EFTA00147306.pdf

From To Subject. „ Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2019 10:30:51 +0000 Importan c e: Normal Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. LiryBI News Briefing TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: FRIDAY, JULY 26, 2019 6:30 AM EDT TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Wray Raises Encryption Concerns At Cyber Conference. • Democrats Mull Next Steps On Impeachment Following Mueller Testimony. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Syrian Refugee Pleads Not Guilty To Pittsburgh Church Bomb Plot Charges. • Teen Pleads Guilty To Plotting New York Muslim Community Bombing. • DO) Official Vows To Step Up Fight Against Hezbollah Amid Iran Tensions. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • Senate Intelligence Committee: Russia Targeted Election Systems In Every State In 2016. • Wikileaks Criticizes New UK Prime Minister For Likely Supporting Assange Extradition To US. • ODNI's Joyce Corell Discusses The Need For Security In Federal Supply Chains. • Opinion: Compromised CIA Technology May Have Led To Iran Identifying Spy Ring. • Opinion: Expanding Covert Agent Secrecy Law Could Discourage CIA Officers To Report On Controversial Activities. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Epstein On Suicide Watch After Being Found Unresponsive In Cell. • Attorney Says Review Raises Doubts About Fatal Texas Drug Raid. • Threats Of "Lethal Force" Against Law Enforcement Prompt Texas FBI Operation. • Prosecutor Says More Could Be Charged In R Kelly Case. • US Examining Photo Of Armed Students At Emmett Till Sign. • NYPD Officer Charged In Murder-For-Hire Plot Blocked From Contact With Son. • Lawsuit Reveals What FBI Agents Found In 2014 Raid Of Arizona Body Donation Center • Suspect Arrested In California Shooting Spree That Killed Four. • FBI Asks Public To Look Out For North Carolina "Pink Lady Bandit." • Alabama Man Gets 10 Years For Shooting Sheriff Deputy. • FBI Says Whitesboro, Schuyler Incidents Related. • Federal Authorities Said To Investigate Hudson County Lottery Pool. • Former Suffolk Cop Sentenced Over Civil Rights Violation. • Bloods Gang Member Sentenced On Heroin Conviction. EFTA00147306 • FBI, Homeland Security Raid Cerritos Home. • Former Dayton Commissioner Accused Of Corruption No Longer KeyBank Market President. • Three Flint Men Face Charges Over Marijuana Grow Robbery. • Second Man Faces Federal Charges In Killing Of South Dakota Woman. • Two Men Sentenced On Child Exploitation Charges. • Albuquerque Man Faces Gun, Drug Choices. • Inmate Gets Seven More Years For Hiring Hitman. • Man Sentenced To Eight Years For Meth Possession, Intent To Distribute. • Man Likely To Get 30 Years For 1999 Kidnapping, Assault. • Granger Man Gets Prison, Order To Pay Back $1.6 Million. • 14 Charged In TDOC Contraband Investigation. • Ex-Milton Mayor Thompson's Sentencing Delayed. • St. Clair Sheriff's Office Helps FBI Bring In Child Porn Fugitive. • Authorities Offering $32,000 For Info On Assault Of Baltimore Police Employee. • Man Busted On Meth Charges Sentenced To Eight Years. • FBI Explains How Intrust Robber Was Caught So Quickly. • San Fernando Valley Shooting Suspect In Custody. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • Puerto Rico's Next Governor Already Under Fire. • FBI Reportedly Probing California Political Consultant's Work. • Former Oyster Bay, New York Supervisor Expected To Plead Guilty To Corruption Charges. • FBI Reportedly Probing Online Reputation Management Firms. • Amid Federal Probe, Oklahoma Charter Schools Operator Will Continue To Get State Funding, Accreditation. • FBI Affidavit Alleges Mail, Wire Fraud By Outcome Health, Co-Founders. • North Carolina Mega-Donor's PAC Forfeited $475,000 To Federal Authorities. • FBI Probing Possible Insider Trading At Long Island Iced Tea Corp. • US Finds Potential Fraud In Student Loan Repayment Programs. • Rolls-Royce Defendant Skips $9 Million Bail. • Seattle Doctor Charged In Opioid Kickback Scheme. CYBER DIVISION • FBI Probing Ransomware Attack On Collierville, Tennessee. • Cybersecurity Firm: More Than 23 Million Stolen Credit Cards Are Being Traded On Dark Web. • Tech Firms Step Up Fight Against Terrorists Using Platforms To Recruit, Campaign. • Facebook Removes Fake Accounts From Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, Honduras. • British Cyber Expert To Be Sentenced Today In US For Creating Malware. • Judge Hears Arguments In Georgia Voting Machine Lawsuit. • Brazilian President's Cellphone Hacked Amid Scandal Intrigue. • Attempting To Define Cyber Command's Future Role. • Opinion: Appropriate Language And Rhteroic Critical For Framing Problems By Military Professionals. • NSA's Cybersecurity Directorate Selects Leadership. • Congress Debating Which Agency Should Manage Cyberthreats To US Oil And Gas Pipelines. LABORATORY • DNA Evidence Links Maryland Man To 1999 Kidnapping Of 10-Year-Old Girl. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • FBI Phoenix Warns Of Phone Scammers Posing As Federal Agents. • Barr Announces Five Child Murderers In Federal Custody Will Be Executed. EFTA00147307 • Trump Calls Dousing Attacks On NYPD Officers "Unacceptable" And "Tragic." • Author Of "Orange Is The New Black" Calls For Criminal Justice Reform. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS • Canadian Police Continue Search For Suspects In American's Murder. • Europol: Police Bust Global Balkan Cocaine Cartel. OTHER FBI NEWS • FBI Agents Settle Into New Rapid City, South Dakota Location. • New Honolulu SAC Named. • Newington Rotary Club Drawing Attention To Trafficking In Connecticut. • "BTK" Serial Killer's Daughter In "Extended Period Of Trying To Recover." • FBI Warns Families About Kidnapping Scams. