Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Thursday, September

From: To: Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Thursday, September 03, 2020 Date: Thu, 03 Sep 2020 10:27:30 +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: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 6:30 AM EDT TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Trump Moves To Defund New York City, Other Cities. PROTESTS • Barr: OO3 Received Reports Of People Flying To DC To Exploit Protests. • Investigators Release Images Of Those Sought In Kenosha Arson Cases. • Reuters/Ipsos Poll: Public Supports BLM Protests, Doesn't See Crime As Top Issue. • Meadows: Rioters Are Committing Acts Of Terror. • Barr: Idea Of "Epidemic" Of Police Violence Against Blacks Is A "False Narrative." • Administration Officials Criticize Portland Mayor's Handling Of Violence. • Biden Says Portland Victim Was "Inciting Responses." • Biden To Visit Kenosha Thursday, Will Meet With Members Of Blake's Family. • Barr Says Blake Was Armed And "In The Midst Of Committing A Felony." • Chicago Alderman Urges National Guard Deployment In City. • GOP Lawmakers Call On Bowser To Answer For Protester Violence In DC. • Republican State AGs: Democrats Have "Capitulated To Criminals Run Amok." • After High-Profile Uses Of Force, Police Chiefs Call For New Tactics. • Antifa Leader Armed With Flamethrower Bursts Into Tears Upon Being Arrested In Wisconsin. • Chauvin's Lawyers Say Police Manual Teaches Officers To Place Knee On Suspect's Neck. • Police Body Cam Footage Of Man's Death Sparks Protests In Rochester. • Police Held Black Jogger For Two Days After Mistaking Him For A Suspect. OPERATION LEGEND • Florida Man Suspected Of Missouri Homicide Is Captured In Operation LeGend. • US Charges Indiana Man With Straw-Purchasing Guns For Chicago Felon. • Morgan: Operation Legend Exemplifies How Trump Is "Committed To Public Safety." COUNTER-TERRORISM • Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Helping ISIS. • Appeals Court Finds NSA Phone Data Collection Program Illegal. • Sudanese Government, Citizens Differ On US Deal To Remove Terrorism Label. EFTA00149417 • Trial Of Alleged Accomplices In 2015 Attacks Opens In Paris. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Draft DHS Bulletin Warning Foreign Actors Targeting Biden, Trump Health Not Released. • Barr Says Durham Investigation Won't Affect 2020 Election. • FBI Notes From Mifsud Interview Made Public. • Hunter Biden Holds Stake In Chinese Firm Sanctioned For Human Rights Violations. • Maltese Professor Denied Making Offer To Papadopoulos In FBI Documents. • U Of North Texas Cancels Visas For Chinese Researchers. • Arrested Texas A&M Professor Linked To Chinese Firm. • Rubio: SSCI Will Continue To Get In-Person Briefings. • White House Condemns Poisoning Of Navalny. • IAEA: North Korea Enriching Uranium, But Has Not Reprocessed Plutonium In Past Year. • Former CIA Assistant Director: South Korean National Police "Not Geared To Catching The North's Spies." • Colombia Arrests Three Venezuelans "Tied To Anti-Maduro Plot." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • New York Town Asks FBI To Probe Racist Hate Mail Sent To Ex-School Superintendent. • Four Arrested In New York Drug Bust. • Two South Carolina Men Sentenced On Drug, Money Laundering Charges. • Montana Woman Sentenced For Running Meth Ring. • US Charges Pittsburgh Man With Shooting ATF Agent During Drug Raid. • Man Pleads Guilty To Making False Bomb Threat To "Endanger Wife's Citizenship" Application. • California Man In Plea Discussions Over Alleged School Threats. • Former UN Official Charged With Lying To The FBI. • Massachusetts Police Officers Charged With Overtime Fraud. • Continuing Coverage: FBI Supporting Investigation Into Texas Bomb Threat. • Continuing Coverage: FBI Identifies Second Body Found In Washington State. • Colorado Man Convicted On Gun Crime Charge. • FBI Investigating Whistleblower Deaths In Missouri. • FBI Charges New Jersey Residents With Felony Drug Possession. • Continuing Coverage: FBI Sting Results In 10 Arrests For Solicitation Of Minors. • Missouri Man Sentenced In Connection To Planned Parenthood Arson Incident. • Four Alabama Residents Charged In Connection To Homicide. • New York Charges Six In Connection To Burned Bodies. • Georgia Man Sentenced For Methamphetamine Trafficking. • Two Men Sentenced To Federal Prison After Pleading Guilty In Drug Case. • After Pleading Guilty In Meth Case, Montana Resident Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison. • Man Pleads Guilty To Drug Charge In Latin Kings Case. • Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty To Drug, Firearm Charges. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • Utah Man Pleads Guilty To PPP Fraud. • Michigan Man Facing PPP Fraud Charges. • Sentencing Of Former Atlantic City, New Jersey Mayor Delayed For Sixth Time. • Another Charged In College Admissions Probe. • Oregon Couple Who Scammed Elderly Victims Sentenced To Federal Prison. • US Charges Two In $12M Scheme Targeting Investors In Puerto Rico. • Trial Of Chicago Alderman Burke Could Be Delayed To 2020 Amid Pandemic. EFTA00149418 • Louisiana Man Sentenced For Running Ponzi Scheme. • Three Missouri Men Charged With Scamming Women Out Of $500K In Cash, Electronics. • Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Hurricane Recovery Fraud. • New Jersey Man Charged In Money Laundering Scheme. • Iowa Man Sentenced For Bank Fraud. • Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Mail Fraud. • Florida Grand Jury Indicts Businessman Over College Admissions Investigation. • Robinhood Markets Faces Civil Fraud Investigation. CYBER DIVISION • Experts Say Schools Are Particularly Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks. • FBI Has Revamped Hacking Response, Speed. • Colorado Man Sentenced For Moderating Dark Web Marketplace. • Potential TikTok Bidders Consider Four Acquisition Options. • European Officials Targeted By Chinese Phishing Attacks. • CISA Orders Increased Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reporting. • Cybersecurity Talent Initiative Places "First Class Of New Feds." • ODNI Waivers For Huawei, ZTE Rule Expected To Be Rare. • Jewish Federation Of Greater Washington Reports Endowment Cyberattack. LABORATORY • FBI Experts Testify At Homicide Trial Of Pennsylvania Man Whose Wife Vanished In 2012. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • Law Enforcement In Ohio Aims To Curb Gun Violence With Operation Red-Zone. • More Nebraska Police Departments Participating In FBI Use-Of-Force Database. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS • Mexican Officials Say Missing Los Angeles Firefighter Likely Victim Of Kidnapping. OTHER FBI NEWS • FBI Documents Reveal New Details Around Comey Firing. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Trump Honors Veterans, Slams "Violent Mobs" In Visit To North Carolina. • CDC Asks Governors To Prepare For Vaccine Delivery By November 1. • Fauci, Birx Dismiss Claims Administration Pursuing "Herd Immunity." • Azar, Slaoui: Operation Warp Speed Is "Working" And Will Likely Succeed. • WPost Analysis Details Criticisms Of Navarro's Role In Pandemic Response. • Another FDA Appointee Ousted Amid Fallout Over Convalescent Plasma Announcement. • Federal Funding Helps New Virus Tests Come To Market. • More Police Officers Have Died From COVID This Year Than All Other Causes Combined. • Pelosi Refuses To Apologize, Says Hair Salon Owes Her An Apology. • Ernst Backtracks After Suggesting Coronavirus Figures Are Inflated. • Coronavirus Cases Rising In Midwest. • First Coronavirus Death Tied To Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Reported In Minnesota. • Health Officials Urge Americans To Take Precautions Over Labor Day Weekend. • Depression, Anxiety Rising Sharply During Pandemic, Research Indicates. • State Education Officials Push Back On Trump Effort To Teach "American Exceptionalism." • Fauci: College Students Should Stay On Campus. • Superintendent Expresses Concern As Texas School Reopens. • USPS Has Paid DeJoy's Former Company $286M Over Past Seven Years. EFTA00149419 • Wolkoff Says First Lady Used Personal Email For Official Business. • Morgenstern: "No Merit" To Reports Trump Suffered Mini-Strokes. • Controversial Drilling Projects Among Those Fast Tracked Following Trump Order. • Air Force Moves Toward Creating A Supersonic Air Force One. • Barr: Mail-In Voting "Fraught With The Risk Of Fraud And Coercion." INTERNATIONAL NEWS • US To Contribute Funds For Some WHO Programs Despite Withdrawal. • US Consulting Firm With Ties Chinese Communist Party Received PPP Loan. • South Korea Struggling With Second Wave Of Coronavirus Infections. • Soldier To Receive Medal Of Honor For Rescuing Hostages From ISIS. • US Sanctions International Criminal Court Officials. • Afghanistan To Include Mother's Names On National ID Cards. • Biegun Warns Putin Against Deploying Troops To Belarus. • State Department Imposes New Restrictions On Chinese Diplomats In US. • Kushner To Meet With British Foreign Minister In London On Thursday. • Issue Of West Bank Annexation Looms Over Israel-UAE Deal. • Saudis Allow Israeli Flights To Access Their Airspace For First Time. • US Suspends Aid To Ethiopia Due To Dispute Over Nile Dam With Egypt. • Analysts: US Pullback Creates Power Vacuum In Mediterranean. • WSJournal, NYTimes Give Analyses Of Abe's Legacy. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Trump Moves To Defund New York City, Other Cities. The New York Post (9/2, Nelson, 4.57M) reports President Trump is beginning "the process of defunding New York City and three other cities where officials allowed 'lawless' protests and cut police budgets amid rising violent crime." A five-page memo Trump signed on Wednesday orders "all federal agencies to send reports to the White House Office of Management and Budget that detail funds that can be redirected." The Post adds, "New York City, Washington, DC, Seattle and Portland are initial targets as Trump makes 'law and order' a centerpiece of his reelection campaign after months of unrest and violence." Trump says in the memo, "My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones." The Post says the memo "twice mentions New York Mayor Bill de Blasio by name." The Washington Times (9/2, Dinan, Boyer, 492K) says Trump directed Attorney General Barr "to come up with a list of communities that have forbidden police to step in to stop violence, have declared no-go zones for officers, or pursued 'Defund Police' policies. Mr. Barr is also to look at communities that have rebuffed Mr. Trump's offers of federal law enforcement." The Washington Post (9/2, Stein, 14.2M) says the memo "comes as the president seeks to intensify his attacks on Democratic mayors of cities that have faced civil unrest amid protests against police brutality." In a tweet Wednesday evening, Trump wrote, "My Administration will do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking Federal dollars while they let anarchists harm people, burn buildings, and ruin lives and businesses. We're putting them on notice today. @RussVought45" EFTA00149420 The New York Times (9/2, Haberman, McKinley, 18.61M) reports that the move "is almost certain to face legal challenges, and Democrats and city officials reacted furiously." Politico (9/2, Choi, 4.29M) says Senate Minority Leader Schumer "quickly denounced the Wednesday memo as a `foolish stunt,' urging the president to focus on the coronavirus pandemic instead of threatening federal funding for some of the country's largest cities." Cuomo: Trump Would Need An Army To Walk NYC Streets. Politico New York (9/2, Mahoney) reports that in response to Trump's threat "to withdraw federal funds from `anarchist' municipalities" like New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) launched his "harshest attack yet on his fellow Queens native, saying he is `persona non grata' in the city of his birth." Cuomo said, "He can't have enough bodyguards to walk through New York City. ... Forget bodyguards, he better have an army if he thinks he's going to walk down the streets in New York. ... He is persona non grata in New York City, and I think he knows that, and he'll never come back to New York, because New Yorkers will never forget how gratuitously mean he has been." A spokesperson for