BOMBSHELL: New FBI Texts Detail Internal Furor Over Handling Of ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ Investigation

Sean Davis and Mollie Hemingway, two fine investigative journalists, filed this amazing report that was published by The Federalist on September 24:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents tasked by fired former Director James Comey to take down Donald Trump during and after the 2016 election were so concerned about the agency’s potentially illegal behavior that they purchased liability insurance to protect themselves less than two weeks before Trump was inaugurated president, previously hidden FBI text messages show. The explosive new communications and internal FBI notes were disclosed in federal court filings today from Sidney Powell, the attorney who heads Michael Flynn’s legal defense team.

“[W]e all went and purchased professional liability insurance,” one agent texted on Jan. 10, 2017, the same day CNN leaked details that then-President-elect Trump had been briefed by Comey about the bogus Christopher Steele dossier. That briefing of Trump was used as a pretext to legitimize the debunked dossier, which was funded by the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign and compiled by a foreign intelligence officer who was working for a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

“Holy crap,” an agent responded. “All the analysts too?”

“Yep,” the first agent said. “All the folks at the Agency as well.”

Full story at The Federalist.

TOP SECRET EMAILS FOUND ON HILLARY'S PRIVATE SERVER (UPDATE 2)

August 11, 2015 - For months, Hillary Clinton has insisted there were no classified State Department emails on her own email server. But the FBI now says at least four "classified" emails have been found on that server, and at least two are highly sensitive and classified as "Top Secret." Was she lying? Or is she simply incompetent?

Hillary Clinton said no sensitive information was contained in any of the emails she sent during her tenure as Secretary of State. "I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email," she said at a news conference on March 10, 2015 at the United Nations. "I’m certainly well aware of the classification requirements and did not send classified material."

But, apparently, H. Clinton was not aware of how materials passing through her server were classified. If so, that indicates gross ignorance or callous disregard for protocol and security. Or, perhaps, she's just stupid.

TOP SECRET EMAILS FOUND ON HILLARY'S PRIVATE SERVER:

On the evening of August 11, reports National Journal, "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released a memo from McCullough that adds new detail to the previous finding by the intelligence IG and the State Department IG that at least four of Clinton's emails contained classified information."

North Korean Internet Outage Probably Caused By Hackers, Not US (Updated)

December 23, 2014 - North Korea's internet was disrupted over the weekend, and finally went down completely on Monday. It came back online, but then it went down two more times. And tonight, reports Yonhap News Agency, "some major North Korean websites remained blocked Wednesday [Korea time] for the second straight day amid growing speculation over cyber warfare between Washington and Pyongyang. Since going down Monday evening, the website of the North's main propaganda organ, Uriminzokkiri, remained inaccessible as of early Wednesday."

North Korea's Kim Jong-un, digital dictator
Reuters/KCNA

UPDATE, 27 Dec 2014 - North Korea's Internet and 3G mobile network 'paralyzed,' according to Reuters: "Internet connectivity had not returned to normal as of 21:30 local time [Saturday night], Xinhua reported, citing reporters in the country that had confirmed the situation over fixed telephone systems. The report comes after the North Korean government called Obama a 'monkey' and blamed the United States for enduring instability in the country's internet infrastructure, after the U.S. blamed North Korea for hacking attack on Sony Studios."

But was it the work of the U.S. seeking revenge for the cyber attack on Sony Pictures? Some security experts "say the attack that temporarily knocked the isolated nation offline looks more like the work of hacker pranksters than a vengeful U.S. government," says Fusion.net.

The network was not down very long (about 10 hours), which indicates that the outages were probably not the retaliation promised by President Obama as for the devastating cyber attack on Sony Pictures on November 24.  Sure, it seems the outages are continuing, and it seems impressive that an entire nation's internet access was taken down. Right? Well, no, not really. Read on to find out why that's not true in the strange case of North Korea.

The FBI and Obama have blamed North Korea for penetrating Sony's computer system, stealing massive amounts of information, and then rendering the computers useless. Many in the info security business are skeptical of the accusations against North Korea, however, and some even say it might have been in inside job.

The mainstream assumption is that a film called "The Interview" pissed off North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un by - among other things - depicting him as a douchebag and dying in a fiery explosion. Some say that the depiction of Kim in the film could have caused damage to his prestige if any of his generals or other privileged persons were able to access it, say on a black market DVD or even on the Internet.

On December 19, Obama vowed that the U.S. would "respond proportionally" against North Korea. If the most recent outage/s was caused by an Obama-authorized cyber attack on North Korea's interwebs, then it's a lame response. It certainly was not a proportionate response, considering the enormous, yet to be fully determined, financial losses of Sony Pictures. After all, to simply cause a disruption of less than 24 hours to a very few elite North Koreans probably did not cause any great hardships or damage.

Poster for "The Interview"

I think most of us are wishing for Obama to order up the crippling of Pyongyang's power grid. That would not only deny the North Koreans access to the Internet (no power, no computers), it would also force the artificially privileged of the capital city to live in the same desperate poverty that the rest of the country suffers. A simple EMP blast in the sky over Pyongyang ought to do the trick. Of course, that would cause more public relations problems than it's probably worth.