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Budget Deal Easily Passes House, But With Two-Thirds Of Republicans Opposed. • Barr Discusses Antitrust Concerns Related To Tech Companies With States. • DO) Pressing States To Support T-Mobile/Sprint Merger. • Southwest Airlines Grounding Boeing 737 MAX Planes Until Next Year. • White House To Fight Ruling Blocking New Asylum Rules. • Administration Mulls Travel Ban On Guatemala. • Morgan: 52 Miles Of New Wall System Has Been Built. • Democrats Boycott Senate Hearing On Border Bill. • House Democrats Confront Officials Over Family Separations. • Record 61,000 Unaccompanied Migrant Children In Federal Custody Since October. • Border Patrol Chief Was Member Of Racist Facebook Group Under Investigation. • House Approves TPS For Venezuelans. • Sixteen Marines Charged With Smuggling Migrants. • Migrants Transported Away From Nuevo Laredo To Monterrey. • Mexico's Murder Rate Hit Record High In 2018. • Senate Confirms Milley As Next Joint Chiefs Chairman. • Senate Committee Backs Craft To Be UN Ambassador. • Lawmakers Delay Action To Hold Conway In Contempt. • House Panel Subpoenas Kushner And Ivanka Trump's Personal Emails, Texts. • Norton Seeks To Block Administration's Plan To Relocate Federal Workers. • Different Judge Will Hear Trump Suit To Block Democrats Getting His New York Tax Returns. • Altered Presidential Seal Projected Behind Trump At Turning Point USA Event. • Democrats Say They Will "Own" August Recess. • Giuliani Says He Had To Borrow $100,000 From Trump Lawyer To Pay Taxes. INTERNATIONAL NEWS • Navy SEALs Sent Home For Drunken Behavior In Iraq. • Ignatius: US Turning Its Back On Kurdish Allies In Syria. • Pompeo, Ghani Agree To "Accelerate Efforts" To End War In Afghanistan. • Trump "Very Disappointed" After Swedish Court Charges ASAP Rocky With Assault. • Pompeo: US Still Wants North Korea Talks Despite Launches. • Pompeo Says He's Willing To Go To Tehran To Take Message To Iranians. • Pompeo Urges Turkey Not To Make Russian Missile System "Operational." • Senate Panel Advances Saudi Sanctions Measure. • Tunisian President Essebsi Dies At 92. • Concerns Rise About Potential Chinese Military Response To Hong Kong Protests. EFTA00147308 • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. • Mongolian President To Visit White House Next Week. • US Sanctions Maduro's Stepsons, Others For Alleged Food Corruption. • Media Analyses: Johnson Echoes Trump In Pledging To Deliver Brexit. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Wray Raises Encryption Concerns At Cyber Conference. The Washington Times (7/25, Blake, 492K) reports that Director Wray "echoed" Attorney General Barr on Thursday "by calling on tech companies to help solve investigative setbacks caused by criminals using encrypted devices and messaging platforms." Wray "made the plea while speaking at the International Conference on Cyber Security at Fordham University in New York, where Mr. Barr raised similar concerns during his keynote address earlier in the week. 'Cybersecurity is a central part of the FBI's mission,' said Mr. Wray, according to his prepared remarks. 'But as the attorney general discussed earlier this week, our request for lawful access cannot be considered in a vacuum. It's got to be viewed more broadly, taking into account the American public's interest in the security and safety of our society, and our way of life. That's important because this is an issue that's getting worse and worse all the time." In a paywall-protected article, Law360 (7/25, Subscription Publication, 8K) reports that Wray "called on tech companies to build a way for authorities to access encrypted devices, backing up" Bar's comments "earlier this week and echoing what has become a familiar government refrain. 'There's one thing I know for sure: It cannot be a sustainable end state for us to be creating an unfettered space that's beyond lawful access for terrorists, hackers, and child predators to hide," Wray said. CNBC (7/25, Fazzini, 3.62M) reports that Wray said he strongly supported Barr's comments "that tech companies need to provide a way for law enforcement to access criminals' and suspects' encrypted phones and apps. 'I get frustrated when I hear people suggest that we are trying to weaken encryption or weaken cybersecurity more broadly,' Wray said. 'As the attorney general discussed a few days ago, our requests can't be assessed in a vacuum. That's important because this is an issue that is becoming worse and worse all the time." The Wall Street Journal (7/25, Rundle, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman echoed Wray's and Barr's comments, saying, "We're not talking about a back door into these systems. We're talking about cooperation with private companies that will allow us access to the information when we need it." Brooklyn US Attorney Richard Donoghue said the US had "struck the balance between privacy and public safety" with the Fourth Amendment. Democrats Mull Next Steps On Impeachment Following Mueller Testimony. ABC World News TonightVI (7/25, story 4, 1:50, Muir, 597K) reported on "the divide on Capitol Hill among Democrats: Do they move forward with impeachment one day after Robert Mueller testified before the American people, saying he did not exonerate the President?" ABC's Mary Bruce: "Less than 24 hours after Robert Mueller was sworn in, Democrats were eager today to pivot back to their agenda. ... Mueller's testimony add[ed] new fire to the impeachment debate," but was "not enough to move the needle" for House Speaker Pelosi. Norah O'Donnell said on the CBS Evening NewsVi (7/25, story 7, 1:45, 251K) that Mueller's "appearance on Capitol Hill yesterday was not quite what Democrats were hoping for and did not make impeachment any more likely, [so] the Democrats are regrouping." Lester Holt said on NBC Nightly NewsVI (7/25, story 5, 0:55, 127K) that Democrats "are still debating whether to pursue impeachment of the President. ... This is a big split among Democrats and it EFTA00147309 didn't change because of yesterday." NBC's Kristen Welker: "Democrats are still very divided about how to move forward. ... There's broad agreement the Mueller hearings did not deliver the kind of punch they were hoping for to start impeachment proceedings, and that it actually may have blunted momentum, but there are still Democrats who are not ready to give up on impeachment." The Washington