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Paul Pelosi attack suspect was on ‘suicide mission,’ planned to target other politicians: Report

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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home, beating her husband and seeking to kidnap her had allegedly said he was on a “suicide mission” and had plans to target other California and federal politicians, according to a Tuesday court filing.

David DePape was ordered held without bail during his arraignment Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court. His public defender entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. It was the first public appearance since the early Friday attack for DePape, a fringe activist drawn to conspiracy theories.

In court papers filed Tuesday, prosecutors detailed the attack in stark terms as part of their bid to keep DePape behind bars.

EXCLUSIVE: Former partner of accused Paul Pelosi attacker DePape reveals new details about suspect

DePape allegedly said he had other targets, including a local professor as well as several prominent state and federal politicians – and members of their families.

“This case demands detention,” Jenkins wrote in the court filing. “Nothing less.”

The filing also said that Paul Pelosi was knocked unconscious by the hammer attack and woke up in a pool of his own blood.

Depape walked into the courtroom Tuesday with his right arm in a shoulder sling, having reportedly dislocated his shoulder in the attack at the Pelosi home. He only spoke to tell Judge Diane Northway how to pronounce his last name (dih-PAP’). The 42-year-old defendant is scheduled to return to court Friday.

After the hearing, Lipson said he looks forward to providing DePape with a “vigorous defense.” He also said he met DePape on Monday night for the first time and had not seen the police reports yet.

The violent attack that left Nancy Pelosi’s husband hospitalized was officially labeled “politically motivated” by authorities Monday after disturbing new details involving zip ties and rope revealed how the attempted kidnapping attempt unfolded.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s office announced a slew of felony charges against 42-year-old DePape of Richmond, including — attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, false imprisonment and threatening the life or serious bodily harm to a public official. DePape also faces federal assault and attempted kidnapping charges.

“Mr. DePape specifically targeted the Pelosi home to confront Speaker Pelosi,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. “There was no security present and he was able to break the window to a glass door to gain entry into the home.”

According to the criminal complaint released Monday, Paul Pelosi was asleep when DePape entered his bedroom allegedly telling him to “wake up” and that he was looking for Nancy. “It was at some point after that Mr. Pelosi asked to go to the bathroom which is where he was able to call 911 from his cellphone.”

Police arrived on scene minutes after the 911 call to see the two men struggling for control over the hammer, according to the affidavit.

Officers asked, “What was going on?” DePape responded by saying “Everything is good.”

VIDEO: Who’s David DePape? What we know about suspect in attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband at SF home

Investigators said officers told both men to drop the hammer before DePape allegedly gained control of it and swung it striking Pelosi on the head. The complaint indicated the Speaker’s husband appeared unconscious on the floor as DePape was detained.

According to the affidavit, Paul Pelosi told DePape “Nancy was not there,” but DePape responded by saying he would “sit and wait.” Pelosi persisted saying his wife wouldn’t be home for several days, but DePape still said: “he would wait.”

According to DePape, around that time he started taking out twist ties from his pocket with the intention of restraining Pelosi. He said the two kept talking, when Pelosi went to the bathroom to call 911.

“Two police officers arrived at the front door two minutes after that 911 call,” said Jenkins. “When that door was opened the defendant was holding his hammer.”

RELATED: As Election Day looms, Bay Area leaders say tone, tenor of politics needs change amid Pelosi attack

DePape told SFPD in a follow-up interview he was going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her. He added he would only let her go “if she told the truth” and if she lied he was going to “break her kneecaps.” DePape later explained to investigators he believed she would lie and would have to be “wheeled into Congress which would show other members of Congress there were consequences to actions.”

Former prosecutor and legal analyst Steven Clark commented on the first steps that DePape’s lawyer will take.

“If half of what you read online about this individual is true, it’s someone that clearly has psychological issues that need to be addressed and considered by the defense team before they enter a plea in this case, and decide how they are going to approach the case,” says Clark.

He says the fact that there are already federal charges along with the state’s charges, says something.

“The Federal Government stepping in this early filing charges is somewhat unusual in what appears to be a state court case, but this is very much in response to the events of Jan. 6 because the Federal Government is now saying we are going to protect our members of Congress, and this kind of behavior is going to be prosecuted vigorously,” says Clark.

“It really hits very hard,” said Rep. Anna Eshoo. “There’s such disbelief to the viciousness of this.”

San Francisco Police recovered zip ties in Pelosi’s bedroom and in the hallway near the front door, according to the affidavit. A roll of tape, white rope, one hammer, gloves along with a journal was found in DePape’s backpack.

RELATED: Local, nation’s top political leaders respond to violent attack on Speaker Pelosi’s husband

Investigators also found evidence DePape was living in the garage of a home on Shasta Street in Richmond for roughly two years before the attack. Among other things, investigators seized two hammers and a sword in that garage.

