EFTA00148963.pdf

From: To: Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Monday, November 16, 2020 Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2020 11:27:50 +0000 Importan c Normal e: Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. • 'FBI News Briefing • TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020 6:30 AM EST TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Kelly Joins At Least 12 GOP Lawmakers Calling For Trump To Give Biden Access To Classified Intelligence Briefings. PROTESTS • FBI Probing Post-Election Vandalism Targeting Government. • Trump Denounces "Antifa Scum" For Clashes After His Supporters DC Rally. • Nearly Two Dozen Arrested In Washington, DC Trump Protests. • WPost Analysis: Following Summer Of Demonstrations, Americans Voted In Favor Of Criminal Justice Reform. • Even With New Police Law, Critics Feel Baltimore County Has A Great Deal More To Do. • NYTimes Al: Some Staff Members At New York City Police Watchdog Claim Recent Layoffs At Agency Were Due To Retaliation. • Minneapolis Sees Surging Violence As Droves Of Officers Leave Police Department. • NYC Pilot Program Will See Dispatchers Send Mental Health Units To Respond To Mental Health Calls Instead Of Police. • Louisville Family Still Getting Harassed By Neighbor Who Allegedly Painted Racist Message On Their Driveway. • Rittenhouse's Mother Slams Biden For Showing Son In Campaign Ad. OPERATION LEGEND • Nearly 360 Arrests In St. Louis Area Under Operation LeGend. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Two Testify Against Alleged Ringleader Of Minnesota Mosque Bombing. • Nevada Man Sentenced To Two Years In Bomb Plot Case. • Biden Urged To Create White House Position Tasked With Combatting Domestic Terrorism. • NYTimes Al: Intelligence Officials Confirm Israeli Operatives Killed Key Al Qaeda Leader In Iran. • French Government Defends Response To Islamist Terrorist Attacks. • Ethiopian Security Officials Arrest Suspected Members Of Al-Shabaab, ISIS Accused Of Plotting Terror Attacks. EFTA00148963 • Eleven Germans Charged With Belonging To Far-Right Terror Group. • Local Insurgency In Mozambique Increases Allegiance To Islamic State. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Biden Transition, Some Republicans Critical Of Trump's Refusal To Share Classified Information. • Following Promotion, Giuliani Spreads Conspiracy Theories About Electronic Voting Machines. • Federal Prosecutors Tell Barr They Saw No Evidence Of Substantial "Irregularities" During Elections. • Washington Reacts To Possible Ouster Of CISA Director. • Extremists Turn To Fringe Social Networks To Spread Post-Election Disinformation. • McCabe Says Further Trump-Russia Declassifications "Unflattering" For President. • QAnon Conspiracy Thriving Internationally. • Government Urges FISC To Reject ACLU Appeal. • ODNI Taps Matthew Kozma As IC's New CIO. • NSA General Counsel Pick Setting Off Alarm Bells Among Experts. • Atlas 5 Rocket Carrying NRO Satellite Launched November 13. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Bond Reduced For Three Michigan Men Charged In Whitmer Kidnap Plot. • Judge Denies Bond To Men Charged With Killing Arbery. • Prosecutors: Guards At Federal Prison In Virginia Were Bribed By Prisoners. • FBI Captures Fugitive Who Escaped Custody Almost Five Decades Ago. • FBI Following New Lead In 2004 Death Of Kansas Man. • Fourth Suspect Charged In Mississippi Murder-For-Hire Case. • FBI Offers Reward For Information On Georgia Double Murder Case. • Ex-Illinois Police Officer Sentenced In Uzi Coverup. • Boy Scouts Facing More Than 82,000 Sex-Abuse Claims. • New Mexico Man Pleads Guilty To Hitting Federal Officer. • Man Charged With Taking Gun From Kansas City Homicide Scene. • Wisconsin Man Charged With Abducting Missouri Minor. • Drug Cartels Funneling Meth Into Las Vegas. • Brevard County Sheriff's Office Publishes Video Showing Moments Preceding Death Of Army Veteran Inmate. • Florida Man Sentenced Over Plan To Kill Judge, Prosecutor. • FBI Searching For Colorado Man. • Mother, Son Facing Charges After Drugs Recovered From New Mexico Homes. • Colorado Man Arrested In Connection To New Jersey Bank Robberies. • Georgia Resident Sentenced To Nearly 20 Years In Prison For Distributing Meth. • Virginia Man Tied To Meth Purchase In Georgia Gets 151-Month Prison Sentence. • Texas Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. • California Man Arrested In Connection To Hate Crime. • FBI Investigating Texas Gang. • Pennsylvania Grand Jury Charges Man With Sexual Extortion Of Minors. • Virginian Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. • Texas Youth Coach Sentenced Over College Admissions Investigation. • Alaska Man Sentenced For Armed Robberies. • FBI Captures Suspect In Connecticut, Pennsylvania Bank Robberies. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • Florida High School Coach Arrested For Allegedly Defrauding PPP Of Almost $1M. • Virginia Man Sentenced For PPP Fraud. EFTA00148964 • Former Wells Fargo CEO Settles Claims As Other Former Official Faces Fraud Case. • Ex-Deputies Sue Texas AG Paxton For Retaliation. • US Charges Massachusetts Tribal Chairman With Bribery In Casino Development. • Illinois Developer Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud. • FBI Arrests Texas Man On Fraud Charges. • FBI Searching For Man Accused Of Stealing Trade Secrets From Texas Firm. • FBI Arrests California Man In Fraudulent Manure-To-Methane Project. • Nine Arrested In California Money Laundering Scheme. • Washington Insurance Agent Charged With Stealing From Clients. CYBER DIVISION • WSJournal Al: Schools Throughout US Contending With Ransomware Attacks. • Microsoft: Vaccine Researchers, Companies Targeted By North Korean, Russian Hackers. • DHS Says Becton Medical Pump Has Cybersecurity Issues. • ByteDance Granted 15-Day Extension To Divest TikTok. • Qualcomm Gets US Permission To Sell 4G Phone Chips To Huawei. • North Korea-Linked Twitter Accounts Garnering Attention. • Google Unable To Resolve Dispute With DOJ Over Protective Order. