Tag: FBI

Arizona Republicans Call for FBI, DOJ Accountability

Peter D'Abrosca

Republican members of Arizona’s congressional delegation are calling for accountability after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home Monday. 

“There are good, hardworking people at the Department of Justice and FBI who keep our nation safe and uphold our nation’s laws. Unfortunately, bad actors in these agencies have weaponized the Department of Justice to attack political opponents on the right and have declined to investigate political allies such as Hunter Biden,” Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) told The Arizona Sun Times. “If Republicans win back the Majority in the U.S. House, we will be investigating those who have abused our system of justice for political purposes, and we will hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

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Commentary: Washington’s Incurable Case of Trump Derangement Syndrome

Admin

Like Shakespeare’s King Lear, Donald Trump is a “man more sinned against than sinning.” Trump’s enemies invariably exceed him in excesses. They accuse him of dictatorial behavior even as they seek to turn America into a left-wing authoritarian regime. The wags who dubbed their feverish hatred of him “Trump Derangement Syndrome” were right. The condition is altogether real, spurring everything from the bogus Russia investigation to the equally outlandish FBI raid on his home.

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RNC Slams Buttigieg While He Campaigns for Democrats in Arizona

Peter D'Abrosca

The Republican National Committee (RNC) released a statement slamming Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who spent Thursday in Arizona rallying with local and federal level Democrats. 

“Biden bureaucrat Pete Buttigieg’s campaign stops are a slap in the face to hardworking Arizonans after Democrat Mark Kelly just voted to raise taxes on them during a recession and sic  87,000 IRS agents on them. Biden and Buttigieg’s attempt to bail out Mark Kelly will fail,” said RNC Spokesperson Ben Petersen. 

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Republicans Condemn FBI Seizure of Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry’s Phone

Bradley Vasoli

One day after the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach home on Monday, agents seized the cell phone belonging to U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA-10), eliciting outrage on his side of the political aisle.

The FBI has refused to comment on the investigation, leaving it presently uncertain what messages or other data the bureau seeks to obtain from the lawmaker’s device. Perry, who represents Harrisburg, York and surrounding communities, has been at odds with Congress’s Democratic majority and Joe Biden’s White House over investigations related to the January 6, 2021 riot and Capitol Building breach. The U.S. House select committee probing the event issued a subpoena to the congressman with which he declined to comply.

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Ohio Republican Party Condemns FBI’s Mar-a-Lago Search

Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Paduchik this week condemned the search of former President Donald Trump’s residence at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, FL that the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed on Monday.

Many in the ex-president’s party have expressed outrage that Biden Administration Attorney General Merrick Garland secured a warrant for federal agents to surprise Trump with a search of his home. No Justice Department has ever taken similar action to investigate a former commander-in-chief.

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Ohio GOP Congressional Delegation Wants Garland and Wray to Explain Mar-a-Lago Search

Bradley Vasoli

Republican members of Ohio’s congressional delegation reacted with mistrust that the federal government had sufficient cause to conduct its surprise search of former President Donald Trump’s home at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, FL earlier this week.

The former president himself has characterized the move as “prosecutorial misconduct” by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice to unfairly target President Joe Biden’s most high-profile adversary. Sources with knowledge of the event told the press that agents intended to gather evidence regarding whether Trump brought classified documents from the White House to his Palm Beach residence.

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Sen. Blackburn Hammers FBI, DOJ After Mar-a-Lago Raid

Peter D'Abrosca

A U.S. Senator from Tennessee is speaking out against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and its parent agency, the Department of Justice (DOJ), after the FBI Monday raided former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. 

“Why are the FBI and DOJ refusing to comment after raiding the private home of a former U.S. President? The American people demand transparency — they do not want another political witch hunt of President Trump. We need to know if Joe Biden or his allies were involved,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said. 

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Trump Says His Mar a Lago Compound Has Been Raided by FBI: ‘Under Siege’

Admin

Former President Donald Trump on Monday evening issued a statement saying that FBI agents had raided his Florida estate in Mar a Lago, describing his home as being “under siege.”

“The are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said in a statement. “Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.”

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Gary Restaino Appoints a District Elections Officer for the Upcoming Primary Election in Arizona

Neil Jones

U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino announced last week that Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Lokey was appointed as the district election officer for Arizona in connection with the approaching Tuesday primary election.