Cuomo "later clarified that Cuomo did not mean that the president would literally need such additional protection, but was simply illustrating how unwelcome he would be in the city." Shootings In NYC More Than Doubled In August. The New York Times (9/2, Zaveri, 18.61M) reports that New York City "recorded 242 shootings in August, up from 91 last year, continuing a summer spike in gun violence that has become an issue in the presidential race." The "steep rise in gun violence...continued at an alarming rate in August, as shootings more than doubled over the same period last year and murders rose by nearly 50 percent, the police said." The Times says Trump "has seized" on the increase as he has "tried to shift the public's attention away from his response to the pandemic to what he depicts is out-of-control crime in New York City and other urban areas. He has tried to blame the rise in violence on local Democratic leaders." PROTESTS Barr: DO] Received Reports Of People Flying To DC To Exploit Protests. The New York Times (9/2, Benner, 18.61M) reports that in an interview with CNNVi Wednesday, Attorney General Barr "sidestepped questions...about President Trump's incendiary conspiracy theory about a plane `loaded with thugs' headed to Washington over the weekend." Barr said that he did not know "what the president was specifically referring to," but that the F.B.I. was investigating reports that outsiders had traveled to the city to cause trouble. Barr "said the Justice Department had received reports that people from the West Coast and other parts of the country had flown to Washington to exploit protests for racial justice as opportunities to attack law enforcement and damage property." Barr said, "We received numerous reports of individuals coming from Portland, Washington - Seattle - and several other cities to come into Washington for the specific purpose of causing a riot. ... I think there were many on planes." A USA Today (9/2, Collins, Fritze, Jackson, 10.31M) analysis says Trump "has long embraced conspiracy theories as a way to attack his critics or divert attention from events that reflect poorly on him or his administration. But the dizzying pace in which he has given oxygen to outlandish tales that are typically the domain of Internet trolls or fringe groups like QAnon suggests the practice has now become a central part of his reelection strategy." WTimes Review Finds Rioters Are Often Local. The Washington Times (9/2, Dinan, 492K) reports that while officials in the District of Columbia, Portland, and Kenosha Wisconsin blamed the violence in their cities on people coming in from other areas, "a Washington Times review of data" shows that claim is "not particularly accurate." Portland police arrests "from Aug. 21 to Aug. 31 showed nearly two-thirds of those charged were listed as from Portland, and that ratio grows even higher when close-in suburbs like Beaverton and Vancouver, Washington, are counted." EFTA00149421 Investigators Release Images Of Those Sought In Kenosha Arson Cases. The Kenosha News (9/2, Smith, 63K) reports investigators have released "photos and video of several people sought in arson fires" in Kenosha last week. A statement from the Milwaukee field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives "stated that investigators are 'seeking to speak to at least seven persons of interest' in the fires set to businesses and vehicles in the unrest that followed the shooting of Jacob Blake" on August 23. Kenosha County Ends Curfew. The Kenosha News (9/2, 63K) reports Kenosha County, Wisconsin "has ended its State of Emergency Curfew. That decision was announced today after local officials consulted with law enforcement and community leaders." USA Today (9/2, Vielmetti, 10.31M) reports four people arrested in Kenosha during demonstrations "have sued the city and Kenosha County, claiming discriminatory curfew enforcement that violates the First Amendment." Reuters/Ipsos Poll: Public Supports BLM Protests, Doesn't See Crime As Top Issue. Reuters (9/2, Kahn) reports that President Trump's "attempt to make civil unrest a central theme of his re-election campaign has yet to boost his political standing, as most Americans do not see crime as a major problem confronting the nation and a majority remain sympathetic to anti-racism protests, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday." The poll "showed the majority — 78% - remain 'very' or 'somewhat' concerned about the coronavirus," and "nearly 60% said Trump is at least partly responsible for the protracted school and business closures due to the virus. ... By contrast, most Americans do not see crime as a major priority and do not think it is increasing in their communities, the poll showed." Moreover, "53% of American adults said they remain sympathetic to people out protesting against racial inequality, nearly unchanged from 52% in a similar poll that ran in late July." Meadows: Rioters Are Committing Acts Of Terror. Appearing on Fox News' Fox & Friends (9/2, 831K), Chief of Staff Meadows was asked, "Do you agree with the President's characterization of rioters as 'domestic terrorists?" Meadows said, "Without a doubt. You know, what a terrorist does is try to instill fear. ...You don't have to go any further than perhaps even the roads outside the White House here where we have a number of these rioters trying to instill fear just in everyday Americans' lives. So whether you see it here or as the President was talking about in Kenosha, Wisconsin, this is a President that has been very clear. ... It's amazing when you stand up for safer communities and support law and order - and, more importantly, our law enforcement officers - how people of all parties come together." Barr: Idea Of "Epidemic" Of Police Violence Against Blacks Is A "False Narrative." Axios (9/2, Axios, 521K) reports that in an interview with CNNVi Wednesday, Attorney General Barr "denied...that there are 'two justice systems' for Black and white people in the U.S." Barr argued that the idea that there is an "epidemic" of police shooting unarmed Black men is "simply a false narrative." Barr said, "I did say that I do think that there appears to be a phenomenon in the country where African Americans feel that they're treated, when they're stopped by police, frequently, as suspects before they are treated as citizens. I don't think that that necessarily reflects some deep-seated racism in police departments or in most police officers. I think the same kind of behavior is done by African American police officers." Administration Officials Criticize Portland Mayor's Handling Of Violence. Acting Deputy DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said on Fox Business' Varney & Co. (9/2, 64K), "The first responsibility in these communities is state and local for policing, but we're seeing Portland intentionally not, and willfully, not police to the extent needed to stop the violence. You compare it to Kenosha. We saw the formula for a quick stop to violence and that was with a EFTA00149422 Democrat mayor and a Democrat governor. Partisanship shouldn't have anything to do with this. This is straight law enforcement." Acting CBP Commissioner Morgan said on Fox News' Bill Hemmer Reports that Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's "solution is to sit back and burn itself out. Literally that's what has happened. The city will burn itself to the ground. That's his strategy. It's outrageous and absurd and putting politics above public safety." Acting DHS Secretary Wolf said on Fox News' Daily Briefing (9/2) that "we see some District Attorneys taking a very strange approach and posture" to charging protesters. He said, "For instance, the District Attorney in Portland has advertised a series of crimes that he's not going to prosecute, and that involves interfering with a law enforcement officer, I would say, criminal trespassing, and others. And that sets a very dangerous precedent, it fosters this environment that the violence is okay, and it draws people to those communities." Barn At Some Point, Federal Government Has To Step In. Attorney General Barr said on CNNVi (9/2, 2.25M) that "what we're trying to do is make clear that it's the state's responsibility and the locality to provide protection. If they are unable or unwilling to do that, at some point, things could reach a state where the federal government has to step in." He said, "It's very easy to maintain peace in these cities, in any city where the mayor backs the police, the police chief is doing his job, and the governor's willing to provide backup support, there will be peace on the streets and there has been peace on the streets." Portland Mayor Moving After Rioters Target His Condo Complex. The Washington Free Beacon (9/2, Nester, 78K) reports Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) said Tuesday that he intends to move "after anti-police rioters repeatedly targeted" his condominium complex. The announcement comes after "a massive demonstration outside of the 114-unit high-rise on Monday, where more than 200 rioters gathered around the building, vandalized it with spray paint, and threw burning objects inside." In an email to his neighbors, Wheeler wrote, "I want to express my sincere apologies for the damage to our home and the fear that you are experiencing due to my position. ... It's unfair to all of you who have no role in politics or in my administration." Breitbart (9/2, Bleau, 673K) provides similar coverage of Wheeler's announcement. President Trump reacted to Wheeler's announcement in a tweet Wednesday afternoon. Trump wrote, "Mayor Wheeler just got harassed out of his own home in Portland by so-called 'friendly protesters'. The Anarchists, Agitators and Looters treat him HORRIBLY, even though he is so nice and respectful to them. Criminals only understand strength!" Federal Prosecutors Charge Portland Man For Ramming Federal Officers With SUV. The Washington Times (9/2, Dinan, 492K) reports federal prosecutors have announced charges against Lonnie Vantewa Albert, "a Portland man they say targeted federal police officers for an attack, smashing his SUV into their vehicle then trying to run them down." The officers "were on their way back to their hotel early Sunday when they say an SUV began hounding them in their rental car. The SUV tried to block them in, and as they swerved, it smashed them, spinning out in the process. When one of the officers got out to check for injuries, the man drove at the officer, then swerved away and fled, prosecutors said." When the officers "followed the SUV into a hospital parking lot, it rammed into their rental car again." Albert "was charged with assault." US Marshals Deputize Oregon State Troopers. The New York Post (9/2, Fitz-Gibbon, 4.57M) reports that the US Marshals Service has deputized Oregon state troopers "to help local police quell riots in Portland, authorizing troopers to charge protesters under federal law, according to reports." The troopers will also have "law enforcement authority on federal property." The Post adds, "The deputized troopers can make arrests that are prosecuted by Oregon US Attorney Billy Williams rather than Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt." Washington Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Making Bomb Threat At Portland Police Precinct. Fox News (9/2, Givas, 27.59M) reports, "A Seattle man was arrested on EFTA00149423 Wednesday for threatening to destroy a police precinct in Portland, Ore., and also stands accused of using an online communication system to claim he'd planted explosives inside the building." US Attorney Brian Moran "announced the charges against the 36-year-old suspect, Kyle Robert Tornow, who appeared in U.S. District Court following his arrest, according to a press release from the Department of Justice. Case files state Tornow allegedly used the city Police TrackIT system to send a message, claiming he'd planted a bomb at one of the nearby police precincts. He used the alias TORNOW and claimed to have set a device that was 'undetectable' to canine units. He also claimed if he was caught that, 'others will take my place and immediately detonate the bomb." Biden Says Portland Victim Was "Inciting Responses." Joel B. Pollak writes on Breitbart (9/2, 673K) that Joe Biden "suggested Wednesday that the victim of a shooting in Portland, Oregon, was