Subject: FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Wednesday, July 15, 2020

From• To. Subject: FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Wednesday, July 15, 2020 Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2020 10:25:55 +0000 c Importan e: Normal Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. idr-iFBI News Briefing TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2020 6:30 AM EDT TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Trump Says More Whites Than Blacks Being Shot By Police. PROTESTS • Lawmakers Seek Information From FBI, CIA On Antifa Rumors. • Trump Threatens Federal Action If Cities Don't Rein In Violence. • Trump: "Children Won't Be Safe In Biden's America." • Parson: Trump "Taking Action" To Help St. Louis Couple Facing Gun Charges. • Bernhardt Warns Those Caught Dismantling Monuments Will Be Punished. • Emmer Wants Probe Into Decisions That Allowed Looters Free Rein. • California Bars Police From Using LAPD Records In Gang Database. • Catholic Churches, Statues Targeted By Vandals In String Of Attacks. • Daughter Of Slain Police Officer Criticized For Tweeting #BlueLivesMatter. • Democratic Strategist Labels Blackburn "Inbred Racist Trash." • WPost Investigation: 12 Protestors Partially Blinded By Police. • LATimes Columnist Recommends Replacing National Anthem With "Lean On Me." • Central Park Birdwatcher Cooper: It's A Mistake To Focus On One Individual. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Pennsylvania Man Charged After Threatening To Attack Federal Buildings. • US Jewish Groups Urge Government To Push Jordan To Extradite Terrorist. • Attorneys Argues For Widening Inquest Into Salisbury Nerve Agent Attack. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Further Legal Action Against Stone Urged. • Professor: Commutation Of Stone's Sentence Confirms Trump's Guilt. • Graham Says He Will Grill Mueller About Russia Investigation. • Former Trump Attorney: Durham Should "Taker A Hard Look" At Weissmann. • Judge Extends Deadline For DO) To Answer Questions About Mueller Report. • Former FBI Official Criticizes Mueller Investigation. • DDoSecrets Releases Wikileaks "Chats, Strategy Sessions" Related To Assange Case. • US Space Force To Launch Four NRO Payloads Wednesday. EFTA00150058 • Sources: Russia Used Information Shared By The US To Target Chechen Dissidents. • Protests After Belarus Bars Election Challengers. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Ghislaine Maxwell Pleads Not Guilty As Judge Denies Bail Request. • Woman Charged With Helping Dispose Of Fort Hood Soldier's Remains Appears In Court. • Former VA Hospital Assistant Pleads Guilty To Murdering Patients. • Former White Supremacist Group Leader Pleads Guilty To Swatting Ring. • White Man Filmed In Alleged Indian Racial Assault Claims Black Accuser Is Lying. • FBI Arrests Fugitive In Miami After Five Years On The Run. • South Carolina Man Sentenced In Fentanyl Overdose Death. • New York's Wave Of Gun Violence Continues With Three Drive-By Shootings. • FBI Raids Indiana Home Over Animal Cruelty. • No Criminal Charges To Be Filed In Black Man's 2018 Custody Death In Louisiana. • FBI Searching For Missing Iowa Child. • Two Brothers Charged With Trafficking Fentanyl. • FBI Supporting Investigation Into Suicide In Idaho. • California Man Charged With Sales Of Fake COVID-19 Treatment. • Tennessee State Trooper Fired Following FBI Investigation. • North Carolina Man Sentenced For Bank Robbery. • FBI Supporting Investigation Into Tennessee Bank Robbery. • Idaho Man Charged In Stabbing. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • FBI Concerned Over Money Laundering Risks In Private Equity, Hedge Funds. • FBI Probing Possible Coronavirus Unemployment Benefit Fraud By Pennsylvania Inmates. • Rabbi Injured In California Synagogue Shooting Pleads Guilty To Tax Fraud. • FBI Warns Of Identify Theft Used To File Fraudulent Unemployment Claims. • FBI Reportedly Probing Threats Made After Ambulance Purchases By Missouri County. • Former Georgia Tax Official Pleads Guilty To Bribery, Blackmail. • Last Defendant Pleads Guilty In Florida Corruption Probe. • Ohio Businessman Charged In Corruption Probe Granted Trial Continuance. • California Psychiatrist Sentenced For Healthcare Fraud. • Massachusetts Man To Plead Guilty To Wire Fraud. • Nigerian Man Charged With Money Laundering Is Denied Bail. • San Francisco City Attorney Seeks To Block Contractor In Corruption Scandal From Doing Business With City. • New York Man Facing Charges Over Alleged Ponzi Scheme. • New York Man Charged In Connection To Police Union Fraud. • FBI Corruption Probe Results In Charges Against New Jersey Policeman. CYBER DIVISION • FBI Warns Of Rising Cyber Crimes Targeting School Districts. • UK Sides With US Over China, Will Purge Huawei Equipment From 5G Network. • Analysis: US Efforts Against Huawei Part Of Overdue Change In US Handling Of China. • House Democrat Presses Google, Apple On Foreign-Owned Apps. • Rep. Langevin To Propose Cyber Director Amendment To NDAA. • Report: Tax Program Required By Chinese Banks For Clients Deploys Backdoors. • TikTok's US Users Prepare For Possible Ban. LABORATORY EFTA00150059 • Forbes Examines FBI's Multimedia Exploitation Unit. • Questions Raised About Thousands More Massachusetts Drug Lab Cases. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • Barr Says "Justice Was Done" After First Federal Execution In 17 Years. • Anti-Crime Operation Draws Mixed Response From Community Leaders In Kansas City. OTHER FBI NEWS • Little Rock, Arkansas FBI Offers Civil Rights Training To Civilians. • Convicted Michigan Contractor Gets Reduction Of Federal Prison Sentence. • Arkansas Judge Forced To Step Down After Allegations Of Misconduct. • Kansas City Pharmacist Who Diluted Cancer Meds To Get Early Release From Prison. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Trump Says COVID Testing May Be "Working Too Well." • Trump Says Keeping Schools Closed Would Be "A Terrible Decision." • Pence Sounds Optimistic Note On Pandemic, Backs Reopening Schools In Louisiana Trip. • Giroir Says Public Health Officials Do Not "Lie." • Fauci Urges Trust In "Respected Medical Authorities" Like Himself. • Redfield Warns Of "Difficult Times," Says Mask-Wearing Could Halt Virus' Advance. • Hahn "Encouraged" About Vaccine Development. • Former CDC Directors Decry Politicization Of Health Policy. • Warren, Pressley Press Azar On Coronavirus' Impact On Minorities. • Virginia Congressman Tests Positive For COVID-19. • Administration Orders Hospitals To Bypass CDC On COVID Patient Information. • Hospitals Stock Up On COVID-19 Drugs To Prepare For Second Wave In Fall. • Biden: "It's Gotten Bad Enough" That Trump Is Wearing A Mask In Public. • Cruz Photographed On Flight Without Mask On. • Jacksonville GOP Convention Now Expected To Be Held Outdoors. • Florida Reports Single-Day Record Of 132 COVID Deaths. • Garcetti Says Los Angeles May Need To Shut Down Again. • Experts Blast New York Report Absolving Cuomo Of Blame For Nursing Home Deaths. • Nearly Three-Quarters Of New COVID Cases In Maryland County Are Among Latinos. • White House Now Open To Extension Of Enhanced Jobless Benefits. • Ivanka Trump, Cook Say Laid-Off Workers Should "Find Something New." • WPost Analysis: PPP Loan Data "Contains Numerous Errors." • Dunford Withdraws From Coronavirus Relief Oversight Consideration. • Big Banks Signal Worst Of Recession Is Yet To Come. • Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Record High In April. • Study: 5.5M Workers Lost Heath Insurance Between February And May. • Miller Says Democrats Oppose Anything But Completely Open Borders. • Miller: Border Wall "Completely Transforms" Communities Where It Is Built. • Administration Drops Plan To Implement Rules On Student Visas For Online Learning. • Trump To Appoint Gorka To National Security Education Board. • Foreign Policy: Mosley Hiring At USAID Part Of Effort To "Seed" Agencies With Trump "Loyalists." • Trump Urged To Bring Greater Accountability To CFPB. • Mary Trump Says Her Uncle Is "Utterly Incapable" Of Leading Country. • Rep. Watkins Faces Three Felony Charges Related To Illegal Voting Investigation. • Justice Ginsburg Hospitalized. INTERNATIONAL NEWS EFTA00150060 • Trump Signs Law Authorizing China Sanctions Over Hong Kong Crackdown. • Members Of Congress, Travel Industry Want US-Canada Travel Ban Eased. • WPost Analysis: US, Poorer Nations Bear Growing Share Of Cases. • Asian Countries Pause Reopening As Number Of Cases Increase. • Britain To Mandate Mask-Wearing In Shops. • Erdogan, Trump Agree To Work More Closely On Libya. • Iran Executes Retired Defense Ministry Employee Charged With Working For CIA. • China And Iran Forge Closer Ties With Trade, Security Agreements. • NYTimes Report: "No Conclusive Evidence" Tying Russia To Marines' Deaths. • Deadly Taliban Attack Raises Concerns Over Faltering Afghan Peace Process. • Danon Says Israel Is "Grateful" To Trump Administration For Pulling Out Of Iran Deal. • Azerbaijan-Armenia Border Clashes Continue For Third Day. • WPost: Trump Administration Lacks Coherent Regime Change Strategy For Venezuela. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Trump Says More Whites Than Blacks Being Shot By Police. The New York Times (7/14, 18.61M) reports that on Tuesday, President Trump "rebuffed a question about Black people dying at the hands of police officers, saying, 'so are white people." The President "rejected the notion that Black Americans suffer disproportionately from police brutality, saying in an interview...that white people are killed in greater numbers." Trump "reacted angrily when asked about the issue" by CBS' Catherine Herridge. In the interview aired on the CBS Evening NewsVi (7/14, story 5, 0:20, O'Donnell, 4.31M), Herridge asked Trump, "Why are African Americans still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country?" Trump replied: "And so are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people. More white people, by the way. More white people." Also reporting on the President's comments, the Washington Times (7/14, Boyer, 492K) says a study by Harvard University researchers last month found that "Blacks were three times more likely to be killed by law enforcement officers than Whites." The Washington Post (7/14, Bump, 14.2M) likewise notes the inaccuracy of the President's claim. NBC Nightly NewsVi (7/14, story 4, 1:00, Holt, 5.96M) said the President "plunged back into the issue of police killings of Black Americans, calling the killing of George Floyd by police 'terrible.' ... The President also defending the display of the Confederate flag." Asked in an interview with the CBS Evening NewsVI (7/14, story 4, 0:50, O'Donnell, 4.31M) if he still believes "the Confederate battle flag belongs in a museum," as he said in 2015, Trump replied, "All I say is freedom of speech. It's very simple. My attitude is freedom of speech, very strong views on the Confederate flag. With me, it's freedom of speech, very simple. Like it, don't like it, it's freedom of speech." ABC World News TonightVi (7/14, story 5, 0:55, Muir, 7.36M) said "the President is clearly playing to his base here, and dismissing the fact that Black Americans suffer disproportionately from police brutality. The truth, David, is that Black Americans are more than twice as likely to be shot and killed by police than white Americans." PROTESTS EFTA00150061 Lawmakers Seek Information From FBI, CIA On Antifa Rumors. NBC News (7/14, 6.14M) reports, "Two members of the House Intelligence Committee are asking the CIA and the FBI for any information their agencies have about the spread of false information campaigns meant to magnify and invoke fear about activities of left-wing protest groups like antifa." NBC News adds, "In a letter sent Tuesday, Democratic Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois and Peter Welch of Vermont, ask the heads of the two agencies specifically about foreign actors, members of the military or local police spreading false information about antifa gatherings and events. The letter comes amid reports that far-right groups, like white nationalist group Identity Evropa, NBC reported, have spread rumors such as those about looting and riots being planned in suburban and rural towns to stoke fear among Americans." Additional coverage includes the Washington Times (7/14, Blake, 492K). Trump Threatens Federal Action If Cities Don't Rein In Violence. In an interview