“Election Day is an opportunity for Arizona’s citizens to make their voices heard,” Restaino said. “The Department of Justice has strong partnerships with the highly professional and dedicated election officials throughout the state. Together we can do our very best to ensure that every eligible voter who chooses to vote can do so easily and efficiently, without interference or discrimination.”

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Former Augusta Commissioner Faces Up to 20 Years in Prison After Conviction for Falsifying Records

Addison Basurto

The former Augusta District 4 Commissioner, Sammie Lee Sias, 67, of Hephzibah, faces up to 20 years in federal prison after he was found guilty by a U.S. District Court jury of record falsification and making a false statement to a U.S. agency by the Southern District of Georgia on Friday.

“Former Commissioner Sias knew his handling of sales tax funds was under investigation, and he deleted thousands of electronic files within hours of a federal order requiring him to provide those files,” U.S. Attorney David H. Estes said. 

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DOJ Charges Tennessee Man in Alleged $40 Million Medicare Scam

Peter D'Abrosca

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Thursday announced that it charged an Ashland doctor for allegedly scamming a more than $40 million from the Medicare system.

“John R. Manning, 61, faces charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and eight counts of health care fraud,” according to the DOJ. “The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation in which the United States seeks to recover all property, including a money judgement, that represents the proceeds of the violations.  Manning was arrested Tuesday at his home by federal agents.”

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Atlanta Filmmaker Guilty of $2.5 Million Cryptocurrency Fraud

Addison Basurto

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced on Thursday that Atlanta-based filmmaker Ryan Felton, 48, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of wire fraud, 10 counts of money laundering, and 2 counts of securities fraud that stemmed from two cryptocurrency-based investment scams.

“The defendant used 21st century technology to perpetrate an age-old fraud: lying to investors to steal their money and fund his own lavish lifestyle,” United States Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said.

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Tennessee Woman Headed to Prison After Terror-Related Crimes

Peter D'Abrosca

A Tennessee woman is headed to federal prison stemming from a conviction involving crimes related to aiding terrorist organizations. 

“A Sparta, Tennessee, woman was sentenced in U.S. District Court on Friday, to 66 months in prison to be followed by a term of supervised release of 15 years, for concealing material support and resources intended to be provided to a Foreign Terrorist Organization…” according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. 

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DOJ Secretly Thwarted Release of Russia Documents Declassified by Trump

Admin

In the final hours of the Trump presidency, the U.S. Justice Department raised privacy concerns to thwart the release of hundreds of pages of documents that Donald Trump had declassified to expose FBI abuses during the Russia collusion probe, and the agency then defied a subsequent order to release the materials after redactions were made, according to interviews and documents.

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Commentary: Adam Schiff Is Hiding Something

Admin

Jeffrey Rosen had a secret on January 6, 2021.

The then-acting attorney general—Rosen was appointed on December 24, 2020 to replace departing Attorney General William Barr—had assembled a team of elite and highly skilled government agents at Quantico, a nexus point between the FBI and U.S. military, the weekend before Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. At the same time he was rejecting President Donald Trump’s last-minute appeals to investigate election fraud, Rosen was managing a hush-hush operation in advance of planned rallies and protests in Washington on January 6.

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Bombshells Undercut the ‘Big Lie:’ 21 Confirmed Illegalities, Irregularities from 2020 Election

Admin

Democrats and their allies in the traditional news media have coined the term the “Big Lie” to dismiss anyone who questions the conduct of the 2020 election.

But with each passing day, new irregularities, security vulnerabilities and illegalities are being unmasked by bombshell revelations from courts, legislators and other investigative bodies like the FBI and Homeland Security Department.

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‘Coordinated Campaign on a Grand Scale’: US, UK Spymasters Issue Dire Warning on Chinese Espionage

Admin

by Micaela Burrow   Heads of intelligence agencies in the U.S. and UK warned against a widespread Chinese espionage campaign in a unique joint statement Wednesday. FBI Director Christopher Wray and MI5 Director General Ken McCallum addressed an audience of leaders in business and academia outside of the MI5 headquarters to rally against what McCallum called a “coordinated campaign on a grand scale.” The two warned of escalating Chinese attempts to steal data and technology from UK and U.S. innovators and disrupt the nations’ economies. “The most game-changing challenge we face comes from the Chinese Communist Party,” said McCallum. “The Chinese government is set on stealing your technology—whatever it is that makes your industry tick—and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market,” said Wray, according to The Wall Street Journal. “They’re set on using every tool at their disposal to do it.” Wray said in February that the FBI opens a new investigation into alleged Chinese espionage every 12 hours, according to NBC News. China represents the “biggest long-term threat” to security for the U.S. and its western allies, Wray said, according to Fox News. #FBI, @CISAgov, and @NSAGov issued a #CybersecurityAdvisory about the ways in which People’s Republic of China state-sponsored #cyber…

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22 Arizonans Indicted for Drug-Related Charges After Criminal Gang Investigation

Neil Jones

The Arizona US Attorney’s Office (USAO) recently revealed that 22 Arizonians have been indicted for drug-related charges following a multi-year investigation of a South Phoenix criminal street gang.