"North Korea's circle of internet users is so small that the country has only 1,024 IP addresses for 25 million people," reports Vox, "whereas the US has billions of IP addresses for 316 million people. While it's impossible to infer a specific number of internet-connected devices from this, it is safe to say that the number is very, very small." Kim Jong-un's regime has turned Internet access into "something that exists almost purely to cement his government's rule and to reward himself."

"The internet in North Korea is not a public good, nor even a good that the public is aware of," notes Vox. " It is purely and solely used as a government tool, for serving such ends as propaganda and hacking, and as a luxury good for the elites who run the government." The biggest inconvenience that an Internet outage might cause for North Korea would be the inability of their professional hackers and propagandists to operate.

This could pose a threat to Kim Jong-un's prestige. Who cares if the peasants never hear of "The Interview?" Theoretically, the elites could stream the film via their unfiltered Internet access or obtain the film on DVD.

If the elite watch "The Interview," it could hurt Kim's prestige and damage respect for the little dictator. It wouldn't change things immediately, says Rand Corporation senior defense analyst Bruce Bennett, "but the elite in North Korea aren’t happy with Kim Jong Un." Bennett says Kim is "purging people right and left, in far extreme of what his father did. He’s inducing instability in the country…You never know what’s going to change things."

Dyn Research in March 2013 that "the four networks of North Korea are routed by a single Internet service provider, Star JV (AS 131279), which has two international Internet service providers: China Unicom (AS 4837) and Intelsat (AS 22351)."

Taking down North Korea's access to the Internet for a few hours would be an inconvenience for Pyongyang and Kim Jong-un. But it would not impart any proportional damage (relative to the Sony losses) unless it also fried all of the computers connected to it. (There are other computers in North Korea, such as in schools, but they are connected to the state-run intranet, not to the internet. And so headlines referring to "Massive North Korea Internet Outages" are amusing because there is nothing "massive" about Internet access in North Korea.)

Then again, taking it down for a prolonged period of time (a very, very long time measured in years) would cripple North Korea's hacking program, which they use as a substitute for their weak military. A 62-year old defector from North Korea told Aljazeera that there are five reasons why Pyongyang loves cyber warfare, which can all be summed up briefly this way: Cyber warfare can be highly effective, low risk and relatively inexpensive.

While this recent outage might be an attack [by the U.S.], Dyn Research notes that "it’s also consistent with more common causes, such as power problems. Point causes such as breaks in fiberoptic cables, or deliberate upstream provider disconnections, seem less likely because they don’t generate prolonged instability before a total failure. We can only guess. The data themselves don’t speak to motivations, or distinguish human factors from physical infrastructure problems."

It shouldn't be surprising to learn that North Korea has had Internet outages in the past, and they've been on the receiving end of cyber attacks too: Uriminzokkiri, for example, was hacked back in April, 2013. North Korea has blamed those past outages and attacks on the U.S. But they were more likely the symptoms of a lousy infrastructure. Or the actions of playful hackers.

Also See:
Did North Korea Hack Sony? Bruce W. Bennett, Rand
The Sony saga: 10 reasons why the FBI is wrong IT Pro Portal
Obama Vows a Response to Cyberattack on Sony New York Times
Were hackers behind North Korea outage? Politico
North Korea’s Internet Outage Is Probably Due To Pranksters,Not U.S. ‘Cyberwar’ Fusion
It's Alarmingly Easy To Take North Korea's Internet Offline Business Insider UK
How to bring North Korea to its cyber-knees Matthew Gault
How North Korea, one of the world's poorest countries, got so good at hacking Vox

FBI Still Blames North Korea for Sony Hack (Updated)

December 19, 2014 - The FBI blamed North Korea today for the unprecedented computer hacking attack of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) in late November. It is widely believed that the cyber attack was North Korea's retaliation for Sony's film "The Interview." The film depicts a fictional CIA-sponsored assassination of N. Korea's young dictator Kim Jong-un. UPDATED, 30 December: New Evidence.....

Kim Jong Un 'death scene' from The Interview
- MirrorNinja (watch video)

The Interview was released to theaters on Christmas Day, despite earlier threats of terrorism that caused Sony to pull the film's release.

The attack on Sony was devastating. In it's statement, the FBI said that "the destructive nature of this attack, coupled with its coercive nature, sets it apart." The statement said that the FBI is confident that the North Korean government "is responsible for these actions."

Experts Doubt North Korea's Role:
Was North Korea really behind the attack on Sony Picture's computers? Or was is one or more former Sony employees, possibly working as a paid contractor for North Korea?

On Dec. 29, Hollywood Reporter: "Security firm Norse claims it has evidence that shows the Sony hack was perpetrated by six individuals, including two based in the U.S., one in Canada, one in Singapore and one in Thailand. Norse senior vp Kurt Stammberger told the Ledger, a security industry news website, that among the six was one former Sony Pictures employee, a 10-year veteran of the company with a very technical background who was laid off in May following restructuring. Norse used human resources documents that were leaked as part of the hack to first identify and then track the former Sony employee's online activity at least since May, when the person left the company."

Dec. 27, CNN: "It's clear to us, based on both forensic and other evidence we've collected, that unequivocally they are not responsible for orchestrating or initiating the attack on Sony," said Sam Glines, who runs the cybersecurity company Norse.

