. Iranian Foreign Ministry Denies Report. The New York Times (11/14, Fassihi, 18.61M) reports Iran's Foreign Ministry on Saturday "denied a report that Israeli agents had fatally shot Al Qaeda's second-ranking leader on the streets of Tehran, likening it to a 'Hollywood' scenario manufactured by 'American and Zionist' officials." French Government Defends Response To Islamist Terrorist Attacks. The Washington Post (11/14, McAuley, 14.2M) reports, "The French government is bristling at international criticism of its response to recent Islamist terrorist attacks, accusing foreign leaders and journalists of misrepresenting an attempt to target extremist violence on French soil as a crackdown on Islam." While "prominent French Muslim faith leaders and intellectuals have largely endorsed Macron's anti-separatism campaign, reiterating that there is no official discrimination against Muslims in France and speaking out in favor of France's unique brand of state secularism...some of these same voices note that members of Macron's own cabinet have undermined his message on Islam with comments that come across as doublespeak." Ethiopian Security Officials Arrest Suspected Members Of Al-Shabaab, ISIS Accused Of Plotting Terror Attacks. Bloomberg (11/14, Gebre, 4.73M) reports, "Ethiopian security officials have arrested 14 suspected members of al-Shabaab and ISIS accused of planning terrorist attacks in the capital Addis Ababa and other parts of the country, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corp. reported, citing a statement from the National Intelligence and Security Service." Eleven Germans Charged With Belonging To Far-Right Terror Group. The AP (11/13) reports, "Eleven German men have been charged with belonging to a far-right terror organization on allegations they were planning deadly attacks on Muslims to create unrest and eventually overthrow the German government, prosecutors said Friday." German federal prosecutors "said eight of the men, led by Werner S. and Tony E., formed the 'Group 5' organization during a meeting in September 2019." The other three men "were accused of joining later, and a twelfth suspect was charged with supporting the group." Local Insurgency In Mozambique Increases Allegiance To Islamic State. The Washington Post (11/13, Chinaka, Wroughton, Warrick, 14.2M) reports, "In the densely forested, oil-and-gas-rich northeast corner of Mozambique, a local Islamic insurgency has steadily escalated with a growing allegiance to the Islamic State and the arrival of foreign fighters using operational techniques similar to those from conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq." Earlier this month, "insurgents decapitated as many as 50 people in attacks on several villages...according to Police Commander Bernardino Rafael." EFTA00148972 COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE Biden Transition, Some Republicans Critical Of Trump's Refusal To Share Classified Information. On the CBS Weekend NewsVi (11/14, story 2, 2:13, Yuccas, 2.85M), Chip Reid reported that Biden's transition team "says planning is proceeding but it is hampered by President Trump's refusal to authorize the usual sharing of classified information. Even several Republican senators have called for President Trump to authorize comprehensive intelligence briefings for the Biden team." In a statement, former White House chief of staff John Kelly told CBS News, "It is not about the President or about Mr. Biden. It is about America and what is best for our people. Mr. Trump should order the transition process begin immediately. It is the right and moral thing to do." On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/14, story 7, 1:46, Diaz-Balart, 5.38M), Geoff Bennett said that with the President "refusing to concede, the Biden transition team is shut out of the current Administration's pandemic planning." Bennett added, "Until the Trump Administration formally recognizes Biden as President-elect, outgoing Trump officials can't share critical COVID vaccine distribution plans with the incoming Biden team." Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain: "The sooner we can get our transition experts into meetings with the folks who are planning the vaccination campaign, the more seamless the transition from a Biden presidency to a Trump presidency can be." In a New York Times (11/13, 18.61M) op-ed, Susan Rice, a member of the Biden-Harris transition advisory board but not of the transition team, asserted that in the week "since...Biden's victory became clear," Trump "and his administration have taken no steps toward starting the process of transition. The risks to our national security are mounting." She concluded, "Instead of acting in the national interest to orchestrate a responsible, democratic transition, Mr. Trump and many Republicans are spending time sowing false doubts about the legitimacy of Mr. Biden's election. Tragically, but not surprisingly, Mr. Trump appears determined to take a final wrecking ball to our democracy and national security on his inevitable way out the door." Following Promotion, Giuliani Spreads Conspiracy Theories About Electronic Voting Machines. On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/14, story 6, 0:23, Diaz-Balart, 5.38M), Kelly O'Donnell reported the President's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, "tells us he'll be taking over the litigation team after another Trump adviser contracted COVID." O'Donnell added Giuliani "says he'll be filing additional actions in the coming week," although "so far nothing the Trump team has put forward provides enough evidence to overturn the Biden result." Meanwhile, the New York Times (11/14, Montague, 18.61M) reports Giuliani "continued on Saturday his effort to delegitimize votes cast through electronic voting machines, citing several conspiracies connected to the companies that make the machines and the software they run in a post on Twitter." According to the Times, "Giuliani hinted support for a discredited theory that one of the companies that manufactures the voting machines used in some states, Smartmatic, is controlled by the billionaire philanthropist George Soros." The Times adds the President subsequently "picked up a similar refrain, stating in a tweet that the election was 'stolen' by 'privately owned Radical Left company, Dominion,' without providing evidence or explaining why Dominion was distinct among the many other privately owned election system vendors that routinely administer elections in the United States." However, Politico (11/14, Isenstadt, 4.29M) says that with the campaign "already facing exceedingly long odds in its recount efforts, there are widespread concerns within Trumpworld and GOP circles that Giuliani's antics are thwarting the president's legal machinery from within." Politico adds Giuliani's promotion "also threatens to complicate a legal apparatus that has been EFTA00148973 in the works since June," which Politico (11/13, Caputo, 4.29M) says "is slowly grinding to a halt after suffering a slew of legal defeats and setbacks." According to Politico, "So many lawsuits have been filed in so many state and federal courts that no one has an exact number. But one thing is certain: the Trump campaign has an almost perfect record, having won only one case and lost at least a dozen." In a more than 2,800-word front-page article, the Washington Post (11/14, Al, Fahrenthold, Brown, Knowles, 14.2M) reports that rather than "revealing widespread - or even isolated - fraud, the effort by Trump's legal team has so far done the opposite: It's affirmed the integrity of the election that Trump lost. Nearly every GOP challenge has been tossed out. Not a single vote has been overturned." According to the Post, "Part of the problem is that Trump's approach has been backward: Declare crimes first, then look for proof afterward." In addition, the Wall Street Journal (11/14, Randazzo, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports law firms representing the Trump campaign have been increasingly withdrawing from the cases or seeking to clarify their involvement amid ongoing social media campaigns from the Lincoln Project and the People's Parity Project among other advocacy groups. Meanwhile, Newsweek (11/15, Lemon, 1.53M) reports Sidney Powell, "an attorney representing President Donald Trump, said that CIA director Gina Haspel `should be fired' for not objecting to the use of election software the president and his supporters claim—without providing evidence—allowed President-elect Joe Biden to win through `fraud." In an interview on Saturday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) told Bloomberg (11/14, Larson, 4.73M) that the lawsuits aim to "sow doubt about Biden's victory 'right from the get go' so that he and his `alders and abettors' can use unfounded claims of fraud to challenge Biden's policy proposals and legislative priorities." Nessel added, "None of those claims are true, and the margin of victory is going to be enormous, with both the popular vote and the Electoral College." In a Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) op-ed, David Boies, chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, and Theodore B. Olson, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as well as a former US solicitor general, say they "represented the opposing sides in Bush v. Gore" and "still don't agree about how the Supreme Court ruled, but we completely agree that nothing in that case - or in the Supreme Court's decision - supports the challenges now being thrown about in an attempt to undermine...Biden's victory." They add the outcome of the election is not in doubt, as Biden "will be president." In his Washington Post (11/13, 14.2M) column, Edward B. Foley argued that the Trump campaign's legal challenges "would appall the framers of the Constitution and should be rejected by the kind of originalist judges that Trump has helped install on the federal bench." According to Foley, "Trump's foray into federal court is asking for unprecedented intervention in a presidential election, a move that would contravene basic premises of how the resolution of a dispute over presidential ballots is designed to operate." Republican State Election Officials Deny Trump's Election Fraud Claims. USA Today (11/14, Behrmann, 10.31M) reports that although the President "has claimed, without offering evidence, that the election was overrun by fraud and his campaign filed a number of lawsuits attacking the voting process in several battleground states he went on to lose," state election officials, including "many" Republicans in "crucial swings states have responded by assuring voters there have been no signs of widespread fraud despite what Trump and his supporters have alleged." The New York Times (11/14, Wines, 18.61M) says that while "Republican charges of fictitious voter fraud took center stage before, during and after the count, backed by a barrage of lawsuits intent on making it harder to cast or tally votes," Americans nonetheless "cast ballots at a rate not seen in a century. A Democrat was elected president. And Republicans drew surprising support from Black and Latino voters - the very groups the party historically targeted with restrictive voting laws in state after state." The Times adds, "aspects of this election - especially the shift from Election Day voting to mail ballots, and the party's surprising EFTA00148974 gains with some racial groups — raise questions of whether the Republican strategy of voter restrictions served the party's interests as it once did." However, The Hill (11/14, Polus, 2.98M) reports that Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, "a vocal Trump supporter," on Friday "vehemently defended...Trump's claims that he isn't receiving a chance at a fair election, calling it `outrageous." Dobbs said, "The president doesn't want a statue erected to him." Dobbs added, "What he wants is a free and fair election and honest results, and it's been denied to him." According to Dobbs, "I see so little animation in the Republican Party on this. It's as if it's just another day at the store and when, in fact, I believe the fate of the republic hangs in the balance here." Meanwhile, Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) columnist Hugh Hewitt argues that if Trump "embraces...Biden, welcomes him to the White House, commands a smooth transition of power, sits on the inauguration platform, smiles and waves as he departs to Mar-a-Lago, the final months of his presidency will be largely just another rake stepped on by Manhattan-Beltway media elites, another orgy of excessive speculation and innuendo," so he should make the next 60 days "about Operation Warp Speed delivering vaccines and therapeutics [as] it will be a glorious pivot in the story, a theme that emerged Friday afternoon in a news conference at the White House." Hewitt adds the President and his loyalists can then "work to maintain a hold on the GOP, which is best accomplished by his proceeding smoothly toward a peaceful, graceful transition of power." Federal Prosecutors Tell Barr They Saw No Evidence Of Substantial "Irregularities" During Elections. The Washington Post (11/13, Zapotosky, Hamburger, 14.2M) reports 16 assistant US attorneys who were "specially assigned to monitor malfeasance in the 2020 election" in a letter on Friday called on Attorney General Barr "to rescind his recent memorandum allowing investigators to publicly pursue allegations of `vote tabulation irregularities' in certain cases before results are certified, saying they had not seen evidence of any substantial anomalies." The Post adds the signatories of the letter "told Barr that the release of his...memorandum - which changed long- standing Justice Department policy on the steps prosecutors can take before the results of an election are certified — 'thrusts career prosecutors into partisan politics." Meanwhile, USA Today (11/13, Phillips, 10.31M) reports 1,000 attorneys, "retired federal and state judges, state attorneys general and law professors" in a letter "criticized the Trump administration over baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election." USA Today adds the letter "asked public officials to stop making false claims of systemic fraud that...Trump has claimed `stole' the election from him." On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/13, story 5, 3:57, Holt, 5.27M), Cynthia McFadden said Trump's claim that Dominion Voting Systems "deleted 2.7 million Trump votes nationwide, trigger[ed] this response from his own Department of Homeland Security: `There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised." McFadden added, "In the last few days, NBC News has spoken to more than a dozen state election chiefs across the country, Republicans and Democrats alike, who say there is simply no evidence backing up the President's claims of wide scale fraud or even mistakes that would change the ultimate outcome." Washington Reacts To Possible Ouster Of CISA Director. The Washington Post (11/13, Marks, 14.2M) reports that news of CISA Director Christopher Krebs "could be ousted in a post-election firing rampage" at DHS "sent shockwaves through Washington." Krebs "has been overseeing the largest-ever operation to secure a U.S. election...presiding over a 24/7 war room with state and local election officials that launched on Election Day and is still operating." The CISA Director "apparently drew the ire of White House officials with a rumor control page that knocked back phony claims about election fraud." Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) said, "The public EFTA00148975 needs to have accurate information, and when there are rumors and disinformation and misinformation we need a trusted source in government to say, 'Yes, this is true' or'No, it isn't." Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said, "Chris Krebs has done a great job protecting our elections. ... There is no possible justification to remove him from office." Wolf Reportedly Defying Trump's Order To Fire Krebs. The New York Post (11/13, Nelson, 4.57M) reports, "Department of Homeland Security acting Secretary Chad Wolf is defying President Trump's order to terminate election cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs, multiple sources tell The Post." Extremists Turn To Fringe Social Networks To Spread Post-Election Disinformation. Politico (11/13, Scott, 4.29M) reports that Facebook and Twitter have sought to "squash claims from...Trump and others of electoral fraud." However, the companies "are hitting a big obstacle: The messages are running wild on smaller fringe networks popular among the far right - then boomeranging back onto the mainstream platforms." Politico adds its review of Telegram, 4Chan, and Parler reveals "extremist groups, white nationalists and conspiracy theorists — some claiming ties to QAnon, which alleges a so-called deep-state plot to undermine Trump - have taken to encrypted messaging apps and online message boards." Meanwhile, others "promoted rumors that WikiLeaks was about to publish evidence of voter fraud, and called on people to share it widely across the web." According to Politico, "The fringe forums also have acted as staging grounds for coordinated misinformation campaigns targeting the major social networks, as well as repositories for extreme content." McCabe Says Further Trump-Russia Declassifications "Unflattering" For President. The Washington Examiner (11/14, Dunleavy, 448K) reports that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe "seemed to try to warn President Trump off from declassifying further information related to the Trump-Russia investigation." He said "there was still secretive classified intelligence that could 'risk casting the president in a very negative light." McCabe told CNN's Chris Cuomo last week, "It's almost incomprehensible to me that he would want that information out. I don't see how he spins it to his advantage, because quite frankly, I don't believe it's flattering." Asked if there is more to know about Trump, McCabe said, "the original version of that report was classified at the absolute highest level I have ever seen. We're talking about top secret, compartmentalized, code word stuff, and it would be tragic to American intelligence collection for those sources to be put at risk." Also reporting is the Daily_ Caller (11/14, Ross, 716K). QAnon Conspiracy Thriving Internationally. The Washington Post (11/12, Rauhala, Morris, 14.2M) reports the QAnon conspiracy appears to be thriving internationally. In fact, "in a Telegram channel for believers in Australia and New Zealand this week, a fabricated story about Democrats deliberately infecting tens of thousands of senior citizens with the coronavirus to use their identities to vote sat side-by-side with reports on domestic politics." Elsewhere, "Canadian channels are circulating the false claim that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans 'immediate military intervention on American soil' if Trump does not concede while also organizing protests against coronavirus measures in Canadian cities." Additionally, "in Germany, where the pro-Trump conspiracy has found a home with far- right groups, some QAnon influencers are disillusioned by Trump's defeat, but many are still hopeful." Government Urges FISC To Reject ACLU Appeal. Law360 (11/13, Subscription Publication, 8K) reports, "The federal government has urged the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's appeals branch not to revive" the ACLU's "case urging the spy court to declassify certain court decisions, saying it doesn't have the authority to decide EFTA00148976 the case." The ACLU sought opinions and orders "involving 'novel or significant' legal interpretations by the spy court," which "were classified by the executive branch." It is outside the court's jurisdiction "and its court of review to decide whether the court can declassify any part of those decisions, the government said" last week. ODNI Taps Matthew Kozma As IC's New CIO. FedScoop (11/13, Mitchell) reports that ODNI "has selected Matthew Kozma to be CIO of the intelligence community." Kozma served "most recently as the executive agent" for DOD's Unified Platform and Joint Cyber Command and Control. Kozma "led the department's work to 'optimize investments, close critical cyberspace capability gaps, and ensure delivery of resilient, agile, secure, and effective cyberspace capability solutions to the warfighter.'" DNI Ratcliffe is quoted saying, "As a U.S. Air Force veteran of 25 years, he brings a wealth of experience in space, research and development, intelligence, as well as private sector and international security cooperation." Ratcliffe added, "We look forward to his leadership in modernizing and advancing the IC IT enterprise." In his new role, Kozma will "coordinate the investment in and management of the IT enterprise across the IC, working with CIOs and other senior leaders in the community's 17 agencies to advise the director of national intelligence." ExecutiveGov (11/13, Sybert) reports that Kozma "will focus his efforts on the IC's continued transition to the cloud, through its multi-billion-dollar Commercial Cloud Enterprise (C2E) contract, as well as the adoption of artificial intelligence." NSA General Counsel Pick Setting Off Alarm Bells Among Experts. According to Lawfare (11/14, Hennessey), the reported appointment of Michael Ellis, a former staffer for Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and current NSA official, to general counsel of NSA "set off alarm bells among commentators and those familiar with the agency," according to the Washington Post. While firings at DOD "involve political appointees, nearly all of whom will be gone as of Jan. 20," Ellis' appointment "appears to be an attempt to improperly politicize an important career position." It also "appears to be an effort to 'burrow,' or improperly convert a political appointee into a career position." Additionally, "the ample public record suggests that Ellis is particularly ill-suited to discharge the essential functions of the office." The general counsels of DNI, the Pentagon, and ODNI require Senate confirmation, while the "NSA's general counsel is a senior career position whose occupant is formally selected by and reports to" DOD's general counsel. Atlas 5 Rocket Carrying NRO Satellite Launched November 13. CBS News (11/13, Harwood, 3.68M) reports that a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket, carrying a classified NRO satellite, was launched on November 13. After the boosters appeared to work normally, "as usual with classified NRO missions, United Launch Alliance ended its mission commentary, leaving it to the Air Force to confirm a successful flight in a post-launch update some time after the satellite's deployment." ULA charts "before launch showed a northeasterly trajectory paralleling the U.S. East Coast, indicating an orbit tilted, or inclined, 50 to 60 degrees or more to the equator." Satellite analyst Ted Molczan "speculated the payload was either a Satellite Data System spacecraft, used to pick up and pass on signals from spy satellites in lower orbits, or a signals intelligence satellite used to eavesdrop on targeted communications." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS Bond Reduced For Three Michigan Men Charged In Whitmer Kidnap Plot. MLive (MI) (11/13, Clark, 925K) reports from Jackson, Michigan, "All three Jackson-area men charged in connection with the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have now had their high EFTA00148977 bonds reduced since their arrests in October." Jackson County District Judge Michael Klaeren "reduced the $10 million bond set for Joseph Morrison, 26, to $150,000 and the $500,000 bond for Paul Bellar, 21, to $75,000 after hearing arguments at a bond hearing Friday, Nov. 13. The third man, Pete Musico, 42, had his bond of $10 million reduced to $100,000 at a previous hearing and has since bonded out of the Jackson County Jail." Morrison, Bellar and Musico "are three of eight charged individuals believed to be involved in the plot to kidnap Whitmer. Six additional individuals are facing federal charges for their roles in the plot." The Detroit Free Press (11/13, Moran, Guillen, 1.52M) reports, "Andrew Kirkpatrick, Beliar's attorney, portrayed his client as an Army veteran who left the state to live with his dad and was trying to become a firefighter. He even pulled a woman out of a car wreck and gave her CPR about two weeks before his arrest, Kirkpatrick said. Assistant Attorney General Gregory Townsend, however, portrayed Bellar as an instructor at Wolverine Watchmen training sessions who surveilled the Capitol and used threatening language, including once after the governor extended a coronavirus executive order. `I swear to God, if this is true I'm going to Molotov her (expletive) house,' he said, according to Townsend. 