killed because he and other pro Trump demonstrators had been 'inciting responses." Biden said, "I think what happened in Portland, where a - one of the Trump guys riding along in vans, inciting responses, shooting rubber bullets, I guess, or paintballs, apparently there was someone shot by someone in the crowd, with a bullet. Killed. I think that person should meet the legal requirements, whatever that calls for, be investigated, and it should follow through on what needs to be done. Let the judicial system work. Let's make sure justice is done." Pollak adds that Aaron "Jay" Danielson "was killed after the pro-Trump caravan was over, as he was walking down the street. The reported suspect, Michael Forest Reinoehl, is a supporter of Black Lives Matter and Antifa, according to the Oregonian." Biden To Visit Kenosha Thursday, Will Meet With Members Of Blake's Family. On ABC World News TonightVi (9/2, story 5, 2:15, Llamas, 6.93M), Mary Bruce reported Joe Biden "is stepping up his travel," planning to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin on Thursday. Bruce said Biden will be meeting with members of Jacob Blake's family, which President Trump did not do during his visit on Tuesday. Peter Alexander said on NBC Nightly NewsVi (9/2, story 3, 2:15, Jackson, 5.53M) that Biden will visit "the scarred city of Kenosha." Ed O'Keefe of the CBS Evening NewsVI (9/2, story 4, 2:40, O'Donnell, 4M) said Biden is "really ramping up" his travel, with plans to also visit Pennsylvania next week. The Chicago Sun-Times (9/2, Sweet, 875K) reports, "The campaign said Biden 'will hold a community meeting in Kenosha to bring together Americans to heal and address the challenges we face. After, Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden will make a local stop." Politico (9/2, Korecki, 4.29M) reports Democrats "have been critical of Biden for not having visited the state sooner, and some feared the recent unrest would boost Trump if Biden didn't take a tough stand against violence that came after the unrest." The AP (9/2, Barrow) reports Biden "said he wants to help 'heal' a city reeling from another police shooting of a Black man. The wounding of Jacob Blake and subsequent demonstrations have made the political battleground state a focal point for debate over police and protest violence, as well as the actions of vigilante militias." The Washington Examiner (9/2, Lim, 448K) reports Biden told reporters, "There's been overwhelming requests that I do come. Because what we want to do is we've got to heal, we've got to put things together, bring people together. My purpose in going is to do just that, to be a positive influence." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (9/2, Beck, 632K) reports, "It's the first visit to Wisconsin by Biden this year, and the first to the state by a Democratic presidential nominee since 2012." Bloomberg (9/2, Pager, 4.73M) reports Biden has already "spoken with Blake's family, [and] said Wednesday that the officer should face charges for the incident." Trump "declined to speak with Blake's mother because she wanted lawyers to monitor the conversation." The New York Times (9/2, Goldmacher, Haberman, 18.61M) reports that the Biden campaign has also "unveiled a new television ad condemning the rioters and looters that have vexed some EFTA00149424 American cities as he races to cut off President Trump's efforts to define the Democrats as the party of lawlessness." White House Deputy Press Secretary Brian Morgenstern said on Fox News' America's Newsroom (9/2, 896K), "It's too little, too late. I mean, it's unfortunate that violence and rioting and the President, President Trump, taking that seriously is finally what will get a Democratic presidential candidate to visit the people of Wisconsin." RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said on Fox News' Bill Hemmer Reports (9/2), "Joe Biden doesn't know how to lead, so I'm glad he's following in the President's footsteps." Townhall (9/2, McCarthy, 177K) says that after Trump "demonstrated leadership for the people of Kenosha, who have experienced the devastation first-hand, Biden is now reversing course and plans to visit Kenosha on Thursday." The Kenosha News (9/2, Lee, 63K) reports, "Both Trump and Joe Biden have condemned the physical damage done to the city while also both saying they support non-destructive demonstrations." Bloomberg (9/2, Epstein, 4.73M), Politico (9/2, Korecki, 4.29M), and the CNBC (9/2, 3.62M) website are among the other outlets covering Biden's planned visit. Former Owner Of Store Attended Trump Roundtable After Current Owners Refused. USA Today (9/2, Cummings, Beck, Glauber, 10.31M) reports the owners of Rode's Camera Shop in Kenosha declined to meet with Trump during his visit. Paul Willette told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "I didn't want anything to do with President Trump. If it were any other president I would, but not this one." Co-owner Tom Gram "was surprised to see on TV that Trump was instead joined by" the store's former owner John Rode, who sold it to his two former employees nine years ago, who "was very supportive of the president." The President described Rode as the owner of the business during a roundtable discussion. "Antifa.com" Redirects To Biden Site. The New York Times (9/2, Epstein, Alba, 18.61M) reports that Antifa.com redirects to Biden's campaign website. The Times says "the switch is a prank, one that ties (Biden) to a largely online, far-left activist network to which President Trump has falsely sought to link" Biden. Several weeks ago, "right-wing influencers began tweeting about the website forwarding," and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) shared the link Tuesday in a since-deleted tweet. Barr Says Blake Was Armed And "In The Midst Of Committing A Felony." The New York Post (9/2, Tacopino, 4.57M) reports Attorney General Barr said Wednesday that Jacob Blake "was committing a felony and armed when a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot him seven times in the back." Contrasting the case with the death of George Floyd, Barr told CNN, "Floyd was already subdued, incapacitated in handcuffs and was not armed. In the Jacob case, he was in the midst of committing a felony and he was armed." Attorneys for Blake "said that Barr was simply 'misinformed' on the facts of the case." Chicago Alderman Urges National Guard Deployment In City. Fox News (9/2, Kaplan, 27.59M) reports on its website that Chicago Alderman Anthony Napolitano called on city officials "to request the National Guard be deployed to the city Wednesday" Napolitano told Fox News' Outnumbered Overtime that "we need help." Napolitano's call comes as "the Chicago Police Department has confirmed to Fox News that the FBI has sent out an intelligence alert warning area law enforcement of a pact among street gangs" to "shoot on-sight any cop that has a weapon drawn on any subject in public." Napolitano said, "This anti-police movement, this defund the police movement has created a brazen attitude with criminals in the city of Chicago. ... We knew that criminals were going to be so emboldened to put bounties on police officers. We saw this coming and we warned people of it and it fell on deaf ears and now we're dealing with this just ridiculous ideology to defund the police, asking to take money away from the police." GOP Lawmakers Call On Bowser To Answer For Protester Violence In DC. EFTA00149425 The Washington Times (9/2, Mordock, 492K) reports Republican members of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees demanded District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) "answer for the increased protester violence plaguing the nation's capital, including the angry mob that swarmed people attending President Trump's nomination speech." Reps. James Comer (R-TN) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote a letter to Bowser Wednesday "questioning why more wasn't done to confront the agitators." They wrote, "Your choice to surrender the streets of D.C. to violent left-wing extremists and agitators so that they can intimidate, coerce, and assault innocent people places at risk all who live, work and patronize businesses in the District. ... You must restore order and peace to the District before left-wing violent extremism gets further out of hand." The lawmakers "asked the mayor to turn over all documents and communications outlining the city's response to 'violent left-wing agitators harassing peaceful individuals' between June 1 and the present." Republicans Blast Bowser Over List Calling For Renaming, Removing Monuments. The Washington Post (9/2, Zauzmer, Brice-Saddler, 14.2M) reports that as President Trump "has picked fights with liberal mayors of American cities, (Bowser) gave him ammunition Tuesday" by "publishing a sweeping list of historical figures whose names should be removed from public property or Icontextualized: Among the sites mentioned were the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial." The White House "lashed out," and Bowser "quickly retreated, modifying the document to remove specific federal properties over which the District has no control." Congressional Republicans "castigated Bowser for the report. ... Many pointed to the page that Bowser removed from the document, which listed eight federal sites that the mayor could consider asking the federal government to 'remove, relocate, or contextualize.' The list included the statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike that the District has long endorsed removing...but also world-famous sites such as the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument - both named for presidents who owned enslaved people." Bernhardt : DC Monuments Will Not Be Removed Or Renamed. Interior Secretary Bernhardt was asked on Fox News' The Story (9/2) to respond to Bowser's comments after the Administration rejected a list of recommendations for removing, relocating, or renaming national monuments. Bernhardt said that "no one will be removing or renaming the Washington Monument or the Jefferson Memorial, none of that is going to happen." He added, "Each of these great individuals did great things. No one is saying that each of these individuals was a perfect human being." Republican State AGs: Democrats Have "Capitulated To Criminals Run Amok." The Washington Times (9/2, Mordock, 492K) reports, "The Republican attorneys general of 26 states on Wednesday marked the 100th day of protests in Portland, Oregon, by calling on Democratic officials to condemn the violence escalating in city streets across the nation." The Times adds that "in a press call with reporters, members of the Republican Attorneys General Association said Democratic politicians have 'capitulated to criminals run amok." Said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, "It is unacceptable that the attorney general of any state would stand idly by and watch their own cities burn around them. We must restore stability and order to end this lawlessness." The Federalist (9/2, Davidson, 126K) indicates "the group of attorneys general pushed back on the narrative that these riots are 'perfectly peaceful,' claiming that in order for them to ensure peoples' first amendment rights, there must be clear enforcement of the rule of law." After High-Profile Uses Of Force, Police Chiefs Call For New Tactics. NBC Nightly NewsVi (9/2, story 8, 2:10, Jackson, 5.53M) reported, "In Kenosha, Wisconsin, police say Jacob Blake was not obeying commands, so their use of force quickly escalated from tasers to gunshots. In Minneapolis, George Floyd died after a police officer's continued physical force. Studies show that police use some kind of force at least half a million times a year. Often amping it up for failure to immediately comply with an order. But the recent deadly encounters EFTA00149426 has many police chiefs telling their recruits that's outdated thinking ... Jeff Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum has long advocated training in deescalation. He says leaders should review videos like the Jacob Blake shooting and ask, how would I handle that?" WPost Analysis: White Male Police Departments Have Not Changed To Reflect Their Communities. A Washington Post (9/2, Wilson, 14.2M) analysis says "Being Black...has proved dangerous" in "many of