Tag Archives: terrorism

US

NYC bike path terror suspect found guilty on all counts

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CNN
 — 

Sayfullo Saipov was found guilty of murder by a federal jury for using a rented truck to fatally strike eight people on a New York City bike path on Halloween Day in 2017.

Jurors deliberated about six hours over two days in the case involving the deadliest terrorist attack New York had seen since 9/11 – which left six foreign tourists and two Americans dead.

The same jury will determine whether Saipov is sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. The vote must be unanimous for the death penalty to be imposed. The penalty phase of the trial is scheduled to begin on February 6.

The trial was the first federal death penalty case heard during the administration of President Joe Biden, who had campaigned against capital punishment at the federal level.

Jury deliberations began Wednesday afternoon after Judge Vernon Broderick read them instructions.

Saipov had pleaded not guilty.

He was convicted Thursday in the Southern District of New York of counts of murder in aid of racketeering activity, assault with a dangerous weapon and attempted murder in aid of racketeering activity, attempted murder in aid of racketeering activity, provision of material support to ISIS, and violence and destruction of a motor vehicle.

In closing arguments, defense attorney David Patton did not dispute the facts of the attack Saipov is accused of committing. But the defense disputed the prosecution’s claim that Saipov was motivated to commit the attack to gain entry to ISIS. Patton argued that the attack was spurred by religious fervor to please his God and “ascend to paradise” in his religion.

Prosecutors told jurors that Saipov carried out the attack to become a member of the terrorist group.

“People who ISIS relies upon to conquer territory and kill non-believers, those are its soldiers. Of course they are part of ISIS. That is common sense,” prosecutor Amanda Leigh Houle said. “An organization engaged in a worldwide war needs its soldiers and its soldiers are part of the group.”

The charges stemmed from the 2017 attack in which Saipov drove a U-Haul truck into cyclists and pedestrians on Manhattan’s West Side bike path. He then crashed the vehicle into a school bus and left the truck while brandishing a pellet gun and paintball gun, authorities said at the time. He was shot by an NYPD officer and taken into custody, officials said.

Investigators said Saipov told them he planned the attack for about a year and was inspired by ISIS videos, according to a criminal complaint.

Saipov became radicalized by consuming extremist content during lengthy solo stints as a long-haul truck driver, his attorney said.

He grew up culturally Muslim in Uzbekistan but was not exposed to any significant amount of religious study, and his family members are not ISIS supporters, Patton said.

Saipov came to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010 and was living in New Jersey before the attack. He lived with his wife and three children and drove for Uber, according to officials.

Saipov came to the US on a diversity immigrant visa, which allows people from countries with low recent immigration to apply for a visa and green card, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He later became a legal permanent resident, officials said.

Of the eight people killed in the attack, five were from Argentina, two were Americans, and one was from Belgium, police said.

The Argentinians were part of a group celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation in New York City.

Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Ministry identified them as Hernán Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damián Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernán Ferruchi.

Nicholas Cleves, 23, from New York, and Darren Drake, 32, from New Milford, New Jersey, were the two Americans killed.

Ann-Laure Decadt, a 31-year-old Belgian woman, was also among those killed, according to a statement from her husband, Alexander Naessens. Decadt, a mother of two young sons, was on a trip to New York with her two sisters and her mother, Naessens said after the attack.

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British police arrest man on terrorism charges after uranium is found in package at London airport

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Police in the United Kingdom arrested a man on terrorism charges Saturday after trace amounts of uranium were discovered in a cargo package at Heathrow Airport in London two weeks ago. 

The suspect, a man in his 60s whose identity has not been released, was arrested at a home in northwestern England. He was booked at a police station and released on bail today. 

Trace amounts of uranium were found in a package at Heathrow Airport in London on Dec. 29, 2022. 
(iStock)

“The discovery of what was a very small amount of uranium within a package at Heathrow Airport is clearly of concern, but it shows the effectiveness of the procedures and checks in place with our partners to detect this type of material,” Richard Smith, the head of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Counter-Terrorism Command, said in a statement on Sunday. 

“I want to be clear that despite making this arrest, and based on what we currently know, this incident still does not appear to be linked to any direct threat to the public.”

ALABAMA WOMAN WHO JOINED ISIS HOPING TO BE ALLOWED BACK IN THE US

The UK’s Border Force originally detected a “very small amount of uranium” in a cargo package containing scrap metal during a routine screening at Heathrow Airport on Dec. 29. 

British police emphasized that there is no ‘direct threat to the public.’
(AP Photo/Max Duncan)

A search of the suspect’s home address did not turn up any material that could be a threat to the public, according to police. 

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The package arrived at Heathrow Airport on a passenger flight from Oman, The Guardian reports. It was bound for an “Iranian business with premises in the UK,” according to the British newspaper.