with Townhall (7/14, Pavlich, 177K) on Tuesday, "President Trump warned his administration will take action if Democratic mayors and governors can't get crime under control." Said the President, "They are cities run by liberal Democrats. We're now looking at having to do something. You know, we have to be asked to go into a city like Chicago, which is so ridiculous where they had like, 68 shootings and 18 deaths over the weekend. It's not even comprehensible. Worse than Afghanistan, worse than any war zone." He continued, "We are going to have to do something very comprehensive. It means sending people in. It means sending people in to clean it up... there's a point at which we're allowed to go in and that point is rapidly being reached... there's a point at which we will have to do it because we just have to do it for the good of the country." Millen If Unchecked, Defund Efforts Will "Come To Every City In America." White House senior adviser Stephen Miller said on the John Fredericks ShowY (7/14) that "left unchecked, not fought," efforts to defund police "will come to every city in America and it's because the left sets its sights on an institution and it doesn't stop until it takes it over. ... So, what happens when they start taking over the prosecutors' offices and they start taking over the police departments? ... Then, it is just like the radical leftists on the Supreme Court. Justice is an instrument of politics and your safety and your family are at the mercy of radical liberals." Miller added that defunding police is "a years long project on the part of the left that is now accelerating because they're very emboldened by a the fact that he leadership of the Democratic party and now given them a green light" and "the only thing standing in the way is President Trump." White House Official Invites Lightfoot To Work On Police Reform. The New York Post (7/14, Jacobs, 4.57M) reports that a "senior White House official extended a public invitation to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to work with the federal government on the issue of police reform," accusing Democrats of "playing politics" on the matter. Speaking Tuesday during a Fox News appearance, Deputy Assistant to the President Ja'Ron Smith touted the Administration's work with other Democratic mayors while sending a public message to the Chicago mayor. Smith told Fox News (7/14, 896K), "We're willing to go back and do the work. ... But I would invite the mayor to work with us. We've worked with many other Democratic mayors, if you look at the city of Birmingham, we've done some work with them and we're really moving the needle in those communities." Smith was also interviewed on the Steve Gruber Show. Hawley: Police Should Be Getting More Funding. Appearing on Fox News' Fox & Friends (7/14, 831K), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was asked about the violent rioting happening across the country. Hawley said, "We have seen this before. We have seen this war on cops before. We have seen where it gets us. What it does, when you announce an open season on cops, then it is normal, ordinary, every day working people who get hurt. That is exactly what we are seeing now. This defund the police thing is an absolute crisis. It is a travesty. It is the EFTA00150062 worst possible thing. We should be putting more police on the streets. We should be increasing officer pay. We should be giving more resources to cops to help them do this incredibly difficult job we ask them to do." Poll: Americans Agree On Police Reforms That Have Divided Washington. Politico (7/14, McCaskill, 4.29M) reports that "new polling from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy shows a majority of voters support 10 key policies proposed by competing House and Senate bills that Congress failed to advance last month." The "in-depth national survey of more than 3,000 registered voters" found that "nearly 90 percent of respondents supported body cameras, including 85 percent of Republicans, 86 percent of independents and 94 percent of Democrats," while "82 percent of respondents supported the duty to intervene (71 percent of Republicans, 78 percent of independents and 94 percent of Democrats), and 81 percent favored a national registry of police misconduct (70 percent of Republicans, 77 percent of independents and 92 percent of Democrats)." Trump: "Children Won't Be Safe In Biden's America." President Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to write, "Joe Biden claims to be prioritizing 'safety of kids' by keeping schools closed this Fall. Yet he remains silent about children being slaughtered by violence on the streets of Democrat run cities. You & your children won't be SAFE in Biden's America, and neither will anyone else!" Parson: Trump "Taking Action" To Help St. Louis Couple Facing Gun Charges. The Washington Times (7/14, Salter) reports Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) said President Trump "is focused on and concerned about the possibility that a white St. Louis couple could face criminal charges for displaying guns as they defended their home during a racial injustice protest." Parson told reporters Tuesday "that he had just been on the phone" with Trump and Attorney General Barr amid reports that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner may file charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who wielded guns on June 28 as protesters marched by their home. In an interview Tuesday with Townhall (7/14, Pavlich, 177K), Trump said, "When you look at St. Louis, where two people, they came out. They were going to be beat up badly if they were lucky. If they were lucky. They were going be beat up badly and the house was going to be totally ransacked and probably burned down like they tried to burn down churches. And these people were standing there, never used it and they were legal, the weapons, and now I understand somebody local, they want to prosecute these people. It's a disgrace." Bernhardt Warns Those Caught Dismantling Monuments Will Be Punished. Interior Secretary Bernhardt said on Washington Watch (7/14) that President Trump "recognizes that America owes its present greatness to its past sacrifices and I think he was deeply troubled by the actions that are taking place. So, first, to the criminals that want to destroy these monuments and memorials, he has been very clear and he has basically issued a direction to us and to the Department of Justice that says, 'Look, investigate these crimes, prosecute these people to the fullest extent of the law, bring the entire force of the federal government to pay great heed to these.' What people need to know, the criminals that commit these crimes need to know there are very severe penalties up to 10 years in prison in certain cases and also tremendous financial consequences." Black Conservatives Launch Campaign To Save Freedmen's Memorial. The Washington Times (7/14, Richardson, 492K) reports that "Black conservative leaders kicked off Tuesday a campaign to save the Freedmen's Memorial, the statue of Abraham Lincoln and freed slave Archer Alexander now under attack by Democrats and Black Lives Matter protesters." Star Parker, founder of UrbanCURE, held an "emancipation celebration" Tuesday at Lincoln Park, "home of the now fenced-off bronze statue in the Capitol Hill neighborhood," to promote a signature drive urging Congress to "keep this statue alive, right here." EFTA00150063 The Washington Post (7/14, Lang, 14.2M) reports that critics, however, say the memorial "is demeaning and suggests African Americans were not active contributors to the cause of their own freedom, remaining subservient even after they were released from their bonds." Emmer Wants Probe Into Decisions That Allowed Looters Free Rein. Appearing on Fox News' Fox & Friends (7/14, 831K), Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) was asked why he supports President Trump's decision to deny funds to Minnesota to rebuild following the recent violent protests and widespread looting in Minneapolis last month. Emmer said, "Actually, what I asked the President to do...is to do a full and thorough investigation. Let's find out what happened, why it happened. Why did these elected officials who were elected to protect the citizens and their property, why did they let the cities burn for almost four nights before actually taking decisive action? ... Before any money would be delivered, I think the President and his administration should do an investigation as to what happened and why. Let's make sure it never happens again." California Bars Police From Using LAPD Records In Gang Database. The Los Angeles Times (7/14, 4.64M) reports that "as a scandal over false and inaccurate gang identifications by Los Angeles police officers widens," California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Tuesday "stopped law enforcement agencies around the state from using department records included in a controversial statewide database." Becerra, instead, "suggested the state Legislature should consider more reforms to the troubled system." Catholic Churches, Statues Targeted By Vandals In String Of Attacks. The Federalist (7/14, Davidson, 126K) reports Catholic churches and religious statues "across the country were the target of vandalism, terrorism, and potential arson this last week as tensions concerning the removal of historical statues continue to rise." A statement by the Catholic Action League "condemned the recent attacks." Daughter Of Slain Police Officer Criticized For Tweeting #BlueLivesMatter. Townhall (7/14, Burrow, 177K) reports 18-year-old Savannah Benavides/Chavez, whose father was one of two McAllen, Texas, police officers killed over the weekend while responding to a domestic disturbance report, tweeted, "Words cannot describe the pain I'm in, but I'm glad my dad is at peace. you were an amazing man and anyone who ever came across you knew that. I'm going to miss you so much. you died doing what you loved most, you died a hero. I love you daddy, see you soon. #bluelivesmatter" While some responded with condolences to the tweet, "others harangued her for using the #bluelivesmatter hashtag," and "many used the hashtag #ACAB (all cops are bastards)." Democratic Strategist Labels Blackburn "Inbred Racist Trash." The Daily Caller (7/14, Olohan, 716K) reports Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko called Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) "inbred racist trash" for criticizing the founders of Black Lives Matter. Blackburn on Monday tweeted that BLM is run by "trained Marxists." In response, Parkhomenko tweeted at Blackburn, "You are inbred racist trash." WPost Investigation: 12 Protestors Partially Blinded By Police. The Washington Post (7/14, Lee, 14.2M) reports it "found that eight people lost vision in one eye after being struck by police projectiles, including lead pellets packed in cloth pouches that were fired from shotguns." They were "among 12 people who were partially blinded by police during a week of national unrest" following the death of George Floyd. LATimes Columnist Recommends Replacing National Anthem With "Lean On Me." EFTA00150064 The Washington Examiner (7/14, Dibble, 448K) reports Los Angeles Times columnist Judy Rosen wrote in a piece published Tuesday "that he believes the current national anthem for the United States is 'racist' and should be replaced by a unifying tune" like "Lean on Me." Central Park Birdwatcher Cooper: It's A Mistake To Focus On One Individual. Christian Cooper writes in the Washington Post (7/14, 14.2M), "On May 25, when I was birding in the Ramble section of New York's Central Park, I asked a woman whose dog was off his leash to please put him back on, as the area's rules require. She refused - and, as shown in a video that went viral, she was soon calling the police and telling them an 'African American man' was 'threatening' her." Now Amy Cooper, he writes, "has been charged by the Manhattan district attorney with filing a false police report." Cooper argues that "it's a mistake to focus on this one individual. The important thing the incident highlights is the long-standing, deep-seated racial bias against us black and brown folk that permeates the United States - bias that can bring horrific consequences." COUNTER-TERRORISM Pennsylvania Man Charged After Threatening To Attack Federal Buildings. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (7/14, 616K) reports, "A Whitehall man pulled over last week in Mt. Lebanon after police said he threatened government entities on social media had dozens of improvised explosive devices in his car and a homemade land mine and pipe bomb at his house, according to criminal complaints." Kurt J. Cofano, 32, "is being held in the Allegheny County Jail on charges of weapons of mass destruction, arson and several misdemeanors. Authorities said he threatened to 'blow up the Treasury Department' in Harrisburg and 'take out' people at CIA headquarters in Washington, D.C. 'before I get gunned down." The Post- Gazette adds, "Police Thursday were seeking Mr. Cofano on a mental health warrant. He was said to possibly have weapons. Late that afternoon, a license plate reader operated by the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office alerted police that Mr. Cofano's vehicle was in Dormont." US Jewish Groups Urge Government To Push Jordan To Extradite Terrorist. The Times Of Israel (7/14, 83K) reports, "Eighteen major US Jewish organizations in the United States called on the US on Tuesday to exert pressure on Jordan's King Abdullah to extradite Ahlam Tamimi, the Jordanian terrorist who orchestrated the 2001 Sbarro pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem that killed 15 people, including two American nationals." According to the Times, "Expressing 'our collective outrage over the Kingdom of Jordan's refusal to extradite the murderer of American citizens,' the organizations urged the US to hold 'Jordan accountable to its commitments under its extradition treaty with the United States and bring all pressure to bear, including but not limited to recent government legislation significantly impacting US financial aid to Jordan." The Times adds, "The US groups' public declaration comes shortly before the August 9 anniversary of the attack, in which a further 130 people were injured." Attorneys Argues For Widening Inquest Into Salisbury Nerve Agent Attack. The Guardian (UK) (7/14, 4.19M) reports, "Lawyers for Dawn Sturgess's family" argued before the high court that public concern over the Salisbury nerve agent attack "is so profound that her inquest should be widened to examine who ordered the attack and the network that backed the two agents accused of actually carrying it out." They argued that the decision by the senior coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, David Ridley, in December "that he would not consider whether any Russian state agents were involved other than the two main suspects, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov," would mean that the "key questions of how, and by whom, the operation was directed and arranged" would not be considered. EFTA00150065 COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE Further Legal Action Against Stone Urged. Andrew Weissmann, a senior prosecutor in Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation, writes in an op-ed in the New York Times (7/14, 18.61M) that despite "the latest act by this administration to undermine the rule of law" - President Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's prison sentence - future federal prosecutors or a state prosecutor can still serve him with a grand jury subpoena "requiring him to answer the question: Why did you lie to Congress? And many others." If Stone lies, he faces prosecution for perjury and obstruction. If he refuses to comply, he faces civil and criminal contempt. Weissmann concludes, "The tools to get at the truth are there and should be used," and if Attorney General Barr "does not support their use, we should all ask ourselves why not." Former Acting Solicitor General Neal K. Katyal and Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection Executive Director Joshua A. Geltzer, in an op-ed in The Atlantic (7/14, 3.47M), write, "Donald Trump's commutation of his friend Roger Stone's criminal sentence is one of the most severe affronts to the rule of law during the Trump administration," but "a future Justice Department would be well within its rights to open a new investigation into Stone's activities." Stone's "behavior likely runs afoul of other federal laws," and double jeopardy doesn't apply because the "crimes above have different elements from the ones Stone was convicted of, so they are not the same." Additionally, "the commutation itself may be null and void if Trump carried it out to protect himself." Furthermore, "Stone's conviction and commutation may supercharge another avenue: state prosecutions." Professor: Commutation Of Stone's Sentence Confirms Trump's Guilt. University of Alabama School of Law Professor Joyce White Vance writes in an op-ed in USA Today (7/14, 10.31M) that President Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's sentence is "the ultimate act of lawlessness" and "a terrible loss for the rule of law and American justice." The move was a "quid pro quo" that "rewarded the man who lied to protect him from criminal investigation and congressional oversight, a shameless abuse of the presidential pardon power." Trump's statement accompanying his move, according to Vance, "is a transparent effort to convince his supporters that his access to power should not be constrained by his oath to uphold the Constitution." Vance concludes that Trump's move confirms his guilt in the Russia probe. Graham Says He Will Grill Mueller About Russia Investigation. Politico (7/14, Desiderio, Cheney, 4.29M) reports that in a Fox News podcast Tuesday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Graham "said...he intends to grill former special counsel Robert Mueller about alleged flaws in the FBI's investigation of links between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016." Graham "said he intends to press Mueller about a raft of developments since the former FBI chief testified to the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees nearly a year ago - from a watchdog's finding that crucial surveillance warrants were riddled with errors to the discovery that the FBI briefly intended to drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn." Graham said over the weekend he would grant a request from Democrats for Mueller testify. His statement "came after Mueller wrote a Washington Post op-ed in which he defended his nearly two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his office's prosecution of Trump confidant Roger Stone." Graham said, "Bottom line is, I had no intention of calling Mr. Mueller. He testified before the House. It was not pretty to watch. But at the end of the day...he decided to interject himself into the Roger Stone case." CNN (7/14, Herb, 83.16M) reports Mueller testimony could create "a high-stakes congressional hearing in the heat of the 2020 presidential election." EFTA00150066 Graham Says He Is Working To Declassify Memo About FBI Interview With Steele Source. The Daily Caller (7/14, Ross, 716K) reports that Graham said "he is working to declassify a memo regarding an FBI interview conducted with the primary source for Christopher Steele, the former British spy who wrote the infamous anti-Trump dossier." Graham "said that the document is 40 pages in length and covers information that Steele's source provided the FBI over the course of three days in January 2017." Graham "also said that he believes that Russian operatives fed disinformation to Steele." Graham said, "I believe that the dossier, which was the key component of getting the warrant against Carter Page, was in fact Russian disinformation. ... I believe that the FBI was on notice that it was unreliable, continued to use it anyway. I believe that they misled the FISA court." Additional coverage includes National Review (7/14, Evans, 731K). Former Trump Attorney: Durham Should "Taker A Hard Look" At Weissmann. The Washington Examiner (7/14, Chaitin, 448K) reports that John Dowd, one of President Trump's attorneys during the Russia investigation, says Andrew Weissman, one of special counsel Robert Mueller's top prosecutors, should be investigated as part of US Attorney John Durham's criminal inquiry into the Russia probe. After President Trump commuted Roger Stone's prison sentence, Weissmann tweeted that Stone should be put "in the grand jury to find out what he knows about Trump but would not tell." Dowd "dismissed the suggestion." He told the Washington Times, "Weissmann and his dream team failed in their first attempt to manufacture a crime and want to further abuse the process when their sorry effort has been exposed. ... The Stone indictment did not allege a crime by President Trump. So why further abuse the process except more sour grapes. Mr. Durham ought to take a hard look at Mr. Weissmann's conduct on the dream team." Judge Extends Deadline For DO) To Answer Questions About Mueller Report. The Washington Examiner (7/14, Chaitin, 448K) reports US District Judge Reggie Walton, "who questioned Attorney General William Barr's 'credibility' granted the Justice Department's request for a delay to answer questions about former special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election." Walton "gave the Trump administration until next Tuesday to respond, a week later than what was previously scheduled." The Electronic Privacy Information Center and BuzzFeed "have sued for the report in its entirety under the Freedom of Information Act." Walton gave DO) "a spreadsheet with questions about the redactions," but the agency said it needed additional time to conduct "consultations with numerous Department components, including the Office of Information Privacy, the National Security Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Attorney's Offices." Former FBI Official Criticizes Mueller Investigation. Former FBI Assistant Director of Intelligence Kevin R. Brock, in an op-ed in The Hill (7/14, 2.98M), argues that former FBI director and Russia collusion special counsel Robert Mueller cannot defend the legitimacy of the special counsel's Russia collusion investigation because "there was no legal basis for the FBI to investigate Trump campaign members." Brock also criticizes Mueller for not examining "Russian intelligence influence on the Steele dossier as a means to interfere in the elections" and for his report including "a curious listicle...of all the ways the president might have obstructed his investigation." DDoSecrets Releases Wikileaks "Chats, Strategy Sessions" Related To Assange Case. The Washington Times (7/14, Blake, 492K) reports a website described as a "successor to WikiLeaks published documents on Tuesday it called secret evidence in the U.S. government's case against the other's founder, Julian Assange." Distributed Denial of Secrets released a collection of "more than two dozen documents involving WikiLeaks and its inner workings, including transcripts of online chats and emails" that are among the documents "referenced in EFTA00150067 the superseding indictment the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed last month." Among the documents leaked by DDoSecrets are copies of "online conversations involving people associated with the Anonymous hacktivist movement." CyberScoop (7/14, Stone) reports DDoSecrets says the collection of files is meant to "illustrate how WikiLeaks operates behind closed doors." Many of the files are "reproduced chat records between pseudonyms belonging to Assange, the convicted hacker Jeremy Hammond and Sigurdur Thordarson, an early WikiLeaks supporter who provided information about the group to the FBI." The disclosure comes "three weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a superseding indictment against Assange, accusing the WikiLeaks founder of conspiring with LulzSec hackers to breach a U.S. intelligence contractor." US Space Force To Launch Four NRO Payloads Wednesday. i360 Gov (7/14) reports four National Reconnaissance Office payloads "will be launched into orbit July 15, continuing the agency's efforts to leverage the small commercial launch market for its missions." ExecutiveGov (7/14, Rivers) reports the US Space Force has completed "flight readiness review activities" for the mission sending the "four satellite payloads to orbit for intelligence missions." The Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) "said that NRO Launch-129 will lift off from NASA's launch complex on Wallops Island in Virginia as part of the Orbital/Suborbital Program 3 (OSP-3) initiative." According to a report "by C4ISRnet, Northrop Grumman's Minotaur IV rocket will launch NROL-129 within the 9 a.m. ET window on Wednesday." Details on the NRO payloads remain classified. SMC Small Launch and Targets Division chief Lt. Col. Ryan Rose "said that NROL-129 will serve as the division's first Space Force mission as well as the 'first dedicated NRO mission' from Wallops' Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport." Sources: Russia Used Information Shared By The US To Target Chechen Dissidents. Business Insider (7/14, Prothero, 3.67M) reports that three law-enforcement and intelligence officials in Europe said that "after the Trump administration backed a policy of sharing more secret information with Russia," the country used the policy to target Chechen dissidents who fled the rule of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. "The US appears to have received little in return." Russia pursues and kills Chechen dissidents, and a NATO military intelligence official "said NATO had limited some parts of its relationship with the US because of its closeness to Russia. Specifically some worried that US officials would send them its intelligence." Protests After Belarus Bars Election Challengers. BBC World News (UK) (7/14, 3.28M) reports, "Protests have erupted in Belarus" after President Alexander Lukashenko's main rivals, Valery Tsepkalo and Viktor Babaryko, were barred from next month's presidential election. The BBC calls the protests "the latest show of discontent against the government following the arrests of opposition figures ahead of the election on 9 August." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS Ghislaine Maxwell Pleads Not Guilty As Judge Denies Bail Request. The CBS Evening NewsVI (7/14, story 12, 1:30, O'Donnell, 4.31M) reported, "Today, a federal judge in New York ruled that Ghislaine Maxwell has both the money and the motive to flee the country, and denied her request to be freed on bail. It means the alleged accomplice of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein will likely spend the next year in jail as she awaits trial." CBS (Duncan) added, "Ghislaine Maxwell appeared at today's 140-minute bail hearing by video. She's been behind bars since her July 2nd arrest. US District Judge Alison Nathan determined the 58-year-old British socialite should not be released on bail, saying Maxwell is a substantial EFTA00150068 actual risk of flight. Prosecutors say Maxwell has links to more than a dozen bank accounts around the world worth more than $20 million in total and three passports in her name." NBC Nightly NewsVi (7/14, story 7, 2:05, Holt, 5.96M) reported, "The ex-girlfriend and long-time partner of Jeffrey Epstein pleaded not guilty, and asked the court for a $5 million bail and home arrest in a luxury Manhattan hotel. The elusive 58-year-old appeared via videoconference in a brown prison uniform." NBC (Gosk) added, "Though her defense team argued that the COVID pandemic made preparing for trial behind bars not realistic, the judge rejected the proposal, saying Maxwell poses a substantial risk of flight. According to prosecutors, Maxwell was less than candid about her wealth. In court documents, investigators say she holds a Swiss bank account worth more than $4 million. And a British account worth more than $2 million. Prosecutors say she took deliberate steps to avoid law enforcement, including wrapping her cell phone in tinfoil, what they called a seemingly misguided effort to evade detection." ABC World News TonightVi (7/14, story 7, 2:30, Muir, 7.36M) reported, "The government's case, Maxwell conspired and participated in an `ongoing scheme to abuse multiple victims for years,' enticing girls `who were as young as 14 for abuse by' convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the 1990s. The prosecutor read one of the alleged victim's statement in court. `Without Ghislaine, Jeffrey could have not done what he did. She was a predator and a monster.' A second victim, Annie Farmer, chose to speak, publicly identifying herself as a victim in this case for the first time. Reading this statement to the judge." Annie Farmer, Epstein Accuser: "She has never shown any remorse for her heinous crimes, or for the devastating, lasting impacts her actions have caused." The AP (7/13, Neumeister, Hayes) reports that Judge Nathan "said even the most restrictive form of release would be insufficient to ensure Maxwell would not flee, particularly now that she has seen the strength of the evidence and realizes that she could face up to 35 years in prison if she is convicted." Maxwell, 58, "has been held without bail since her July 2 arrest at her million-dollar New Hampshire estate, where prosecutors say she refused to open the door for FBI agents, who busted through to find that she had retreated to an interior room. Her lawyer, Mark S. Cohen, told the judge that Maxwell was in her pajamas and had been told that security protocol called for her to retreat to her room if there was any disturbance outside her doors. The judge rejected Cohen's claim that Maxwell was hiding from the public and the media rather than investigators when she purchased a $1 million mansion late last year." The New York Times (7/14, Hong, Weiser, 18.61M) reports, "The hearing was unusual in that it was virtual: Ms. Maxwell, who is being held in a federal detention center in Brooklyn; her lawyer; the prosecutor; and the judge each appeared remotely from their locations on separate video screens set up in a room at the courthouse, all part of special precautions being taken by the court because of the coronavirus pandemic." Maxwell "pleaded not guilty to the six-count indictment against her; the charges include transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy and perjury." USA Today (7/14, Johnson, 10.31M) reports, "Maxwell's attorneys were set to argue for her release on a $5 million bond, secured by properties in the U.S. and Great Britain. But prosecutors said the package `amounts to little more than an unsecured bond' because some of the property Maxwell was pledging as collateral is outside American jurisdiction and `therefore is of no value.' The Washington Post (7/14, Jacobs, Barrett, 14.2M) reports that Judge Nathan "said it would be `practically impossible' to craft a set of conditions that would assure that someone with Maxwell's wealth and foreign ties would show up in court to face the charges against her. `The risks are simply too great' to release her on bail, the judge said, adding that Maxwell's ability to stay out of the spotlight in such a sensational high profile case showed she has an `extraordinary capacity to evade detection.' Prosecutors "allege that Maxwell was intimately involved in Epstein's crimes - that she `normalized' his sexual abuse by presenting herself to his EFTA00150069 victims as a trustworthy figure." Maxwell "has denied the allegations, and her attorneys recently said she was estranged from Epstein for a decade before his jailhouse suicide last year." Reuters (7/14, Stempel, Freifeld, Pierson) reports, "Alison Moe, a federal prosecutor, said the government's investigation is ongoing, but did not currently anticipate seeking an amended indictment expanding the charges against Maxwell." Among other news outlets reporting on the hearing are Bloomberg (7/14, 4.73M), NPR (7/14, Slotkin, 3.12M), NBC News (7/14, Winter, Schapiro, 6.14M), CBS News (7/14, 3.68M), Fox News (7/14, Chakraborty, 27.59M), the New York Post (7/14, Eustachewich, 4.57M), and the Daily Beast (7/14, Briquelet, 1.39M). Woman Charged With Helping Dispose Of Fort Hood Soldier's Remains Appears In Court. The Houston Chronicle (7/14, Banks, 730K) reports, "Cecily Aguilar, charged with helping dispose of the body of murder victim Vanessa Guinan, was held without bond in a federal detention hearing Tuesday afternoon in Waco." Aguilar, 22, "is charged with helping her boyfriend Aaron Robinson - a Fort Hood soldier authorities say killed fellow soldier Guinan - dismember Guillk's body and bury her along the Leon River. The FBI said in court documents that Robinson bludgeoned Army Specialist Guillk to death with a hammer on April 22." The Chronicle adds, "There were extensive searches for the 20-year-old Houston native after she went missing that day. Robinson shot and killed himself as law enforcement officers confronted him along a Killeen road after the discovery of the remains later determined to be those of Guillk, a member of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment." The Austin (TX) American Statesman (7/14, Osbourne, Subscription Publication, 343K) reports, "Military investigators searching for the body of U.S. Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen overlooked evidence that could have led to the discovery of her remains a week sooner - and brought resolution to her heartbroken family, the leader of a team of civilian searchers said Friday." Guillen, 20, "disappeared from Fort Hood in Texas on April 22, sparking international attention. Tim Miller, founder of the civilian group EquuSearch, said his crew discovered a pile of burned debris June 21 at a rural highway intersection about 20 miles away from Fort Hood and steps from the Leon River." Miller "said he pleaded with Army officials to search the site more thoroughly that day. Military investigators, he said, instead focused their search on the nearby river. More than a week later, construction workers came upon Guillen's remains in the very spot Miller said military investigators overlooked." Former VA Hospital Assistant Pleads Guilty To Murdering Patients. ABC World News TonightVi (7/14, story 12, 0:15, Muir, 7.36M) reported, "And a former VA hospital nursing assistant has now pleaded guilty to murder in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Prosecutors say Reta Mays gave fatal doses of insulin to eight veterans, seven of them dying. The patients were elderly veterans. Mays faces life sentences for each murder." The AP (7/14, Izaguirre) reports, "Mays, a former nursing assistant at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, was charged with seven counts of second-degree murder and one count of assault with the intent to commit murder of an eighth person. She faces life sentences for each murder. At a plea hearing, Mays, 46, admitted to purposely killing the veterans, injecting them with unprescribed insulin while she worked overnight shifts at the hospital in northern West Virginia between 2017 and 2018." US Attorney Bill Powell "told reporters that Mays' motive is still unclear, saying that authorities did not receive a `satisfactory response' to questions about the reasoning behind her actions." The Washington Post (7/14, Rein, Born, 14.2M) reports, "In her three years as a nursing assistant on the overnight shift at the local Veterans Affairs hospitals here, Reta Mays tended to elderly veterans with the ailments of old age. She took their vital signs and glucose levels on the graveyard shift, sitting vigil at their bedside while medical staffing was thin. Few saw her go in and out of patients' rooms," and "no one watched while she injected them with lethal doses of insulin during an 11-month killing spree in 2017 and 2018, which she admitted to Tuesday in EFTA00150070 federal court, pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the deaths of seven veterans and an intent to murder an eighth who died two weeks later." The Post adds, "In the middle of the night, with a small staff on the medical surgical ward known as 3A, Mays injected the patients with insulin she was not authorized to administer, leading to their deaths from severe hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, investigators said."USA Today (7/14, Phillips, 10.31M) reports, "The development comes two years after a criminal investigation into suspicious deaths of 10 veterans at the hospital began. All patients were elderly veterans staying in the hospital's surgical unit, known as Ward 3A. All suffered unexplained drops in their blood sugar levels. Mays began working at the hospital five years ago and was assigned to work the night shift in Ward 3A. As a nursing assistant, Mays was responsible for, among other things, acting as a one-on-one sitter for patients, checking vital signs and testing blood sugar levels, but she was not qualified to administer medication, including insulin." WVNews (7/14, Young) reports, "Acting Special Agent in Charge Doug Olson of the FBI commented on why, if Mays was immediately identified as a person of interest, did it take two years before charges were brought against her. `During this investigation more than 250 interviews were conducted, countless documents were reviewed and analyzed, we combed through medical and administrative files and hundreds pieces of other evidence were sent to one of the largest and comprehensive labs in the world, the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia,' he said. 