“According to the criminal complaints filed last week, in January 2020, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) began an investigation targeting a drug and firearms supplier in South Phoenix. In February 2021, in conjunction with the DPS investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) Violent Street Gang Task Force began investigating the Lindo Park Crips (“LPC”), a criminal street gang operating in South Phoenix,” according to a press release from the USAO.

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Gov. Lee Calls Attempted Arson at Pro-Life Center ‘Terrorism’

Peter D'Abrosca

After an attempted arson at a pro-life pregnancy center, Tennessee’s governor is speaking out. 

“This is terrorism and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Gov. Bill Lee (R) said Thursday in response to news that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) are investigating an arson at Hope Clinic for Women in Nashville.

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Commentary: January 6 Committee Ignores Key Questions About FBI

Admin

The final set of witnesses testifying before the January 6 select committee had the potential to shed more light on the government’s foreknowledge of the protest on Capitol Hill that day. Jeffrey Rosen, appointed by Donald Trump on Christmas Eve in 2020 to replace departing Attorney General William Barr, and two of his deputies gave opening statements and fielded questions for more than two hours last week.

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Andy Biggs Reintroduces Bill to Uphold the Fourth Amendment by Prohibiting Warrantless Surveillance of American Citizens

Neil Jones

Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) reintroduced the Fourth Amendment Restoration Act Wednesday, which seeks to prohibit warrantless surveillance of American citizens.

“We cannot continue to provide our government with clandestine spying powers that violate the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans,” Biggs said in a press release. “It’s imperative to have a surveillance apparatus to address national security concerns, but it also must protect Americans’ constitutional rights.”

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Former Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Andrew Gillum Indicted by Feds

Steve Stewart

Former Tallahassee Mayor and Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum has been indicted on multiple charges connected to campaign contribution fraud before and during his 2018 run for governor of Florida. Gillum lost to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida unsealed the 21-count indictment on Wednesday. One of Gillum’s closest advisers, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, also was charged in the 21-count indictment. Gillum, 42, and Lettman-Hicks, 53, were arrested on Wednesday and were scheduled to have their first appearance Wednesday afternoon at the U.S. Courthouse in Tallahassee.

The 26-page indictment indicates that the Gillum investigation was part of the comprehensive corruption probe that used undercover agents to get close to some of Tallahassee’s biggest movers and shakers. Former Tallahassee Mayor and City Commissioner Scott Maddox and his associate Paige Carter-Smith, along with Tallahassee businessman J.T. Burnette were recently sentenced to prison as a result of the probe.

The indictment alleges that between 2016 and 2019, defendants Gillum and Lettman-Hicks conspired to commit wire fraud, by unlawfully soliciting and obtaining funds from various entities and individuals through false and fraudulent promises and representations that the funds would be used for a legitimate purpose.

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Commentary: FBI Chief Comey Misled Congress’s ‘Gang of Eight’ over Russiagate, Lisa Page Memo Reveals

RealClearWire

The FBI deceived the House, Senate and the Justice Department about the substance and strength of evidence undergirding its counterintelligence investigation of President Trump, according to a recently declassified document and other material.

A seven-page internal FBI memo dated March 8, 2017, shows that “talking points” prepared for then-FBI Director James Comey for his meeting the next day with the congressional leadership were riddled with half-truths, outright falsehoods, and critical omissions. Both the Senate and the House opened investigations and held hearings based in part on the misrepresentations made in those FBI briefings, one of which was held in the Senate that morning and the other in the House later that afternoon. RealClearInvestigations reached out to every member of the leadership, sometimes known as the “Gang of Eight.” Some declined to comment, while others did not respond to queries.