The ABC7 News I-Team confirmed Monday there is no Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or formal agreement between SFPD and U.S. Capitol Police for security measures. Speaker Pelosi is provided a 24-hour protective detail from U.S. Capitol Police but that protection does not necessarily extend to the family. Chief Scott told ABC7 the department used to have a security detail at the Pelosi residence, but didn’t specify when that ended.

DePape was charged in federal court with assault on the immediate family member of a federal official which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. He was also charged with the attempted kidnapping of a federal official, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. DA Jenkins says the other six felony charges filed in state superior court carry sentences of 13 years to life in prison.

“We will be prosecuting this case to the highest extent of the law,” said Jenkins. “There is no place for violence in San Francisco or in politics.”

Elon Musk over the weekend tweeted, then deleted, a fringe website’s conspiracy theories to his millions of followers, as his purchase of Twitter has raised concerns that the social media platform would no longer seek to limit misinformation and hate speech.

VIDEO: Why Elon Musk’s conspiracy theory tweet about Paul Pelosi attack is ‘dangerous’

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., was among those making light of the attack on Paul Pelosi, tweeting out crude jokes about it.

Paul Pelosi remains hospitalized in San Francisco after undergoing surgery for a fractured skull and other injuries. Speaker Pelosi, who was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the attack, returned swiftly to California. Unlike presidents, congressional leaders have security protection for themselves, but not their families.

With nearly 10,000 threats against members of Congress in the last year, U.S. Capitol Police have advised lawmakers to take precautions. Chief Tom Manger, who leads the U.S. Capitol Police, has said the threat from lone-wolf attackers has been growing and the most significant threat the force is facing is the historically high number of threats against lawmakers, thousands more than just a few years before.

The beating of the speaker’s husband follows other attacks and threats. This summer, a man carrying a gun, a knife and zip ties was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house in Maryland after threatening to kill the justice. In 2017, Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was seriously injured when a Bernie Sanders supporter opened fire on Republicans at a congressional baseball game practice.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

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Cameras didn’t malfunction during Paul Pelosi assault. The investigation continues

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Amid misinformation about the Oct. 28 assault of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, in their San Francisco home are unfounded claims about security footage. 
We previously debunked an Instagram post that said the Pelosis refused to “turn over surveillance video of their home.” Another Instagram post alleges there was no footage at all.
“BREAKING,” the Oct. 30 post says. “Unfortunately all 28 security cameras at the Pelosi residence malfunctioned for the duration of the break-in, so officials have ended their investigation and concluded UltraMAGA white supremacy was the motivation.” 
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi, told PolitiFact this claim was fabricated. 
We found no credible reports, from the government, police or media, to suggest otherwise. 
Politico reported that the U.S. Capitol Police has access to the security camera feed from the San Francisco home. The police are conducting a review of the Oct. 28 incident, including looking at their command center, “which was monitoring the security camera feed from Pelosi’s home, according to a person familiar,” Politico said. 
Officials have not ended their investigation into the attack. The FBI San Francisco field office, the Capitol Police and the San Francisco Police Department are all investigating. David DePape, 42, the man accused in the assault, faces state and federal charges including assault, attempted kidnapping, attempted murder and elder abuse. 
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Ross: Pelosi’s attacker was playing revolutionary according to FBI report

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San Francisco district attorney Brooke Jenkins speaks during a news conference on October 31, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Jenkins announced state level charges against David Wayne DePape who attacked Paul Pelosi, husband of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, after breaking into their home. DePape is being charged with attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder and threats to a public official and their family. The U.S. attorney has also filed federal charges against DePape. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

We now have the official FBI version of the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, and it turns out to be a lot more interesting than all that rehashed false flag conspiracy stuff.

Last Friday, at 2:23 a.m., a private security guard noticed someone carrying a backpack…walking near the Pelosis’ San Francisco home.

More from Dave Ross: Halloween horror trailers aren’t the only ads trying to scare you

It turned out to be David Wayne DePape, who had been living in a garage in Richmond for the past two years – a garage where agents later found two hammers, a sword, and two letters from the IRS.

He broke in through a glass door, walked to the upstairs bedroom where Paul Pelosi was asleep, woke him up, and demanded to talk to “Nancy”.

Mr. Pelosi said she wasn’t there. The man with the hammer said he would sit and wait. Mr. Pelosi said it could be several days. The man said, no problem – he’d still wait.

But, being tired from carrying his backpack, he was going to tie up Mr. Pelosi and take a nap, at which point he pulled out his zip ties.

Now – what would you do in that situation? Here’s a guy with a hammer in your bedroom at 2 a.m. who is going to tie you up while he waits for your wife.