'We exhumed the bodies of veterans to do further analysis and testing. As you can imagine, this was difficult and a tough ask for those families. We consulted with medical experts all over the world. All that doesn't happen over night." Former White Supremacist Group Leader Pleads Guilty To Swatting Ring. WTKR-TV Norfolk, VA (7/14, 163K) reports from Norfolk, Virginia, "A former leader of the white supremacist group pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges related to his role in a conspiracy that conducted multiple swatting events targeting journalists, a historic Virginia church, a former cabinet official, and Old Dominion University." John Cameron Denton, 26, of Montgomery, Texas, "is allegedly a former leader of the Atomwaffen Division in Texas. According to court documents, from October 2018 to at least August 2019, Denton and several others conspired together to conduct 'swatting' calls. According to court documents, Denton participated in a conspiracy that conducted three swatting calls that occurred in the Eastern District of Virginia." White Man Filmed In Alleged Indian Racial Assault Claims Black Accuser Is Lying. ABC News (7/14, 2.97M) reports, "A white man who's been accused of beating up and shouting racial slurs at a Black man in a filmed incident at an Indiana lake on the Fourth of July contends he isn't the one who started the violent conflict and says his accuser is not telling the truth," but Vauhxx Rush Booker, "the man seen in the video with his face pressed against a tree, is sticking with his account and continuing to call for arrests." According to ABC News, "Attorneys for Sean Purdy, one of the men accused of taking part in the alleged assault, held a news conference Monday in Monroe County, Indiana, and said Booker was putting out 'a false narrative' about the incident that took place in Lake Monroe." FBI Arrests Fugitive In Miami After Five Years On The Run. The AP (7/14) reports from Miami, Florida, "A fugitive who had been on the run for five years surrendered to the FBI when he arrived at Miami International Airport last week." Jonathan Cifuentes, "who was wanted in a 2015 double shooting in Doral, flew to Miami in federal custody on Friday and was arrested on the federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, the FBI announced Monday. The surrender was arranged by Cifuentes through Miami attorney Antonio Valiente, the Miami Herald reported." The FBI "then took Cifuentes, 29, to jail, where he's being held on two counts of attempted premeditated murder and one count of discharging a firearm in public." WPEC-TV West Palm Beach, FL (7/14, Detman, 97K) also reports. EFTA00150071 South Carolina Man Sentenced In Fentanyl Overdose Death. WPDE-TV Myrtle Beach, SC (7/14, Thomas, 430K) reports from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, "A Myrtle Beach man, and convicted drug dealer, was sentenced to serve 12 years in federal prison in connection with a fatal fentanyl overdose." Darell Levon Curry, 31, "pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and crack cocaine. 'Evidence presented to the court at Curry's guilty plea and sentencing showed that in addition to distributing significant quantities of these drugs in and around Horry County from 2016 through 2019, Curry sold a quantity of fentanyl on May 21, 2019, that led to two overdoses, one of which was fatal,' the U.S. Attorney's Office said Tuesday. 'This case should be taken as a stern warning, both for those who seek to use heroin and those who supply it laced with fentanyl,' said Jody Norris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI." New York's Wave Of Gun Violence Continues With Three Drive-By Shootings. The New York Times (7/14, Shanahan, Piccoli, 18.61M) reports that five people were shot in Brooklyn on Monday "in what the police described as three drive-by attacks within 20 minutes and about a mile of each other, continuing a wave of gun violence that has gripped New York this summer." Although the shootings "did not add to the city's gun-related death toll for the year, they occurred after another weekend of violence that was capped on Sunday night with the killing of a 1-year-old boy who was shot while he was at a cookout with his family at a Brooklyn playground." FBI Raids Indiana Home Over Animal Cruelty. The Kokomo (IN) Tribune (7/14, 58K) reports that the FBI "executed a search warrant at a Howard County home [Tuesday] where it is alleged that various acts of animal cruelty and abuse took place." The FBI Indianapolis spokesperson Chris Bavender "confirmed that a warrant had been executed and referred all other questions to the U.S. Attorney's Office spokesperson in Indianapolis, Steve Whitaker, who did not immediately return calls for comment." WISH-TV Indianapolis (7/14, 33K) also reports. No Criminal Charges To Be Filed In Black Man's 2018 Custody Death In Louisiana. The AP (7/14, McGill) reports from New Orleans, "No criminal charges will be filed against any of four sheriff's deputies in connection with the 2018 asphyxiation and beating death of a Black man during an arrest in 2018, a suburban New Orleans prosecutor said Tuesday." The AP adds, "Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick released a 27-page report on his office's investigation into the death of Keeven Robinson, 22, who died as police tried to take him into custody on drug charges." According to the AP, "Robinson's death has been the subject of multiple protests in Jefferson Parish since it occurred. His name was invoked by demonstrators during demonstrations the parish that followed the Minneapolis police custody death of George Floyd. A coroner's report on Robinson's death said he died of asphyxiation and blunt force trauma, exacerbated by asthma. The coroner said there were signs of trauma on Robinson's neck and that the death was classified as a homicide." FBI Searching For Missing Iowa Child. The Des Moines (IA) Register (7/14, 404K) reports that the FBI is supporting the investigation into the disappearance of Breasia Terrell, who "was last seen Friday morning in the 2700 block of East 53rd Street, an island on the Mississippi River on Davenport's southwest side." The search teams "arrested a man Friday for failing to register as a sex offender after searching an apartment near the spot where Breasia was last seen," but he "has not been charged in the disappearance [nJor named as a suspect by police." The AP (7/14) reports that the arrested man is named Henry Dinkins. Two Brothers Charged With Trafficking Fentanyl. EFTA00150072 The Elizabeth City (NC) Daily Advance (7/14, reports, 31K) reports brothers Brandon Jamal Dashiell and Ronald Darnell Dashiell, Jr., who both reside in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, "are charged with trafficking fentanyl after law enforcement seized more than 55 grams of the powerful opioid from a local hotel room where they allegedly were storing and selling the drug." The Daily Advance highlights that the FBI is involved with the investigation of this case, according to the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina. FBI Supporting Investigation Into Suicide In Idaho. The Elko (NV) Daily Free Press (7/14, 20K) reports that the FBI is participating in a multi- agency investigation looking into the death of an unidentified Nevada man, who "died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound" in Idaho. California Man Charged With Sales Of Fake COVID-19 Treatment. The Visalia (CA) Times-Delta (7/14, 14K) reports Golden Sunrise Pharmaceutical Inc. and Golden Sunrise Nutraceutical Inc President Huu Tieu "is facing up to 20 years in federal prison after a joint federal, state, and local investigation led to a five-count indictment for selling bogus COVID-19 treatments." The indictment claims that he "marketed and sold a package of herbal mixtures dubbed the "Emergency D-Virus Plan of Care" that he claimed treated COVID- 19." Tennessee State Trooper Fired Following FBI Investigation. Macon County (TN) Chronicle (7/14, Williams) reports former Tennessee Highway Patrol member Keith Garrett was fired following a FBI investigatio. He "admitted to videoing the woman while she was in the shower and taking nude photos of her, without her knowledge or consent." North Carolina Man Sentenced For Bank Robbery. The Hendersonville (NC) Times-News (7/14, 26K) reports U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. "sentenced John Howard Johnson, 65, to 130 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, in connection with a series of armed bank robberies he committed in 2019, including one in Hendersonville." The FBI supported the investigation. FBI Supporting Investigation Into Tennessee Bank Robbery. The Tennessean (7/14, 458K) reports that the FBI and the Metro Nashville police "are investigating a bank robbery that occurred Tuesday, July 14, 2020." WKRN-TV Nashville, TN (7/14, 73K) reports that police "said two men robbed the bank after showing a gun and demanding money." Idaho Man Charged In Stabbing. The Idaho State Journal (7/14, Harris, 64K) reports that a Fort Hall, Idaho man "was arrested last week in connection to an April incident in which he stabbed another man in the abdomen with a knife, according to federal court records." Lance Jonathon Broncho, 19, of Fort Hall, "was arrested in Blackfoot by an FBI agent on July 8, two weeks after a federal arrest warrant was issued against him, court records say. The arrest warrant for Broncho was issued the day after a federal grand jury indicted him on one charge of assault that resulted in serious bodily injury, according to court records. 'On or about April 7, 2020, ... on the Fort Hall Shoshone Bannock Indian Reservation, the defendant, Lance Broncho, did unlawfully commit an assault and battery on J.K., by intentionally stabbing him with a knife in the abdomen, resulting in serious bodily injury to him,' the federal indictment said." FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS EFTA00150073 FBI Concerned Over Money Laundering Risks In Private Equity, Hedge Funds. Reuters (7/14, Lloyd) reports that the FBI "believes firms in the nearly $10-trillion private investment funds industry are being used as vehicles for laundering money at scale, according to a leaked intelligence bulletin prepared by the agency in May. `Threat actors' — including criminals in it for the money and foreign adversaries - `use the private placement of funds, including investments offered by hedge funds and private equity firms' to reintegrate dirty money into the legitimate global financial system, according to the bulletin." The bulletin "also said the industry lacks adequate anti-money laundering programs and called for greater scrutiny by regulators, which have yet to issue rules for the industry. `The FBI assumes AML programs are not adequately designed to monitor and detect threat actors' use of private investment funds to launder money. Additionally, the FBI assumes threat actors exploit this vulnerability to integrate illicit proceeds into the licit global financial system,' it said." FBI Probing Possible Coronavirus Unemployment Benefit Fraud By Pennsylvania Inmates. KDKA-TV Pittsburgh (7/14, 144K) reports from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, "Federal agents are investigating whether inmates at the Allegheny County Jail are receiving thousands of dollars in pandemic unemployment assistance while awaiting trial." According to KDKA-TV, "A county homicide detective says he uncovered the plot listing in on a murder suspect's phone calls. Lamont Wilford has been in jail for the past eight months on criminal homicide charges in the beating and stomping death of another man," but "according to court testimony, Wilford has also been the recipient of up to $9,000 in pandemic unemployment assistance while awaiting trial. And he may not be alone." A county homicide detective "testified Monday that other inmates are receiving payments, and the U.S. Attorney's Western Pennsylvania COVID-19 Fraud Task Force - consisting of the FBI and federal and state law enforcement officials - has launched its own