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Republican Senators Demand Federal Law Enforcement Work to Prevent Violence Against Pro-Life and Faith-Based Organizations

Susan Berry, PhD

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is one of 16 Republican senators who joined in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland Tuesday that calls for federal law enforcement to investigate acts of violence against organizations working to protect the unborn and to prevent future acts.

The letter follows one written by Johnson in May to Garland, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in which the senator asked the federal officials why the violent attack on the Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison has not been identified as an act of “domestic terrorism.”

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Former Pennsylvania Congressman Admits to Election Fraud Scheme

Bradley Vasoli

Former Pennsylvania Congressman Michael “Ozzie” Myers pleaded guilty this week to an election-fraud scheme that spanned the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 elections.

Federal prosecutor Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that the 79-year-old ex-representative admitted to “conspiracy to deprive voters of civil rights, bribery, obstruction of justice, falsification of voting records and conspiring to illegally vote in a federal election.” He arranged to have ballots stuffed on behalf of Democratic candidates in two divisions of Philadelphia’s 39th Ward which is located in South Philadelphia East. 

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Ducey Orders Flags Fly at Half-Staff to Honor a Fallen Police Officer

Neil Jones

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) ordered flags at half-staff Monday to honor the loss of White Mountain Apache Police Officer Adrian Lopez.

“This is a heartbreaking loss. Officer Adrian Lopez served with the White Mountain Apache Police Department for just five months when he lost his life in the line of duty,” Ducey said in a statement. “There is no greater act of selflessness than for one to lay down his life for another. Officer Lopez will be remembered as a selfless and brave protector. This is a sobering reminder of the danger our law enforcement officers face every day to keep others safe. Acts of violence and lawlessness against our law enforcement is unacceptable. In this time of mourning, our prayers are with Officer Lopez’s wife, child and loved ones as well as the White Mountain Apache Tribe.”

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Commentary: It’s Time to Dismantle the Dysfunctional, Self-Serving, Gluttonous Company Town That Is D.C.

Admin

Gertrude Stein famously warned that it was important to know how far to go when going too far.

It pains me to admit that Democrats seem to have a far better sense of all that than do Republicans. Perhaps it’s because Democrats have a visceral appreciation of William Hazlitt’s observation that “those who lack delicacy hold us in their power.” The Democrats, that is to say, long ago became expert at the game of holding their opponents to standards that they themselves violate not just with impunity but with ostentatious glee.

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Commentary: No, Senate Republicans, the FBI Does Not Deserve a Raise

Admin

The day before FBI Director Christopher Wray explained to a Senate appropriations subcommittee why his department deserves a $527.8 million raise in 2023, his agents were credited with foiling an ISIS-linked plot to assassinate George W. Bush. An Iraqi national was arrested on May 25 and charged with attempting to smuggle four other Iraqis into the United States then “murder” the former president in retaliation for the war in Iraq. (I will address the sketchiness of this story in a separate column.)

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Commentary: The 2023 Congress’ Opportunity to Stop the FBI’s Spying on Americans

Admin

The 18-member U.S. intelligence community (IC) has released the Annual Statistical Transparency Report Regarding the Intelligence Community’s Use of National Security Surveillance Authorities. One of the few to pay attention was historian Matthew Guariglia, a policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and an affiliated scholar at the University of California’s Hastings School of Law.

This government document, the ninth such report to be made public, “provides statistics and contextual information concerning how the Intelligence Community uses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and certain other national security authorities to accomplish its mission.”

The law authorizes the U.S. government to engage in mass surveillance of foreign targets. As Guariglia discovered, FISA is “still being abused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to spy on Americans without a warrant.” This abuse takes place under Section 702, an amendment to FISA.

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Commentary: Stolen Elections, a Tale of Two D.C. Courtrooms

Admin

The Elijah Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, D.C. is center stage this month to two competing tales of stolen presidential elections.

In the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper, federal prosecutors have presented a detailed account of the greatest scandal in U.S. political history: the conspiracy of the country’s most powerful interests to fabricate the Trump-Russia collusion hoax in order to sabotage Donald Trump before the 2016 election.

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FBI Reveals How Many Active Shooters Were Stopped by Citizens

Admin

The FBI announced Monday that citizens stopped six active shooters in 2021, according to a report on active shooting incidents.

Citizens stopped six active shooters, whom the FBI defines as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area,” in 2021, killing four of them, according to the report, “Active Shooter Incidents In The United States In 2021.” There were 61 active shooter incidents in 2021, 12 of which met the FBI’s criteria for a “mass killing,” up from 40 the previous year.

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