Post (7/25, Bade, Debonis, 14.2M) reports Democrats are now "struggling to figure out their next move" after the "highly anticipated hearing...fell flat, forcing some Democrats to second-guess their strategy while aggravating divisions in the party over impeachment." The New York Times (7/25, Hulse, 18.61M) writes that President Trump "was probably never going to be impeached" before the 2020 election, and "the absence of an electrifying Washington moment" during Mueller's testimony "makes that a near certainty." The Hill (7/25, Beavers, 2.98M) reports, "Several rank-and-file Democrats in the House are feeling deflated" over Mueller's testimony, "with some blaming the media and their own party for overhyping hearings they say fell short of expectations. While many Democrats publicly heralded Mueller's testimony," some "privately expressed disappointment in his, at times, shaky performance, the brevity of his answers and the lack of a big moment that would have shifted the electorate's sentiment on whether President Trump was guilty of obstruction." Politico (7/25, Johnson, Everett, 4.29M) says "impeachment took a blow" with Mueller's "muted and sometimes shaky testimony." Despite all this, Politico (7/25, Cheney, Desiderio, 4.29M) says in another report, impeachment supporters "showed new signs of life Thursday." Five more Democrats "publicly endorsed an impeachment inquiry post-Mueller, joining more than 90 lawmakers who had already come out in favor," including Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), "vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus and the highest-ranking Democrat to join the effort." The New York Times (7/25, Fandos, Davis, Stolberg, 18.61M) says "some senior lawmakers" are now "pushing...to begin formal impeachment hearings soon." House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler "has gradually become convinced that his panel should proceed with impeachment hearings and do so as expeditiously as possible, though he has not stated so publicly, according to lawmakers and aides familiar with his thinking." Nadler said on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360Vi (7/25, 706K), "[Attorney General] Barr has been lying about what was in the report. It was important that that be demolished, and that the findings of the report - which are very, very damning to the President - be put before the American people." Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) was asked on CNN's The LeadVI (7/25, 963K) why she favors an impeachment inquiry. Speier said, "The President has obstructed justice on 12 different occasions. Even if you were to be of the opinion that he actually didn't get to go all the way through with it because Don McGahn didn't follow through, the intent to obstruct justice is a crime as well." But the Daily Caller (7/25, Conklin, 716K) reports that House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, a vocal critic of the President, "is `not convinced' Democrats should follow through with impeachment proceedings. He told CNN that the only way Trump will be removed from office is if he is `voted out' in 2020." In an op-ed in the New York Times (7/25, 18.61M), President of the American Constitution Society Caroline Fredrickson writes, "Special Counsel Robert Mueller publicly confirmed 100 percent of the devastating findings of his report, and made clear that his inquiry does not exonerate the president. She contends that "examination of the questions concerning President Trump's actions and other misconduct identified by Mueller should be the highest priority for every member of Congress, no matter their party affiliation. Public accountability requires nothing less, because no one in this country, no matter how high, should be above the law. Reuters (7/25, Morgan) reports the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee "is expected to move its obstruction investigation of the president into federal court this week with a lawsuit to compel former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify and a separate legal request for access to the Mueller probe's grand jury evidence." EFTA00147310  The Wall Street Journal (7/25, Thomas, McCormick, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports Democratic presidential candidates have steered away from discussing the issue. While a majority of the two dozen contenders have backed some form of impeachment inquiry, they are generally not discussing it on the campaign trail. Joe Biden did say in an interview with Urban One Radio's Tom Joyner that aired Thursday, "I think Nancy [Pelosirs going about it the right way." The AP (7/25, Miller) writes, "While the Mueller probe loomed as a pressing political problem for Trump," the President "also saw that it could be turned into an asset. From the start, he's peppered his campaign rallies with complaints about the swirling investigation getting in the way of his agenda. And Trump has no plans to let go of the now-concluded Mueller inquiry as his focus turns toward reelection." Hugh Hewitt writes in his Washington Post (7/25, 14.2M) that Trump "has decisively repulsed the attempt to deny him the opportunity to win that vindication at the polls in November 2020. Indeed, the president is now obviously, and with a high probability of success, going on the offensive." Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on Fox News' The Story (7/25), "I think [Mueller and his staff) were working with the Democrats. I think when you look at Mueller's team, it was a team that we still don't know how that got put together. ... I think what we didn't expect is that Mr. Mueller didn't seem to know a whole lot about the report." Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said on Fox News' The Story (7/25), "What's really amazing to me, I think the House Judiciary Committee, I think they are just so delusional about what they wanted to Mueller to say and what it didn't say and they tried to convince themselves of the new narrative since then." Michael Gerson writes in the Washington Post (7/25, 14.2M), "Something did end during the Mueller hearings, at least for me. It was the death of the deus ex machina - the hope that a G-man of mythic abilities would decisively intervene on the side of good and save the honor of the country. ... I invested a great deal of trust in Mueller, who is the living repudiation of the shoddiness and shallowness of the Trump era. ... When politics is contaminated by hatred and cruelty, our ritual of renewal is a national election with a decisive result. And that means the savior is us." The Washington Post (7/24, Zak, Yuan, 14.2M) assesses that Mueller "was a star witness who eschews stardom. ... Democrats tried to cast him as a patriot who has exposed a corrupt and criminal president. Republicans tried to cast him as a figurehead who had no control over a posse of partisan assassins." CNN (7/25, Wolf, 83.16M) assesses "it was on one hand refreshing to see a congressional witness answer simply and maddening because both Democrats and Republicans actually wanted answers from him. What was left for Democrats was to read incriminating sections from the obstruction of justice portions of the redacted report and for Mueller to verifying them. And for Republicans, it was an opportunity to poke holes in the report's reasoning and try to tie Mueller in knots, which they did to some effect as he shuffled through the redacted version of the report in a three-ring binder containing the report and trying to follow along." In her column in the Wall Street Journal (7/25, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) Kimberly Strassel writes that a key aspect of the Mueller report is how it orginated, namely the Steele Dossier. She contends that Mueller's opening statement confirms that the omission has been deliberate. She argues that it reinforces the need for Attorney General Barr's investigation into the origins of the Russia inquiry. In a 2,500-word fact-check piece, the Washington Post (7/25, Rizzo, Kessler, 14.2M) looks at "some of the claims made by lawmakers that were factually shaky or misleading" during the Mueller testimony. The Daily Caller (7/25, Athey, 716K) criticizes the Post for "fact check[ing) only Republicans" in the piece. Republicans Continue To Question Mueller's Condition. A continuing substory of the Mueller hearings regards Mueller's condition during his first public congressional testimony EFTA00147311 in six years. The Washington Times (7/25, Mordock, 492K) reports Republicans "had expected former special counsel Robert Mueller's feeble testimony" according to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who said Thursday that "the 74-year-old prosecutor's health had been a hot topic in GOP prep sessions." Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham told the Times, "I know he's in a weakened condition." The Washington Examiner (7/25, Pearce, 448K) reports Mueller "stuttered, misheard questions, and gave elusive answers for nearly seven hours of testimony." In a Thursday tweet, Rudy Giuliani referred to Mueller's "impaired cognition." Politico (7/25, Forgey, 4.29M) reports White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Thursday, "I feel great empathy and compassion for folks who, as some of these headlines suggest, may be feeble or not understanding some of the questions - asking them to be repeated, clearly not conversant with the facts and with his own report." Breitbart (7/25, Key, 673K) reports Conway added, "I've read the polls that very few Americans say they've read the Mueller report. I'd like to know if that number includes Bob Mueller himself." Conway said on Fox News (7/25) that the Mueller hearings were "seen by most Americans as a political exercise, not a legal exercise. I saw Mueller as somebody who resents being used and abused by people...who can't just move on." Anne Applebaum writes in the Washington Post (7/25, 14.2M), "In principle, it shouldn't matter" whether Mueller "speaks a lot or a little, whether he is charming or charmless, whether he stumbles occasionally or does not ever stumble. ... He is meant to produce evidence, not entertain." However, "we don't live in a world where only facts matter. What matters, even more, is trust. What matters more is who presents the facts and how they are presented." In an op-ed in The Hill (7/25, 2.98M), former FBI Assistant Director Kevin Brock writes Mueller's "unsteady testimony before Congress this week should not define his legacy." However, Mueller's "rough day of congressional testimony brought added texture to what the American people are seeing more clearly with each passing day: The processes and infrastructure of government that we trust to fairly administer justice were imperiled for naked political motivations and advantage. It was cynical and wrong, and it begs for reform so that it never happens again." Mueller Hearings Drew Smaller TV Audiences Than Comey And Cohen. The AP (7/25, Bauder) reports, "Nearly 13 million people watched former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony before two House committees on the biggest broadcast and cable news networks," according to Nielsen data. The hearings drew smaller audiences than did "well- publicized hearings involving three other Trump-era figures: former FBI director James Comey (19.5 million), Trump attorney Michael Cohen (15.8 million) and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh (20.4 million)." The Daily Caller (7/25, 716K) reports Fox News "blew away the competition" in the ratings for its coverage with just over three million viewers; second-place MSNBC had about 2.4 million, each of the broadcast networks about two million, and CNN just over 1.5 million. The Washington Free Beacon (7/25, Griswold, 78K) reports former MNSBC host Krystal Ball "criticized her former network Thursday for pushing `conspiracy theories' about Donald Trump and Russia after special counsel Robert Mueller's disappointing testimony before Congress." Ball "stressed that her critique was not a personal attack on her former colleagues, many of whom she still considers friends, but complained that `nearly all of [them] got swept up in