'I'm so (expletive) done with her. She needs to be dragged to the street and hung." The AP (11/13) reports from Jackson, Michigan, "A judge greatly reduced bond to $150,000 Friday for a man accused of allowing his property to be used by an anti-government group plotting to kidnap Michigan's governor." Joseph Morrison, "described as the commander of the Wolverine Watchmen, has been in custody in Jackson County for more than five weeks on a $10 million bond. Judge Michael Klaeren said the bond was too high. He reduced it and set other conditions if Morrison is released, including a GPS tether to be worn to track his movements." The AP adds, "Authorities allege members of anti-government paramilitary groups took part in plotting the kidnapping of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, before the election. Six men are charged in federal court." The Detroit Free Press (11/13, Guillen, Moran, 1.52M) reports, "No one would get out of the Michigan State Capitol alive under the initial plan devised by the accused ringleader in a Michigan terrorist plot, according to the Michigan Attorney General's Office. Adam Fox's `Plan A' wasn't just storming the building and taking hostages, as officials have already said publicly — it was to get in there and televise the execution of tyrants over the course of a week, with no one coming out alive. Or, alternatively, lock the doors and set the building on fire. That's according to a brief filed by the Michigan Attorney General's Office in Jackson County's 12th District Court against the pretrial release of Pete Musico, 42, of Munith, who is charged at the state level in connection with a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer." ABC World News TonightVi (11/13, story 7, 1:34, Muir, 6.44M) reported, "Prosecutors claim the alleged extremist plot to kidnap" Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) "actually went much further, including an alleged plan to burn down the state capitol." According to correspondent Adrienne Bankert, "new disturbing details of that alleged kidnapping plot show Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was only one alleged target of suspected homegrown terrorists who were planning to violently overthrow the state government. Court documents claim the alleged ringleader, Adam Fox, sought to recruit 200 men to storm the capital building and televise the execution of politicians taken hostage over the course of about one week with no one `coming out alive.' Investigators say a second alleged plan involved locking people inside the building and setting it on fire." Judge Denies Bond To Men Charged With Killing Arbery. The New York Times (11/13, Bogel-Burroughs, 18.61M) reports, "A judge denied bond on Friday to the white father and son charged with murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year- old Black man shot by the son after they chased him down a quiet road in Georgia." The Time adds, "The decision came on the second day of hearings over whether the men, Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael, should be freed on bail as they await trial over the Feb. 23 killing, which was captured on video by a third man, William Bryan, who has also been EFTA00148978 charged with murder." Judge Timothy Walmsley "said he had significant concerns about Travis McMichael's bias and was worried that Gregory McMichael had been willing to 'place the law in his own hands' and influence the investigation." The McMichaels, "appearing on a video feed from jail, could be seen speaking to each other briefly after the judge's ruling but their microphone was muted." The Washington Post (11/13, Peiser, Beachum, 14.2M) reports that during the almost "two days of testimony" leading up Walmsley's decision, "character witnesses vouched for the" McMichaels "and the prosecution provided social media posts and texts that they say is evidence that the defendants are racially biased." Prosecutors utilized those posts and texts to support their contention "that the McMichaels should not be released on bond." The CBS Evening NewsVi (11/13, story 10, 0:21, Garrett, 4.12M) provided similar coverage in a brief broadcast. Prosecutor: Voice Message Arbery Suspect Left For Ex-Boss Was Meant To Obstruct Investigation. The Hill (11/14, 2.98M) reports, "A prosecutor in the Ahmaud Arbery case presented in court on Friday a voice message that one of the two white suspects left for his former boss at the time of his killing, according to CNN." The Hill adds, "Prosecutor Jesse Evans said on Friday that the message was left for Jackie Johnson, Gregory McMichael's former boss at the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, claiming it was intended to influence and obstruct the case, according to the news outlet." CNN reported that McMichael said, "Could you call me as soon as you possibly can? My (inaudible) and I been involved in a shooting and I need some advice right away. Could you please call me, as soon as you possibly can? Thanks. Bye." Evans "argued that the court should look at whether the voicemail showed that Gregory McMichael 'wanted to influence and obstruct' the investigation." Prosecutors: Guards At Federal Prison In Virginia Were Bribed By Prisoners. The Washington Post (11/13, Weiner, 14.2M) reported, "Guards at a federal prison near Petersburg, Va., were bribed by inmates to allow drugs, cigarettes and cellphones into the facility and allow a gambling ring to operate there, prosecutors allege in an indictment unsealed in federal court Friday." The Post adds, "Two guards - Stephen Taylor, 48, and Shanice Bullock, 28 - two inmates and two associates of inmates were charged with bribery-related crimes in the indictment in federal court in Richmond." FBI Captures Fugitive Who Escaped Custody Almost Five Decades Ago. The AP (11/13) reports, "A man who was serving a life sentence for murder when he escaped custody while attending his grandmother's funeral nearly 50 years ago has been arrested in Michigan, the FBI announced Friday." Leonard Raye Moses "was 16 when he was convicted in the 1968 killing of Mary Amplo during civil unrest in Pittsburgh following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Authorities said Moses and his friends fire-bombed Amplo's house. Badly burned, Amplo, 72, died a few months later." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (11/13, Guza, 380K) reports that Moses "had been working as a traveling pharmacist under the name Paul Dickson in Michigan since at least 1999, according to federal authorities. He'd served two years of a life sentence for first-degree murder when he escaped from police, disappearing from the radar for 49 years. 'We've never forgotten about this case,' said Allegheny County Sheriff William Mullen at a Friday morning press conference outside the FBI's Pittsburgh field office on East Carson Street. The half-century charade began to unravel early this year when the manager of a CVS in St. Clair Shores, Mich., discovered Moses had pocketed 80 Hydrocodone pills while he was working in the pharmacy. Moses, under the guise of Dickson, was charged with embezzling $43.20 - the cost of the pills. In October, the fingerprints of "Dickson" were entered into a nationwide database, which the FBI's Next Generation Identification system matched to Moses, said Michael Christman, Special Agent in Charge of the field office." EFTA00148979 The State College S(F ) Centre Daily Times (11/15, White, 80K) reports, "Moses was a serving a life sentence after he was convicted of first-degree murder for an incident during the Pittsburgh Riots in 1968 where he and some friends allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into a house in the city, the FBI said. Mary Amplo was inside the house and died after getting badly burned and developing pneumonia. Moses was arrested in 1968. The FBI arrested Moses without incident in Grand Blanc, Michigan, on Thursday, officials said. `I hope this arrest brings some closure to the family members of Mary Amplo, who was killed back in 1968,' FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge, Michael Christman, said in the release. `Mr. Moses will now have to face justice for her murder.' Moses is being held on the charge of federal unauthorized flight to avoid confinement warrant and awaits extradition to Pennsylvania, the FBI said." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11/13, Ove, 616K) reports, "Police fingerprinted him in that case and the prints were entered into a nationwide database last month. The FBI's Next Generation Identification system matched the prints with those from the 1968 murder," Christman said, and "fingerprint examiners also confirmed the match, he said. He said agents and police had been searching for Moses for years, following up on some 2,000 tips, interviewing people in Homewood and elsewhere, traveling to several states and offering a $10,000 reward. The FBI put up billboards seeking him in Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The bureau had also prepared an age-enhanced photo of what he might look like." Fox News (11/14, Gearty, 27.59M) reports, "The FBI tried to drum up interest in the case in 2016, interviewing family members and associates and chasing 2,000 leads, but was unable to learn his whereabouts." The Daily Beast (11/13, Quinn, 1.39M) reports, "Authorities spent years following up on tips about Moses' whereabouts and traveling around the country in the hopes of finding him. In addition to being placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list, Moses' face was also featured on billboards erected as part of the search in Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. But it was the combination of new technology and the attentive eye of a loss prevention manager at the CVS store that sealed his fate." Among other news outlets reporting are WTAE-TV Pittsburgh (11/13, 256K), WPXI-TV Pittsburgh (11/13, Bonvillian, 34K), KDKA-TV Pittsburgh (11/13, 144K), WXYZ-TV Detroit (11/13, 236K), WJRT-TV Flint, MI (11/13, 67K), and the Pittsburgh Patch (11/13). FBI Following New Lead In 2004 Death Of Kansas Man. The Hays (KS) Post (11/14) reports, "The FBI continues to seek information regarding the 2004 suspicious death of Alonzo Brooks in La Cygne, Kansas. The investigation into this cold case was initiated in 2019 and a reward of up to $100,000 for information was announced at a press conference on June 11." The Post adds, "During this investigation, new information has come to light surrounding the evening of Brooks' death. Based upon interviews of individuals who had not previously spoken with investigators, the FBI has learned there was another party, the same evening, a relatively short distance away from the party Brooks attended. Through interviews, investigators have learned that a confrontation occurred at the nearby party, and many of the attendees left that gathering and joined the party at the farmhouse where Brooks was present. The FBI is seeking to identify and speak with any individuals who attended either party." The Kansas City (MO) Star (11/13, Koop, 549K) reports, "Brooks, who lived in Gardner, went to a party with friends at a farmhouse in La Cygne, a small east-central Kansas town, in 2004. The 23-year-old went missing for nearly a month, despite search efforts by law enforcement, before his family discovered his body in a creek near the house within an hour of searching, according to the FBI. After the case remained unsolved for years, the FBI began investigating it in 2019 as a possible hate crime and Brooks' death was featured on `Unsolved Mysteries.' A $100,000 reward was announced in June. On Friday, the agency said investigators have talked to people not previously interviewed in the case and learned of a second party on the April night he disappeared. Investigators want to speak with anyone who attended either EFTA00148980 party. 'Even the smallest bit of information that may seem insignificant standing alone could be vital to the investigators,' the FBI says." KSNW-TV Wichita, KS (11/13, 19K) reports, "The FBI is investigating Brooks' death as a potential racially-motivated crime. Brooks, who was 23 years old at the time he died, was one of only three African-Americans at the party he attended with approximately 100 people at a farmhouse on the outskirts of La Cygnet' Also reporting are KOAM-TV Pittsburg, KS (11/13), KCTV-TV Kansas City, MO (11/13, Sloan, 133K), WIBW-TV Topeka, KS (11/13, Motter, 86K), KSNT-TV Topeka, KS (11/13, Witmer), and KSHB-TV Kansas City, MO (11/13, Palmer, 90K). Fourth Suspect Charged In Mississippi Murder-For-Hire Case. The Hattiesburg (MS) American (11/12, Rowe, 32K) reports, "The FBI announced Thursday afternoon that a fourth person has been indicted in relation to a murder for hire plot tied to James 'Tim' Norman, one of the stars of the OWN Network series 'Welcome to Sweetie Pie's.' According to the news release, a federal grand jury indicted Travell Anthony Hill Thursday. He now faces one charge of conspiracy to commit murder for hire and murder for hire resulting in the death of Norman's nephew, Andre Montgomery Jr., in 2016. 'This murder-for-hire cold case from 2016 demonstrates once again the power of law enforcement partnership and persistence,' Richard Quinn, special agent in charge at the FBI's St. Louis office, said in a statement. 'By combining resources and expertise, the FBI and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department overcame numerous challenges to uncover the details of this plot.' Norman and another alleged co-conspirator, Terica Ellis, also face those charges. All three have pleaded not guilty." FBI Offers Reward For Information On Georgia Double Murder Case. WFXL-TV Albany, GA (11/13, Proctor) reports, "A reward of $5,000 is being offered in connection to 2019 shooting deaths of Cedric and Kevin Kind in Fitzgerald. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the murders are believed to be connected and gang related." WFXL-TV adds, "On July 13, 42-year-old Kevin Kind was found shot to death at a carwash on Palm Street about 8:30 a.m. His 40-year-old brother Cedric was found 30 minutes later dead inside his home on East Cyprus Street. In the 16 months since the incident, no arrests have been made according to the FBI." Ex-Illinois Police Officer Sentenced In Uzi Coverup. The Chicago Sun-Times (11/13, Main, 875K) reports, "The brother of former Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg was sentenced Friday to nine months in federal prison, one of three Kellogg family members targeted in a corruption investigation of the scandal-plagued south suburban government that Kellogg ran for 16 years." Derrick Muhammad, "a former Harvey police supervisor, pleaded guilty in a federal courtroom in Chicago to obstruction of justice, admitting he covered up a felon's possession of a stolen Uzi submachine gun." The Sun-Times adds, "According to federal prosecutors, the owner of a towing company found the gun in a car on his lot in 2018 and notified Muhammad. Muhammad knew the car owner - a felon - and orchestrated a coverup to keep the owner out of trouble, recruiting Harvey police Detective Derrick Moore to falsify a report and say he found the gun in the bushes behind the lot." Boy Scouts Facing More Than 82,000 Sex-Abuse Claims. The New York Times (11/15, Al, Baker, 18.61M) reports more than 82,000 people "have come forward with sex-abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America, describing a decades-long accumulation of assaults at the hands of scout leaders across the nation who had been trusted as role models." The Times adds that the claims, "which lawyers said far eclipsed the number of abuse accusations filed in Catholic Church cases, continued to mount ahead of a Monday deadline established in bankruptcy court in Delaware, where the Boy Scouts had sought refuge EFTA00148981 this year in a bid to survive." The Wall Street Journal (11/15, Avila, Brickley, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) provides similar coverage. New Mexico Man Pleads Guilty To Hitting Federal Officer. The Los Alamos (NM) Daily Post (11/13) reports from Albuquerque, New Mexico, "Derrick Begay, 33, of Shiprock, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty Nov. 6 in federal court in Albuquerque to assault on a federal officer involving physical contact." The Daily Post adds, "According to the plea agreement and other court records, Jan. 22, a federal special agent with the a Bureau of Indian Affairs made contact with Begay on the side of a road in Shiprock on the Navajo Nation. The special agent requested that Begay get out of the vehicle, but Begay did not comply. At one point Begay lunged out of his vehicle and hit the special agent in the face. Begay got back into his vehicle and fled the scene with law enforcement in pursuit." Man Charged With Taking Gun From Kansas City Homicide Scene. The Kansas City (MO) Star (11/15, Nozicka, 549K) reports, "A man has been charged with illegally possessing a firearm after he walked up and took the gun of a victim killed in a shooting outside a Kansas City nightclub, according to federal prosecutors. Officers responded to the shooting about 2:45 a.m. Nov. 9 at the Rendezvous Lounge at 11816 Blue Ridge Boulevard, where they found 31-year-old Raymond Douglas suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He later died at a hospital." According to the Star, "As they investigated the shooting, police found surveillance footage that showed Douglas approach a suspect vehicle and appear to retrieve a gun from his waistband, according to charging documents. A suspect then shot Douglas, causing him to fall to the ground. A man investigators later identified as James A. Jones, 33, was then seen on the video walking up, grabbing the Douglas' firearm and leaving between nearby businesses, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit." Wisconsin Man Charged With Abducting Missouri Minor. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (11/13, 632K) reports Nathan B. Nehs "is accused of holding a Missouri girl captive and repeatedly sexually assaulting her" over the course of two weeks in September 2020. The FBI started its investigation in mid-September, when the victim's parents alerted authorities. KYTV-TV Springfield, MO (11/14, 169K) reports that the minor is 14 years old. Drug Cartels Funneling Meth Into Las Vegas. An online KLAS-TV Las Vegas (11/13, Charns, 61K) article said Mexican cartels are "funneling enormous amounts of methamphetamine into Las Vegas," which has a high number of hotel rooms that help to "make it a perfect spoke on the drug-dealing wheel." According to DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dan Neill, smugglers can rest in Last Vegas before resuming the process to distribute meth to different parts of the US. Neil praised those who work for the DEA, the FBI and other law enforcement organizations that get "this stuff off the streets." Brevard County Sheriff's Office Publishes Video Showing Moments Preceding Death Of Army Veteran Inmate. The Washington Post (11/13, Kornfield, 14.2M) said, "For nearly two years, the family of U.S. Army veteran Gregory Lloyd Edwards knew what his last moments in a Florida jail were like only from the reporting of a local newspaper." Florida Today correspondents attempted "to fill in gaps about what happened to Edwards while he was in Brevard County Sheriff's Office custody on Dec. 10, 2018. But the agency refused to publicly share the security camera footage of a brawl with deputies and what followed." However, "on Friday, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey published the video," which shows what happened before Edwards "was strapped in a chair for 16 minutes, as he seemed to struggle to breathe, his chest heaving and his restrained body EFTA00148982 convulsing." Edwards, who had on a white hood that "deputies put over his head to keep him from spitting," eventually stopped moving and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Florida Man Sentenced Over Plan To Kill Judge, Prosecutor. The AP (11/13) reports U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom "sentenced Matthew Alexander King on Friday on charges of retaliation against a federal judge and solicitation to commit murder." King had "pleaded guilty to the charges on Feb. 10," and he was sentenced to 97 months in prison. FBI Searching For Colorado Man. KMGH-TV Denver (11/15, 168K) reports that the FBI and local authorities are "looking for the former IT director for the Town of Vail after he cut off his GPS monitoring device on Friday." Ronald James Braden had been "arrested by Vail police on July 4 on multiple charges including violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, embezzlement of public property, theft, forgery and more." Mother, Son Facing Charges After Drugs Recovered From New Mexico Homes. The Albuquerque (NM) Journal (11/15, Gallagher, 196K) reports Elizabeth Perez and her son, Christopher Perez, "are in custody and facing federal charges that could land them in prison for years. According to a recently unsealed search warrant," the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department "served a search warrant on both Perez homes in the 300 block of Aztec NW, recovering drugs and a cache of weapons." Colorado Man Arrested In Connection To New Jersey Bank Robberies. NJ News (11/15, 1.72M) reports Tyler James O'Toole, who is "accused of robbing a series of New Jersey banks," was "captured on Saturday." Authorities claim that he "robbed at least six banks in New Jersey between September and November and more than a dozen others in Connecticut and Pennsylvania." NJ News (11/13, 1.72M) also reports. Georgia Resident Sentenced To Nearly 20 Years In Prison For Distributing Meth. The Albany (GA) Herald (11/14) reports Georgia resident Derry Marquez Brooks has been "sentenced to 235 months in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine out of his home." The Herald highlighted that the DEA and the FBI were involved with the investigation of this case. Virginia Man Tied To Meth Purchase In Georgia Gets 151-Month Prison Sentence. The Albany (GA) Herald (11/14) reported that a federal judge has sentenced Virginia resident Joseph Williams, who was "tied to the purchase of approximately three kilos of methamphetamine in Georgia," to 151 months in prison. The Williams "case was investigated by the Byron Police Department, the Peach County Sheriff's Office, the Perry Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and the FBI." The Herald, and a similar WGXA-TV Macon, GA (11/13, Mayes, 656) Macon, GA (11/13, Mayes) website report, quoted US Attorney Peeler, who thanked those law enforcement organizations for "shutting down" a meth supply chain. Texas Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. KLTV-TV Tyler, TX (11/13, 30K) reports Troy Dewayne Daniels, who "pleaded guilty on August 6, 2020, to distribution of child pornography," was "sentenced to 210 months in federal prison [Friday) by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III." An undercover FBI agent spoke with Daniels over a series of social media applications, and the FBI raided his home in November 2019. EFTA00148983 California Man Arrested In Connection To Hate Crime. KABC-TV Los Angeles (11/13, 316K) reports William Stepanyan "was arrested Thursday in connection with a hate crime in which several suspects assaulted employees of a restaurant in Beverly Hills and damaged the business." Beverly Hills police said in a statement, "A joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles County Probation Department resulted in the arrest of one of the primary suspects responsible for (the) hate crime." FBI Investigating Texas Gang. The Killeen (TX) Daily Herald (11/14, 47K) reports that the FBI Violent Crime Task Force is continuing its investigation into the Temple gang, which has "brought violence and death to the streets of Central Texas." Pennsylvania Grand Jury Charges Man With Sexual Extortion Of Minors. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (11/13, Lindstrom, 380K) reports Markel! Smith "faces charges of child sexual exploitation and making threats via interstate communication with the intent to extort." Prosecutors "said that in 2018 and 2019 Smith threatened young girls, including an 11- year-old girl in New Jersey who sent him sexually explicit images after he threatened her and her family in May 2018." Virginian Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. WTKR-TV Norfolk, VA (11/15, 163K) reports Bradley Jeffrey-Moe "was convicted Friday on charges of receiving and possessing images of child sexual abuse." The FBI "executed a search warrant at the residence of...Jeffrey-Moe in July 2018" after an undercover investigation "identified Moe as having made available dozens of images of child sexual abuse for download over various peer-to-peer networks." Texas Youth Coach Sentenced Over College Admissions Investigation. The Los Angeles Times (11/13, 4.64M) reports Texas youth sports coach Martin Fox "was sentenced Friday to three months in prison and three months of home detention" in connection to a college admissions scandal. He "admitted serving as a middleman between William "Rick" Singer, the Newport Beach college consultant at the heart of the scheme, and several university coaches and a teaching assistant