Dec. 29, Dark Matters: "Norse Investigation Focusing on a Small Group, Including Sony Ex-Employees"

Dec. 30, Daily Beast: "Stammberger said that Norse’s analysis is now pointing toward an attack against Sony by disgruntled employees that was conducted in stages and over the course of several months, beginning as early as July, and that North Korea opportunistically praised the attack only after it was discovered."

From the FBI's December 19 press release:

Today, the FBI would like to provide an update on the status of our investigation into the cyber attack targeting Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). In late November, SPE confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber attack that destroyed systems and stole large quantities of personal and commercial data. A group calling itself the “Guardians of Peace” claimed responsibility for the attack and subsequently issued threats against SPE, its employees, and theaters that distribute its movies.

....The attacks also rendered thousands of SPE’s computers inoperable, forced SPE to take its entire computer network offline, and significantly disrupted the company’s business operations.
....Sony’s quick reporting facilitated the investigators’ ability to do their jobs, and ultimately to identify the source of these attacks.
....the FBI now has enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for these actions. While the need to protect sensitive sources and methods precludes us from sharing all of this information, our conclusion is based, in part, on the following:

- Technical analysis of the data deletion malware used in this attack revealed links to other malware that the FBI knows North Korean actors previously developed. For example, there were similarities in specific lines of code, encryption algorithms, data deletion methods, and compromised networks.

- The FBI also observed significant overlap between the infrastructure used in this attack and other malicious cyber activity the U.S. government has previously linked directly to North Korea. For example, the FBI discovered that several Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with known North Korean infrastructure communicated with IP addresses that were hardcoded into the data deletion malware used in this attack.

- Separately, the tools used in the SPE attack have similarities to a cyber attack in March of last year against South Korean banks and media outlets, which was carried out by North Korea.

....the destructive nature of this attack, coupled with its coercive nature, sets it apart. North Korea’s actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a U.S. business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves. Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behavior.... (read the full press release here.)

Also See:
U.S. suspects North Korea had help attacking Sony Pictures Reuters (29 Dec)
New Evidence Points to Inside Job, Security Experts Say Hollywood Reporter (Dec 29)
No, North Korea Didn’t Hack Sony Daily Beast (30 Dec)
FBI Fixated on North Korea for Sony Hack Despite New Evidence Daily Beast (30 Dec)
Hackers Make New Demands On Sony Pictures TMZ
Obama pledges proportional response to Sony hack AP/Watertown Public Opinion
Hack Attack Spurs Call For More North Korea Sanctions AP/Atlanta Daily World
Watch the Kim Jong-un Death Scene from The Interview MirrorNinja
Sony Pictures hack: Timeline of revelations from unprecedented cyber-attack IBTimes
Sony Pictures proves Hollywood is a land of cowards New York Post
George Clooney: Hollywood must push for release of The Interview  The Telegraph (UK)
North Korea’s Secret Movie Bootleggers Daily Beast

Cook County Sheriff Uncovers Gang Plot to Kill Cops

May 10, 2013 - A Chicago gang allegedly sent out a hit order to kill law enforcement officers, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Intelligence unit.

"The deadly order," reported Michael Sneed at the Sun-Times,  "came via the Cook County Jail grapevine" and "claims the leadership of the Satan Disciples street gang has called for the formation of an assassination unit entitled the 'Guerilla Mafia Cartel' which would be assigned the deadly mission."

The sheriff’s department shared the alert with 132 Cook County municipalities, including the Chicago Police Department, and also the FBI. “This information is raw and very preliminary,” said a top Chicago police source. “But it is better to be safe than sorry.” More at the Sun-Times.

According to the National Gang Crime Research Center, the Satan's Disciples (SD's) have operations in most of Chicago's surrounding suburbs. They also have a far-reaching national presence. The SD's have been around for 30 years and "are a predominantly Hispanic gang originating from Chicago. The gang is a 'Folks' gang, and uses therefore the six-pointed star in some of its graffiti, but almost always accentuated with its unique trademark of 'Devil' images. It typifies many of the older traditional Chicago-based gangs in respect to being basically an adult-run criminal enterprise that makes extensive use of juveniles in its drug distribution operations. Unlike the majority of those gangs, it has now spread to over 40 Chicago suburbs as well as to 22 other states. It is, therefore, a big player in the American gang crime scene."

FBI Withheld Vital Info About Terror Connections From Boston Police Dept

May 9, 2013 - "The FBI never told the Boston police or the Massachusetts State Police about possible Russian terror connections of the suspected Marathon bombers until three and half days after the attack, law enforcement officials testified today before the House Homeland Security Committee," reports ABC News.

US News | Syria News | More ABC News Videos

"My fear is that the Boston bombers succeeded because our system failed," said committee chairman Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas).

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis was asked if it would have helped to know everything that the FBI knew about the terrorist activities of the bombers, especially of Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

Davis said while the information might have been useful, it might not have changed anything. "That's very hard to say. We would certainly look at the information, we would certainly talk to the individual," Davis said. "From the information I've received, the FBI did that, and they closed the case out. I can't say that I would have come to a different conclusion based upon the information that was known at that particular time." (AP/Newser)

Failure to Communicate

Rep. McCaul said  "the Boston bombers may have succeeded because our system failed. We can and we must do better," reports CNN. "We learned over a decade ago the danger in failing to connect the dots," McCaul said, referring to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Testimony in the hearing today indicate that the US intelligence community is still not connecting the dots as well as they could. Why did the FBI not tell the Boston and Massachusetts authorities about the possible terror connections of Tamerlan Tsarnaev? Commissioner Davis said the intelligence might not have helped, but he left it open to the possibility that it might have.