Paul Best is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to Paul.Best@fox.com and on Twitter: @KincaidBest. 



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Former US attorney named special counsel in Biden document probe

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CNN
 — 

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel to take over the investigation into the Obama-era classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s home and former private office.

The special counsel is Robert Hur, who was nominated to be US attorney in Maryland by then-President Donald Trump in 2017 and he served in the role until his resignation in 2021. He had most recently been working in private practice in Washington, DC.

“I strongly believe that the normal processes of this department can handle all investigations with integrity. But under the regulations, the extraordinary circumstances here require the appointment of a special counsel for this matter,” Garland said. “This appointment underscores for the public the department’s commitment to independence and accountability, and particularly sensitive matters and to making decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law.”

He said that Hur will receive “all the resources he needs to conduct his work.”

“I will conduct the assigned investigation with fair, impartial, and dispassionate judgment. I intend to follow the facts swiftly and thoroughly, without fear or favor, and will honor the trust placed in me to perform this service,” Hur said in a statement.

The appointment is a major moment for Biden and marks a unique moment in American history with special counsels investigating the current president and his immediate predecessor at the same time. Garland in November appointed a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigations into the retention of national defense information at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

The special counsel investigation, along with the aggressive new Republican-led House of Representatives, means Biden may be on the defensive for the next two years.

The appointment comes hours after the White House counsel’s office said in a statement that Biden’s aides located documents with classified markings at two locations inside his home in Wilmington, Delaware. The documents were located in a storage area in Biden’s garage and an adjacent room, the statement reads. Biden frequently spends weekends at the home, located in a wealthy, wooded enclave on a lake.

Speaking Thursday, Biden said the documents were in a “locked garage” and that he was cooperating fully with the Department of Justice.

“It’s not like they’re sitting out on the street,” he insisted when a reported asked why he was storing classified material next to a sports car.

The president said he was going “to get a chance to speak on all of this, God willing, soon.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the White House was not given a heads up about Hur’s appointment. However, she could not say exactly when Biden found out the special counsel was appointed, given that he was attending a funeral for former Defense Secretary Ash Carter when the news broke.

“Maybe one of his senior advisers may have told him. I actually don’t know specifically when he knew, but what I can say to you – he was – we were not given a heads up. That I can confirm,” she told reporters during a briefing Thursday afternoon.

The special counsel announcement significantly escalates the existing inquiry, which started as a preliminary review handled by the US attorney in Chicago. This also increases the potential legal exposure for Biden, his aides and lawyers who handled sensitive government materials from his time as vice president. By bringing on a special counsel, Garland is insulating himself from the politically sensitive case, though he’ll still get the final say on whether to bring any charges. When that decision comes, no matter the outcome, it will surely become a major flashpoint in the 2024 presidential race.

The development also further puts the Justice Department and FBI where they don’t want to be – right in the middle of a presidential election for the third straight cycle. Since 2015, there have been near-constant FBI probes into presidents and major candidates: Hillary Clinton’s emails; Trump’s ties to Russia; his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his hoarding of classified materials; and now Biden’s handling of classified files.

Richard Sauber, special counsel to Biden, said in a statement: “We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.”

During his news conference, Garland laid out a timeline of events in the case.

The National Archives informed a DOJ prosecutor on November 4 that the White House had made the Archives aware of documents with classified markings that had been found at Biden’s think tank, which was not authorized to store classified materials, Garland said Thursday.

The Archives told the prosecutor that the documents has been secured in an Archives facility. The FBI opened an initial assessment five days later, and on November 14, US Attorney John Lausch was tasked with leading that preliminary inquiry. The next month, on December 20, White House counsel informed Lausch of the second batch of apparently classified documents found at Biden’s Wilmington home, according to Garland’s account. On Thursday morning, a personal attorney for Biden called Lausch and informed him that an additional document marked as classified had been found at Biden’s home.

The additional documents were located following a search of the president’s homes in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. No classified documents were located in the Rehoboth property, the statement said. The documents were found “among personal and political papers.” Lawyers for Biden concluded their review of the Delaware homes on Wednesday evening.

But key questions remain unanswered about the stash of classified material, including who brought them to Biden’s private homes and what specifically was contained in them.

Garland decided to appoint a special counsel soon after receiving the recommendation last week from US Attorney John Lausch that one was warranted – and before Garland traveled to Mexico with Biden Sunday night, sources told CNN. Lausch led the preliminary inquiry, and Justice Department officials said Garland based his decision on the facts that investigators had presented him.

But one Justice official said the White House’s public statements earlier this week, offering an incomplete narrative about the classified documents from Biden’s time as vice president, reinforced the need for a special counsel. The misleading statements created the impression that Biden’s team had something to hide, the official said.