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • NYTimes Analysis: NYPD Insufficiently Disciplining Officers Accused Of "Serious Misconduct." • Recreational Marijuana Industry Players Preparing To Operate In New Jersey Following Approval Of Ballot Measure. • Judge Provides DOJ With Single Day To Explain Why Woman's Execution Should Not Be Put Off Due To COVID Infections Among Lawyers. • Maryland Judiciary Halts Jury Trials For Remainder Of 2020 Amid Rising Coronavirus Cases. • Arlington's Leading Prosecutor, Public Defender Engaged In Legal Challenges To County Judge. • Judge Rebukes Fairfax County Law Enforcement, Prosecutors For Not Providing Exculpatory Evidence In Murder Case In Timely Manner. • Poll: About 80% Of Americans Believe Crime Has Risen During Past Year. OTHER FBI NEWS • DOJ Report Says FBI Wanted To Arrest Epstein At Virgin Islands Beauty Pageant Before Plea Deal. • Tennessee Man Convicted Of Homicide Seeks New Trial Because Testifying Officer Is Under FBI Probe. • Four Colorado Detectives Honored By DOJ For Busting Gift Card Scam. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Trump Says "I Concede Nothing," Criticizes Media For Calling 2020 Election For Biden. • US Adds Another Million Coronavirus Cases In Under A Week. • Administration Officials, Republican Governors Call On Americans To Take Surging Coronavirus Cases Seriously. • Biden Advisers, Democrats Urge Americans To Take Pandemic Seriously. • More States Enact Tough Restrictions As Coronavirus Spreads. • Trump Hails Progress On Vaccine, Says It Will Be Available Within "Weeks," Though Not In New York. • CDC Urges Americans To Wear Masks. • Alito Describes Covid-19 As "Constitutional Stress Test." • More Than 130 Secret Service Agents In Quarantine. • Pfizer Could Apply For FDA's Emergency Authorization Of Vaccine As Soon As This Week. • Physicians, Nurses Retiring Early, Leaving Jobs During Pandemic. • Republicans Showing Little Interest In Pursuing Biden Investigations. • Millions Face Loss Of Unemployment Benefits If Congress Fails To Reach Deal On Coronavirus Relief. EFTA00148965 • Trump Allies See Newsmax As Potential Rival To Fox News. • Judge Rules Wolf Serving Illegally, Invalidates His Suspension Of DACA. • Miller: Americans Are "Not A People Of Perpetual War." • Bolton: Recent Pentagon, NSA, DHS Firings Are "Very Damaging." • SpaceX Launches Four Astronauts Into Orbit On NASA Mission. • SCOTUS Has Not Acted On Trump Tax Suits In Weeks. • Hollyanne Milley Saves Man Who Collapsed During Veterans Day Ceremony. • Explosion At VA Hospital Complex In Connecticut Leaves Two Dead. • WPost Al: McEntee Leading Purge Of "Insufficiently Loyal" Administration Officials. INTERNATIONAL NEWS • UK Prime Minister To Self-Isolate After Contact With Lawmaker With COVID-19. • Coronavirus Cases In Italy's Hospitals Threaten To Outstrip Spring Peak. • Germans Should Expect Another 4-5 Months Of "Lockdown Light," Economy Minister Says. • French Police Break Up Parties That Violate Second Lockdown Restrictions. • Classrooms Remain Open Across Europe Despite Lockdowns. • Asian Economies Recovering Fastest From Coronavirus. • India To Fly In Physicians, Take Other Steps To Stem Surge Of Virus Cases In Delhi. • Mexico Tops 1M Coronavirus Cases As Country Continues To Defy Accepted Prevention Practices. • ESwatini's Prime Minister Tests Positive For COVID-19. • WPost Al: Trump Has Worsened Iran Crisis Since Taking Office. • India Denies Pakistan's Claim It Funded Militant Groups. • US Condemns Tigray Forces' Attacks On Eritrea. • Israel Advances Plan To Build 1,200 Apartments In East Jerusalem Settlement. • Macron: Europe Needs Its Own Sovereignty In Defense Strategy. • Sandu Leads Moldova Presidential Run-Off. • Belarus Police Detain Hundreds Amid Raid On Protester's Shrine. • Azerbaijan Delays Takeover Of Disputed Territory. • Erdogan Visits Northern Cyprus, Calls For Two-State Solution For Island. • Moroccan Forces Clash With Western Sahara Fighters. • Peru's Interim President Steps Down Amid Protests. • WPost Al: Brazil Grapples With Racial Redefinition Amid US Protests. • Death Toll In Philippines Typhoon Rises To 67. • NYTimes Analysis: Chinese Legal System Fails To Protect Women From Domestic Violence. • Mahuta Named First Maori Woman In New Zealand Cabinet. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Kelly Joins At Least 12 GOP Lawmakers Calling For Trump To Give Biden Access To Classified Intelligence Briefings. On CBS This MorningVi (11/13, 2.36M), Paula Reid reported a "growing number of Republicans...say that Biden should at least get...access [to classified intelligence briefings], including the President's allies like" Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Ted Cruz (R-TX). On NBC's TodayVi (11/13, 2.87M), Kristen Welker reported, "At least a dozen [Republican EFTA00148966 lawmakers are] now saying Mr. Biden should receive classified intelligence briefings, which are being blocked by the White House." Politico (11/13, Lippman, 4.29M) reports former White House chief of Staff John Kelly in an interview on Friday argued Biden "should start receiving intelligence briefings, and the delay in allowing the transition to officially get started is damaging U.S. national security." Kelly said, "You lose a lot if the transition is delayed because the new people are not allowed to get their head in the game." Kelly added, "The president, with all due respect, does not have to concede. But it's about the nation. It hurts our national security because the people who should be getting [up to speed], it's not a process where you go from zero to 1,000 miles per hour." Meanwhile, Reuters (11/13, Lewis) reports that Biden transition official Jen Psaki on Friday "said the fact that Biden was not yet receiving classified intelligence briefings could hurt his preparations to govern," but she announced that Biden "will be briefed by national security experts next week." The Washington Times (11/13, McLaughlin, 492K) reports Symone Sanders, a senior adviser to Biden, during an appearance on CNN "said Friday the growing chorus of Republicans calling for Mr. Biden to start receiving intelligence briefings shows it is time for...Trump to throw in the towel." However, Politico (11/13, Forgey, 4.29M) reports former President Barack Obama in an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" scheduled to air this weekend "said...it `has been disappointing' to see congressional Republicans remain supportive of...Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and his refusal to concede the 2020 White House race to...Biden." He said, "There's damage to this." Obama added, "What happens is that the peaceful transfer of power - the notion that any of us who attain an elected office, whether it's dog catcher or president, are servants of the people, it's a temporary job, we're not above the rules, we're not above the law - that's the essence of our democracy." In addition, Obama "described the fraud allegations leveled by GOP lawmakers as disingenuous, saying that `they obviously didn't think there was any fraud going on, because they didn't say anything about it for the first two days' after Election Day, when the results in some key swing states were still unsettled." In addition, Terry Moran said on ABC World News TonigLitVi (11/13, story 4, 3:31, Muir, 6.44M) that Trump's refusal to concede "is throwing a wrench into Biden's plan to tackle the virus. His team has been blocked from coordinating with the White House coronavirus task force." Under the headline "Trump's Stonewalling Of Biden's Transition Team Threatens National Security, Democrats Say," the New York Times (11/13, Sanger, Stolberg, 18.61M) reports that as they have been "deprived of access to secure government communications by the Trump administration, Mr. Biden's team of more than 500 former officials and outside experts has embraced workarounds." In an analysis, the Washington Post (11/12, Phillips, 14.2M) says that national security officials "are concerned...other countries - and the coronavirus - could take advantage of a slowed transition for...Biden," and democracy experts "warn that the Republican Party is undermining the foundations of the U.S. electoral system and that the GOP is mirroring authoritarianism." PROTEST FBI Probing Post-Election Vandalism Targeting Government. The Oregonian (11/13, Bernstein, 1M) reports, "Federal officials are investigating a cluster of vandalism that appears to target government employees in the Pacific Northwest and Portland area in the wake of the presidential election, according to a federal source familiar with the cases." According to the Oregonian, "On Wednesday morning, a federal law enforcement officer's unmarked take-home work vehicle was set on fire outside his Washington County home. The officer works at a federal building in downtown Portland, the source said. The FBI, the U.S Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington County Sheriff's EFTA00148967 Office and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue are investigating the fire. No arrest has been made, sheriff's Sgt. Robert L. Rookhujizen said Friday." Trump Denounces "Antifa Scum" For Clashes After His Supporters DC Rally. The Washington Times (11/15, Mordock, 492K) reports President Trump on Saturday "slammed 'ANTIFA SCUM', the media and D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser as pro-Trump supporters and leftist activists violently clashed in Washington." The Times adds, "More than 20 people were arrested, according to statements from the U.S. Park Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. D.C. Police said two of its officers were injured late Saturday evening." Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said on Fox News' MediaBuzz (11/15, 536K) it is "shameful that some of the competing networks whether it be CNN or MSNBC have not covered it the way that they should. The fact of the matter is these were peaceful protesters, so to speak, folks who were going to talk about their support for President Trump, and out of nowhere Antifa and these BLM protesters come in and start hitting them. ... These aren't Trump supporters that are showing up and committing the violence. I think the media needs to cover this, and I do think that whether it be the DC police or the DOJ, there have to be immediate crackdowns on groups like Antifa because this isn't how society is supposed to wok." Nearly Two Dozen Arrested In Washington, DC Trump Protests. The AP (11/15, Khalil, Freking) reports, "Demonstrations over President Donald Trump's loss at the polls have resulted in charges against nearly two dozen people in Washington, including a person accused of setting off a commercial firework and four people accused in an assault that left the victim unconscious on the street." According to the AP, "The arrests came during and after protesters and counterdemonstrators clashed Saturday in Northwest Washington. Several thousand people rallied during the day in support of Trump, whose motorcade briefly drove by the gathering protesters Saturday morning on the way to the president's Northern Virginia golf club. Trump supporters marched from Freedom Plaza to the Supreme Court Building, across from the Capitol, during the day. Their activities and those of counterdemonstrators grew increasing tense and took a violent turn in the early evening." WPost Analysis: Following Summer Of Demonstrations, Americans Voted In Favor Of Criminal Justice Reform. A Washington Post (11/13, Berman, Jackman, 14.2M) analysis says that after going into "the streets for extended demonstrations this summer to protest police violence and racial injustice," Americans "took to the voting booth" on Election Day "to endorse criminal justice and policing reforms." Americans "backed a string of measures increasing police oversight, elected reform- minded prosecutors, loosened drug laws and passed other proposals rethinking key elements of law enforcement and justice in their communities." The Post adds, "These votes, taken together, signal that after a summer of protest brought renewed scrutiny to the justice system, many Americans were open to rethinking how it functions - particularly on the state and local level, where policies