We'll never know, but the fact remains that the FBI withheld information that might have saved lives. Such information should always be shared with law enforcement agencies that have a need to know. As we learned the hard way, Boston and Massachusetts had a very real need to know.

"The idea that the feds have this information and it's not shared with the state and locals defies why we create the Department of Homeland Security in the first place," said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. (FoxNews)

"Why didn't they involve the local law enforcers who could have stayed on the case and picked up signals from some of the students who interacted with them, from the people in the mosque," asked former Sen. Joe Lieberman, who also testified. "In this case, aggravatingly, you have two of our great homeland security agencies that didn't involve before the event the local and state authorities that could have helped us prevent the attack." (NorthJersey.com)

Fugitive Paris Poe Captured in Madison after Day Long Manhunt

Please see FBI Fugitive Paris Poe Captured In Madison...

"Extremely Dangerous" FBI Fugitive Paris Poe Captured

UPDATED Thursday, May 2, 2013 - Paris Poe led federal and local authorities on a day long manhunt. Local schools were locked down as a precaution against this "extremely dangerous" fugitive.

Paris Poe mugshots, 2011 - FBI photo

He was caught early this evening on the east side of Madison, Wisconsin ... in a "high-risk traffic stop." Madison Police Lt. Cory Nelson told The Associated Press that a SWAT team arrested Poe, of Chicago. "Shortly after 7 p.m. Madison Police found Paris Poe on Highway 30 between Fair Oaks and Highway 51," reports NBC15. "Officers were monitoring a car and saw Poe enter with a woman. Because he was expected to be armed officers ordered him from the car at gunpoint and he complied without any incident or injuries. Police say he will be taken to the Dane County Jail before extradition hearings seeking his return to the Chicago area. Investigators there want to question him regarding a gang-related homicide case. They say he is also in violation of his parole."

Previous Reports:
May 2, 2013 - 6:30 PM - The FBI and Wisconsin law enforcement agencies are still hunting for Paris Poe, 33, of Chicago. He is described as "a very dangerous" man on the run from the law in Illinois. After a day long manhunt, the  FBI says that Poe is probably still in the great Madison area. Poe is also known by the nickname "Polerowski."

The search for Poe led to the lock down of several schools, public and private, in the neighboring communities of Verona and Fitchburg to lock down as a precaution. On Madison's south side, Leopold Elementary, was locked down for a while, as was Chavez Elementary School.

Poe on video at Country Inn & Suites,
Nesbitt Rd, Fitchburg WI

Poe was seen at a hotel earlier in the day, causing authorities to concentrate their search in an area just south of Madison, the state capitol. Paris Poe is wanted in connection with a federal murder investigation in Illinois. "The FBI said it was continuing to receive tips suggesting that Poe remained within a three-mile radius of the hotel and was possibly armed with a handgun," reports Seattle PI.

Poe was convicted of aggravated battery and robbery in 2009 and paroled in June 2011, reports the CT Post. A federal warrant for his arrest was issued April 17. He is charged with crossing state lines to avoid arrest for an alleged parole violation.

The FBI offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to his capture (not $5,000 as most media are reporting). Poe is 6 feet tall, 200 pounds. He has a tattoo that reads "Chief Hobo" on his upper right arm and another tattoo that reads "RIP Angie" on his upper left arm.

New FBI Video Asks Your Help: $150,000 Reward Offered In Morgan Harrington Murder Cold Case

Click Here to see full Wanted Poster (pdf)

June 13, 2012 - The Federal Bureau of Investigation just released two new videos about a Virginia cold case. The FBI says that an "unknown offender" is linked by DNA in two separate cases, and they released this artist's composite sketch.

"On a Saturday night in October 2009," says the FBI website, "college student Morgan Harrington left a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and disappeared. It would be several months before her body was discovered in a field about 10 miles away."

Virginia State Police and City of Fairfax Police, Virginia are also investigating Harrington's unsolved murder. Metallica also released a video, below, in an effort to find the killer. If you have information that might be helpful, please call the Virginia State Police at (434) 352-3467, the City of Fairfax Police at (703) 385-7959, or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.


"A $150,000 reward is being offered in the murder case of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington," says the FBI.

More from the FBI:

Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington left early from a rock concert in Charlottesville, VA on October 17, 2009. She was last seen hitchhiking on a busy street outside of the concert arena. Special Agent Dino Cappuzzo of the Virginia State Police says in January the next year...
Her body was found on a very large farm in a rural area of Ablemarle county about 10 miles south from where she was last seen.

DNA recovered in the Harrington case was linked to an unknown offender in a September 2005 sexual assault in Fairfax City. A 26-year-old woman was attacked at night while walking home from a grocery store. The offender was scared away by a passerby—but the victim got a good look at him, enabling a Fairfax City Police artist to produce a sketch of the attacker.

“It was a remarkable break to get the DNA match,” said FBI Special Agent Jane Collins. The forensic evidence linked the two cases, so now we have a face to put with the suspect in the Harrington case. The suspect is described as an African-American male with black hair and facial hair (at the time of the 2005 attack). He is approximately 6 feet tall and was believed to be between the ages of 25 and 35 years old at the time of the Fairfax City assault.