I will admit– this might be one of those situations where you’d want a gun under your pillow. This is everybody’s nightmare – the 2 a.m. visit from a wacko.

But instead, Mr. Pelosi engages the guy in conversation and manages to slip into a bathroom where he calls 911.

The officer is there within minutes, there’s the hammer struggle, and Mr. Pelosi is lucky enough to escape with a non-life-threatening injury.

And then the man with the hammer tells his story, it turns out he wasn’t just crazy; he was drunk on American history.

Because here’s what he tells the cops: that he was going to hold “Nancy” hostage and force her to “tell the truth.” And if she lied, which he was sure she’d do, he was going to break “her kneecaps” so she’d have to be wheeled into Congress, and everybody would see that lies… have consequences.

And when police asked him why didn’t just run off when he saw Mr. Pelosi call 911, he told the cops that, much like the American founding fathers who fought the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option of surrender.

So, if we’re going to point the finger at some underlying ideology this guy was ultimately motivated by the Founding Fathers. Who founded this nation the way many others were founded, through the use of violence in service of a higher cause.

It’s a concept we celebrate, but it comes with a flip side, which is: you never know when some yahoo at the Capitol with a guillotine, or a confused person living in a garage with his hammers, might suddenly decide he’s Thomas Jefferson.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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Prosecutors Look at Florida Election Protest as a Model for Jan. 6

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The Justice Department is examining ties among the far-right Proud Boys, Roger Stone and others over their roles in 2018 “Stop the Steal” demonstrations.
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Prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 investigation have also been asking questions about connections between Roger J. Stone Jr. and a protest related to the 2018 elections in Florida.

Prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 investigation have also been asking questions about connections between Roger J. Stone Jr. and a protest related to the 2018 elections in Florida.Credit…Al Drago for The New York Times

Nov. 1, 2022, 1:40 p.m. ET

President Donald J. Trump and other top Republicans were stoking claims that the election had been stolen, and their supporters were protesting in the streets. Members of the far-right group the Proud Boys and people close to Roger J. Stone Jr., including Representative Matt Gaetz, took part in the action as the crowd was chanting “Stop the Steal.”

The time was 2018, the setting was southern Florida, and the election in question was for governor and a hotly contested race that would help determine who controlled the United States Senate.

Now, four years later, the Justice Department is examining whether the tactics used then served as a model for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In recent months, prosecutors overseeing the seditious conspiracy case of five members of the Proud Boys have expanded their investigation to examine the role that Jacob Engels — a Florida Proud Boy who accompanied Mr. Stone to Washington for Jan. 6 — played in the 2018 protests, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The prosecutors want to know whether Mr. Engels received any payments or drew up any plans for the Florida demonstration, and whether he has ties to other people connected to the Proud Boys’ activities in the run-up to the storming of the Capitol.

Different prosecutors connected to the Jan. 6 investigation have also been asking questions about efforts by Mr. Stone — a longtime adviser to Mr. Trump — to stave off a recount in the 2018 Senate race in Florida, according to other people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Gaetz, Republican of Florida, participated in the 2018 demonstration, but the extent and nature of his involvement remain unclear.

Fritz Scheller, a lawyer for Joel Greenberg, a local Florida tax collector who is cooperating with the government in an investigation into Mr. Gaetz, declined in response to questions to discuss the specifics of what his client told the authorities about the 2018 incident. Still, Mr. Scheller said, “A significant aspect of Mr. Greenberg’s cooperation has been his assistance in matters involving efforts to subvert the democratic process.”

In weeks after the 2020 election, Mr. Gaetz took part in Mr. Trump’s attempts to challenge the certification of the vote count, but there is no indication that he is part of the Proud Boys inquiry. Mr. Gaetz did not respond to text messages seeking comment.

The expanded investigation of the Proud Boys emerged as five members of the group — including its former leader, Enrique Tarrio — are set to be tried on charges of seditious conspiracy in Federal District Court in Washington. The trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 12.

Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, in Miami in 2021.Credit…Eva Marie Uzcategui/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

As a part of the investigation, prosecutors are seeking to understand whether Mr. Engels has ties to a little-known Miami-based cryptocurrency promoter who may have played a role in the Capitol attack.

A week before the building was stormed, the promoter, Eryka Gemma, gave Mr. Tarrio a document titled “1776 Returns,” according to several people familiar with the matter. The document laid out a detailed plan to surveil and storm government buildings around the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a pressure campaign to demand a new election.

Neither Mr. Stone nor Mr. Engels nor Ms. Gemma responded to messages seeking comment.

The 2018 demonstrations in Florida did not come close to the scale or intensity of the assault on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, but the overlap in tactics and in those involved was striking enough to have attracted the attention of federal investigators.