have a stark impact on how people interact with the justice system." However, The Hill (11/14, Axelrod, 2.98M) reports Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) "said progressives' calls to 'defund the police' were in part to blame for Democratic losses in the House in a cycle when the party was expected to gain seats." While on WAMU's "Politics Hour," Warner on Friday said, "I think the ability, using terms like 'defund the police' have led to Democratic losses in this last year." WPost Analysis: How Biden Approaches Police Violence "Could Provide Some Answers To Concerns" Black Voters Have Regarding Democratic Party. In another Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) analysis, Eugene Scott says, "Because the Democratic Party didn't benefit from the blue wave that many expected on Election Day, some lawmakers and party leaders are suggesting Democrats need to distance themselves from the messaging and, perhaps, ideas surrounding one of the most popular issues with the party's base. That could EFTA00148968 mean disappointing one of the groups that can take credit for Joe Biden's victory: Black voters." A Post-Ipsos poll from June shows that "Black voters considered racism and policing to be among their top issues heading into the election." The Post adds that a large number of Americans want Biden "to approach concerns about police violence differently than Trump. How his administration responds could provide some answers to concerns of Black voters that the Democratic Party is always ready to take their votes but not fully address their issues." Even With New Police Law, Critics Feel Baltimore County Has A Great Deal More To Do. The Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) says Baltimore County in October approved a policing law that, among other things, "compels officers to intervene if they witness excessive use of force." Moreover, the bill is meant "to curtail the use of chokeholds by county officers, allowing that use of force only in defense against death or serious bodily injury." Critics, however, "say that while the legislation and other recent changes have some merit, the county has much more to do." NAACP Baltimore County Branch President Tony Fugett said, "The proof is in the pudding," adding, "You've checked all the boxes. Now the work has to begin, and are you really in earnest going to do the work?" Fugett "said the NAACP has been `screaming at the top of our lungs' about the police department's issues internally and with traffic stop disparities, but he is glad the county is finally taking steps to address it." NYTimes Al: Some Staff Members At New York City Police Watchdog Claim Recent Layoffs At Agency Were Due To Retaliation. On its front page, the New York Times (11/12, Al, Southall, 18.61M) reported, "Four senior officials at the New York City agency that examines allegations of police misconduct were laid off abruptly on Thursday in what officials described as a restructuring meant to expand its investigative muscle." However, a number of staff members at "the agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, said the layoffs were retaliation for the officials' roles in criticizing how the board responds when the Police Department refuses to cooperate with its investigations." The Times adds, "The layoffs came after several high-profile police killings of Black people, including George Floyd in Minneapolis, touched off huge protests against police brutality across the United States and led to a surge of complaints against officers in New York and other cites." Minneapolis Sees Surging Violence As Droves Of Officers Leave Police Department. The Washington Post (11/12, Bailey, 14.2M) reports that about half a year after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis precipitated enormous "protests and left a wide swath of the city burned and destroyed, Minneapolis is grappling with dueling crises: an unprecedented wave of violence and droves of officer departures that the Minneapolis Police Department warns could soon leave the force unable to respond to emergencies." According to the Post, "Homicides in Minneapolis are up 50 percent, with nearly 75 people killed across the city so far this year. More than 500 people have been shot, the highest number in more than a decade and twice as many as in 2019. And there have been more than 4,600 violent crimes - including hundreds of carjackings and robberies - a five-year high." NYC Pilot Program Will See Dispatchers Send Mental Health Units To Respond To Mental Health Calls Instead Of Police. Bloomberg (11/13, Akinnibi, 4.73M) reports that New York City "plans to test out a program where dispatchers send out emergency medical services and mental health crisis workers, instead of police officers, to mental health-related calls, making it the latest city to attempt a pivot away from policing as a cure-all." Bloomberg adds, "The city's mental health teams will work in two high-need communities starting in February." The teams are going to respond instead of the conventional "police and paramedic teams, except in cases that involve a weapon or imminent danger, according to a statement from Mayor Bill de Blasio's office this week." EFTA00148969 Louisville Family Still Getting Harassed By Neighbor Who Allegedly Painted Racist Message On Their Driveway. The Washington Post (11/13, Salcedo, 14.2M) says that in June, Connie and Michella Pineda went outside their Louisville home and discovered "a bright orange swastika and a racist message spray-painted on their driveway." Upon checking a security camera, the Pinedas, "who are Latina and Filipina, respectively," discovered "they knew the attacker, they later told police," with the perpetrator being their neighbor. That individual, Suzanne Craft, in July "was charged with criminal mischief and later sentenced to seven days of jail and house arrest for violating a no-contact order with the couple, as reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal." Now, however, the Pinedas indicate that "they suspect Craft is still targeting them and their five children with