Help us catch Morgan Harrington’s killer. If you have any information about the Harrington case or the Fairfax City assault, contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the Virginia State Police Tip line at 434-352-3467, or submit a tip online.   FBI Website for More Info...

Inconvenient Truths: Poverty Up, Crime Down (Again)

June 13, 2012 - The FBI said this week that violent crime in the U.S. declined for the fifth year in row. At the same time, poverty in the U.S. has increased. "Well, well, well," opines The Homeless Patriot. "I wonder how my liberal friends are coping with this news. Those FBI stats must be making them crazy. In fact, the FBI's statistics completely blow apart two of the biggest lies. Needless to say, nobody in left-leaning mainstream media is mentioning concealed-carry as a possible factor in the lower murder rates." Read the full post at Homeless Patriot...

Breaking: DOJ Source Leaks Fast and Furious Documents

March 24, 2012 - A developing story this afternoon says that a source at the Department of Justice has been leaking documents related to the Fast and Furious scandal. The source has provided the documents to Congressional investigators, says Fox News.

"The investigation of Operation Fast and Furious escalated this past week," Fox News reports, which "learned a leak at the Justice Department is providing documents to the Congressional investigators. The scope of investigation also includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which records show failed to tell ATF its own confidential informants were helping finance the illegal gun purchases."

This latest news comes on the heels of the news that Manuel Celis-Acosta, the chief suspect in the ATF’s "Fast and Furious" investigation, had been caught but released at the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2010. The Los Angeles Times reported two days ago that Celis-Acosta "was also stopped and released two months earlier while in possession of a Colt .38-caliber pistol purchased illegally under the gun-tracking operation."

"The revelation that officials twice declined to arrest their prime suspect," says the March 22 LA Times story, "shows that agents were keenly aware of Celis-Acosta’s activities yet repeatedly turned down opportunities to charge him with felony offenses and bring a quick end to the Fast and Furious probe. Instead, the investigation dragged on for months more, with the loss of about 1,700 U.S. firearms on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border."

The leaked DOJ documents, says Anthony Martin today at The Examiner, "would be a major break in the case and would fuel an escalation in the investigation into the scandal in which the Obama Administration placed U.S. guns directly into the hands of Mexican criminals in order to make a case for new gun control laws."

"Fast and Furious was launched Oct. 31, 2009, and ran until a month after a U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed in December 2010. Two Fast and Furious assault weapons were recovered after his slaying near the border," says the LA Times. "The congressional leaders said they learned of the gun arrest from a list of “Overt Acts” of gun-smuggling suspects that was compiled by an ATF official during Fast and Furious."

The ensuing investigation has produced more frustration than information, it seems.

There are some who have accused U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder of obstructing the Congressional investigation of Fast and Furious, some even calling for his resignation or impeachment. In fact, more than 100 members of Congress want Holder to resign.

Republicans are not the only ones who are critical of Holder. The Daily Caller reported yesterday that two House Democrats are now demanding that Holder’s Department of Justice "release findings from an internal investigation into Operation Fast and Furious before the upcoming November election."

Those congressmen are Reps. Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Gene Green (D-TX). The Daily Caller says that they "told The Washington Times’ Kerry Picket that they want the inspector general to release her report before the election to ensure that any officials from President Barack Obama’s administration who are responsible for Fast and Furious are held accountable."

NEW: "Arrest Eric Holder" T-Shirts! 

Related articles

• ATF Had Prime Gun Smuggling Suspect In Custody But Released Him (minx.cc)
• GOP lawmakers losing patience over 'Fast & Furious' (foxnews.com)
• Will Eric Holder’s Perjury Cost Him His Job? (westernjournalism.com)
• 100 Congressmen call for Holder resignation (examiner.com)
• Issa to CNN: ‘We’ve been lied to by DoJ’ (examiner.com)
• Project Gunrunner Wasn't Fast and Furious by Any Means (americanthinker.com)
• Dems Release False Report on Fast and Furious (pjmedia.com)
• "Fast And Furious" Caught Top Mexican Gunrunner, Then Let Him Go (patdollard.com)
• Fast and Furious, the U.S. and Mexico (americanthinker.com)
• Holder Threatened With Impeachment Over "Fast & Furious" Stonewalling (patdollard.com)
• Holder loses cool during House hearing when asked about Fast and Furious (dailycaller.com)

UPDATED: FBI Arrest Moroccan Muslim in US Capitol Bomb | Visited Mosque First

February 17, 2012 - The FBI arrested a Moroccan man near the U.S. Capitol this afternoon.  The man was in the U.S. illegally and - from all accounts - was working alone. Amine el-Khalifi, 29, reports The Washington Post, "was picked up while carrying an inoperable gun and a fake suicide vest provided to him by undercover FBI agents posing as al-Qaeda associates, U.S. officials said. The Post says that Khalifi was a resident of Alexandria, Virginia and "had been under investigation for about a year."


Shortly before el-Khalifi was arrested, says Fox News, he was "praying at a mosque in the Washington area."  El-Khalifi's destination was Capitol Hill, where he allegedly intended to blow himself up.

Fox also says that he has been in the US "for about 12 years" and that he "allegedly weighed hitting various targets ranging from a military installation to synagogues before settling on the Capitol."