Information obtained by investigators shows that some of those on the ground in 2018 called the protests “Brooks Brothers 2.0,” a reference to the so-called “Brooks Brothers riot” during a recount of the presidential vote in Florida in 2000. During that event, supporters of George W. Bush — apparently working with Mr. Stone — stormed a local government building, stopping the vote count at a crucial moment.

How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause.

The 2018 protests were triggered by the tight outcome of the races for United States Senate and Florida governor. On election night, the Republican Senate candidate, Rick Scott, declared victory over the Democrat, Bill Nelson, but the race was close enough that local officials were set to hold recounts in key locations like Broward County.

Prominent Republicans, including Mr. Trump and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, suggested on social media that the Democrats were trying to steal the election. Mr. Engels promoted an event in Broward County, writing on Twitter that he was headed there “to handle this situation” and was going to “STOP THE STEAL.”

On Nov. 9, a group of about 100 angry protesters, including members of the Proud Boys, descended on the Broward County elections office, carrying pro-Scott and pro-Trump signs and protesting the recount.

The event drew support from several far-right activists in Florida linked to Mr. Stone — among them, Ali Alexander, who later organized Stop the Steal events around the 2020 election, and Joseph Biggs, a leader of the Proud Boys who has since been charged alongside Mr. Tarrio in the Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case.

“Many of my friends are down there,” Mr. Stone told The Daily Beast about the event at the time.

Mr. Gaetz turned up at the Broward County protest too and was photographed with a member of the Proud Boys. He stood on the back of a rental truck with boxes labeled “ballots” and made an allusion to the crowd about the 2000 recount.

Representative Matt Gaetz participated in the 2018 demonstration, but there is no indication that he is part of the Proud Boys inquiry.Credit…Pete Marovich for The New York Times

“For all I know, they’re still counting ballots for Al Gore back there!” Mr. Gaetz said.

The boxes labeled “ballots” were props, but some protesters appeared to believe they were real. One woman in the crowd demanded that he open them.

Over several days, the protests drew dozens of people. One man carried a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. Handwritten signs denounced nonexistent fraud.

“Don’t steal our election,” one sign said.

One morning, the crowd increased in size and pushed a group of reporters, lawyers and others involved in the recount against the doors of the elections office. Security guards were far outnumbered. While the demonstration almost turned hostile, it stopped short of becoming violent.

Mr. Stone denied at the time that he had anything to do with the Florida protests. He has also denied that he played any role in the chaos that erupted at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Still, he has long maintained close relations with the Proud Boys — especially with Mr. Tarrio, who took over the group in 2018, and Mr. Engels, who runs a website called Central Florida Post and has long been involved in state Republican politics.

Mr. Engels served, among other things, as a spokesman for Mr. Tarrio’s unsuccessful 2020 congressional campaign. In March of that year, Mr. Engels published a photograph in the Central Florida Post, showing Andrew Gillum, who lost the 2018 Florida governor’s race to Ron DeSantis, lying naked on the floor of a Miami hotel room. He claimed in an article accompanying the photo that Mr. Tarrio had helped him get the picture.

In 2019, during his prosecution related to the investigation into Russian efforts to sway the 2016 presidential race, Mr. Stone posted an image on social media of the federal judge in his case, Amy Berman Jackson, with cross hairs next to her head. When questioned in court about the image, he acknowledged that both Mr. Tarrio and Mr. Engels helped him run his social media accounts.

Both Mr. Engels and Mr. Tarrio were members of an encrypted group chat called F.O.S. — for “Friends of Stone”— that Mr. Stone used in the months that followed the 2020 election. Mr. Engels went with Mr. Stone to Washington on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, accompanying him around the city over the course of two days.

Prosecutors are interested in whether a written plan existed setting out details for the “Brooks Brother 2.0.” protests in the same way that “1776 Returns” described a plan for occupying six House and Senate office buildings and the Supreme Court on Jan. 6, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Broken into five parts — infiltrate, execution, distract, occupy and sit-in — the “1776” document recommended recruiting at least 50 people to enter each of the seven government buildings and advised protesters to appear “unsuspecting” and to “not look tactical.”

After ensuring that crowds at the buildings were “full and ready to go,” the document suggested that “leads and seconds” should enter and open doors for others to go in, “causing trouble” to distract security guards, if necessary.

The federal indictment of Mr. Tarrio says that the person who provided him with “1776 Returns” told him, shortly after it was sent, “The revolution is more important than anything.” That person was Ms. Gemma, according to several people familiar with the matter.

But Ms. Gemma was not the author of “1776 Returns,” which was written by others, first as a shared document on Google, the people said.

It remains unclear who the original authors were.

Patricia Mazzei and Matthew Cullen contributed reporting.