the nation's suburbs where predominantly White, male police departments, once a fair facsimile of their communities, have failed to change as rapidly as the places they are charged with protecting." Black men "have been killed by suburban police officers in Ferguson, Mo., in Falcon Heights, Minn., and in Vallejo, Calif., where police officers are being investigated for allegedly bending a prong on their star badges to proudly signify that they have killed someone on duty." The Post story focuses particularly on the death of Elijah McClain in Aurora, CO, where "a tradition of impunity for police officers, a cumbersome hiring process and a changing population have resulted in deep public mistrust of the police force and numerous legal complaints against the department in recent years." Antifa Leader Armed With Flamethrower Bursts Into Tears Upon Being Arrested In Wisconsin. The New York Post (9/2, Brown, 4.57M) reports, "An Antifa leader known as Commander Red was busted carrying a flamethrower to a Wisconsin Black Lives Matter rally - and 'dropped into the fetal position and began crying' when stopped by cops, officials said." The Post adds that according to WBAY-TV Green Bay, WI (9/2, 113K), "Matthew Banta, 23, is 'known to be a violent Antifa member who incites violence in otherwise relatively peaceful protests." When he was arrested, "he was carrying stickers and a flag for the controversial group...along with 'military-grade 5-minute' smoke grenades, fireworks rockets, and a flamethrower," according to the Green BayJWI) Press-Gazette (9/2, Mathew, 124K). The Daily Caller (9/2, Devlin, 716K), and Townhall (9/2, Barkoukis, 177K), among other news outlets, also report the story. Chauvin's Lawyers Say Police Manual Teaches Officers To Place Knee On Suspect's Neck. Katie Pavlich writes on Townhall (9/2, 177K) that former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin's lawyers "are requesting the dismissal of murder and manslaughter charges against him for the death of George Floyd. They're using the police training manual as justification." In the Minneapolis Police Department training manual, "officers are shown how to subdue violent or resisting suspects by placing their knee on the neck." Pavlich adds, "Newly released court documents show Floyd had a 'fatal level' of fentanyl in his system when he died. He also resisted arrest before being placed on the ground by officers." Police Body Cam Footage Of Man's Death Sparks Protests In Rochester. ABC World News TonightVi (9/2, story 7, 1:55, Llamas, 6.93M) reported there is "growing anger" in Rochester, New York "after the release of body cam video of a police encounter ruled a homicide. Police and protesters facing off, then clashing this afternoon." The conflict stems from an incident last March in which "a mentally troubled man [was) handcuffed and pinned down in the street. Officers not noticing at first that he had stopped breathing." ABC (Norma) added that in the body cam footage, "an officer holds [Daniel) Prude's head down for more than two minutes as his yells become whimpers, and then he appears to stop breathing. ... Prude died seven days later. The medical examiner calling his death a homicide." Prude's "family is calling for the officers involved to be fired and charged." The New York Times (9/2, Closson, Shanahan, 18.61M) reports New York State Attorney General Letitia James "and the Rochester police chief said they were conducting inquiries into the death. The officers involved are still on the force." Police Held Black Jogger For Two Days After Mistaking Him For A Suspect. EFTA00149427 ABC World News TonightVi (9/2, story 8, 0:40, Llamas, 6.93M) reported that in San Antonio, Texas "a Black jogger [is] speaking out after he was confused by police for a suspect in a family violence case and spent two days in jail. Body camera video shows police stopping Matthias Ometu who refused to tell them his name, which people have the right to do in Texas." Ometu was handcuffed and put in a police car. The victim "said he was not the suspect, but police booked him for assaulting a peace officer." ABC added, "The charges have been dropped, but Ometu says the unfair treatment he received must still be addressed." OPERATION LEGEND Florida Man Suspected Of Missouri Homicide Is Captured In Operation LeGend. The Kansas City (MO) Star (9/2, Cronkleton, 549K) reports, "A Florida man suspected in a homicide that occurred during a home invasion robbery in Tallahassee has been caught by federal agents in Jackson County. The department of justice touted the presence of Kansas City's Operation LeGend in the success of his arrest." US Marshals arrested Yuri Harris, 24, Monday "at Longview Lake in the southeastern part of the Kansas City metro area on a warrant from Leon County, Florida, U.S. Marshal Mark S. James announced Tuesday in a news release. 'Mr. Harris definitely chose the wrong place to come to with the additional resources in town for Operation LeGend,' James said. 'We were able to put a lot of manpower towards his capture." Harris "was charged in the Aug. 27 killing in which the victim was fatally shot during a home invasion robbery." US Charges Indiana Man With Straw-Purchasing Guns For Chicago Felon. The Chicago Sun-Times (9/2, Wilusz, 875K) reports, "A northwest Indiana man is facing federal charges for allegedly straw-purchasing guns in Indiana for a felon in Chicago." Brian Haywood, 24, "is charged with one count of knowingly selling and disposing of a firearm to a convicted felon, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. On July 30, Aug. 5 and Aug. 20, Haywood allegedly bought guns from stores in Hammond, Indiana, and signed forms indicating he was the actual buyer, prosecutors said. He was actually purchasing them for someone from Chicago whom he knew was prohibited from owning firearms because of a felony conviction, according to the U.S. attorney's office." The charges "were filed as part of Operation Legend." Morgan: Operation Legend Exemplifies How Trump Is "Committed To Public Safety." Acting CBP Commissioner Morgan said on Fox News' Bill Hemmer Reports that "this President is committed to public safety and protecting American citizens. Operation Legend...represents exactly the way it should be done. Local, state and federal authorities joining together to work together to address and reduce violent crime in their cities." COUNTER-TERRORISM Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Helping ISIS. The AP (9/2) reports from Dallas, Texas, "A North Texas man pleaded guilty Wednesday to supporting the Islamic State group, federal prosecutors said." Omer Kuzu "pleaded guilty in federal court in Dallas to conspiring to provide material support to terrorism, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office." Kuzu, of Plano, Texas, "said in plea papers that he and his brother left home in 2014 for Syria, where he spent five years providing communications support for front-line Islamic State fighters and working in the Caliphate's technology center. Kuzu, who is a U.S. citizen, was captured by Syrian forces in early 2019, turned over to the FBI and returned to Texas to face charges." EFTA00149428 The Hill (9/2, Moreno, 2.98M) reports, "Kuzu admitted that he left Texas with his brother, Yusuf, for Turkey in 2014 and was then picked up by an `ISIS taxi,' according to court documents. They then stayed in several `waiting houses' before ending up in Mosul, Iraq. There, he and 40 others allegedly underwent five days of physical and weapons training led by ISIS instructors." Kuzu "was one of 1,500 suspected ISIS fighters that were captured in March 2019 by Syrian Democratic Forces. He was handed over to the FBI and was charged with conspiring to provide material support material to ISIS." Appeals Court Finds NSA Phone Data Collection Program Illegal. Reuters (9/2, Satter) reports that a ruling Wednesday from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit "said the warrantless telephone dragnet that secretly collected millions of Americans' telephone records violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and may well have been unconstitutional." Politico (9/2, Gerstein, 4.29M) reports the NSA program that "swept up details on billions of Americans' phone calls was illegal and possibly unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday." However, the "unanimous three-judge panel" also "said the role the so-called telephone metadata program played in a criminal terror-fundraising case against four Somali immigrants was so minor that it did not undermine their convictions." Judge Marsha Berzon's opinion, "which contains a half-dozen references to the role of former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden in disclosing the NSA metadata program," concludes that the "bulk collection" of such data violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Politico says the release of the opinion "is another reminder of the exceedingly slow pace of some 9th Circuit appeals, particularly those involving classified information or FISA surveillance." The Washington Post (9/2, Barrett, 14.2M) reports the court also ruled "that claims made by FBI and other national security officials in defense of the program were not accurate." The ruling "will not have much immediate effect on the program it criticizes, because that record- gathering effort ended in 2015, replaced by a different method for searching phone records that was also eventually shut down." The judges also "ruled that government prosecutors must tell criminal defendants when it plans to use evidence gathered or derived from surveillance done overseas." The court also "rejected the Justice Department's argument that the call records were properly obtained because they were relevant to a terrorism investigation." That argument, they wrote, "depends on an after-the-fact determination of relevance: once the government had collected a massive amount of call records, it was able to find one that was relevant to a counterterrorism investigation." The judges wrote the FISA act "required the government to make a showing of relevance to a particular authorized investigation before collecting the records." CNET News (9/2, Hautala, 1.99M) reports Berzon wrote, "The metadata collection exceeded the scope of Congress's authorization." Business Insider (9/2, Holmes, 3.67M) reports there is "zero evidence the NSA's phone records program stopped a terror attack, contradicting the public statements of US intelligence officials following Snowden's revelation, Judge Marsha Berzon said in the ruling." She added, "To the extent the public statements of government officials created a contrary impression, that impression is inconsistent with the contents of the classified record." Fox News (9/2, O'Reilly, 27.59M) reports the NSA last year "reportedly recommended that the White House abandon the controversial surveillance program, claiming the legal and logistical burdens of maintaining it outweigh its benefits to the intelligence community." Among outlets also reporting are The Hill (9/2, Neidig, 2.98M), Axios (9/2, Knutson, 521K), Law360 (9/2, Subscription Publication, 8K), and San Diego CA) Union-Tribune (9/3, Kristina Davis The San Diego Union-Tribune (TNS), 755K). Sudanese Government, Citizens Differ On US Deal To Remove Terrorism Label. EFTA00149429 The Christian Science Monitor (9/2, Luck, 246K) reports Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently "offered to lift the U.S. terrorism label off post-revolution Sudan" in exchange for $330 million in compensation for "Al Qaeda attacks from over two decades ago." Sudan's transitional government "reportedly favors the US offer," but among Sudanese citizens "mired in recession and lingering poverty, a legacy of ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir's destructive 30-year rule, the proposal is encountering resistance." The US has "already lifted sanctions from Sudan in 2017," but the terrorism designation "has continued to deter investment in the country." The civilian- led transitional government "believes that by honoring the previous regime's debts and paying compensation for his crimes - and ridding the country of the terrorism list designation and stigma - the subsequent access to international financial relief and foreign investment will save Sudan's economy." The hope is