whom Singer sought to bribe." Alaska Man Sentenced For Armed Robberies. The Juneau (AK) Empire (11/15, Lockett, 12K) reports, "An Anchorage man was sentenced to more than 13 years imprisonment for a pair of armed robberies, according to a Department of Justice news release." Kek Nyathor Bol, 22, "was sentenced Friday for a pair of summer 2019 robberies in Anchorage. The first was of a Cash America on June 1, 2019, wherein Bol entered the building, fired a round into the ceiling, and demanded money, according to the department. He escaped with slightly less than $400. Two weeks later, Bol robbed a Credit Union 1 location, again firing into the ceiling. He escaped with more. than $8,000, according to the press release." FBI Captures Suspect In Connecticut, Pennsylvania Bank Robberies. WTIC-TV Hartford, CT (11/13, Lessard, 77K) reports, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has captured a man believed to be responsible for several bank robberies across the northeastern United States." According to WTIC-TV, "A federal arrest warrant was issued for 23-year-old James O'Toole, 23, on November 4th. Authorities believe that starting in September, O'Toole committed at least six bank robberies in New Jersey. He is also a suspect in over a dozen other robberies in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Five robberies in Connecticut were all at People's EFTA00148984 United Banks located in Stop & Shop Grocery Stores, in Shelton, Norwalk, Danbury, Westport & Fairfield. In addition, O'Toole is wanted for his alleged involvement in a previous bank robbery in Glenview, Illinois." FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS Florida High School Coach Arrested For Allegedly Defrauding PPP Of Almost $1M. The Hill (11/14, Deese, 2.98M) reports, "A Fort Lauterdale, Fla., high school basketball coach was arrested for allegedly submitting close to $1 million in claims to the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to federal prosecutors." Terrence Williams "is a championship-winning coach at Stranahan High School. He was charged Friday with several financial crimes, including bank fraud and money laundering, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported." The Hill adds, "Prosecutors accuse Williams of applying for and receiving a loan of $984,710 for his company Williams Consulting Group LLC, according to the newspaper." The Tampa Bay (FL) Times (11/13, 742K) reports, "The FBI complaint says Williams claimed his company had 67 employees and an average monthly payroll of $393,884. But, in fact, it paid no such payroll and did not have any workers. The complaint further alleges that after receiving the loan, Williams laundered the vast majority of the money by transferring it to several of his bank accounts." Virginia Man Sentenced For PPP Fraud. Loudoun (VA) Now (11/13) reported that an Ashburn, Virginia man "was sentenced Friday to 12 months in prison and two years of supervised release for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal initiative designed to help businesses pay their employees and meet expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic." Loudoun Now adds, "According to court documents, Tarik Jaafar, 43, conspired with his wife, Monika Magdalena Jaworska, from April 13 to May 6 applied for 18 separate PPP loans in the names of the four shell companies they had created, securing approximately $6.6 million in government support. 'As we've seen in the aftermath of many disasters and crises, criminals will exploit any opportunity to take advantage of programs intended to help businesses and individuals confronted with hardship,' said James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division." Former Wells Fargo CEO Settles Claims As Other Former Official Faces Fraud Case. The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Eisen, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on Friday agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle civil claims involving fake accounts at the bank, even as the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil fraud lawsuit against another former Wells Fargo executive. Ex-Deputies Sue Texas AG Paxton For Retaliation. The AP (11/13, Bleiberg) reports Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton "abused his office to benefit himself, a woman with whom he was said to have had an affair and the wealthy donor who employs her before retaliating against the members of his staff who reported him to the FBI, a lawsuit by four of the Republican's former senior deputies claims." The lawsuit increases the heightening "legal and political peril for the high-profile Texas official, who is facing calls for his resignation and a potential federal investigation over his staff's allegations that he committed bribery, abuse of office and other crimes." US Charges Massachusetts Tribal Chairman With Bribery In Casino Development. The AP (11/13, Marcelo) reports from Boston, "The chairman of a Massachusetts tribe and the owner of an architecture firm have been arrested and charged in a bribery scheme involving the tribe's plans to build a resort casino, federal prosecutors said Friday." Cedric Cromwell, 55, of EFTA00148985 Attleboro, Massachusetts, and David DeQuattro, 54, of Warwick, Rhode Island, "were indicted on charges of accepting or paying bribes and conspiring to commit bribery. Cromwell, who is chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, also faces extortion charges. Joseph Bonavolonta, the head of the FBI's Boston office, said Cromwell is accused of using his position as chairman to extort tens of thousands of dollars in bribes and engaging in a conspiracy with DeQuattro to commit bribery." The Attleboro (MA) Sun Chronicle (11/13, Linton, 15K) reports, "Cromwell was also indicted on four counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion. 'The charges allege that Mr. Cromwell violated the trust he owed the Mashpee Wampanog Tribe by committing extortion, accepting bribes and otherwise abusing his position,' U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said in a statement." The Sun Chronicle adds, "According to the indictment, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's Gaming Authority, led by Cromwell, contracted with the architecture-and-design company owned by DeQuattro in connection with the tribe's Taunton resort and casino plans. Between approximately July 26, 2014 and May 18, 2017, the architectural firm, through DeQuattro, provided Cromwell with a stream of payments and in-kind benefits valued at $57,549. In exchange, the firm was paid about $4.9 million under its contract with the Gaming Authority." The Falmouth (MA) Enterprise (11/13, Spencer, 28K) reports, "The indictment alleges Mr. Cromwell spent all the money on personal expenses, including payments to his mistress, and also received in-kind benefits in the form of a used Bowflex Revolution home gym that Mr. DeQuattro and the architecture company's president bought and had delivered to Mr. Cromwell's home. The president of the architecture firm, who was not named, authorized and signed company checks to reimburse Mr. DeQuattro for his payments to Mr. Cromwell, falsely characterizing the reimbursements as payroll expenses, the indictment alleges." The Springfield (MA) Republican (11/13, Stening, 395K) reports, "The indictment alleges that Cromwell spent all of the illicit funds he received on personal expenses, including payments to his mistress. Prosecutors said the federal government has provided grants of more than $10,000 to the tribe from 2014 to 2018. News of the charges come amid longstanding speculation of potential criminal wrongdoing among tribal leaders, which was amplified after the tribe was subpoenaed three times in recent months. In September, federal investigators have requested that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Gaming Authority, a five-member board charged with overseeing the First Light Resort & Casino, hand over documents, records and communications pertaining to contracts and agreements it entered into with the tribe's casino architect, Robinson Green Beretta Corp." WPRI-TV Providence, RI (11/13, Baffoni, DaSilva, 49K) reports, "The indictment says Cromwell used the money on personal expenses, including a weekend stay at a Boston hotel, a home gym and payments to his mistress. 