The FBI was investigating el-Khalifi for about one year, and arrested him as he was on his way to the Capitol. His arrest was the result of a lengthy sting operation that involved supplying him with a non-working gun and a vest that he thought was packed with real explosives.

The FBI says el-Khalifi was allegedly planning "to detonate what police say he thought were live explosives," reports the AP. "U.S. Capitol Police say their officers and FBI officials arrested him Friday in a sting operation. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said the suspect was closely monitored by law enforcement, and the purported explosives were deactivated, so the public was not in danger." Although el-Khalifi was working alone, the FBI led him to believe that the agents assisting him in were working with al-Qaeda.

El-Khalifi is a Moroccan national who had overstayed his visitor's visa for years, according to officials.  El-Khalifi "had been under investigation for about a year, according to a counterterrorism official and a law enforcement official," reports AP.

In January 2011, says a report at TheBostonChannel, "a confidential source reported to the FBI that El-Khalifi met with other individuals at a residence in Arlington, Virginia. A person there produced what appeared to be weapons and El-Khalifi 'expressed agreement with a statement by this individual that the "war on terrorism" was a "war on Muslim," and said that the group needed to be ready for war,' the affidavit read." El-Khalifi allegedly also stated that he would "be happy killing 30 people."

"Details of today's arrest and the nature of the alleged plot are still emerging," says DCist.com,  "though what is known so far sounds considerably more low-tech than another recent bust on a potential attack on the Capitol."

Related articles:

• Feds arrest man heading to U.S. Capitol for suicide mission (dailycaller.com)
• Man arrested near Capitol in FBI sting (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Moroccan Fried Sardine Recipe (moroccanfoodabout.com)
• Profile of Washington Suicide Bomber (t2ctwn.wordpress.com)
• Muslim Suicide Bomber Arrested On Way To Blow Up Congress (patdollard.com)

Thank God For The NYPD, Shame On The FBI

NYPD anti-terror training, late 2010 - ABC.com

November 21, 2011 - A little over ten years ago, the FBI let the 9/11 terrorists slip through their fingers.  

The FBI dropped the ball again in the new case of Jose Pimentel, the man arrested by New York City police yesterday on suspicious of plotting bomb attacks. New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the Justice Department was aware of the investigation.

"But," reports Joe Coscarelli at NYMag.com, the FBI "was not involved in the arrest because of its rushed nature." Coscarelli quoted Kelly as also saying, "We had to act quickly yesterday because he was in fact putting this bomb together, drilling a hole, and it would have been not appropriate for us to let him walk out the door with the bomb."

An Associated Press report today says that the FBI chose to ignore Jose Pimentel.  "Federal authorities declined to pursue a case against an "al-Qaida sympathizer" accused of wanting to bomb police stations and post offices in New York City because they believed he was mentally unstable and incapable of pulling off the alleged plot, two law enforcement officials said Monday."  

The Wall Street Journal notes the strangeness of the absence of Federal authorities in this investigation and arrest. "Several people familiar with the case said federal agents and prosecutors reviewed the evidence," reports Sophia Hollander at WSJ, "but decided against trying to build federal terrorism charges against Mr. Pimentel—the second time this year federal authorities declined to take part in a terror probe handled principally by the NYPD. In both instances, the Manhattan district attorney took the case instead—rare instances of a local prosecutor tackling terrorism cases."

It's not the first time that the FBI has deliberately ignored a developing terror threat. In the weeks and days leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., the FBI "failed at least five times to detain two of the September 11 hijackers who took part in the attacks," according to a declassified Justice Department report. According to the report, said the Independent Online (IOL), "US authorities could have arrested al-Qaeda members Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar - who were on the plane that smashed into the defence department headquarters near Washington - just before September 11, 2001."

The New York Police Department, thank God, did not sit around waiting for the FBI to do something about Jose Pimentel. AP reports today that "Federal authorities declined to pursue a case against an 'al-Qaida sympathizer' accused of wanting to bomb police stations and post offices in New York City because they believed he was mentally unstable and incapable of pulling off the alleged plot, two law enforcement officials said Monday."

Is it now the FBI's policy that they simply dismiss a potential terrorist because, to paraphrase, they think he's nuts? If so, that would require them to ignore an awful lot of crazy lunatics out there. As for being "incapable of pulling off" a bomb plot, let's get serious: You don't have to be a genius to put together a very simple pipe bomb.

Such inaction and willingness by the FBI to ignore a character like Jose Pimentel is very disturbing. Republican Congressman Peter King said there seems to be a "growing difference in philosophy" between the FBI and the New York Police Department, adding that it's "not a good sign the FBI wasn't there" at Mayor Bloomberg's press conference about the arrest of Pimentel.

It's fortunate that Jose Pimentel did not have an airplane at his disposal.

RELATED:
City Hall touts the arrest of Jose Pimentel, but the F.B.I. isn't with them - CapitalNewYork.com
Feds Passed On NYC ‘Lone-Wolf’ Terror Case - Talking Points Memo

U.S. Plot to Kill Al-Awlaki Included Fighter Jets, Special Ops

September 30, 2011 - U.S. forces killed two U.S. citizens who had become important Al Qaeda operatives. Dead are senior Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki Samir Khan, plus two others who were traveling with them in Yemen early this morning. The terrorists were taken out by "a CIA-led U.S. drone strike, marking the highest-profile takedown of terror leaders since the raid on Usama bin Laden's compound," reports Fox News. The operation involved two Predator drones. They flew over al-Awlaki's convoy and fired Hellfire missiles, killing al-Awlaki. Fox News says that a senior U.S. official claims that the operation "was carried out by Joint Special Operations Command, under the direction of the CIA."