the benefits "will outweigh any immediate costs several-fold." Trial Of Alleged Accomplices In 2015 Attacks Opens In Paris. The New York Times (9/2, Breeden, Meheut, 18.61M) reports that on Wednesday, France "began revisiting one of the worst chapters in its modern history...as a landmark trial opened in Paris for the January 2015 terrorist attacks that killed 17 people in and around the French capital." According to the Times, "Over at least the next two months, before the glare of the world's media and under tight security, the court is expected to meticulously examine three harrowing days that traumatized France, starting with a daytime assault on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine that Islamic extremists targeted after it published cartoons lampooning Islam." The Times adds, "The killings were followed by a string of deadly jihadist attacks, culminating with assaults in November that year in and around Paris that killed 130 people, vaulting France into a yearslong state of emergency." The AP (9/2, Hinnant, Vaux-Montagny) reports that "those on trial in France's terrorism court are accused of buying weapons, cars, and helping with logistics in the January 2015 attacks." According to the AP, "Most say they thought they were helping plan an ordinary crime. Three, including the only woman accused, are being tried in absentia after leaving to join Islamic State." COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE Draft DHS Bulletin Warning Foreign Actors Targeting Biden, Trump Health Not Released. Jonathan Karl reported on ABC World News TonightVi (9/2, story 6, 2:25, Llamas, 6.93M) that a draft DHS intelligence bulletin "alerting local, state and federal law enforcement to a Russian scheme to damage Joe Biden's campaign by spreading misinformation that Biden isn't mentally fit to be president" was withheld. According to "an email obtained by ABC News, the bulletin was supposed to go out on July 9, but it never did. The Chief of Staff to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf put the brakes on, writing, `Please hold on sending this one out until you have a chance to speak to AS1.' AS1 is Acting Secretary Wolf. That was nearly two months ago, and the bulletin still has not gone out." Reuters (9/2, Hosenball, Hesson) reports that the draft bulletin "also said that Iranian and Chinese media had published materials questioning the mental health" of President Trump. Geoff Bennett said on NBC Nightly NewsVi (9/2, story 4, 1:55, Jackson, 5.53M), "The unclassified report published by ABC News is titled `Russia Likely to Denigrate Health of US Candidates to Influence 2020 Election.' It does not cite intelligence, but rather stories critical of Biden that aired on Russian state media." Jeff Pegues of the CBS Evening NewsVi (9/2, story 5, 2:05, O'Donnell, 4M) reported Wolf said Wednesday that "the document didn't meet his standards." Wolf: "The report that you referenced was, at the end of the day, a very poorly written report." Pegues: "But the Democrats are concerned the Trump Administration is blocking the flow of key intelligence on election interference to benefit the President." The New York EFTA00149430 Times (9/2, Kanno-Youngs, 18.61M) reports that that officials from "the Office of Intelligence and Analysis briefed" Wolf "on the document sometime this summer, the department said in a statement." Wolf was asked on Fox News' Daily Briefing (9/2) to respond to accusations that DHS withheld the report. Wolf said, "What we do at the department every day regarding election security in our cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency has been hard at work on this for the last four years. We saw two years ago a very safe and secure election, we're continuing to work very hard at this leading up to November." Attorney General Barr was asked about Russian interference in the 2020 election on CNN Vi (9/2, 2.25M). Barr said, "There is some preliminary activity that suggests they may try again," and "it wouldn't surprise me if Russia tries something again of the same general genre of before." CNBC (9/2, Mangan, 3.62M) and NBC News (9/2, Dilanian, 6.14M), among several others, also report on the issue. Barr Says Durham Investigation Won't Affect 2020 Election. The Washington Examiner (9/2, Dunleavy, 448K) reports that in an interview with CNNVi (9/2, 2.25M) Wednesday, Attorney General Barr "denied that he is being pressured by President Trump in his handling of U.S. Attorney John Durham's inquiry into the Russia investigation and claimed that any actions taken won't affect the 2020 election." Barr "stressed that the Durham review will abide by Justice Department guidelines. He also reiterated that, despite urging from Trump, former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden, who is now the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, are not under criminal investigation." Barr said, "I will handle these cases as appropriate. ... And I do not think anything that we do in the Durham investigation - I assume that's what you're talking about - is going to be affecting the election." FBI Notes From Mifsud Interview Made Public. The Washington Examiner (9/2, Dunleavy, 448K) reports that FBI's notes from its interview with Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud "were made public Tuesday, showing denials from a key Trump-Russia inquiry figure who special counsel Robert Mueller says lied to investigators yet was never charged." The notes indicate that "the FBI's Feb. 11, 2017, interview with Mifsud in the lobby of the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., was a brief and cursory one in the grand scheme of the investigation." Hunter Biden Holds Stake In Chinese Firm Sanctioned For Human Rights Violations. The Washington Free Beacon (9/2, Goodman, 78K) reports Hunter Biden holds a stake in the Chinese surveillance company Megvii, which is "under U.S. sanctions for human-rights violations, complicating his father Joe Biden's campaign promise to crack down on American businesses with financial ties to China's humanitarian abuses." The investment firm Bohai Harvest RST Shanghai Equity, in which Hunter Biden owns a stake, initially invested in Megvii "in 2017, according to the company's website. The firm holds a nearly 2 percent stake in Megvii through two holding companies, according to a prospectus filed by Megvii as part of its application for a listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange last year." Last year, the Commerce Department "added Megvii to its list of sanctioned entities that were 'implicated in human- rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups." Maltese Professor Denied Making Offer To Papadopoulos In FBI Documents. Fox News (9/2, DeMarche, 27.59M) reports Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud, "who ex-FBI Director James Comey referred to as a 'Russian agent' in an op-ed, denied any advance knowledge that Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton and told investigators he never made any EFTA00149431 offers to George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign strategist, according to newly released FBI documents." U Of North Texas Cancels Visas For Chinese Researchers. The Denton (TX) Record-Chronicle (9/2, Reid, 32K) reports, "Law enforcement briefings played a role in the Aug. 26 decision to cancel visas for Chinese researchers working at the University of North Texas. All 15 researchers, none of whom have been publicly identified, were in the country through their affiliation with the Chinese Scholarship Council." UNT spokesperson Jim Berscheidt "said Wednesday, 'UNT took this action based upon specific and credible information following detailed briefings from federal and local law enforcement.' He declined to specify which agencies conducted the briefings, and he did not clarify what kept him from answering further questions." The Record-Chronicle adds, "Many of the FBI warnings around Chinese researchers in the United States revolve around China's Thousand Talents Program, though nobody contacted for this article Wednesday was willing or able to connect that program to the 15 researchers UNT sent home." Arrested Texas A&M Professor Linked To Chinese Firm. The Dallas Morning News (9/2, Krause, Jaramillo, 946K) reports, "The arrest last week of a Texas A&M University professor on charges of conspiracy, making false statements and wire fraud illustrates the threat apparently posed by China against intellectual property and independent institutions in a liberal democracy." Zhengdong Cheng, 53, "led a team of engineers and researchers that received almost $750,000 in grants from NASA. According to the criminal complaint filed by the FBI, Cheng engaged in a seven-year scheme to gain access to 'the unique resources of the International Space Station,' to leverage NASA grant resources for Chinese institutions and to enrich himself to the tune of $86,876." The Morning News adds, "According to the complaint, Cheng maintained a position as research director of an institute in Guangdong, China, and a separate position with a Chinese company, all while working on NASA research." Rubio: SSCI Will Continue To Get In-Person Briefings. Politico (9/2, Desiderio, 4.29M) reports that Acting SSCI Chair Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the panel will "continue to receive in-person briefings from top U.S. intelligence officials about election-security issues, despite the Trump administration's recent directive to effectively cut off the congressional intelligence panels." DNI Ratcliffe, according to Rubio, "had pledged to continue briefing the panel even as its Democratic-led counterpart in the House saw a previously scheduled briefing scrapped." Axios (9/2, Ayesh, 521K) reports that Rubio told Spectrum News, "We are going to continue to schedule these briefings, as we do on a regular basis throughout the year, and we expect them to come in and provide us that information and answer our questions in person." Rubio added, "They can't tell us they're not coming in to talk to us. I don't care what a letter says. They can't do that, and they're not going to do that is what I've been told." Nunes: Democratic Leaks Justify Ratcliffe Move. The Washington Examiner (9/2, Chaitin, 448K) reports that Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member on House Intelligence, on Tuesday said that leaks have become a serious problem, justifying the move by Ratcliffe to limit election-security briefings. Nunes told Fox Business' Lou Dobbs, "We know that someone on the Democratic side is a leaker, and they've been leaking a really long time, not to mention they also like to go through our telephone numbers and release them to the public." Nunes added, "We're very concerned about this. We have relayed those concerns to the intelligence agencies." Two House Democrat Call On ODNI To Reveal Foreign Actors Exploiting Race Issues. The Daily Beast (9/2, Brodey, 1.39M) reports that in a September 1 letter, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Val Demings (D-FL), both members of House Intelligence, "thank" DNI Ratcliffe "for his response to their inquiry on 'how foreign adversaries are heightening and EFTA00149432 exploiting tensions and social unrest in American communities to further foreign interests." However, they argued that the information needed to be declassified so that the public can better assess the impact on the elections. More Commentary. Peter Grier writes for the Christian Science Monitor (9/2, 246K) that the decision to provide written intelligence products instead of in-person briefings is "hardly" a "dry bureaucratic change." Written documents "are not a good substitute for in- person discussion when it comes to congressional oversight of the executive branch, say some experts. In person, members can gauge tone, ask questions, push for answers, and raise side issues. This is particularly important in intelligence oversight, where outside sources of information are scanty at best." In a Lawfare (9/2) podcast, Benjamin Wittes discusses the decision to end broad election security briefings with David Priess, "a former CIA briefer who used to do briefings like this, and Margaret Taylor, a former congressional staffer who used to consume briefings like this." White House Condemns Poisoning Of Navalny. Axios (9/2, Perano, 