investigation." Rabbi Injured In California Synagogue Shooting Pleads Guilty To Tax Fraud. The San Diego Union-Tribune (7/14, Davis, 755K) reports, "Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who one year ago had part of his hand shot off in a lethal attack by a gunman at the Poway synagogue he founded and received an outpouring of support that included meeting President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to federal charges of tax fraud and wire fraud Tuesday." Goldstein, 58, "pleaded guilty to his role in several long-running, multi-million dollar schemes involving tax, real estate, insurance and grant frauds, some of which stretched back to the '1980s. Omar Meisel, the acting head of the FBI in San Diego, said the investigation uncovered $18 million in `complex financial schemes' by Goldstein and co-defendants, with the rabbi 'at the center of illegal activity' that went on for years. One such scheme, known as the '90-10' fraud, had donors make large contributions to Chabad of Poway but then secretly get most of the money back." The Times of San Diego (7/14, Stone) reports, "Goldstein pleaded guilty to a scheme involving misuse of more than $6 million in synagogue donations for his and others' personal financial gain, standing at the 'epicenter' of many frauds, prosecutors said. He agreed to pay restitution of perhaps $2.5 million - most of that to the IRS. Others who pleaded guilty were Bruce Baker, Bijan Moossazadeh, Yousef Shemirani, Alexander Avergoon and Boris Shkoller. Avergoon fled to Latvia during the investigation but was extradited to America in October 2019, and remains in custody." Courthouse News (7/14, Bruno, 2K) reports, "U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said during a press conference Tuesday Goldstein had personally made off with $620,000 in kickback payments for helping five Chabad of Poway donors evade paying personal income taxes. He called it 'The 90/10 Tax Scheme. "Sadly the facts of this case show a willful effort to deceive on the part of a trusted community leader; Brewer said. 'There is no doubt Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein EFTA00150074 was the victim of a horrific hate crime which terrorized him and the Chabad community. That event was a significant mitigating factor in the final plea agreement,' Brewer said." KSWB-TV San Diego (7/14, 120K) reports, "Goldstein also pleaded guilty to two other fraud schemes. One involved scamming corporations of matching donations to Chabad or charities controlled by the rabbi, Brewer said. Corporate employees taking part in matching donation programs would give Goldstein money, which he secretly funneled back to them, while keeping the matching donation amounts provided by the corporations, according to Brewer, who said at least six employee co-conspirators took part in that scheme from 2010 to 2018. Another scheme involved submitting fraudulent invoices to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, California Office of Emergency Services and other entities in order to obtain grant funding." KNSD-TV San Diego (7/14, Garske, 194K) reports, "The federal document said agents with the IRS and FBI executed search warrants at Goldstein's home and the synagogue on Oct. 17, 2018 - six months before the synagogue attack. Agents told Goldstein they had been investigating 'his tax evasion and other fraudulent activity for quite some time,' the complaint said. 'After learning he was under investigation, Defendant took steps to warn certain of his co- conspirators of the investigation, which allowed his co-conspirators to take steps to conceal their tax evasion scheme,' the complaint continued." FBI Warns Of Identify Theft Used To File Fraudulent Unemployment Claims. WFTS-TV Tampa, FL (7/14, 195K) reports from Tampa, Florida, "With a record number of Floridians out of work, the FBI's Tampa office says it's seeing a spike in identity theft with state unemployment claims. 'It alarms me, it alarms us here with the FBI,' FBI Special Agent Mark Jackson told I-Team Investigator Kylie McGivern." Jackson "said criminals are capitalizing on the fears and desperation of unemployed Floridians during this pandemic. 'That produces an environment where criminals can thrive,' said Jackson." The FBI "warns that criminals are gathering personal information through phone calls, text messages, letters, emails, websites and social media to then file bogus unemployment claims." FBI Reportedly Probing Threats Made After Ambulance Purchases By Missouri County. KMIZ-TV Columbia, MO (7/14, Jones) reports from Jefferson City, Missouri, "The Cole County Commission said the FBI is investigating threats that followed the commission's decision to buy ambulances from a Canadian company. 'It was made very clear that the investigation was not about the actual ambulance purchase, itself, any wrongdoing by the Cole County Commission, and that the Cole County Commission was not the target of the investigation or any county staff; Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle said." Scheperle "said the investigation will target threats made to Cole County officials. 'The threats to staff included loss of employment and takeover our EMS service because we refused to buy ambulances from certain places or people, using taxpayer money,' he said." The commission "had been purchasing ambulances from Osage Industries since 2009. John Kehoe, the brother of Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe, is the majority owner." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (7/14, Erickson, 685K) reports, "Although the statement does not identify the source of the threats, only two companies were involved in the bidding process. The losing company was Osage Ambulances, a company once owned by Kehoe and now owned by his brother, John." Mike Kehoe "was backing challengers to Commissioners Jeff Hoelscher and Kris Scheperle in their bids for another term in the Aug. 4 Republican primary election. Kehoe contributed $500 each to two challengers, and John Kehoe contributed $1,000 to one of the challengers, according to Missouri Ethics Commission records. The two commissioners voted to replace the county's ambulances with those from a Canadian company, rather than buy vehicles sold by Osage Ambulances, located in nearby Linn." The Jefferson City (MO) News Tribune (7/15, Haldiman, 48K) reports, "In 2018-19, Hoelscher and Scheperle voted to purchase new ambulances from Demers, a Canadian EFTA00150075 company with distributors in the United States. Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman abstained from the vote in 2018 but voted against the Demers purchase in 2019. During the December 2018 vote, Cole County EMS Chief Matt Lindewirth told the commission two Demers ambulances would cost $381,300, while two Osage ambulances would cost $415,000. At the December 2019 vote, Lindewirth told commissioners three Demers ambulances would cost $577,110, while three Osage ambulances would cost $622,590." Former Georgia Tax Official Pleads Guilty To Bribery, Blackmail. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (7/14, Hollis, 895K) reports, "A former supervisor in the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's office pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting bribes in return for illegally registering vehicles and trying to blackmail one of his bribers." Gerald D. Harris, 51, "accepted nearly $30,000 in bribe payments between mid-2018 and November 2019, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney May Pak. After Harris was fired from the DeKalb tax office for accepting bribes, he tried to blackmail one of his bribers for additional cash by threatening to hand them over to the FBI. The U.S. Attorney's release did not include any further information about the blackmail victim. 'By repeatedly accepting bribe payments, Harris peddled his honor for money and in doing so sold out the citizens of DeKalb County - sometimes for as little as $100 per car,' Pak said. 'By then attempting to blackmail one of his bribe payers, Harris showed his seemingly limitless greed." Last Defendant Pleads Guilty In Florida Corruption Probe. WJHG-TV Panama City, FL (7/14, 55K) reports from Panama City, Florida, "The final defendant indicted in a $5 million fraud scheme against the city of Lynn Haven pleaded guilty to wire fraud." On Tuesday, US Attorney Lawrence Keefe "made the announcement regarding David Wayne Horton, the former Lynn Haven Community Services Director. The wire fraud charge Horton pleaded guilty too stems from a 35-count federal indictment that alleges in the wake of Hurricane Michael, the city of Lynn Haven entered into contracts for debris removal." The indictment "also alleges that ECS and Greenleaf submitted false and fraudulent invoices that were approved by Lynn Haven's former City Manager Michael White. Keefe also said that White then directed city employees to immediately pay ECS and Greenleaf for those invoices." Ohio Businessman Charged In Corruption Probe Granted Trial Continuance. The Dayton (OH) Daily News (7/14, Hulsey, 121K) reports, "Dayton businessman Brian Higgins on Tuesday told a federal judge he is not guilty of a crime and has instead spent the past 10 years 'exposing public corruption." Higgins, 49, "was granted a continuance to November of his trial on charges related to the Dayton region public corruption investigation announced last year by federal officials. He had been scheduled for trial on July 27." Higgins "pleaded not guilty to three counts of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud. On Tuesday he told U.S. District Court Judge Thomas M. Rose that if the government proves his guilt, Rose should sentence him 'to the maximum allowed by law.' In a statement read into the record Higgins denied wrongdoing and said he was caught up in a federal 'dragnet operation led by a questionable confidential informant in which I have been publicly tarred and feathered:" California Psychiatrist Sentenced For Healthcare Fraud. The Military Times (7/14, Jowers, 772K) reports, "A San Diego psychiatrist has been sentenced to prison for fraudulent claims to Tricare, and ordered to pay $783,764 in restitution." According to the Times, "Marco Antonio Chavez 'used these ill-gotten gains to buy himself luxuries including a red 2016 Jaguar and thousands of dollars' worth of David Yurman jewelry,' stated a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of California." Chavez, 40, "was sentenced in federal court to 21 months in prison. In August, 2019, Chavez pleaded guilty to felony health care fraud." The Times adds, "Over time, Chavez submitted about $928,800 in false and fraudulent claims to Tricare , and Tricare paid $783,764 on those claims." EFTA00150076 Massachusetts Man To Plead Guilty To Wire Fraud. The Boston Globe (7/14, Andersen, Vaznis, 972K) reports, "A Weston man who formerly ran an international student recruitment firm has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud for allegedly pocketing over $5 million in tuition and fees from families, money that was owed to private high schools that partnered with his company, legal filings show." Keenam "Kason" Park, 59, "will enter his plea in US District Court in Boston, according to his agreement filed Tuesday. A date for the hearing hasn't been set. Prosecutors will recommend a prison term of 51 months, as well as a fine and restitution of at least $5,192,330, US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling's office said in a statement." Nigerian Man Charged With Money Laundering Is Denied Bail. Forbes (7/14, Dawkins, 9.71M) reports, "Nigerian influencer Ramon Abbas, known online as `hushpuppi' and 'The Billionaire Gucci Master' was denied bail and was told by a judge on Monday in Chicago that he will remain detained until his trial later this year over money laundering allegations." Forbes adds, "Appearing at a detention hearing, a court in the Northern District of Illinois ruled that Abbas will be transported to Los Angeles by the U.S. Marshals Service, and will not be allowed to stay with his girlfriend's uncle in Homewood, Illinois. His trial is slated to be held in Los Angeles where the case was filed, rather from Chicago where the investigation is being handled." The "primary allegation leveled by the FBI is that Abbas was part of a network that made `hundreds of millions of dollars' from business email compromise frauds and other scams." San Francisco City Attorney Seeks To Block