the ratings bubble that was feverish Russian conspiracy theories." The New York Times (7/25, Grynbaum, 18.61M) writes, "Television's Trump bump may be fading. Or perhaps the reticent witness - a career prosecutor who delivered terse, technical answers - was not the type to keep Americans tuned in for a marathon day of viewing. Whatever the reason, the ratings...failed to match the big viewership for other recent political spectacles." COUNTER-TERRORISM EFTA00147312 Syrian Refugee Pleads Not Guilty To Pittsburgh Church Bomb Plot Charges. The AP (7/25) reports from Pittsburgh, "A Syrian refugee accused of plotting to bomb a Christian church in Pittsburgh to inspire Islamic State of Iraq followers has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges." Mustafa Mousab Alowemer "entered his plea Wednesday during his arraignment in federal court. His lawyers have dismissed the alleged plotting as `puffery and bragging." Alowemer "is charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and two counts of distributing information about an explosive, destructive device, or weapon of mass destruction." Teen Pleads Guilty To Plotting New York Muslim Community Bombing. WROC-TV Rochester, NY (7/25) reports from Rochester, New York, "The fourth suspect who plotted to bomb a Muslim community near the Pennsylvania border has pleaded guilty." Police said Nicholas Pheilshifter, 16, "along with three others planned to bomb Islamberg, in Tompkins County." Pheilshifter "pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon as a case of terrorism," and "he faces seven years in prison and five years of post release supervision." Pheilshifter is scheduled to be sentenced on August 9. In June, "three others pleaded guilty in connection to the incident." Investigators "said they had made explosive devices using mason jars and duct tape, with black power inside the jars along with projectiles like BBs and nails." DOJ Official Vows To Step Up Fight Against Hezbollah Amid Iran Tensions. The Washington Examiner (7/25, Dunleavy, 448K) reports, "A top Justice Department official made it clear Thursday that combating Hezbollah is a top priority for the department, a move that puts pressure on the terrorist organization's sponsor, Iran." Principal Deputy Attorney General John Cronan, "who leads the department's team that investigates Hezbollah financing and narcoterrorism, laid out the government's efforts and plans for dismantling and neutralizing the Iranian-backed terrorist group during a conference commemorating the victims of the Hezbollah bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Argentina 25 years ago. 'Destroying Hezbollah's support networks and neutralizing the Hezbollah threat is a top priority for this Department of Justice and will continue to be,' Cronan said, though full details of the operations can't be shared. 'Investigations may be covert, charges may be sealed, defendants may be cooperating, and Hezbollah supporters may be facing non-terrorism crimes as we work to build terrorism charges; he said." COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE Senate Intelligence Committee: Russia Targeted Election Systems In Every State In 2016. The New York Times (7/25, Sanger, Edmondson, 18.61M) reports the Senate Intelligence Committee "concluded Thursday that election systems in all 50 states were targeted by Russia in 2016, an effort more far-reaching than previously acknowledged and one largely undetected by the states and federal officials at the time." But while the report's warning that the US "remains vulnerable in the next election is clear, its findings were so heavily redacted at the insistence of American intelligence agencies that even some key recommendations for 2020 were blacked out." Bloomberg (7/25, Dennis, 4.73M) says the report "recounted 'extensive' efforts by Russia to compromise the U.S.'s election infrastructure from 2014 to 'at least 2017' and urged new efforts to deter the threat." Mary Bruce reported on ABC World News TonightVi (7/25, story 5, 0:30, Muir, 597K), "This bipartisan report outlines sweeping attempts by Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. It says that Russia targeted all 50 states, though no votes were changed. And the report warns that swift action needs to be taken to shore up these systems, because they say Russia will be EFTA00147313 at it again." The CBS Evening NewsVI (7/25, story 6, 0:20, O'Donnell, 251K) briefly covered the report as well. The Wall Street Journal (7/25, Strobel, Hughes, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) says the report recommends states adopt voting machines that have a verified paper trail and that are not connected to wireless networks, and urges states not to implement online voting. CS2 Roll Call (7/25, Lesniewski, 154K) reports that a "key objective, according to the report, is to reinforce the `primacy' of states in running elections. Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden offered a dissent, saying he could not support such a statement, but in general, the report appears to be overwhelmingly bipartisan. Three other Democrats on the panel expressed general, but not universal, agreement with the report." The Los Angeles Times (7/25, Megerian, 4.64M) reports that "experts warn that time is running out to boost local and state defenses before the 2020 election. That message was amplified Thursday when the Senate Intelligence Committee released a bipartisan report on gaps in election infrastructure security, from voter registration to voting machines." The Washington Post (7/25, Demirjian, Itkowitz, 14.2M) reports that the SSCI "echoed findings from other federal officials who have said there is no evidence that any votes were changed or that any voting machines were compromised." The Washington Examiner (7/25, Dunleavy, 448K) says that SSCI concluded "that `Russian government-affiliated cyber actors conducted an unprecedented level of activity against state election infrastructure in the run-up to the 2016' but found `no evidence' that vote tallies were altered or that voter registry files were