A CBS News report late today notes that the U.S. military and intelligence forces tracked Anwar al-Awlaki for a number of years. "Awlaki," says CBS, "who apparently inspired the Fort Hood major who killed 13 service members and whose ties to al Qaeda may go back as far as the 9/11 hijackers, was tracked down leaving a funeral in Yemen and killed by a rocket fired from a U.S. drone aircraft." "Al-Awlaki would be the most prominent Al Qaeda figure to be killed since bin Laden's death in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in May," says Fox News, which also notes that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in July that Al-Awlaki was on the most wanted list, which included Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's successor as the terror network's leader." The FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist List says that "Ayman Al-Zawahiri has been indicted for his alleged role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya." Al-Awlaki, says the FBI, was designated by the United States as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist” on July 12, 2010. (Also see Terrorism Designations Press Releases, U.S. Dept. of State) CBS reports that while Samir Khan two fellow convoy passengers were also killed, Awlaki was the real target. "He had narrowly escaped an earlier drone strike the week after the Bin Laden raid," said CBS, "and this time the U.S. was taking no chances." Fox News notes that "Al-Awlaki was a U.S.-born Islamic militant cleric who became a prominent figure with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the network's most active branch." One of Al-Awlaki's most important roles within Al Qaeda was propagandist. As a native English speaker and one who had first hand knowledge of American culture, he was especially effective at recruiting jihadists from within the U.S. "Awlaki has become a prominent cyber-jihadist," reported Long War Journal in July. "Combining his ability to communicate in English with his charisma with young, radical Muslims and his presence on the Web, Awlaki has developed a large following. He gives numerous lectures and speeches via the Internet and teleconferences. US law enforcement agencies and intelligence services consider Awlaki to be a prime recruiter for al Qaeda as well as a provider of the needed religious justifications, or fatwas, for jihadis to carry out attacks." That deadly voice has been silenced. There will be others.

Gold Coast Jihadi: Feds Arrest Chicago Man In Terror Plot

August 4, 2010 - From ABC7 Chicago: For nearly two years, counterterrorism agents in Chicago say they have been secretly following a 26-year old Streeterville man as he planned and plotted to become a global Jihadist and even dreamed of executing a suicide bomb attack on American soldiers. After determining that Masri had airplane tickets to leave Chicago this morning to carry out his mission, federal authorities say they stopped Masri and arrested him.... Masri is an American citizen born in Alabama according to details in a 24-page FBI affidavit unsealed Wednesday. From AP via MercuryNews.com: Federal prosecutors say a 26-year-old Chicago man was plotting to go to Somalia to become a suicide bomber with al-Qaida. Shaker Masri (shah-KEER' MAHZ'-ree) was charged Wednesday with attempting to aid a terrorist organization and use a weapon of mass destruction outside the United States. Authorities contend Masri told an FBI informant of his plans and asked the informant for money to help buy guns once they got there. According to WBEZ radio in Chicago, "Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown set the next hearing date for Monday, Aug. 9.If convicted, Masri could face up to 30 years in prison." RELATED: Local Man Charged With Aiding Somali Terrorists CBS2 Chicago

FBI Turns To Chicago News Bench For Help

The sleuths at FBI Criminal Justice Information Systems (IP 153.31.113.26) in Fairmont, WV are using Chicago News Bench as a research tool in their investigation of Sunrise Equities and Salman Ibrahim.

Here's what they looked at on CNB on August 3, 2010, 15:45:30 (pageviews):

www.suntimes.com/news/blogentries/index.html?bbPostId=Cz8OXTrOeXM0wB29mdluhFSfuB6lp0UfM2097CzACfuJxfh2Lk&bbParentWidgetId=B8k88rWwXopuz5STgLeVwBLu

http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-connected-to-sunrise-equities.html

DATE/TIME: August 3, 2010, 15:46:26 PAGEVIEWS:

www.suntimes.com/news/blogentries/index.html?bbPostId=Cz8OXTrOeXM0wB29mdluhFSfuB6lp0UfM2097CzACfuJxfh2Lk&bbParentWidgetId=B8k88rWwXopuz5STgLeVwBLu

http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-connected-to-sunrise-equities.html

DATE/TIME: August 3, 2010, 15:46:31 PAGEVIEWS:

www.suntimes.com/news/blogentries/index.html?bbPostId=Cz8OXTrOeXM0wB29mdluhFSfuB6lp0UfM2097CzACfuJxfh2Lk&bbParentWidgetId=B8k88rWwXopuz5STgLeVwBLu

http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-connected-to-sunrise-equities.html

DATE/TIME: August 3, 2010, 15:46:40 PAGEVIEWS:

http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-connected-to-sunrise-equities.html

http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com/

After 9 Hours, Man Surrenders To Police in Portsmouth NH Bus Bomb Scare

UPDATE, 8:30 PM EDT - Portsmouth, NH - (AP) A nine-hour bomb scare aboard a Maine-to-New York Greyhound bus ended peacefully Thursday night when the lone remaining passenger walked off it with his hands over his head. The other 16 passengers and the driver had left the bus safely hours earlier.  No details about the passenger were immediately released, and the bus remained parked in downtown Portsmouth with a bomb squad on the scene. "He is in custody," police Capt. Mike Schwartz said. "No one is injured."  More from Associated Press... 