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#MyOpinion – My Opinion: The #FBI is not able to conduct CI work, it staffed with brainless psychopaths & the B actors-pretenders. “Trust is the currency that enables successful FBI investigations …” What should become of the FBI? – The Capitol Riot Report – The News And Times

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What should become of the FBI?

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Current polls show a growing mistrust of the FBI among nearly half of America due to a spate of investigative activities that appear politically one-sided. Some pundits and politicians have piled on with invidious characterizations of the entire bureau as “fascist,” “Gestapo-like,” “thoroughly corrupt,” and a tool of the Democratic Party that should be completely disbanded.

While the hyperbole is not helpful, the public’s frustration is certainly understandable following disclosures by special counsel John Durham of abuses stemming from the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, the shocking search of a former Republican president’s home over a document dispute, the highly tactical home arrests of pro-life protesters and other conservatives, and the unjustified early morning search of journalists’ homes for the politically embarrassing diary of President Biden’s daughter — to name just a few. 

A prominent over-rotation proposal fronted by some in the media and on Capitol Hill is the complete dissolution of the FBI and distribution of its mission to other federal law enforcement agencies. This is a feel-good sound bite, but it will never happen. It is irresponsible to feed it as a possibility to that half of the country that traditionally admired the FBI but now is deeply concerned. Here’s why.

Keep in mind that 99 percent of the FBI had no involvement in any of the troubling investigations and actions listed above. The majority go about their daily business working the kinds of cases we would want them to. If whistleblower and other anecdotal reporting is to be believed, there is significant concern among current and retired FBI agents that some in the bureau are unduly cooperating with abusive Department of Justice (DOJ) political agendas. The responsibility for the present erosion of trust in the FBI by millions in this country lies at the feet of a very few.

Second, parceling out the FBI’s investigative and intelligence jurisdictions to other agencies is immensely impractical. These agencies are small compared to the FBI, are single threaded in their missions, and would be years if not decades away from being able to absorb authorities with which they have no experience or training.  

Some have suggested simply reconstituting the FBI under a different name. This makes no sense. Like it or not, the FBI is a brand cultivated over a century, generating deep cooperation domestically and around the world that helps solve tough cases and save lives. The FBI, because it’s the FBI, is still attractive to tens of thousands of good candidates for very few positions every year. Effective reforms that don’t blow up the positive effects of the FBI are possible.

What is clear is that some type of prudent reform mitigating concerns that the FBI can be manipulated politically is in order. A historical perspective may be useful.

Eighty percent of Americans were not born or are too young to remember the last time the FBI came under intense fire for politically motivated investigations that were found to be constitutionally out of bounds. These investigations came to a head in the 1960s and early ’70s under the Kennedy/Johnson/Nixon administrations. At that time, the executive branch launched intelligence investigations and operations with little constraint.

As a result, wiretaps ordered by the DOJ of Martin Luther King Jr. came to light, as well as surveillance and undercover penetration of anti-Vietnam War and civil rights protest groups.  Protections guaranteed by the First and Fourth Amendments were abused. And it wasn’t just the FBI that drew attention as it was revealed that the CIA was attempting sanctioned assassinations overseas, the National Security Agency (NSA) was routinely listening in on American conversations, and the IRS was casually sharing taxpayer records of perceived administration enemies.

In 1975, a bipartisan special Senate committee colloquially known as the “Church Committee” was formed and subsequently exposed all these adventurous executive branch excesses. Arising from that were a number of reforms ranging from presidential executive orders to the establishment of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court and its protocols and, eventually, to the articulation and promulgation of Attorney General Guidelines that dictated the constitutionally safe thresholds the FBI needs to meet to start an investigation. 

All of this was good because it led to measures that strengthened constitutional protections while preserving the positive native capabilities of key national security agencies. There was understandable public indignation and loss of trust at that time 50 years ago because of these exposed abuses, but prudent reforms reigned, and we were better for it as a nation.  

Now, generations have passed, and the imperatives of those old reforms have seemingly turned evanescent. And so, further reform is necessary to curb a current executive branch that appears to be targeting political opposition with an inordinate forcefulness that insults and possibly violates constitutional protections. Refreshed reforms are now likely as power is poised to shift in Washington, but the FBI can get out ahead of some of this by unilaterally instituting a few basic new protocols designed to restore trust.

First, any high-profile investigation involving political campaigns, candidates and political figures should be subject to objective General Counsel review to ensure adequate predication required by the Attorney General Guidelines is clearly present in order to avoid another Crossfire Hurricane debacle. Contrary to Inspector General assertions, the Crossfire Hurricane case file articulated no basis for legitimate initiation required by the guidelines.  

Second, FBI agents and analysts should be required to sign employment contracts agreeing to avoid politically charged or revealing statements on internal communications and social media platforms under penalty of discipline, to include dismissal. The public should have faith that the FBI is apolitical.