deleted or modified, though the committee said that the intelligence community's insight into that is limited. The committee said one official made the car thief analogy, saying that the car thief `didn't go in, but we don't know why." ABC News (7/25, Ferran, 2.97M) reports that Russia did "successfully exfiltrated the personal data of hundreds of thousands of voters from systems in at least two states, the report says: Illinois and another unnamed state. Illinois was previously named by local officials as likely a victim state mentioned in an indictment secured in July 2018 by then-special counsel Robert Mueller against purported Russian military intelligence cyber operatives." The Hill (7/25, Chalfant, Miller, 2.98M) reports that SSCI Chairman Richard Burr said, "It is my hope that the Senate Intelligence Committee's bipartisan report will provide the American people with valuable insight into the election security threats still facing our nation and the ways we can address them." SSCI Ranking Member Mark Warner "echoed Burr, saying neither the federal government nor the states were `adequately prepared' when Russia attempted to infiltrate U.S. voting statements in 2016 but said they have taken steps since then to ensure election systems are better secured." Gizmodo (7/25, Cameron, 2.7M) reports that Wyden "renewed a call Thursday for Congress to immediately intervene and impose mandatory security standards on election systems nationwide." Vox (7/25, Ward, 2.27M) says that report "underscores two vital points: 1) that determined foreign actors can gain access to America's election infrastructure, and 2) Russia is skilled and willing to meddle inside of it." Business Insider (7/25, Sheth, 3.67M) says that the SSCI report is the "first volume of its final multi-part report on Russia's interference in the 2016 US election. The panel had been conducting its investigation of the matter in parallel with the FBI and other congressional committees since the US intelligence community first revealed Russia was meddling in the race." TechCrunch (7/25, Shieber, 605K) reports that through "two and a half years the committee has held 15 open hearings, interviewed more than 200 witnesses and reviewed nearly 400,000 documents, according to a statement, and will be publishing other volumes from its investigation over the next year." Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360Vi (7/25, 706K), "That Intelligence Committee report is bipartisan. What it shows is that...this misinformation and disinformation attack on our democracy as early as 2014, well before the 2016 election, they are continuing." Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) said on CNN's Situation RoomVi (7/25, 980K), EFTA00147314 would like to see all of Congress pay a little bit more attention on how we counter this threat...that the Russians are trying to do instead of just white-gloving the Mueller Report." Meanwhile, the Washington Post (7/25, Timberg, Romm, 14.2M) reports that Iran also "has, within its borders, substantial capacity to wage Russian-style influence operations in the United States ahead of next year's election," and nations including China, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela have also demonstrated such capacities. The Wall Street Journal (7/25, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) says in an editorial that it is essential that the Justice Department complete its investigation of ongoing foreign interference efforts separate from any lingering aspects of Mueller's investigation of the Trump Administration. Politico (7/25, Matishak, 4.29M) also covers the Senate report. Report Critical Of Officials' Reaction Prior To Election. Newsweek (7/25, Touchberry, 1.53M) reports that according to the report, government officials "feared that warning the public about ongoing efforts by Russia to subvert the 2016 U.S. elections would sow discord in the integrity of America's voting systems." The report "revealed that officials at `all levels of government' were concerned with eroding election integrity and thus chose not to offer detailed warnings to staffers at the state level, which in turn led local officials to not react with `any additional urgency,' causing `confusion and a lack of information." Fox News (7/25, Re, 27.59M) says that report "faulted the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for providing inadequate warnings to state governments. The panel found that alerts often went to the wrong people or contained insufficient information, and blended in with previous general warnings the states had received." NPR (7/25, Lucas, 3.12M) also reports on the SSCI document, as does Engadget (7/25, Lawler, 437K), CNET News (7/25, Reichert, Morse, 1.99M), StateScoop (7/25), Mother Jones (7/25, Vicens, 881K), the New York Post (7/25, Fredericks, 4.57M), Bloomberg (7/25, 4.73M), and The Verge (7/25, Hollister, 2.05M). McConnell Blacks House Democrats' Election-Security Legislation. CNN (7/25, Barrett, Collier, 83.16M) reports that on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader McConnell "personally" objected to "House-passed legislation backed by Democrats. This comes after Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi objected to a trio of bills on Wednesday, in keeping with long standing GOP arguments that Congress has already responded to election security needs for the upcoming election." McConnell called the House legislation partisan, and said that any supported in the Senate must be bipartisan. Vox (7/25, Zhou, 2.27M) reports that McConnell "has argued that election security bills could get the federal government too involved in states' efforts." USA Today (7/25, Johnson, 10.31M) reports that "barely a day after" Mueller "sounded an alarm over Russian election meddling," Senate Republicans "blocked two bills, both offered by Democrats, that would have required political campaigns to report attempts at interference by foreign interests. A third Democratic proposal, aimed at thwarting hacking attacks against senators and their staffs, also bit the dust." The AP (7/25, Mascaro, Jalonick) reports Senate Minority Leader Schumer "called inaction by Congress a `disgrace' and pledged to keep pushing for votes. Mueller's testimony `should be a wake-up call; he said." The AP (7/25) reports that "Even if Congress were immediately to send funds to states to replace voting equipment, it would be difficult to make substantial upgrades in time for the 2020 elections. It can take months to decide on replacement machines, develop security protocols, train workers and test the equipment. Republicans said Thursday that $380 million was allocated to the states in 2018 and not all of that money has been spent." CQ Roll Call (7/25, Lesniewski, 154K) reports that Sen James Lankford (R) is "making clear that he still wants to get support for encouraging states to have paper audit trails and to boost the ability of election officials to get timely security clearances." Lankford, "who has been working with Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar, told reporters Thursday that with the 2020 primaries and caucuses just around the corner, security enhancements would be meant for the next midterms." EFTA00147315  Pompeo Expresses Confidence In Election Security. Secretary of State Pompeo was asked on Fox News Special Report (7/25, 1.53M) if he is confident the US is prepared if Russia tries to interfere in the 2020 elections. Pompeo said, "I am. I don't know that we will achieve perfection. But take a look, there's been an election after 2016. We had one in 2018 as well. The Russians had intent to mess around in that as well. We were pretty effective. We certainly had safe and secure elections, and we reduced the Russians' capacity to have an impact on impact on that election." More Commentary. Stanley McChrystal, a retired General, and David Eichenbaum, a Democratic media consultant, write for Politico Magazine (7/25, 4.24M) that "today's digital battlefield presents an entirely new landscape—one where state and non-state actors participate in a raging asynchronous information war that poses a serious threat to our democracy. It's a war America is losing—badly." They recommend the creation of "a nonpartisan, non-governmental Fair Digital Election Commission to protect the integrity of our elections by detecting, exposing, evaluating and remediating the impact of disinformation." Democratic presidential candidate John Hickenlooper writes in an op-ed for NBC News (7/25, 6.14M) that "Inaction is not an option. We are going to need to find concrete solutions if we hope to safeguard our country from the very real cyberthreats" Mueller's report identifies. Wikileaks Criticizes New UK Prime Minister For Likely Supporting Assange Extradition To US. The Washington Times (7/25, Blake, 492K) reports WikiLeaks "reacted to Boris Johnson becoming British prime minister Wednesday by pouncing on recent comments he made relevant to the website's jailed publisher, Julian Assange." WikiLeaks "said on Twitter that 'it should be unthinkable for the new PM to support the extradition of Assange,' who is wanted by the US and currently imprisoned in the UK." ODNI's Joyce Corell Discusses The Need For Security In Federal Supply Chains. FedTech (7/25) interviews Joyce Corell, Assistant Director for Supply Chain and Cyber at the NCSC, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about federal supply chain security. Asked about identifying risks in the supply chain, Corell said, "Your defense contractors, who are building the stuff, might be in a position to detect that something has gone wrong. ... The intelligence community does what the intelligence community does. But in the commercial sector, there is vast, untapped information available from commercial data providers." On best practices, she noted, "I think there are common best practices. One is to think about security as the fourth pillar. When you're buying goods and services, the community that does the purchasing looks at cost, schedule and performance. Those are the three pillars. Historically, people working in the supply chain environment have said, 'Performance, doesn't that include security?' Well, it doesn't. Security really needs to be the fourth pillar." Opinion: Compromised CIA Technology May Have Led To Iran Identifying Spy Ring. In her syndicated column appearing in the Kansas City (MO) Star (7/25, 549K), Rachel Marsden writes that "Iran released a stash of documents this week that purportedly identify the CIA officers involved in the spy ring." Iran's counterespionage chief "said that CIA officers were recruiting Iranians online, and he claimed Iran had penetrated CIA systems that were masquerading as more benign websites." Marsden suggests that Iran may have received assistance from China, which "Foreign Policy magazine in 2018 explain[ed] how Chinese counterespionage dismantled the CIA's in-country espionage network from 2010 to 2012, leading to the exposure and execution of the CIA's Chinese assets." Marsen contends that the "disastrous episode was blamed on the agency's use of a supposedly secure covert communication system that had been migrated over from the Middle East and allowed recruited assets to communicate with their CIA handlers." She asserts that, "given that China, Russia and Iran are allies, what are the odds that the Chinese shared their findings about the CIA's spy EFTA00147316 network with the Russians and Iranians? And if the system was originally developed for CIA intelligence operations in the Middle East, information about that system would clearly be useful to Iranian intelligence and to Russia's efforts in countering CIA operations in Syria and elsewhere in the region." Opinion: Expanding Covert Agent Secrecy Law Could Discourage CIA Officers To Report On Controversial Activities. In an op-ed in Just Security (7/25), Stanton Foundation National Security Fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Linda Moon writes that an expansion of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA) of 1982, "which was pushed by the CIA and is fast- tracking through Congress as part of this year's intelligence