8:20 PM EDT - More than eight hours after police received a 911 call about a possible explosive device on a Greyhound bus, they remain in a standoff with the last remaining passenger.... Police will not say who the remaining passenger is, or why he remains on the bus. He has been identified as a man wearing camouflage pants.... No law enforcement personnel have been on the bus. Source: The Union Leader newspaper.

The More Guns the Better, and Here's Proof

Mayor Daley and all of the other lying anti-gun liars are - just - wrong. FBI statistics prove this handily. Will somebody please confront Daley and his lying comrades Pfather Pfleger and Jesse Jackson, Sr. about this? Would love to see their heads explode while trying to spin this inconvenient truth about gun ownership. Molon Labe! Chart: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Patrik Jonsson of CSM.com wrote about the decades-long debate over whether guns raise or lower crime: The oft-cited credo that more guns equal more crime is being tested by facts on the ground this year: Even as gun ownership has surged in the US in the past year, violent crime, including murder and robbery, has dropped steeply. Add to that the fact that many experts had predicted higher crime rates as the US grinds through a difficult recession, and the discrepancy has advocates on both sides of the Second Amendment debate rushing to their ramparts. More at Christian Science Monitor... 


One of my favorite quotes about guns: Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners. Remember, Guns don't kill people, doctors do. Fact: Not everyone has a gun, but almost everyone has at least one doctor." Source: Rense.com

  RELATED:

• Kentucky Right-to-Carry Reform Measure to be Heard on February 25, 2010 
• Concealed-Carry News from KC3.com 
• Nine Myths of Gun Control 
• Allied Illinois Markswomen 
• NRA-ILA :: Right-to-Carry 2009 
• don't worry, be happy - own a gun 
• U.S. Concealed Carry Association 
• Texas Concealed Handgun Association 
• Concealed Carry - Kansas Attorney General 
• Common Arguments - ConcealedCampus.com 
• Gun Facts - Your guide for debunking gun control myth 
• Students for Concealed Carry on Campus - ConcealedCampus.com 
• Attorney General announces First Quarter 2009 CHL statistics (Ohio) 
• ICarry.org Illinois and Wisconsin Right to Carry Concealed Carry ... 
• Statistics show concealed carry saves many lives - Collegiate Times

Fort Hood Shooter and Prior Classified Investigations

STRATFOR security expert Fred Burton discusses the possibility that Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspected gunman in a massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, became the target of a classified FBI investigation months before the shootings occurred. (Source) Conservative Caps, Shirt and more! Leave a Comment - Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Visit us on Twitter!

FBI Arrests Blogger For Alleged Death Threats (Updated)

The FBI arrested blogger Hal Turner, known to be a white supremacist, on charges that he called for the killing of three federal judges in Chicago. Earlier this month, Turner was arrested on charges of calling for violence against three Connecticut state officials. 

UPDATE: Hal Turner was acquitted of all charges in Sept. 2011. "Harold 'Hal' Turner was found not guilty of felony inciting injury to people and misdemeanor threatening by a Hartford jury that deliberated less than three hours," the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Sept. 16, 2011. In December 2012, Turner sued Connecticut officials for $50 million, claiming he had been falsely arrested in 2009.

Chicago Breaking News (CBN) reports that U.S. Attorney's office alleges that blogger Hal Turner publicly called for the killing of three federal appeals court judges who serve on the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago. The U.S. Attorney's office says that Turner's web site included photos of the judges and addresses for them, with statements such as: "Let me be the first to say this plainly; These judges deserve to be killed." Although the federal charges against Turner were brought in Chicago, he will appear in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J. on Thursday, June 25.

Harold "Hal" Turner

In a separate but related case, the Jersey Journal reported on June 11 that Turner turned himself into Connecticut State Capitol Police "on charges of inciting injury against three officials in that state, according to Connecticut officials." 

In this case, the Jersey Journal story said, "The charge stems from posts Turner put on his blog regarding two elected officials and a state employee in Connecticut who took the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport to task for failing to register as a lobbyist before staging a large protest against a bill aimed at changing how Catholic parishes incorporate."

In short, Mr. Turner seems to be a seriously disturbed mental case. Turner is invoking the First Amendment as a defense for his words. 

Hal Turner has much in common, sadly, with millions of whack jobs who habitually post violent comments to posts on blogs and other web sites. 

And by the way, before you liberals start cackling about this "right-wing whacko," consider something. Sure, he's a right-wing lunatic, on the far, outer galaxy of the Right, but I agree that he is vile. I don't like racists of any color. 

But ask yourself, Liberals, how many times you or your liberal friends openly wished for violent acts against Republicans? George W. Bush, for example. Can you honestly say that you've never heard a liberal say that they'd love to put a bullet in Bush's head if they had the chance? I've heard it many, many times. The scariest part: They were "mainstream" liberals, not far-out lunatics.

RELATED: 

Blogger acquitted of threats to Conn. officials - San Diego Union-Tribune

Acquitted blogger sues Conn. officials for $50M - Associated Press