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Third, arrest and search plans involving politically sensitive suspects should undergo prior review by an independent entity within the FBI to ensure that the level of tactical response fits the violation and relative risk presented by the subject. Safety is important but so is a response strategy that doesn’t foster perceptions of heavy-handedness, if not extrajudicial punishment or “message sending.”  

Trust is the currency that enables successful FBI investigations that all law-abiding Americans desire. Less trust, less success. Hyperbolic caricatures and impractical “disband the FBI” drumbeats are useless. Positive reform is normally helpful, welcome, and vitally needed to reestablish lost trust.  

Kevin R. Brock is a former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI and principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). He independently consults with private companies and public-safety agencies on strategic mission technologies.

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‘Absolutely no evidence:’ Police, FBI affidavit debunk salacious conspiracy about Pelosi attack pushed by conservatives – ABC17NEWS – ABC17News.com

‘Absolutely no evidence:’ Police, FBI affidavit debunk salacious conspiracy about Pelosi attack pushed by conservatives – ABC17NEWS  ABC17News.com
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8:31 AM 10/31/2022 – My Opinion: Vicious attack on #PaulPelosi, crush in #Seoul, #MorbiBridge collapse in India – all these events may be the operations of the #RussianIntel (#GRU?), enraged by the humiliation of the setbacks in the #UkraineWar & by the attack on the #CrimeanBridge.

Tweets – 8:31 AM 10/31/2022

Michael Novakhov @mikenov

#FBI FBI #Counterintelligence
Vicious attack on #PaulPelosi, crush in #Seoul#MorbiBridge collapse in India – all these events may be the operations of the #RussianIntel (#GRU?), enraged by the humiliation of the setbacks in the #UkraineWar & by the attack on the #CrimeanBridge.

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Leonid Nevzlin @Nevzlin

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
Отличный троллинг путиных и небензей в ООН:))

CBS Mornings @CBSMornings

Michael Novakhov retweeted:

The suspect, who police say used a hammer to attack House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, is expected to face charges, including attempted murder.

He was looking for the Congresswoman when he broke into their San Francisco home, according to police. cbsn.ws/3gUHMB9

ТАСС @tass_agency

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
Кремль проинформирует дополнительно, если появится указ президента РФ о завершении частичной мобилизации в России, сообщил Дмитрий Песков:
go.tass.ru/jGFmb

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SOTA @Sota_Vision

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
Депутат от Единой России и глава Новосибирского ДРСУ Сергей Мамонтов сбил ребенка и скрылся с места. Мальчик вернулся домой самостоятельно, его мама вызвала скорую помощь. В больнице мальчику диагностировали переломом бедра и черепно-мозговую травму. Мамонтова задержали.

FLASH @Flash_news_ua

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
⚡️Finland will allow nuclear weapons to be placed on the border with Russia if the country’s application to join NATO is approved, — Newsweek.

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DW на русском @dw_russian

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
“Цели ударов достигнуты. Все назначенные объекты поражены”. В российском Минобороны признали, что атаковали объекты инфраструктуры Украины. Ранее в ВСУ сообщили, что сбили 44 из более чем 50 запущенных Россией крылатых ракет

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Euan MacDonald @Euan_MacDonald

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
Big boom in Kyiv at exactly 0801, light went off minutes before. Looks like another serious raid against civilian infrastructure by Russia. Air raid alerts across the whole of Ukraine except Crimea. Looks like the Sevastopol Raid rattled Putin’s cage.

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восхищённый болгарин™ @dedzaebal

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
Татарск, Новосибирская область. За рулём – единорос, член совета депутатов Татарского района Сергей Мамонтов.
Ребёнок в реанимации.Своих не бросаем блядь. Уёбки

Dan Friedman @dfriedman33

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
Russians used a US firm to funnel funds to GOP in 2018. Dems say the FEC let them get away with it. motherjones.com/politics/2022/…

Samuel Ramani @SamRamani2

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
This map is circulating on Russian Telegram after Lula’s victory

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The New York Times @nytimes

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
The attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband on Friday, which left him with a fractured skull and appeared to be part of a planned attack on the speaker herself, came after a yearslong campaign by Republicans to demonize and dehumanize her. nyti.ms/3Ua1A1J

Robert @1234flyingninja

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
#FBI transparency is clear as mud. twitter.com/kylenabecker/s…

MD Iqbal Ahmad ایم ڈی اقبال احمد @mdiq4u

Michael Novakhov retweeted:

Kyun #BJP aur #Modi ka Naam lene mein dar lag raha hai kya 🤦‍♂️ ?