521K) reports, "The White House on Wednesday joined other world governments to condemn the apparent poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny." White House National Security Council spokesperson John Ullyot said, "The United States is deeply troubled by the results released today. Alexei Navalny's poisoning is completely reprehensible." Ullyot continued, "We will work with allies and the international community to hold those in Russia accountable, wherever the evidence leads, and restrict funds for their malign activities." He added, "The Russian people have a right to express their views peacefully without fear of retribution of any kind, and certainly not with chemical agents." Other global leaders have condemned the attack, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who tweeted, "I utterly condemn the use of a military-grade nerve agent, which makes it even more urgent that Russia conducts full & transparent investigation." Reuters (9/2, Landay, Hosenball) reports a US government source "familiar with U.S. intelligence reporting said there was no reason to doubt the German finding that a Novichok nerve agent was used to poison Navalny, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin." ABC World News TonigitVi 's (9/2, story 9, 1:25, Llamas, 6.93M) Ian Pannell reported, "The White House is saying it's going to work with allies to hold those in Russia accountable." Merkel: Navalny Was Poisoned With Nerve Agent. Reuters (9/2, Nasr, Osborn) reports that according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, "Kremlin critic" Alexei Navalny, "who is in intensive care in a Berlin hospital, was poisoned with a Soviet-style Novichok nerve agent in an attempt to murder him." Reuters say Merkel indicated that her government "now expected Moscow to explain itself and that Germany would consult its NATO allies about how to respond, raising the prospect of new Western sanctions on Russia." According to Reuters, "The Russian foreign ministry said Germany's assertion was not backed by evidence and complained about the way Germany had chosen to release information about Navalny." A US government source "familiar with US intelligence reporting and analysis said the use of the Novichok family of nerve agents showed Putin was willing to be `bold' in targeting individuals he found threatening or irritating." Ivan Zhdanov, a "close Navalny ally, said on Twitter that Novichok could be administered only by Russia's intelligence agencies." However, the New York Times (9/2, Eddy, 18.61M) reports the German government said there is "unequivocal evidence" the nerve agent was used, which has "provided the strongest indication yet that the Kremlin, which has denied involvement, was behind the poisoning, as Western intelligence agencies have assessed that only the Russian government would likely have access to such a dangerous weapon." Merkel is quoted as saying, "Mr. Navalny has been the victim of a crime. It raises very serious questions that only the Russian government can and must answer." The Times goes on to report that Novichok is "a Soviet-era weapon invented for military use," and "was used against Sergei V. Skripal, a former Soviet spy, and his daughter EFTA00149433 in a 2018 attack in Salisbury, England, that the British government attributed to Russia's military intelligence arm, the G.R.U." The AP (9/2, Moulson) reports that "the Berlin hospital treating the dissident said he remains on a ventilator though his condition is improving," but "it expects a long recovery and still can't rule out long-term effects on his health from the poisoning." On NBC Nightly NewsVi (9/2, story 5, 1:40, Jackson, 5.53M), Richard Engel reported, "Navalny's supporters say this was Putin exacting revenge and that using Novichok was like leaving a calling card to tell other critics no one is safe." On the CBS Evening NewsVi (9/2, story 7, 1:45, O'Donnell, 4M), Charlie D'Agata reported, "The Navalny poisoning comes amid a crackdown on Kremlin critics, including the beating of a prominent activist earlier this week." The Washington Post (9/2, Dixon, Morris, 14.2M), The AP (9/2, Moulson), USA Today (9/2, Hjelmgaard, 10.31M), Politico (9/2, Posaner, 4.29M), and The Hill (9/2, Axelrod, 2.98M), The Guardian (UK) (9/2, Harding, 4.19M), The Sun (UK). (9/2, 712K) are among outlets that have more on the German findings regarding Navalny's apparent poisoning. The New York Times (9/2, Higgins, 18.61M), in an article on Russian president Vladimir Putin's treatment of Navalny, points out that "during more than 20 years in power, Mr. Putin has never publicly uttered the name of his most high-profile opponent." The Times adds, "When he did say his name after prodding from an American interlocutor during a private event in 2013, it became a national news story." CNN's (9/2, 83.16M) Nathan Hodge writes in an analysis that the "brazenness of Navalny's poisoning is precisely the point, by sending a message of impunity." WPost: Putin Fears No Pushback From Trump As He Poisons Rivals. The Washington Post (9/2, 14.2M) editorializes Russian President Vladimir Putin has learned from previous attacks on his political rivals that he faces little repercussions, which "no doubt" played "a part of the Kremlin's calculations" in the poisoning of Navalny. The Post says that "whether there are more concerted consequences will depend in part on whether President Trump is willing to work with Germany and other allies." Pointing to past instances that show Trump's reluctance in standing up to Putin, the Post concludes that "to all appearances," Putin "has the president of the United States in his pocket." WSJoumal: Putin Should Face Repercussions For Poisoning Navalny. In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal (9/2, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) urges the US and Europe to stop accommodating Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Journal argues that Putin's attacks on his political opponents means he doesn't deserve a seat at the G-7. IAEA: North Korea Enriching Uranium, But Has Not Reprocessed Plutonium In Past Year. Reuters (9/2, Murphy) reports there is no sign North Korea "reprocessed spent fuel from its main nuclear reactor into plutonium in the past year, but it seems to have continued to enrich uranium, the other potential fuel for atom bombs, the U.N. atomic watchdog said." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not had access "to North Korea since the secretive communist state expelled its inspectors in 2009," and since has been "monitoring North Korea's activities from afar, including with satellite imagery." It is "almost certain" the experimental 5-megawatt reactor "at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, which is widely believed to have produced plutonium for weapons, has been shut down since early December 2018, the IAEA said in an annual report here dated Sept. 1 and posted online." There has, however, "been no telltale steam at the plutonium reprocessing lab there, suggesting the last batch of spent fuel stayed in the reactor building." The AP (9/2, Dineen) reports the agency also "said that its observations of cooling units at the Yongbyon nuclear fuel rod fabrication plant and vehicular movements there 'were consistent with the production of enriched uranium at the reported centrifuge enrichment facility." North Korea's "nuclear activities remain a cause for serious concern," the agency said. EFTA00149434 Bloomberg (9/2, Tirone, 4.73M) reports IAEA inspectors "did observe indications that North Korea is manufacturing enriched uranium, as well as mining and milling more of the heavy metal that is the key ingredient for reactors and bombs." Former CIA Assistant Director: South Korean National Police "Not Geared To Catching The North's Spies." In an op-ed for The Hill (9/2, 2.98M), former assistant director of the CIA for Korea John Finbarrr writes, who notes that South Korea "recently stripped its sprawling National Intelligence Service (NIS) of counterintelligence responsibilities," and as a result the "responsibility for the hunting of North Korean spies inside South Korea now rests with the Korean National Police (KNP)." Finbarr writes his "concern is that the KNP, bereft of close guidance and supervision from NIS counterintelligence professionals, will stumble when a South Korean MI5-like construct, under the KNP but with a degree of independence and some connective tissue back to the NIS, would better suit their needs." He concludes installing an "experienced hand from NIS, suitably divorced from his former agency, would send a message of clear intent to get the counterintelligence mission done right." Colombia Arrests Three Venezuelans "Tied To Anti-Maduro Plot." The AP (9/2, Goodman) reports police in Colombia have arrested "three Venezuelans who were part of a failed plot organized by a former U.S. Green Beret to sneak across the border and oust President Nicolas Maduro, The Associated Press has learned." All three lived "for months in rustic camps along Colombia's Caribbean coast where Jordan Goudreau, an American war veteran, was helping organize a volunteer army for a rapid cross-border strike against Maduro." It was not clear "if US officials played any role in Wednesday's arrests," but for months "the FBI has been interviewing associates of Goudreau as part of their own investigation into whether he violated U.S. laws that require any U.S. company supplying weapons or military equipment, as well as military training and advice, to foreign persons to seek State Department approval." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS New York Town Asks FBI To Probe Racist Hate Mail Sent To Ex-School Superintendent. The Riverhead (NY) Local (9/2, Civiletti) reports, "Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said yesterday she has referred the racist hate mail received by the former Riverhead school superintendent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation." The Local adds, "Aguiar made the announcement during the town board meeting after questions and comments about the incident from two community members. She condemned the acts as 'despicable' and said they would not be tolerated." According to the Local, "In the week before former Riverhead school superintendent Dr. Aurelia Henriquez abruptly resigned from her position June 30, she received three handwritten notes containing ethnic and racial slurs and hate speech, according to documents obtained from the Suffolk County Police Department through a Freedom of Information Law request." Four Arrested In New York Drug Bust. The Putnam (NY) Daily Voice (9/2, Coulter) reports, "Four City of Newburgh residents, one a juvenile, were arrested after area police and FBI agents connected them to numerous complaints about open-air narcotics sales; a fourth man was arrested on an active warrant from the state of New Jersey in the process of the investigation." Damaire Forrest, 18, Milton Delvalle, 48, Lamel Johnson, 41, "and a juvenile were all charged with two counts each of felony third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance on Monday, Sept. 1. DayShawn Brown, who is wanted on several violent felony warrants from Atlantic County in EFTA00149435 New Jersey, was charged as a Fugitive of Justice." The Daily Voice adds, "City of Newburgh Police were assisted in their investigation by the New York State Police, the Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and members of the FBI." Two South Carolina Men Sentenced On Drug, Money Laundering Charges. CN2 (SC) (9/2) reports from Columbia, South Carolina, "Two Rock Hill men are facing drug and laundering charges, per the Department of Justice." US Attorney Peter M. McCoy, Jr., "announced Tuesday that Brandon Marquis Kimble, 30, and Cravelyn Squilla Davis, 25, were sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and money laundering. Kimble was sentenced to 11 years and Davis was sentenced to 12 years." CN2 adds, "Evidence presented to the court showed that this case stemmed from a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Rock Hill Police Department into individuals who were obtaining large amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana from a distributor in Southern California." Montana Woman Sentenced For Running Meth Ring. The Fairfield (MT) Sun Times (9/2) reports, "A Billings woman who admitted heading a large methamphetamine distribution ring after investigators seized six pounds of the drug at her home and another location was sentenced to eight years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said." Jamie Juwann Ady, 42, "also known as Jamie Ady Alatorre, pleaded guilty in October to possession with intent to distribute meth. Ady admitted in an interview to being a meth distributor and said that she and another person had just returned from Las Vegas and Phoenix where they picked up four bundles of meth, each containing about 1.5 pounds, from a source." The Sun Times adds, "This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in Montana increased by 36% from 2013 to 2018." US Charges Pittsburgh Man With Shooting ATF Agent During Drug Raid. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (9/2, Ove, 616K) reports, "Federal authorities have charged a Pittsburgh man with shooting a federal agent during an Uptown raid in June." Dion Williams "is accused of shooting a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent in an early-morning sweep on Marion Street on June 18 that targeted members of an alleged drug gang with ties to slain rapper Jimmy Wopo. The agent, whose name has not been released, was treated at the scene by ATF medics and taken to a hospital. ATF said he is recovering." According to the Post-Gazette, "Authorities had not previously named the alleged shooter, but said the incident happened at the address of Williams, 44, of 1 Marion Street, who was among 12 people indicted under seal on June 16. The case was unsealed two days later as agents swept in to make arrests. Williams is charged with assault on a federal employee and violations of federal gun laws." KDKA-TV Pittsburgh (9/2, 144K) reports, "Police say Williams alleged shot the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent in the doorway of a home on Marion Street Uptown in the early morning hours of June 18. The ATF said the agent was tended to by on-scene ATF medics for his injuries and went to the hospital in stable condition. The agent did survive the shooting." Man Pleads Guilty To Making False Bomb Threat To "Endanger Wife's Citizenship" Application. The Minneapolis Star Tribune (9/2, Furst, 1.04M) reports a man who made a "bogus allegation that his wife was planning to bomb the Mall of America pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of making a false bomb threat." Vincent Togbe Konney entered his "guilty plea before US District Judge Nancy Brasel in St. Paul." In his plea and documents "filed with the court, Konney admitted that on August 13, 2018, he wrote a letter falsely accusing his wife of being part of a EFTA00149436 plot to bomb the mall in Bloomington." Konney sent the letter to USCIS "to harm his wife, who was in the naturalization process at the time, the US Attorney's Office said." Using a false name, "Konney claimed in his letter that while he was riding a bus, he overheard two women discussing a plot to blow up the Mall of America." The case was investigated "by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney John Docherty." WCCO-AM Minneapolis (9/2, 14K) reports the act was in "retaliation against his wife who was in the naturalization process at the time." Officials "say Konney enclosed a photocopy of his wife's real Permanent Resident Card and urged the government to halt a 'terroristic threat' by deporting his wife." KSTP-TV Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN (9/2, 249K) reports his sentencing date "will be set at a later time." California Man In Plea Discussions Over Alleged School Threats. The Charlottesville (VA) Daily Progress (9/2, McKenzie, 94K) reports, "Federal prosecutors are working on a possible plea agreement with the attorneys of a former Charlottesville man charged this summer with threatening to blow up city schools if teachers were forced to go back into the classroom this fall." Lucas Isaiah Newton-Grant, 27, of Rancho Mirage, California, "the son of a local school teacher, is currently free on $10,000 unsecured bond, granted by the court at an Aug. 11 hearing, according to records in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia. Newton-Grant was slated to be indicted by Aug. 27 on the charge of communicating interstate threats, but a federal judge granted a request from both the U.S. District Attorney's office and Newton-Grant's attorney to continue the indictment requirement until Sept. 23." Former UN Official Charged With Lying To The FBI. The AP (9/2) reports former UN telecommunications specialist Karim Elkorany "was arrested Wednesday on two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement agents." He "resigned from the U.N. in early 2018, a few months after FBI agents questioned him outside his home about a woman who accused Elkorany of drugging and raping her in Iraq in 2016." The New York Times (9/2, Weiser, 18.61M) reports that the indictment said Elkorany "sexually assaulted or tried to sexually assault at least six women in Iraq, Egypt and the United States, among other locations." NJ News (9/2, 1.72M) reports that during a voluntary interview in November 2017, Elkorany "told the agents that the statements made by the woman to the UN were false and that he had not used drugs with the woman or provided them to her." WNBC-TV New York (9/2, 344K) reports that each charge "carries a maximum sentence of five years each in prison." Massachusetts Police Officers Charged With Overtime Fraud. The Boston Herald (9/2, 410K) reports that nine current and retired Boston police officers "have been charged with stealing $200,000 in a multi-year overtime fraud scheme, the FBI and US attorney's office announced Wednesday." US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said in a statement, "These officers are charged with stealing taxpayer money, year after year, through fraud. Beyond the theft of funds, this kind of official misconduct also erodes trust in public institutions, at a time when that trust is most needed." The Boston Globe (9/2, 972K) reports that each officer "collected between $16,000 and $42,000 in alleged fraudulent overtime pay over the three-year scam," and they "face up to 10 years in prison on charges including conspiracy to commit theft, and embezzlement, aiding and abetting." Continuing Coverage: FBI Supporting Investigation Into Texas Bomb Threat. Reuters (9/2, Seba) reports that the FBI is supporting a Texas investigation into a device "made to look like a bomb placed at a construction site for a controversial natural gas pipeline" on EFTA00149437 Tuesday. The bomb technicians "determined the device to be a fake." Continuing Coverage: FBI Identifies Second Body Found In Washington State. The San Jose (CA) Mercury News (9/2, 456K) reports that the FBI announced the successful identification of two bodies found in Washington state last year. Jon Joseph Cleary and Josiah Michael Hilderbrand "disappeared in June 2019 as they were driving through Yakima County in southern Washington to see the newest iteration of the Grateful Dead in concert." The AP (9/2) reports that the FBI "is investigating the cause of death," which local officials "are treating...as a homicide." Colorado Man Convicted On Gun Crime Charge. The Pueblo (CO) Chieftain (9/2, 61K) reports that a jury has "found Maximillian Zeferino Esquibel, of Pueblo, guilty of a gun crime." He "was charged with being a felon in possession of a gun, a loaded AR-15 rifle." FBI Investigating Whistleblower Deaths In Missouri. The Daily Beast (9/2, 1.39M) reports that the FBI is investigating the deaths of James Bethel and Gerrit Strydom, who "were found dead in their rooms at La Quinta Inn in Springfield in 2015." Local authorities "announced at the time that the cause of death was cerebral malaria; however, the case was never formally closed." FBI Charges New Jersey Residents With Felony Drug Possession. The Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record (9/2, 147K) reports that the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force announced Tuesday felony drug charges against Damaire Forrest, Dayshawn Brown, Milton Delvalle, and Lamel Johnson. Police "said the operation was a response to community complaints about open-air drug dealing." Continuing Coverage: FBI Sting Results In 10 Arrests For Solicitation Of Minors. The Bloomington (IL) Pantograph (9/2, 135K) reports that a FBI online sting operation "resulted in the weekend arrests of 10 men charged with attempted enticement of a child to engage in sexual activity." The suspects "used social media to contact people they believed to be minors under age 18 with the intent of the meeting them to engage in sexual activity," but no children "were involved." Missouri Man Sentenced In Connection To Planned Parenthood Arson Incident. KRCG-TV Jefferson City, MO (9/2, Smaltz) reports Wesley Brian Kaster "was sentenced in federal court Wednesday for maliciously using explosive materials to damage a building owned by an organization that receives federal financial assistance, and one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act." The investigation said that he "had broken the glass front door of the clinic about 2:30 in the morning of Feb. 10, 2019, and thrown a 'Molotov cocktail-type device inside the building." Four Alabama Residents Charged In Connection To Homicide. WAFF-TV Huntsville, AL (9/2, 39K) reports that the Hartselle Police Department has "announce[d) charges against" Jaclyn Elaine Skuce, Aaron Carter Howard, Lajuhn Smart, and Logan Delp in connection to the death of Anthony Larry Sheppard. The arrests "took investigators more than five weeks and they say the investigation isn't finished." New York Charges Six In Connection To Burned Bodies. WENY-TV Elmira, NY (9/2, 1K) reports Jariel Cobb, James Reed, Jahaan McDuffie, Destenee Bell, Deandre Wilson, and Deshema Clark "have been indicted in connection to the case of a 3- year-old boy found in a box on a Buffalo porch last September." The indictments "states that EFTA00149438 Cobb, Wilson, and Reed are accused of obstruction of justice for burning the bodies of Miguel Anthony Valentin-Colon and Nicole Marie Merced-Plaud, and mutilating and burning the body of Dhamyl Roman-Audiffred." Georgia Man Sentenced For Methamphetamine Trafficking. WGXA-TV Macon, GA (9/2, Garrett, 656) reports DeMarcus Bell "was sentenced to serve twelve and a half years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court" to charges of methamphetamine trafficking. The case "was investigated by the Byron Police Department, Peach County Sheriff's Office, Perry Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff's Office, DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and the FBI." Two Men Sentenced To Federal Prison After Pleading Guilty In Drug Case. The Rock Hill (SC) Herald (9/2, Dys, 89K) reports South Carolina residents Cravelyn Squilla Davis and Brandon Marquis Kimble have been sentenced to 12 and 11 years, respectively, in federal prison. The sentences come after both men "pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute" fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine, as well as money laundering. The DEA was involved with the investigation of this case, according to the Herald article and a similar CN2 (SC) (9/2) report. After Pleading Guilty In Meth Case, Montana Resident Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison. Thu Fairfield (MT) Sun Times (9/2) reports Montana resident Jamie Juwann Ady, who "pleaded guilty in October to possession with intent to distribute" methamphetamine, has been "sentenced to eight years in prison." The Sun Times highlights that "the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force" was involved with the investigation that led to Ady's sentence. Man Pleads Guilty To Drug Charge In Latin Kings Case. The New Bedford (MA) Standard-Times (9/2, Standard-Times, 53K) reports FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta announced on Wednesday that Xavier Valentin-Soto pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to distribute cocaine charge. The article says the "FBI North Shore Gang Task Force" was involved in the investigation of the case against Valentin-Soto, who "admitted that he conspired with other Latin Kings members and leaders to distribute cocaine and cocaine base in and around New Bedford." The Boston Globe (9/2, Stoico, 972K), the Springfield (MA) Republican (9/2, Hanson, 395K), and the WBSM-AM Fairhaven, MA (9/3, 771) website also cover this story. Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty To Drug, Firearm Charges. The East Haven (CT) Patch (9/2, 1.03M) reports Connecticut resident Jesus Manual Valle "pleaded guilty in federal court" to "one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine and crack, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentenced of at least five years." The Valle "case was investigated by the DEA Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the FBI Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and the East Haven Police Department." FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS Utah Man Pleads Guilty To PPP Fraud. The Gephardt Daily (UT) (9/2) reports, "A Salt Lake City resident pleaded guilty to charges in a five-count Felony Information in U.S. District Court Friday in connection with fraudulent EFTA00149439 representations he made to get a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program." Michael Leroi Douros, 64, "was charged with two counts of bank fraud, two counts of making a false statement to a bank, and money laundering in the Felony Information, said a news release from the FBI Salt Lake City." The Daily adds, "According to court documents filed as a part of his plea agreement, Douros made false representations to two banks in an effort to get a PPP loan for his business, Epic Rentals UT LLC." Michigan Man Facing PPP Fraud Charges. MLive (MI) (9/2, 925K) reports that Michigan man Antonio George "is facing fraud charges for allegedly stealing $3.1 million from a federal program meant to provide economic relief to small businesses during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic." A criminal complaint "filed in the Eastern District of Michigan alleges that he submitted false applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which are provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act." Hometown Life (MI) (9/2, Vela, 67K) reports that George "was arrested Tuesday, when a criminal complaint alleging a wire fraud count against him was unsealed in U.S. District Court, federal prosecutors said in a report. The complaint alleges George successfully applied for COVID-Relief funding from financial institutions on behalf of 19 different companies." Prosecutors "allege he would present false and misleading documents about the companies' respective operations and payroll expenses." The Oakland (MI) Press (9/2, 95K) reports, "The case was investigated by the Small Business Administration's Office of Inspector General and the FBI." Sentencing Of Former Atlantic City, New Jersey Mayor Delayed For Sixth Time. The Press of Atlantic City (NJ) (9/2, Danzis, 177K) reports, "A sentencing hearing for Frank Gilliam Jr. has been delayed a sixth time, without explanation, since the former Atlantic City mayor pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud in October. Gilliam's sentencing has been rescheduled for Nov. 11, according to court documents." The Press adds, "After pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud in federal court Oct. 3, Gilliam was originally scheduled to be sentenced in January. His sentencing date has been postponed six times since then, and no official explanation has been given as to why. His most recent sentencing date was Sept. 9." Gilliam "pleaded guilty to defrauding a youth basketball program out of more than $87,000. He resigned as mayor the same day, his position filled by former City Council President Marty Small Sr." Another Charged In College Admissions Probe. The AP (9/2) reports, "Another wealthy parent was charged Wednesday with trying to bribe his child's way into an elite university as a fake athletic recruit, a day after two former college coaches caught up in the nationwide admissions bribery scandal were hit with additional charges." Amin Khoury, 54, of Palm Beach, Florida and Mashpee, Massachusetts, "in May 2014 paid $200,000 to get former Georgetown University tennis coach Gordon Ernst to designate his daughter as a tennis recruit even though her 'tennis skills were below that of a typical Georgetown tennis recruit,' the U.S. attorney's office in Boston said in a statement." Khoury "is the 57th person charged in the nationwide investigation. He's charged with mail fraud and bribery." Reuters (9/2, Raymond) reports that Ernst "has pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted bribes to help wealthy parents' children win admission to Georgetown as purported tennis recruits. Khoury's attorney, Eoin Beirne, said he looked forward to rebutting the government's claims. 'His child's college application was completely accurate and contained no misrepresentations about being a fake athlete or anything else,' he said." CNN (9/2, Moghe, 83.16M) reports, "Nancy Sterling, a spokeswoman for Khoury, said he had nothing to do with William 'Rick' Singer, the mastermind of the scheme who has pleaded EFTA00149440 guilty and is cooperating with the federal investigation. 'There was no test or class cheating. His child's college application was completely accurate and contained no misrepresentations about being a fake athlete or anything else. We look forward to this process to rebut the government's claims; Sterling said." Khoury "is the son of billionaire Amin J. Khoury." Oregon Couple Who Scammed Elderly Victims Sentenced To Federal Prison. The Oregonian (9/2, Bernstein, 1M) reports, "A Happy Valley couple who scammed an elderly Tigard couple out of millions of dollars and then used the ill-gotten money to fund a lavish lifestyle of travel, gambling, custom-tailored clothes, high-end cars and expensive cigars were sentenced Wednesday to federal prison." Assistant US Attorney Donna Maddux "led the court through a photo and video display of the couple's social media postings that showed them attending the Kentucky Derby, New Year's Eve parties in Las Vegas and photos of their closets filled with designer brand shoes, suits, dresses and handbags." US District Judge Michael W. Mosman "sentenced Ronnie Stevens, 51, to five years and 11 months, and Tina Ephrem, 44, to five years in prison after they had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud." US Charges Two In $12M Scheme Targeting Investors In Puerto Rico. The AP (9/2) reports from San Juan, Puerto Rico, "Two men who founded what authorities say was a fake financial services company in Florida that raised more than $12 million from at least 150 investors in Puerto Rico and beyond have been arrested, officials said Wednesday." Gary Steven Wykle, 72, and Alejandro Cortes Lopez, 58, "face charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a 14-count federal indictment following an FBI investigation." US Attorney Stephen Muldrow "said the suspects falsely told clients their investments in promissory notes would provide loans for companies including hotels and resorts in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. Muldrow and the Securities and Exchange Commission said more than $1.2 million of that money was used to finance Wykle's personal expenses, including shopping, travel, rent, food and entertainment." Trial Of Chicago Alderman Burke Could Be Delayed To 2020 Amid Pandemic. The Chicago Tribune (9/2, Meisner, 2.65M) reports, "The sweeping racketeering charges against Chicago Ald. Edward Burke may not go to trial until 2022 due to the ongoing pandemic and what Burke's lawyers call a 'staggering' amount of evidence yet to be turned over to the defense." Burke "was indicted in May 2019 on 14 counts including racketeering, bribery and extortion conspiracy alleging a variety of schemes where he used his powerful public office to pressure others into giving business to his private law firm. A trial for Burke and his two co- defendants - 14th Ward operative Peter J. Andrews and real estate developer Charles Cui - had tentatively been scheduled for mid-2021," but "during a status hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Dow as well as attorneys for both sides agreed that setting a firm date for such a large-scale trial seemed pointless with so many ongoing issues yet to resolve. 'I'd like to give you all a trial date, but I'd like to give you one we think will stick,' Dow said." Louisiana Man Sentenced For Running Ponzi Scheme. The Monroe (Lk) News Star (9/2, 64K) reports, "A Youngsville man received a three-year sentence for a million-dollar Ponzi scheme orchestrated through a limited liability company." Donnie Laing, Jr., 40, was sentenced by US District Judge Terry A. Doughty "on a charge of wire fraud. Laing received 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $918,531 in restitution to the victims of this scheme." Laing "pled guilty in March 2020 to wire fraud in connection with a million-dollar Ponzi scheme that he orchestrated through his limited liability company, Capital Energy Investments, LLC." Investors "were led to believe that Capital would use their money to invest in oil and gas equipment, and then lease such equipment to companies engaged in oil and gas exploration activities for a EFTA00149441 profit, promising investors high rates of return on their investments. Instead, Laing used the victims' investments for his own personal use." Three Missouri Men Charged With Scamming Women Out Of $500K In Cash, Electronics. KSDK-TV St. Louis (9/2, Martinez, 493K) reports from St. Louis, "Three St. Louis men have been charged with scamming women all over the country out of thousands of dollars in cash and electronics." KSDK-TV adds, "A federal grand jury indicted 41-year-old Ovuoke Frank Ofikoro, 27-year-old Bonmene Sibe, and 27-year-old Trenice Hassel Wednesday, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen's office. Ofikoro and Sibe face several charges, which include conspiracy to defraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft, the release said. Sibe and Hassel face charges of making false statements to a federal agency." According to KSDK-TV, "Between May 2019 and July 2020, Ofikoro, Sibe, and other individuals ran a scam in which they pretended to be high-ranking military officials who were deployed overseas, according to court documents. They preyed on women between 45 and 82 years old." Continuing Coverage: FBI Investigating Hurricane Recovery Fraud. WMBB-TV Panama City, FL (9/2) reports about the FBI and the Bay County Sheriff's Office investigation into hurricane recovery funding fraud following Hurricane Michael. The investigation "has already resulted in five guilty pleas in connection to corruption." New Jersey Man Charged In Money Laundering Scheme. The New Jersey Herald (9/2, Comstock, 30K) reports, "A Sussex County man is facing time in state prison after authorities say he laundered more than $75,000 in criminal proceeds from unknowing victims and deposited them in multiple bank accounts in China." Robert J. Herburger, 60, of Newton, New Jersey, "was released from the Morris County Jail on Aug. 28 by Sussex County Judge Michael Carlucci on the condition he not commit any new offenses. His release came two days after detectives with the state Attorney General's Office's Division of Criminal Justice were spotted at Herburger's York Street home for several hours. He is facing charges including money laundering and receiving stolen property." Iowa Man Sentenced For Bank Fraud. KCAU-TV Sioux City, IA (9/2) reports Max Kant "was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison and will serve a three year supervised release after his release from his initial prison term." The investigation began after he "submitted to Security National Bank a fraudulent Live Cattle Purchase Contract between MK Feedlots and what has been identified in the Indictment as Company A, wherein Company A purported to agree to purchase 4,000 head of cattle from MK Feedlots in June 2016." Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Mail Fraud. KTVT-TV Dallas (9/2) reports from Dallas, Texas, "A Honduran man who conned investors out of roughly $2 million has pleaded guilty to mail fraud following an investigation by the FBI's Dallas Field Office, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox announced Wednesday." Jose Anibal Linares, 42, "was charged in October with one count of mai