'Both men's alleged actions undercut the efforts of hard-working tribe members and betrayed their trust,' Bonavolonta said, adding, "Cases like this fuel our commitment to rooting out public corruption, and as our investigation continues, we urge anyone with information to contact us." Illinois Developer Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud. The Chicago Sun-Times (11/13, Seidel, 875K) reports, "A developer who made secret recordings for the feds of former Ald. Danny Solis and House Speaker Michael Madigan pleaded guilty to wire fraud Friday." According to the Sun-limes, "Federal prosecutors charged See Y. Wong back in March, days before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Chicago and years after he played a key role in a public corruption investigation that has embroiled city and state politics in recent years. Wong made a secret 2014 audio and video recording for the feds of Solis and Madigan, according to court records and sources. That recording became part of the investigation that persuaded Solis to then secretly record the now-indicted Ald. Edward M. Burke. However, Wong only helped the feds because he hoped a judge would go easy on him EFTA00148986 one day for a fraud that was only identified when the feds filed a seven-page charging document known as an information against him in March." The Chicago Tribune (11/13, Meisner, 2.65M) reports, "Wong was charged in a seven-page criminal information in March for allegedly lying to banks and buyers involved with his Canal Crossing building, records show. He pleaded guilty Friday during a hearing held via video conference before U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle. The 20-page plea agreement does not specifically mention the Solis probe, but calls on Wong to provide "complete and truthful" information in any investigation and testify if necessary. Wong agreed to have his sentencing delayed until his cooperation is complete. Norgle set a status hearing in the case for Feb. 5." FBI Arrests Texas Man On Fraud Charges. El Paso (TX) Inc. (11/15, Crowder, 32K) reports, "Daniel Steadley, the former head of a once- popular health insurance-type plan in El Paso, has been indicted on 19 counts of fraud and arrested by the FBI after a protracted investigation involving state and federal agencies." According to El Paso Inc., "Gregg Sofer, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Luis Quesada announced the legal actions against Steadley on Nov. 5, the day of his arrest. The following day Federal Magistrate Robert Castafieda set his bond at $50,000, and Steadley went free after posting a 10% cash deposit. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison." El Paso Inc. adds, "According to the Oct. 28 indictment, Steadley operated two companies from 2014 to 2018 that sold Unique MEC Healthcare Plans for as little as $99 a month to about 2,000 El Pasoans, and 'stole approximately $1.5 million in premiums from unsuspecting victims during his scheme." FBI Searching For Man Accused Of Stealing Trade Secrets From Texas Firm. The Houston Chronicle (11/13, Dellinger, 730K) reports, "The FBI is searching for a Chinese man accused of stealing and selling trade secrets from a Houston oil and gas company." According to the Chronicle, "Between 2019 and 2020, Lei Gao, 44, also known as "Jason," and others allegedly schemed to obtain trade secrets from a Houston-based manufacturer of advanced coiled tubing, according to the FBI. The stolen trade secrets were used to assist in the development of an advanced coiled tubing product, which Gao and con-conspirators introduced to the market for sale in 2020, the FBI said in a statement. Gao left the United States and returned to China in 2019 and has not returned, according to authorities." FBI Arrests California Man In Fraudulent Manure-To-Methane Project. Reuters (11/13, Malo) reports, "A California man who promised investors to turn cow manure into renewable energy has been arrested on a 24-count indictment after allegedly defrauding them of $8.75 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice." Reuters adds, "U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott charged Raymond Brewer, 64, with wire fraud and money laundering, saying he duped investors into funding his business that purported to turn cow dung into methane natural gas, but instead spent the money on his home, a property in Montana and several cars. Brewer was arrested on Thursday." Nine Arrested In California Money Laundering Scheme. The Canyon (CA) News (11/13) reports, "On Thursday, November 12, federal authorities arrested nine defendants, who allegedly laundered millions of dollars derived from health care fraud and tax fraud schemes. Two indictments allege that a total of 10 defendants were involved in the operation that laundered over $30 million in tax refunds from 7,000 fraudulent tax returns. The tax returns were filed using stolen identities from American taxpayers. Seven defendants were arrested Thursday, November 12, and there are three still being sought." Authorities "also arrested two additional defendants who are being charged in two other indictments. One involves a short sale scheme involving a $2 million residence, that was EFTA00148987 forfeited earlier this year to the United States, and one involving a car leasing scam. There is also an additional defendant in the real estate scam who is a fugitive." Washington Insurance Agent Charged With Stealing From Clients. The Everett (WA) Herald (11/14, Stevick, 151K) reports from Seattle, "A Snohomish insurance agent accused of stealing $750,000 from clients pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court in Seattle." Vicki Boser, 57, "is charged with five counts of wire fraud after allegedly stealing three-quarters of a million dollars in premium payments from clients. Boser owned and operated InsuranceTek, Inc. She's accused of issuing fake certificates of insurance to some of those companies." CYBER DIVISION WS3ournal Al: Schools Throughout US Contending With Ransomware Attacks. In a front-page story, the Wall Street Journal (11/13, Al, Hobbs, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that schools throughout the US are contending with a swell of increasingly belligerent ransomware attacks. The attacks come in a year in which schools have already had to deal with fallout from the pandemic. Microsoft: Vaccine Researchers, Companies Targeted By North Korean, Russian Hackers. The AP (11/13, Bajak) reports that in a blog post on Friday, "Microsoft said it has detected attempts by state-backed Russian and North Korean hackers to steal valuable data from leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers." Though "most of the attacks in recent months were unsuccessful," Microsoft "provided no information on how many succeeded or how serious those breaches were." The company "said most of the targets - located in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States - were 'directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for COVID-19." The blog post "identified one of the state-backed hacker groups as Fancy Bear, the Russian military agents who Britain's National Cyber Security Center said in July were behind such intrusion attempts," while two others "were North Korea's Lazarus Group and a group Microsoft calls Cerium." TechCrunch (11/13, Whittaker, 605K) reports that Tom Burt, Microsoft's customer security and trust head, said, "We think these attacks are unconscionable and should be condemned by all civilized society." Burt also said, "Microsoft is calling on the world's leaders to affirm that international law protects health care facilities and to take action to enforce the law." The news coincided "with the Paris Peace Forum, where Microsoft president Brad Smith will urge governments to do more to combat cyberattacks against the healthcare sector, particularly during the pandemic." NBC News (11/13, Collier, 6.14M) reports that most of the companies targeted "have vaccines already in clinical trials." In some instances, the hackers "successfully breached their target," though it "wasn't immediately clear how serious those intrusions were, and a Microsoft spokesperson declined to elaborate." The Wall Street Journal (11/13, McMillan, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports companies developing COVID-19 vaccines say they are being targeted by Russian and North Korean cyberatt