authorization bills, would remove the overseas requirement entirely, meaning that intelligence agencies could criminalize the disclosure of the identities of clandestine officers and agents in perpetuity, including after retirement or even after death." Moon argues that "without the overseas requirement, there is a concern that the IIPA could be used to threaten legal action for reporting on controversial activities...whose identity is common knowledge but whose activities might be classified." She contends the "CIA has not been shy in wielding the law as a threat in similar cases in the past - two independent journalists who figured out the names of key individuals in the CIA's efforts against al-Qaeda agreed to censor the name of one of these officers after the CIA repeatedly invoked the IIPA. The proposed expansion would just heighten that concern." CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS Epstein On Suicide Watch After Being Found Unresponsive In Cell. The CBS Evening NewsVi (7/25, story 5, 2:00, O'Donnell, 251K) reported Jeffrey Epstein is "on suicide watch after being found on the floor of his cell at a New York City jail." CBS' Mola Lenghi added that "law enforcement sources say Epstein was found lying on the floor of his jail cell earlier this week, semiconscious, despondent and crying, with slight bruising around his neck." Lenghi said that officials at the correctional center where Epstein is being held are "reviewing internal security cameras to try to figure out what happened inside [his) cell." On ABC World News TonightVi (7/25, story 3, 2:00, Muir, 597K), Whit Johnson reported, "Investigators initially thought he'd tried to take his own life or make it seem that way. Now, they're looking into whether he was assaulted by another inmate or whether he had even paid someone to beat him up. They've interviewed another inmate, Nick Tartaglione, a former cop accused of murder." On NBC Nightly NewsVI (7/25, story 3, 1:45, Holt, 127K), Stephanie Gosk reported, "Tartaglione's lawyer says his client was questioned, but is not a suspect." Attorney Says Review Raises Doubts About Fatal Texas Drug Raid. The AP (7/25, Lozano) reports from Houston, "An independent review by the family of a woman who along with her husband were killed in a drug raid earlier this year by Houston police is casting doubts on how authorities have portrayed the deadly shooting, attorneys said Thursday." The January 28 drug raid in which Rhogena Nicholas and her husband, Dennis Tuttle, "were fatally shot in their home and five officers were injured came under scrutiny after police alleged one of the officers who was shot, Gerald Goines, lied in a search warrant about having a confidential informant buy heroin at the home." According to the AP, "Family and friends of Tuttle and Nicholas have continuously dismissed allegations the couple sold drugs." On Thursday, attorneys for Nicholas' family "said a forensic review of the crime scene found evidence contradicting how the shooting took place and how long it took to finish." KH0U-TV Houston (7/25, Dougherty, 207K) reports, "Attorneys representing the family of the woman killed in January's botched drug raid in southeast Houston are claiming a private investigation found Rhogena Nicholas was shot from outside of her home," which "contradicts EFTA00147317 what police said happened that day." The attorneys "filed a petition with probate court requesting depositions from officers to address these findings," and "they said in addition to their private investigator showing Nicholas was shot from outside of her home on Harding Street, they also showed where several other rounds were fired into the home as well." The attorneys "said black tar heroin was never sold there - something they said police lied about," and "they also said 30 minutes after the shootout supposedly ended in the home, a neighbor took cellphone video where two gunshots were fired inside of the home." Threats Of "Lethal Force" Against Law Enforcement Prompt Texas FBI Operation. The Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald (7/25, Hoppa, 129K) reports, "An hourslong standoff with a person at a Robinson home ended sometime around midday Thursday, but officials with the FBI, Robinson police and McLennan County Sheriff's Office were mum on how it ended." According to the Tribune-Herald, "Emergency vehicles before noon left the scene in the 700 block of Stegall Drive, where an individual had threatened 'lethal force' against law enforcement agencies gathered there starting about 7 a.m., Robinson police Lt. Tracy O'Connor said, reading an FBI statement." O'Connor "said the agencies were conducting a 'court-authorized law enforcement operation." KCEN-TV Waco, TX (7/25, Wilson, 51K) reports, "The person in the home would not cooperate with officers and threatened to use 'lethal force against law enforcement,' O'Connor said," and "as of 10 a.m., the Robinson Police Department, McLennan County Sheriff's Office, EMS, FBI, and the fire department were still outside the home trying to coax the person out." KCEN-TV adds, "By about 12:30 p.m. the bomb squad was seen leaving the neighborhood, but roads remained closed," and "officials later reported no explosives were on scene." KWTX-TV Waco, TX (7/25, 189K) reports, "The FBI had what a law enforcement source described as a 'considerable presence' late Thursday afternoon in a Robinson neighborhood where a local man died of a gunshot wound as agents arrived early in the morning to serve warrants, but the source says there was no standoff at the home." The FBI "declined throughout the day to provide specific information about what local law enforcement sources had described as a standoff, but as two-dozen local and state law enforcement vehicles streamed out of the neighborhood just before noon Thursday, and agency spokeswoman Michelle Lee did say there is 'no longer any threat to the public:" Sources "said FBI agents went to the home in the 700 block of East Stegall Drive to serve search and arrest warrants," and "late Thursday afternoon, the law enforcement source said a