#MorbiTragedy #MorbiBridge twitter.com/RubikaLiyaquat…

Stranger 🇮🇳 @Stranger_Beast

Michael Novakhov retweeted:

Prashant Umrao @ippatel

Michael Novakhov retweeted:

#Morbi ब्रिज में दुर्घटना से पहले कुछ युवकों का झुंड केबल को पैरों से मारकर अपनी जगह से खींचते कैमरे में कैद हुआ है।

आपिये गुजरात को बदनाम करने के लिए किसी भी हद तक जा सकते हैं।

The Times Of India @timesofindia

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
#WATCH | Several people feared to be injured after a cable bridge collapsed in the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi area today.

Military History Now @MilHistNow

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
On this day in 1926, Benito Mussolini orders the Italian newspaper ‘Il Mondo’ shut down after it prints a series of articles warning citizens of the dangers of fascism.

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DW на русском @dw_russian

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
Новые ракетные обстрелы Украины со стороны России утром 31 октября. Что известно:
🔹Часть Киева осталась без света, некоторые районы – без воды, сообщил мэр города Виталий Кличко.
🔹В Киевской области, по данным губернатора Алексея Кулебы, также начались отключения энергии

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The New York Times @nytimes

Michael Novakhov retweeted:
Breaking News: The death toll in a bridge collapse in India rose to 132, and the majority of the dead were children, women and older people, officials said.
nyti.ms/3U6Qpa8
Categories
Featured - Sticky Posts The News And Times Blog

FBI was reportedly warned agents were ‘sympathetic’ to Capitol rioters – as it happened | Oath Keepers trial focuses on planning for Jan 6 Capitol riot | AP source: Pelosi attacker carried zip ties | Man who dragged officer into 1/6 mob gets more than 7 years | Talks underway to replace Vladimir Putin as Russia President, claims Ukrainian official

Post Link

AP source: Pelosi attacker carried zip ties – Chicago Tribune

6 Capitol attack … in what is the latest parallel to the Capitol riot of Jan. … 6 riot were apparent in the incident at the Pelosi home.

The post AP source: Pelosi attacker carried zip ties – Chicago Tribune first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

riot were apparent in the incident at the Pelosi home. Rioters who swarmed the Capitol trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory over …

The post Pelosi’s attacker reportedly carried zip ties, an echo of the Jan. 6 attack – NPR first appeared on Capitol Riot.

Nancy Pelosi: family ‘heartbroken and traumatized’ by brutal attack on her husband

Speaker’s husband underwent surgery after hammer assault that comes amid rising warnings of political violence in the US.

The post Nancy Pelosi: family ‘heartbroken and traumatized’ by brutal attack on her husband first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

USA: Attack on Pelosi’s husband leads to attack on Capitol – Nation World News

Some people in the siege were seen inside the Capitol wearing zip ties. The violent attack on the family of a Congress leader comes at a time when …

The post USA: Attack on Pelosi’s husband leads to attack on Capitol – Nation World News first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

Man who attacked Paul Pelosi carried zip ties, in Jan. 6 echo, source says

Paul Pelosi remains hospitalized and “continues to improve,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told colleagues.

The post Man who attacked Paul Pelosi carried zip ties, in Jan. 6 echo, source says first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

The attack at the Pelosis’ home was part of a dangerous pattern | The Economist

The Capitol Police has reported a doubling in the number of threats against members of Congress since 2017. Increasing political violence is an …

The post The attack at the Pelosis’ home was part of a dangerous pattern | The Economist first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

Paul Pelosi’s attacker reportedly had zip ties, an echo of the Jan. 6 insurrection – NPR

U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a weekend memo to … Some in the siege were seen inside the Capitol carrying zip ties.

The post Paul Pelosi’s attacker reportedly had zip ties, an echo of the Jan. 6 insurrection – NPR first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

Man who dragged officer into 1/6 mob gets more than 7 years – The Associated Press

The post Man who dragged officer into 1/6 mob gets more than 7 years – The Associated Press first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

Paul Pelosi attacker carried zip ties, in echo of US Capitol riot — source | The Times of Israel

… San Francisco home, according to a person briefed on the investigation, in what is the latest parallel to the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021.

The post Paul Pelosi attacker carried zip ties, in echo of US Capitol riot — source | The Times of Israel first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

They also compared the FBI to the Gestapo (fact check: mostly false). … voting for Mitt Romney and then enthusiastically for Donald Trump.

7607913 Google Alert – fbi and trump

The post Google Alert – fbi and trump: Conspiracy Theories Are Not a Partisan Phenomenon – The Washington Post first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

… San Francisco home, according to a person briefed on the investigation, in what is the latest parallel to the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021.

The post Paul Pelosi attacker reportedly carried zip ties echoing Capitol riot – NZ Herald first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

It was quite an admission about how desperately the Obama administration had targeted former President Donald Trump.