Contractor In Corruption Scandal From Doing Business With City. The San Francisco Examiner (7/14, Sabatini, 438K) reports that San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera "has moved to prohibit AzulWorks, Inc. and its vice president Balmore Hernandez from doing business with The City after he was federally charged with bribing former Public Works head Mohammed Nuru." Herrera "initiated administrative debarment proceedings Monday that would prevent the construction company and Hernandez from competing for a city contract for five years, the maximum allowed under law, the City Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. Hernandez, a former Public Works employee, was charged by the U.S. Attorney last month with bribery. He faces up to 10 years in prison. An FBI affidavit alleges that Hernandez provided Nuru with more than $250,000 in gifts of materials and labor since late 2016 for his Northern California vacation home in exchange for help in landing city contracts. Gifts include a $40,000 tractor." The San Francisco Chronicle (7/14, Fracassa, 2.67M) reports, "Last month, federal officials filed criminal charges against the firm's CEO, Balmore Hernandez a former Public Works employee — for allegedly supplying Nuru with $250,000 worth of building materials for his vacation home in Stonyford (Colusa County) from late 2016 to 2018 in exchange for inside information and favoritism on city contracts. Among the alleged gifts: A tractor valued at around $40,000. The City Attorney's Office was able to independently confirm that Hernandez and AzulWorks gave Nuru more than $20,000 in unlawful labor and material for construction work, which prompted Herrera on Tuesday to launch a process to prevent AzulWorks from bidding on or receiving city contracts for the next five years." New York Man Facing Charges Over Alleged Ponzi Scheme. Suffolk (M) Daily Voice (7/14, 98K) reports LNA Associates President Gregory Altieri "was indicted for allegedly operating a two-year $200 million scheme based on nonexistent wholesale jewelry deals and false promises of inflated returns." The FBI participated in the investigation, which says Altieri "solicited between $75 million to $85 million from more than 80 investors in Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, and elsewhere, to allegedly purchase high-end jewelry at 'closeout' prices to in turn resell it at a high profit" in 2017. The New York Daily News (7/14, EFTA00150077 Rayman, 2.52M) reports that the scheme "began to crumble" in January 2020, when he "sent out $74 million in checks" that later bounced. The Staten Island (NY) Advance (7/14, 130K) reports Altieri "was arrested and arraigned Tuesday on a federal wire-fraud charge." He "pleaded not guilty and was released on $750,000 bond." Newsday (NY). (7/14, 932K) also reports. New York Man Charged In Connection To Police Union Fraud. The Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman (7/14, Network, 28K) reports Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent treasurer Steven Whittick "is facing federal charges in connection with a police union fraud case, and he could face more than a quarter-century in prison." Prosecutors "said that after the FBI executed a search warrant at the union offices in September 2019, Whittick obstructed and tried to influence the federal investigation by making false statements about, among other things, cash withdrawals from union bank accounts and the annuity fund." FBI Corruption Probe Results In Charges Against New Jersey Policeman. NJ News (7/14, 1.72M) reports that the FBI Newark Field Office's and-corruption probe, which began in 2017, has resulted in charges against Paterson police sergeant Michael Cheff, who "was arrested and accused of civil rights violations and falsifying police reports." The investigation reviewed a August 2018 arrest, which resulted in charges against David Legrier that were eventually dismissed on the grounds that there was no evidence. Bergen (NJ) Record (7/14) also reports. CYBER DIVISION FBI Warns Of Rising Cyber Crimes Targeting School Districts. WEWS-TV Cleveland (7/14, Schultz) reports from Cleveland, Ohio, "As many school district leaders contemplate what schools will look like in the fall for students, teachers and staff, it's clear that online learning will play a large role in most districts." According to WEWS-TV, "The Cleveland Division of the FBI is warning school districts to make sure its cyber security systems are up to date. FBI Special Agent Vicki Anderson said that cyber crimes, in general, are up since the pandemic. She said that hacking and ransomware attacks are becoming more common in municipalities, businesses and school systems. 'And now we add COVID to it where all the bad guys out there know that a lot more people are online,' she said." The FBI "is now warning school districts about ransomware attacks, or when a type of virus holds the computer systems and data hostage until a certain amount of money is paid." UK Sides With US Over China, Will Purge Huawei Equipment From SG Network. Reuters (7/14, Sandie, Faulconbridge) reports British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has "ordered Huawei equipment to be purged completely from Britain's 5G network by the end of 2027, risking the ire of China by signalling that the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker is not welcome in the West." Johnson was "under intense pressure" from President Trump, "while Beijing had warned London, which has sought to court China in recent years, that billions in investment would be at risk if it sided with Washington." The AP (7/14, Kirka) reports Johnson's government "said it decided to prohibit Huawei from working on the so-called 5G system after U.S. sanctions made it impossible to ensure the security of equipment made by the Chinese company." The U.S. "had also threatened to sever an intelligence-sharing arrangement with Britain because of concerns that Huawei's involvement could allow the Chinese government to infiltrate U.K. networks." The New York Times (7/14, Satariano, Castle, Sanger, 18.61M) reports that "the move reverses a decision in January, when Britain said Huawei equipment could be used in its new 5G EFTA00150078 network on a limited basis." Since then, Johnson has "faced growing political pressure domestically to take a harder line against Beijing, and in May, the United States imposed new restrictions to disrupt Huawei's access to important components." Johnson government's "about-face signals a new willingness among Western countries to confront China, a determination that has grown firmer since Beijing last month adopted a sweeping new law to tighten its grip on Hong Kong." Reuters (7/14, Baker, Chalmers) reports, "Britain's decision to ban China's Huawei from its 5G network" increased the pressure on EU countries to also "impose stricter limits" on the company. Meanwhile, "A senior EU diplomat said some countries were now worried" that the European Union's "toolbox" of recommendations, released in January, that allowed members to "either 'restrict or exclude' so-called high-risk 5G vendors, such as Huawei, from core parts of their telecoms network," did not do enough to limit dependence on Huawei. Harvard Kennedy School's Applied History Project Assistant Director Calder Walton, in an op-ed in Foreign Policy (7/14, 340K), writes, "There is a long history of all kinds of governments exploiting commercial communication companies to collect foreign intelligence in bulk to further their interests and protect their national security," including by the British and US governments. Walton argues, "this history offers a clear message: It would be naive to expect the Chinese government not to exploit Huawei hardware on Britain's 5G network for intelligence collection." Additional coverage includes the Wall Street Journal (7/14, Fidler, Colchester, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), Washington Post (7/14, Nakashima, Booth, 14.2M), Politico (7/14, Cerulus, Casalicchio, 4.29M), Politico (7/14, Cerulus, 4.29M), BBC News Online (UK) (7/14, 1.02M), TIME (7/14, Perrigo, 18.47M), Reuters (7/14), and Fox News (7/14, Rogers, 27.59M), among other news outlets. Analysis: US Efforts Against Huawei Part Of Overdue Change In US Handling Of China. In an analysis, Wired (7/14, Graff, 3.49M) reports that the US efforts against Huawei are part of "an overdue acknowledgement by the foreign policy establishment that years of accommodating engagement with a rising China has done little to stem China's rambunctious and norm-shattering behavior." The Administration has engaged in "a remarkable six months of concerted effort against Huawei that has brought the Trump administration's efforts back from what appeared to be an embarrassing defeat." House Democrat Presses Google, Apple On Foreign-Owned Apps. The Hill (7/14, Miller, 2.98M) reports House Oversight and Reform Committee national security subcommittee Chairman Lynch "urged Google and Apple to be more transparent with customers about the potential data privacy dangers of foreign-made apps." He "reached out to the companies following statements from the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) that foreign-made apps could pose a danger to consumers." In letters to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook, Lynch expressed concern that apps owned or operated by foreign developers or that store Americans' data overseas "could enable our adversaries to access significant quantities of potentially sensitive information on American citizens without their knowledge to the detriment of U.S. national security." Lynch requested Google and Apple "commit to requiring app developers to disclose the countries where user data is stored, make this information available to customers considering downloading the app, and also asked whether the companies would consider further changes to protect data privacy." Additional coverage includes Gizmodo (7/14, Wodinsky, 2.7M) and the Financial Times (7/14, McGee, Murphy, Fedor, Subscription Publication, 1.34M). Rep. Langevin To Propose Cyber Director Amendment To NDAA. NextGov (7/14, Baksh) reports Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) plans to offer amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act "to create a post within the White House with budgetary and EFTA00150079 policy authority to coordinate cybersecurity across the government." Langevin also plans to "propose a continuity of the economy amendment that would prioritize essential services in getting the economy back up and running in the event of a cyberattack and incentivize states and municipalities to move to the cloud as they modernize their information technology" and will back an amendment "to create a joint cyber planning office at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency." Federal Computer Week (7/14, Johnson, 263K) reports, "Dozens of proposed amendments that draw from recommendations in the" Cyberspace Solarium Commission's report have been introduced. "In some cases, legislators have drawn inspiration from multiple recommendations in the report to place cyber initiatives in appropriations language." Former Special Assistant to President Barack Obama Michael Daniel, in an op-ed in CyberScoop (7/14), argues that improving the federal government's cybersecurity capabilities faces at least three challenges: "cybersecurity's cross-cutting nature," the lack of incentives for agencies "to sustain the degree of coordination required for effective cybersecurity," and a lack of central leadership that "hinders effective incident response." He argues this can start to be addressed by "creating a National Cyber Director along the lines of what the Cyberspace Solarium Commission recommends ." Report: Tax Program Required By Chinese Banks For Clients Deploys Backdoors. CyberScoop (7/14, Vavra) reports that security vendor Trustwave published findings that specific software "required to be used through the Chinese government's Chinese Golden Tax Project" tax system - Intelligent Tax - contains "a backdoor that would give hackers a new way in." Trustwave says that a Chinese bank told a UK-based defense contractor the program was required. However, "the tax software's developer has relied on a number of subcontractors to build software flaws into other software tools for years," and "the network of companies behind the tax software scheme itself can be traced back to the Chinese government." Trustwave