racist harassment." The Post says it was told by the Pineda's attorney that their security cameras during recent weeks captured Craft putting "cat litter in their fountain and" leaving "what appeared to be a bag of threatening letters on their lawn." Rittenhouse's Mother Slams Biden For Showing Son In Campaign Ad. The Washington Times (11/13, Blake, 492K) reports, "The mother of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager facing murder charges for the deaths of two people shot this summer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, slammed Joseph R. Biden for including her son in a campaign ad." During a Thursday interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson, Wendy Rittenhouse said regarding Biden, "I will take him down," adding, "Cheaters don't win, and he used my son's image to get votes," OPERATION LEGEND Nearly 360 Arrests In St. Louis Area Under Operation LeGend. KMOV-TV St. Louis (11/13, 362K) reports, "St. Louis is leading the pack when it comes to arrests through Operation LeGend," which "brings in federal law enforcement agencies to work with state and local law enforcement to try and root out violent crime." KMOV-TV adds, "Since the program first came to St. Louis, 828 people have been arrested, including 43 homicide suspects, and 359 guns were seized. According to officials, 357 people have been federally charged in the area. `Through Operation LeGend, we have dedicated over 1,000 federal agents and tens of millions of dollars to the cities. This includes our agents and intelligence analysts, fugitive trackers, forensic experts to work with our task forces to take violent criminals off the street. We have already seen some excellent results around the country,' said U.S. Attorney General William Barr." COUNTER-TERRORISM Two Testify Against Alleged Ringleader Of Minnesota Mosque Bombing. The AP (11/13) reports from St. Paul, Minnesota, "Two Illinois men who pleaded guilty to a 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque testified that the group's alleged ringleader recruited them for an unspecified job and didn't fill them in on his plan until they neared their target." Michael McWhorter, 31, and Joe Morris, 25, "testified that Michael Hari hated Muslims, and they said they participated in the attack at Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center at Hari's instruction," but "Hari's trial was stopped abruptly Friday after a juror's spouse tested positive for COVID-19. The Star Tribune reported that the trial will be in recess while tests are done to determine if the jury was exposed. It will resume late next week at the earliest." The Minneapolis Star Tribune (11/13, Mannix, 1.04M) reports, "As they drove through their rural community in central Illinois in summer 2017, Michael Hari asked Joe Morris if he wanted to take a job. `He said that it wouldn't be exactly legal,' Morris, 25, recounted to jurors in St. Paul's federal courthouse on Friday, `but we were going to harass the untouchables.' The `untouchables; Hail told Morris, included people the government couldn't get to, such as EFTA00148970 George Soros, antifa and ISIS, according to Morris's testimony. And 'harass' meant to 'take the money, destroy their buildings,' said Morris, swiveling back and forth in his chair in the courtroom. On the fifth day of Hari's domestic terrorism trial, Morris, a key witness for the prosecution, told the jury that Hari planned and recruited him to help carry out the Aug. 5, 2017, bombing of Dar Al-Farooq mosque in Bloomington. Hari, 49, of Clarence, Ill., has pleaded not guilty to five federal charges, including civil rights and hate crimes." Nevada Man Sentenced To Two Years In Bomb Plot Case. The AP (11/13, Ritter, Kunzelman) reports from Las Vegas, "A white supremacist who told an undercover FBI agent about his plans to firebomb a synagogue or attack a Las Vegas bar catering to LGBTQ customers was sentenced Friday to two years in prison." Conor Climo, 24, "apologized before U.S. District Judge James Mahan sentenced him to prison followed by six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring. Prosecutors recommended a 30- month prison sentence." Judge Mahan "gave Climo credit for the jail time he already has served since his August 2019 arrest and agreed to recommend that he serves his prison time in Louisiana, near grandparents whom he plans to live with after his release. Defense attorney Paul Riddle said his client is grateful that FBI agents arrested him when they did because he knows that he was on a 'very dark path." KVVU-TV Las Vegas (11/13, Emerson, 124K) reports, "According to court documents, Climo was communicating with members of a white supremacist group Feuerkrieg Division. Prosecutors said the group encourages attacks on federal government, infrastructure, minorities and members of the LGBTQ community. In online conversations from May 2019 to July 2019, Climo discussed setting fire to a Las Vegas synagogue and using Molotov cocktails, according to prosecutors. They said Climo also conducted surveillance on a bar located on Fremont Street he believed catered to the LGBTQ community. Climo pleaded guilty on Feb. 10 to one count of possession of an unregistered fiream; namely, components to make a bomb. Climo was investigated by an FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force." Biden Urged To Create White House Position Tasked With Combatting Domestic Terrorism. The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Levy, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Joe Biden is being urged to create a White House position responsible for the fight against ideologically inspired terrorists in the US and to increase funding to combat such groups. NYTimes Al: Intelligence Officials Confirm Israeli Operatives Killed Key Al Qaeda Leader In Iran. In a front-page article, the New York Times (11/13, Al, Goldman, Schmitt, Fassihi, Bergman, 18.61M) reports intelligence officials have confirmed "Al Qaeda's second-highest leader, accused of being one of the masterminds of the deadly 1998 attacks on American embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran three months ago." According to the Times, "Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down on the streets of Tehran by two assassins on a motorcycle on Aug. 7, the anniversary of the embassy attacks. He was killed along with his daughter, Miriam, the widow of Osama bin Laden's son Hamza bin Laden." The Times adds, "The attack was carried out by Israeli operatives at the behest of the United States, according to four of the officials. It is unclear what role if any was played by the United States, which had been tracking the movements of Mr. al-Masri and other Qaeda operatives in Iran for years." CNN (11/14, Lister, Cruickshank, Balkiz, 83.16M) reports that on Friday, a "senior counterterrorism official" told them "that Abu Muhammad al-Masri is probably dead." The AP (11/14, Lee, LaPorta) reports Al-Masri's death "is a blow to al-Qaida" and "comes amid rumors in the Middle East about the fate of the group's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The officials could not confirm those reports but said the U.S. intelligence community was trying to EFTA00148971 determine their credibility." Two officials - "one within the intelligence community and with direct knowledge of the operation and another former CIA officer briefed on the matter — said al-Masri was killed by Kidon, a unit within the secretive Israeli spy organization Mossad allegedly responsible for the assassination of high-value targets." The Washington Post (11/14, Nakashima, 14.2M) says that a "report about Masri's death was posted and quickly deleted from a private al-Qaeda forum last month, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremism online. Al-Qaeda has repeatedly failed to acknowledge the deaths of its leaders in the past two years, fearful that to do so would betray its weakness, SITE founder Rita Katz said." Reuters (11/14) reports that a US official, "speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, declined to confirm any details of the Times story or say whether there was any U.S. involvement. The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment." The Hill (11/14, 2.98M) also runs a report, among others. Iranian Foreign Ministry Denies Report. The New York Times (11/14, Fassihi, 18.61M) reports Iran's Foreign Ministry on Saturday "denied a report that Israeli agents had fatally shot Al Qaeda's second-ranking leader on the streets of Tehran, likening it to a 'Hollywood' scenario manufactured by 'American and Zionist' officials." French Government Defends Response To Islamist Terrorist Attacks. The Washington Post (11/14, McAuley, 14.2M) reports, "The French government is bristling at international criticism of its response to recent Islamist terrorist attacks, accusing foreign leaders and journalists of misrepresenting an attempt to target extremist violence on French soil as a crackdown on Islam." While "prominent French Muslim faith leaders and intellectuals have largely endorsed Macron's anti-separatism campaign, reiterating that there is no official discrimination against Muslims in France and speaking out in favor of France's unique brand of state secularism...some of these same voices note that members of Macron's own cabinet have undermined his message on Islam with comments that come across as doublespeak." Ethiopian Security Officials Arrest Suspected Members Of Al-Shabaab, ISIS Accused Of Plotting Terror Attacks. Bloomberg (11/14, Gebre, 4.73M) reports, "Ethiopian security officials have arrested 14 suspected members of al-Shabaab and ISIS accused of planning terrorist attacks in the capital Addis Ababa and other parts of the country, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corp. reported, citing a statement from the National Intelligence and Security Service." Eleven Germans Charged With Belonging To Far-Right Terror Group. The AP (11/13) reports, "Eleven German men have been charged with belonging to a far-right terror organization on allegations they were planning deadly attacks on Muslims to create unrest and eventually overthrow the German government, prosecutors said Friday." German federal prosecutors "said eight of the men, led by Werner S. and Tony E., formed the 'Group 5' organization during a meeting in September 2019." The other three men "were accused of joining later, and a twelfth suspect was charged with supporting the group." Local Insurgency In Mozambique Increases Allegiance To Islamic State. The Washington Post (11/13, Chinaka, Wroughton, Warrick, 14.2M) reports, "In the densely forested, oil-and-gas-rich northeast corner of Mozambique, a local Islamic insurgency has steadily escalated with a growing allegiance to the Islamic State and the arrival of foreign fighters using operational techniques similar to those from conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq." Earlier this month, "insurgents decapitated as many as 50 people in attacks on several villages...according to Police Commander Bernardino Rafael." EFTA00148972 COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE Biden Transition, Some Republicans Critical Of Trump's Refusal To Share Classified Information. On the CBS Weekend NewsVi (11/14, story 2, 2:13, Yuccas, 2.85M), Chip Reid reported that Biden's transition team "says planning is proceeding but it is hampered by President Trump's refusal to authorize the usual sharing of classified information. Even several Republican senators have called for President Trump to authorize comprehensive intelligence briefings for the Biden team." In a statement, former White House chief of staff John Kelly told CBS News, "It is not about the President or about Mr. Biden. It is about America and what is best for our people. Mr. Trump should order the transition process begin immediately. It is the right and moral thing to do." On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/14, story 7, 1:46, Diaz-Balart, 5.38M), Geoff Bennett said that with the President "refusing to concede, the Biden transition team is shut out of the current Administration's pandemic planning." Bennett added, "Until the Trump Administration formally recognizes Biden as President-elect, outgoing Trump officials can't share critical COVID vaccine distribution plans with the incoming Biden team." Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain: "The sooner we can get our transition experts into meetings with the folks who are planning the vaccination campaign, the more seamless the transition from a Biden presidency to a Trump presidency can be." In a New York Times (11/13, 18.61M) op-ed, Susan Rice, a member of the Biden-Harris transition advisory board but not of the transition team, asserted that in the week "since...Biden's victory became clear," Trump "and his administration have taken no steps toward starting the process of transition. The risks to our national security are mounting." She concluded, "Instead of acting in the national interest to orchestrate a responsible, democratic transition, Mr. Trump and many Republicans are spending time sowing false doubts about the legitimacy of Mr. Biden's election. Tragically, but not surprisingly, Mr. Trump appears determined to take a final wrecking ball to our democracy and national security on his inevitable way out the door." Following Promotion, Giuliani Spreads Conspiracy Theories About Electronic Voting Machines. On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/14, story 6, 0:23, Diaz-Balart, 5.38M), Kelly O'Donnell reported the President's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, "tells us he'll be taking over the litigation team after another Trump adviser contracted COVID." O'Donnell added Giuliani "says he'll be filing additional actions in the coming week," although "so far nothing the Trump team has put forward provides enough evidence to overturn the Biden result." Meanwhile, the New York Times (11/14, Montague, 18.61M) reports Giuliani "continued on Saturday his effort to delegitimize votes cast through electronic voting machines, citing several conspiracies connected to the companies that make the machines and the software they run in a post on Twitter." According to the Times, "Giuliani hinted support for a discredited theory that one of the companies that manufactures the voting machines used in some states, Smartmatic, is controlled by the billionaire philanthropist George Soros." The Times adds the President subsequently "picked up a similar refrain, stating in a tweet that the election was 'stolen' by 'privately owned Radical Left company, Dominion,' without providing evidence or explaining why Dominion was distinct among the many other privately owned election system vendors that routinely administer elections in the United States." However, Politico (11/14, Isenstadt, 4.29M) says that with the campaign "already facing exceedingly long odds in its recount efforts, there are widespread concerns within Trumpworld and GOP circles that Giuliani's antics are thwarting the president's legal machinery from within." Politico adds Giuliani's promotion "also threatens to complicate a legal apparatus that has been EFTA00148973 in the works since June," which Politico (11/13, Caputo, 4.29M) says "is slowly grinding to a halt after suffering a slew of legal defeats and setbacks." According to Politico, "So many lawsuits have been filed in so many state and federal courts that no one has an exact number. But one thing is certain: the Trump campaign has an almost perfect record, having won only one case and lost at least a dozen." In a more than 2,800-word front-page article, the Washington Post (11/14, Al, Fahrenthold, Brown, Knowles, 14.2M) reports that rather than "revealing widespread - or even isolated - fraud, the effort by Trump's legal team has so far done the opposite: It's affirmed the integrity of the election that Trump lost. Nearly every GOP challenge has been tossed out. Not a single vote has been overturned." According to the Post, "Part of the problem is that Trump's approach has been backward: Declare crimes first, then look for proof afterward." In addition, the Wall Street Journal (11/14, Randazzo, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports law firms representing the Trump campaign have been increasingly withdrawing from the cases or seeking to clarify their involvement amid ongoing social media campaigns from the Lincoln Project and the People's Parity Project among other advocacy groups. Meanwhile, Newsweek (11/15, Lemon, 1.53M) reports Sidney Powell, "an attorney representing President Donald Trump, said that CIA director Gina Haspel `should be fired' for not objecting to the use of election software the president and his supporters claim—without providing evidence—allowed President-elect Joe Biden to win through `fraud." In an interview on Saturday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) told Bloomberg (11/14, Larson, 4.73M) that the lawsuits aim to "sow doubt about Biden's victory 'right from the get go' so that he and his `alders and abettors' can use unfounded claims of fraud to challenge Biden's policy proposals and legislative priorities." Nessel added, "None of those claims are true, and the margin of victory is going to be enormous, with both the popular vote and the Electoral College." In a Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) op-ed, David Boies, chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, and Theodore B. Olson, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as well as a former US solicitor general, say they "represented the opposing sides in Bush v. Gore" and "still don't agree about how the Supreme Court ruled, but we completely agree that nothing in that case - or in the Supreme Court's decision - supports the challenges now being thrown about in an attempt to undermine...Biden's victory." They add the outcome of the election is not in doubt, as Biden "will be president." In his Washington Post (11/13, 14.2M) column, Edward B. Foley argued that the Trump campaign's legal challenges "would appall the framers of the Constitution and should be rejected by the kind of originalist judges that Trump has helped install on the federal bench." According to Foley, "Trump's foray into