7607926 Google Alert – crossfire hurricane

The post Google Alert – crossfire hurricane: With Steele Offer As Backdrop, Sen. Scott Demands To Know How Much FBI Paying Sources first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

The rush to sow doubt about the assault on Pelosi’s husband … echoing the exclamations of pro-Trump protesters who breached the Capitol on Jan.

The post Elon Musk, right-wing figures push misinformation about Pelosi attack first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

“It’s happened since Trump came in in 2017. There’s been a rise in incidents reported to Capitol police about the threats against congresspeople,” he …

The post Lawmaker draws line between Trump and Pelosi attack – Salon.com first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

riot were apparent in the Paul Pelosi assault. Rioters who swarmed the Capitol trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory over Donald Trump …

The post AP source: Pelosi attacker carried zip ties, in Jan. 6 echo – Martinsville Bulletin first appeared on The Capitol Riot – The News And Times.

Ukraine’s Chief of Defence intelligence, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, claimed that Russian officials are “actively discussing” removing Vladimir Putin from power, The Mirror reported.

Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24. (Photo: Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t last until the end of the Ukraine war and officials are already discussing his replacement, claimed Ukraine’s Chief of Defence intelligence, according to a report.

Major General Kyrylo Budanov claimed that Russian officials are “actively discussing” removing Vladimir Putin from power, The Mirror reported.

The statement comes amid a counteroffensive by Ukraine to take back Kherson, a strategic port city, that has been under Russian control since the early days of the invasion.

READ | ‘No need for that’: Putin rules out using nuclear weapons against Ukraine

“It’s unlikely that he [Putin] survives it. And currently, there are active discussions happening in Russia about who’d be there to replace him,” Major general Kyrylo Budanov said.

Major general Budanov added that Ukraine is aiming to recapture Kherson by the end of November and would even attempt to take back Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukraine could potentially consider to be an endgame to the war, he further said.

Since Russian forces suffered major defeats in September, Vladimir Putin has doubled down, calling up hundreds of thousands of reservists, announcing the annexation of occupied territory and repeatedly threatening to use nuclear weapons.

Recent missile and drone strikes have knocked out more than 40 per cent of Ukraine’s power-generating capabilities, leading to energy rationing and blackouts throughout the country. They signal the start of what could be a cold, dark winter in Ukraine as war rages on.

ALSO READ | Winter is coming: Russia ups the nuclear ante as Ukraine war intensifies

Edited By:

Devika Bhattacharya

Published On:

Oct 30, 2022

The post Talks underway to replace Vladimir Putin as Russia President, claims Ukrainian official – India Today first appeared on The Brooklyn News.

Россия продолжает военное вторжение в Украину, начатое 24 февраля по приказу Владимира Путина. DW следит за событиями 30 октября.

2643421 Deutsche Welle: DW.COM News Russia

In a separate case involving another far-right group, Proud Boys member Jeremy Bertino pleaded guilty on Thursday to seditious conspiracy over his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol …

The post Oath Keepers trial focuses on planning for Jan 6 Capitol riot first appeared on The Global Security News.

6801424 The Global Security News

A top FBI official was warned that a large number of bureau employees were sympathetic to Capitol rioters who threatened … He’d been reading the classified intel that the Bush admin was …

The post FBI was reportedly warned agents were ‘sympathetic’ to Capitol rioters – as it happened first appeared on The Global Security News.

6801424 The Global Security News

Categories
FBI and Capitol Riot

@ERomanat Por eso Wanda Vázquez está acusada a nivel federal por súper PAC. Porque aunque eso no es ilegal se tiene que declarar los donantes y ellos omitieron información de los donantes y muchos de ellos violaron los límites permitidos por ley.

 @ERomanat Por eso Wanda Vázquez está acusada a nivel federal por súper PAC. Porque aunque eso no es ilegal se tiene que declarar los donantes y ellos omitieron información de los donantes y muchos de ellos violaron los límites permitidos por ley.

posted at 19:48:45 UTC by Mike Nova via The Puerto Rico Times

@ERomanat Por eso Wanda Vázquez está acusada a nivel federal por súper PAC. Porque aunque eso no es ilegal se tiene que declarar los donantes y ellos omitieron información de los donantes y muchos de ellos violaron los límites permitidos por ley.

The post @ERomanat Por eso Wanda Vázquez está acusada a nivel federal por súper PAC. Porque aunque eso no es ilegal se tiene que declarar los donantes y ellos omitieron información de los donantes y muchos de ellos violaron los límites permitidos por ley. first appeared on The Puerto Rico Times – The News And Times

@ERomanat That’s why Wanda Vázquez is charged at the federal level for super PAC. Because although that is not illegal, the donors have to be declared and they omitted information from the donors and many of them violated the limits allowed by law.

The News And Times Information Network – Blogs By Michael Novakhov – thenewsandtimes.blogspot.com