Vice president of Cyber Threat Detection and Response Brian Hussey said, "I know that the Chinese government very frequently uses their state-owned private organizations, their state-owned university system for just this kind of work." TikTok's US Users Prepare For Possible Ban. Reuters (7/14, Dang, McLymore) reports that with national security concerns that TikTok's may be required to share user data with the Chinese government, the app's fate in the United States is undecided. "The news set off a wave of worries among its devoted user base, who are coming up with backup plans on other services." Atlantic Council Nonresident Fellow Justin Sherman said, in Reuters' words, "the Trump administration's motives are primarily political, which make it not only difficult to predict what the government will decide, but nearly impossible to fight back if it proceeds with a ban." LABORATORY Forbes Examines FBI's Multimedia Exploitation Unit. Forbes (7/14, Brewster, 9.71M) reports, "As it seeks to improve its ability to sift through such abundances of video at major crime scenes, the FBI has been funnelling millions into tech that combined big data and surveillance tools like facial recognition. And Forbes has learned that a previously-unreported forensics division within the FBI called the Multimedia Exploitation Unit (MXU) has been tasked with this role. It has cost at least $35 million since 2016 and draws on cutting-edge expertise from Mitre Corporation, the non-profit government skunkworks lab." Forbes adds, "Documents obtained via FOIA reveal that MXU, run out of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) division, seeks to 'process and exploit multimedia assets' so that the FBI can 'transform... bulk data into investigative leads.' The unit has pushed one EFTA00150080 smaller security contractor - West Virginia-based Azimuth Inc - to create tech for `bulk multimedia search' and image clustering' that brings together content that's been flagged by facial and object recognition technology in an easy-to-digest tool." Questions Raised About Thousands More Massachusetts Drug Lab Cases. The Boston Globe (7/14, Mulvihill, 972K) reports, "A consultant warned the state in 2013 that seven other chemists - in addition to the disgraced Annie Dookhan - should be investigated at the state drug laboratory in Jamaica Plain, e-mails released Monday by a Middlesex Superior Court judge show." According to the Globe, "The e-mails from Michael J. Wolf, a forensic scientist and former FBI official who advised the state in its probe of the drug lab fiasco, underscore festering questions about how thoroughly the state reviewed the work of other chemists at the lab - which defense lawyers said could affect the legitimacy of the evidence used in thousands more successful drug prosecutions. To date, at least 61,000 drug charges in 35,000 cases have been dismissed in Massachusetts due to misconduct by Dookhan at the William A. Hinton lab and former chemist Sonja Farak at the state lab in Amherst." LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES Barr Says "Justice Was Done" After First Federal Execution In 17 Years. ABC World News TonightVi (7/14, story 8, 0:20, Muir, 7.36M) reported "a former white supremacist has been put to death in Indiana" in "the first federal execution in 17 years. Daniel Lewis Lee was sentenced to die for the gruesome murders of a gun dealer, his wife, and her 8- year-old daughter in the 1990s." The Washington Times (7/14, Mordock, 492K) indicates Attorney General Barr on Tuesday "defended" the execution, saying in a statement that Lee "faced the justice he deserved. ... The American people have made the considered choice to permit capital punishment for the most egregious federal crimes, and justice was done today in implementing the sentence for Lee's horrific offense." The AP (7/14, Balsamo) reports Lee's execution "came over the objection of the victims' relatives and following days of legal delays, reviving the debate over capital punishment during a time of widespread social unrest." The AP reports that "just before he died at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, Lee, professed his innocence. `I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I'm not a murderer.' said Lee, 47, of Yukon, Oklahoma. `You're killing an innocent man." The New York Times (7/14, Fuchs, 18.61M) reports that the Administration "announced last summer its intention to resume the federal death penalty and to employ a new procedure to carry it out - using a single drug, pentobarbital - after several botched executions by lethal injection renewed scrutiny of capital punishment." The Times adds that the Supreme Court's "unsigned 5-to-4 ruling early Tuesday morning said pentobarbital had been used in over 100 executions `without incident' and had been upheld by the Supreme Court and appeals courts." The Washington Post (7/14, Berman, 14.2M) says that "although the author is unclear, the opinion was the work of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh." According to Reuters (7/14, Allen, Lynch), "Just 10 minutes passed between" the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals "revoking the last outstanding injunction stopping Lee's execution...and the curtain in the execution chamber being pulled back at 7:46 a.m. (1146 GMT) to reveal Lee strapped to a gurney." The Hill (7/14, Johnson, Kruzel, 2.98M), USA Today (7/14, Wolf, 10.31M), the Washington Free Beacon (7/14, Lehman, 78K), the Wall Street Journal (7/14, Bravin, Gurman, Subscription Publication, 7.57M), and the Washington Examiner (7/14, Rowan, 448K), among other news outlets, also cover the execution. Anti-Crime Operation Draws Mixed Response From Community Leaders In Kansas City. EFTA00150081 The AP (7/14) reports Operation Legend, which will send "100 agents from the FBI and other federal" organizations to Kansas City, Missouri, "has been greeted with a mixture of praise and concern from community leaders." Supporters of the operation include KC Mothers in Charge Executive Director Rosilyn Temple, who said, "We need help" to reduce violent crime in the city. But critics such as Justice Horn, who "organized many of the recent Black Lives Matter protests in Kansas City," argue that funds for programs which focus on social services, mental health and poverty is what is needed in Kansas City. That view is shared by Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council Executive Director Karen Boyd, who said Operation Legend is "not going to solve anything." Boyd added, "It's a smokescreen, quite frankly. When are we going to deal with root causes?" OTHER FBI NEWS Little Rock, Arkansas FBI Offers Civil Rights Training To Civilians. KATV-TV Little Rock, AR (7/14, Rose, 137K) reports, "On Tuesday, the Little Rock office of the FBI held training for local media on civil rights violations and the use of excessive force by police. They have held this exact training for a few years but say it's more needed now than ever in the wake of George Floyd's death." According to KATV-TV, "The day started with a two- hour class, where cameras weren't allowed, but they went through real-life investigations into use of excessive force by police and what their agents look for in terms of constitutional violations. 'We want to start driving these conversations between law enforcement and the community so we can talk about how law enforcement can be better,' said Ryan Kennedy, the supervisory special agent. 'So we can talk about how the community can be better so that people can sit down and have these conversations in an area where we are encouraging people to respect themselves." Convicted Michigan Contractor Gets Reduction Of Federal Prison Sentence. The Detroit News (7/14, Brand-Williams, 825K) reports, "An engineering contractor who was part of a wide-ranging Macomb County public corruption case had his prison sentence cut short by a federal judge Tuesday." Paulin Modi, "a 50-year-old Troy resident, was given 'time served: Modi pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February to a little more than one year for bribing a Washington Township public official. ' ... defendant's sentence is hereby reduced from a 12 months and one day total term of imprisonment to a term of imprisonment of time served,' U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland ordered Tuesday." Modi "was convicted of paying a series of bribes totaling $5,000 to the late Steven Hohensee, Washington Township's superintendent of public works. Hohensee was secretly cooperating with the FBI, according to federal officials." The Macomb (MI) Daily (7/14, Hotts, 156K) reports, "A court spokesperson said the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a sealed motion where it recommended the sentence reduction in exchange for his cooperation in another case." Arkansas Judge Forced To Step Down After Allegations Of Misconduct. Reuters (7/14, Shiffman, Berens) reports, "An Arkansas judge who styled himself as a 'Sugar Daddy' and was accused by local women of soliciting sex in exchange for cash, drugs and bail leniency largely escaped accountability from authorities for years, a Reuters investigation found." Reuters adds, "On his final day in office, the judge was forced to resign from the bench in disgrace. But more than three years later, state officials have yet to decide whether he should be allowed to keep his law license. To date, he continues to practice law despite his misconduct on the bench. The story of District Court Judge Tim Parker shows how hard it can be to remove an American judge suspected of corruption. It also illustrates how, even after misconduct on the bench becomes an open secret, a judge can remain in power for years when his victims are people who typically make for poor witnesses - in this case, petty criminals and drug addicts." EFTA00150082 Kansas City Pharmacist Who Diluted Cancer Meds To Get Early Release From Prison. The Hays (KS) Post (7/15, Margolies) reports, "Robert Courtney, the Kansas City pharmacist whose drug dilution scheme drew national headlines 19 years ago, is being released from prison seven years early." The Post adds, "In a letter last week, the U.S. Justice Department informed some of Courtney's victims and members of their families that Courtney will be moved to a halfway house this week and then to home confinement in Trimble, Missouri. The letter said that Courtney, 67, had been found eligible for home confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorney General William Barr instructed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to release inmates who are 'at a minimal risk of recidivating." Courtney, "whose pharmacy was located in Research Hospital in Kansas City, was sentenced in 2002 after pleading guilty to diluting medications for cancer patients and other seriously ill people and pocketing the resulting profits." OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS Trump Says COVID Testing May Be "Working Too Well." In an interview with Catherine Herridge of the CBS Evening NewsVi (7/14, story 2, 1:30, O'Donnell, 4.31M), President Trump was asked, "Is the national testing strategy working?" Trump replied, "Working? We have 45 million tests as of, I think, today, approximately 45 million tests. No other country tests like us. In fact, I could say it's working too much, it's working too well. We're doing testing, and we're finding thousands and thousands of cases." Herridge: "Will you push for more on site testing?" Trump: "I like it the best. I mean, I like it the best. It might not be as accurate by the way, but I like it the best." Graham, Mulvaney, Kilmeade Among Trump Allies Critical Of Testing Capacity. Politico (7/14, Oprysko, 4.29M) reports that President Trump's former Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney "panned the administration's testing abilities in an op-ed on Monday, calling the struggles his family encountered when trying to get tested and the wait time for results afterward 'simply inexcusable." According to Politico, "Tuesday morning the pile-on continued as 'Fox & Friends' host Brian Kilmeade acknowledged a 'huge testing issue." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) later said, "We just don't have enough testing in real time for the population as a whole." Administration Plans To Increase Testing At Nursing Homes. Axios (7/14, Ayesh, 521K) reports the Administration said Tuesday that it will be "ramping up testing at nursing hom