federal court is asking for unprecedented intervention in a presidential election, a move that would contravene basic premises of how the resolution of a dispute over presidential ballots is designed to operate." Republican State Election Officials Deny Trump's Election Fraud Claims. USA Today (11/14, Behrmann, 10.31M) reports that although the President "has claimed, without offering evidence, that the election was overrun by fraud and his campaign filed a number of lawsuits attacking the voting process in several battleground states he went on to lose," state election officials, including "many" Republicans in "crucial swings states have responded by assuring voters there have been no signs of widespread fraud despite what Trump and his supporters have alleged." The New York Times (11/14, Wines, 18.61M) says that while "Republican charges of fictitious voter fraud took center stage before, during and after the count, backed by a barrage of lawsuits intent on making it harder to cast or tally votes," Americans nonetheless "cast ballots at a rate not seen in a century. A Democrat was elected president. And Republicans drew surprising support from Black and Latino voters - the very groups the party historically targeted with restrictive voting laws in state after state." The Times adds, "aspects of this election - especially the shift from Election Day voting to mail ballots, and the party's surprising EFTA00148974 gains with some racial groups — raise questions of whether the Republican strategy of voter restrictions served the party's interests as it once did." However, The Hill (11/14, Polus, 2.98M) reports that Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, "a vocal Trump supporter," on Friday "vehemently defended...Trump's claims that he isn't receiving a chance at a fair election, calling it `outrageous." Dobbs said, "The president doesn't want a statue erected to him." Dobbs added, "What he wants is a free and fair election and honest results, and it's been denied to him." According to Dobbs, "I see so little animation in the Republican Party on this. It's as if it's just another day at the store and when, in fact, I believe the fate of the republic hangs in the balance here." Meanwhile, Washington Post (11/14, 14.2M) columnist Hugh Hewitt argues that if Trump "embraces...Biden, welcomes him to the White House, commands a smooth transition of power, sits on the inauguration platform, smiles and waves as he departs to Mar-a-Lago, the final months of his presidency will be largely just another rake stepped on by Manhattan-Beltway media elites, another orgy of excessive speculation and innuendo," so he should make the next 60 days "about Operation Warp Speed delivering vaccines and therapeutics [as] it will be a glorious pivot in the story, a theme that emerged Friday afternoon in a news conference at the White House." Hewitt adds the President and his loyalists can then "work to maintain a hold on the GOP, which is best accomplished by his proceeding smoothly toward a peaceful, graceful transition of power." Federal Prosecutors Tell Barr They Saw No Evidence Of Substantial "Irregularities" During Elections. The Washington Post (11/13, Zapotosky, Hamburger, 14.2M) reports 16 assistant US attorneys who were "specially assigned to monitor malfeasance in the 2020 election" in a letter on Friday called on Attorney General Barr "to rescind his recent memorandum allowing investigators to publicly pursue allegations of `vote tabulation irregularities' in certain cases before results are certified, saying they had not seen evidence of any substantial anomalies." The Post adds the signatories of the letter "told Barr that the release of his...memorandum - which changed long- standing Justice Department policy on the steps prosecutors can take before the results of an election are certified — 'thrusts career prosecutors into partisan politics." Meanwhile, USA Today (11/13, Phillips, 10.31M) reports 1,000 attorneys, "retired federal and state judges, state attorneys general and law professors" in a letter "criticized the Trump administration over baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election." USA Today adds the letter "asked public officials to stop making false claims of systemic fraud that...Trump has claimed `stole' the election from him." On NBC Nightly NewsVi (11/13, story 5, 3:57, Holt, 5.27M), Cynthia McFadden said Trump's claim that Dominion Voting Systems "deleted 2.7 million Trump votes nationwide, trigger[ed] this response from his own Department of Homeland Security: `There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised." McFadden added, "In the last few days, NBC News has spoken to more than a dozen state election chiefs across the country, Republicans and Democrats alike, who say there is simply no evidence backing up the President's claims of wide scale fraud or even mistakes that would change the ultimate outcome." Washington Reacts To Possible Ouster Of CISA Director. The Washington Post (11/13, Marks, 14.2M) reports that news of CISA Director Christopher Krebs "could be ousted in a post-election firing rampage" at DHS "sent shockwaves through Washington." Krebs "has been overseeing the largest-ever operation to secure a U.S. election...presiding over a 24/7 war room with state and local election officials that launched on Election Day and is still operating." The CISA Director "apparently drew the ire of White House officials with a rumor control page that knocked back phony claims about election fraud." Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) said, "The public EFTA00148975 needs to have accurate information, and when there are rumors and disinformation and misinformation we need a trusted source in government to say, 'Yes, this is true' or'No, it isn't." Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said, "Chris Krebs has done a great job protecting our elections. ... There is no possible justification to remove him from office." Wolf Reportedly Defying Trump's Order To Fire Krebs. The New York Post (11/13, Nelson, 4.57M) reports, "Department of Homeland Securi