Several people associated with Biden have been interviewed as part of the Justice Department investigation into the discovery of classified documents from his time as vice president, according to two people briefed on the matter.

The group includes former aides from Biden’s time as vice president who may have been involved in packing and closing out his records and personal items and extends to some individuals who may have had knowledge how the documents discovered on November 2 ended up inside Biden’s office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Engagement, the people said.

The names of those interviewed remain unclear. It is possible more interviews may be conducted going forward, one of the people said, though it remains a fluid process.

The Biden issue burst into public view in January, when news reports revealed that a Biden lawyer had discovered 10 classified documents while cleaning out one of Biden’s private offices in Washington, DC. The discovery occurred in November, days before the midterm elections, but Biden’s team kept the matter under wraps and didn’t publicly acknowledge anything until it came out in the press.

CNN reported Wednesday that Biden’s legal team had found another batch of classified documents in a search that began after classified documents were found at his former think tank office in Washington in early November.

The discovery set off alarm bells inside the White House, where only a small circle of advisers and lawyers were aware of the matter. An effort was launched to search other locations where documents from Biden’s time as vice president may have been stored.

CNN previously reported that the initial batch discovered when Biden’s personal attorneys were packing files at his former private office contained 10 classified documents, including US intelligence materials and briefing memos about Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom.

Some of the classified documents were “top secret,” the highest level. They were found in three or four boxes that also contained unclassified papers that fall under the Presidential Records Act, CNN has reported.

Classified records are supposed to be stored in secure locations. And under the Presidential Records Act, White House records are supposed to go to the National Archives when an administration ends.

Jean-Pierre has refused to answer a number questions about the documents, citing the Justice Department’s ongoing review of the matter. She has not been able to say who brought the documents into the office.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.



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Brazil: Bolsonaro supporters break into Brazilian Congress and presidential palace

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CNN
 — 

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday breached security barriers set up by the Armed Forces and gained access to key buildings for the three branches of government, including the congressional building, the Supreme Court and the Planalto Presidential Palace.

Footage showed massive crowds in the capital of Brasília walking up a ramp that leads to the congressional building, where they had reached the Green Room, located outside the lower House of Congress’ chamber, Interim Senate President Veneziano Vital do Rogo told CNN Brasil.

Other outlets showed Bolsonaro suporters entering the Supreme Court and the presidential palace, where CNN Brasil showed the arrivals of anti-riot police and the Brazilian Armed Forces. Inside, protesters were using furniture to build barricades to prevent police from entering, CNN Brasil reported.

The floor of the Congress building was flooded after the sprinkler system activated when protesters attempted to set fire to the carpet, according to CNN Brasil.

Additional videos showed protesters inside the building taking gifts received from international delegations and destroying artwork.

By Sunday evening, several hours after the breaches, the three buildings had been cleared of protesters, CNN Brasil reported. At least 170 people have been arrested, according to Federal District Civil Police.

Paulo Pimenta, the Communications Minister, released a video Sunday evening of a walking tour of his office in the Planalto Palace. The video shows furniture overturned and offices along a corridor in disarray.

“I’m in my office on the second floor of the Planalto Palace, as you can see everything was destroyed,” Pimenta says in the video. “This is a criminal thing that was done here, this is a revolting thing. Works of art…Look what the vandals did here, the chaos the vandals made here. Destroyed works of art, the country’s heritage.”

The breaches come about a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose return to power after a 12-year hiatus comes after he defeated Bolsonaro in a run-off election on October 30.

Bolsonaro’s administration previously said it was cooperating with the transition of power, but the far-right leader has stopped short of explicitly conceding his election loss, and he left the country for the United States prior to Lula’s inauguration.

Supporters of Bolsonaro have been camped out in the capital since then. Justice Minister Flavio Dino had authorized the Armed Forces to set up the barriers and guard the congressional building Saturday due to the continued presence of pro-Bolsonaro supporters.

“Today is sad day for the Brazilian nation,” Valdemar Costa Neto, head of Bolsonaro’s right-wing Liberal Party said in a statement Sunday evening.

“We cannot agree with the depredation of the National Congress. All ordered manifestations are legitimate. Disorder has never been part of the principles of our nation,” Neto said. “I want to say to you that we strongly condemn this type of attitude. And that the law must be fulfilled, strengthening our democracy.”

President Lula on Sunday described the events as “barbaric” and called the Bolsonaro protesters who breached the government buildings “fascists.”

“These people are everything that is abominable in politics, to invade the government headquarters, the headquarters of Congress and the headquarters of the Supreme Court like true vandals destroying everything in their path,” Lula said.

Lula also said there was a “lack of security” and said “all the people who did this will be found and punished.”

The president held the press conference in Araraquara, where he had been surveying areas damaged by heavy floods.

Brazilian officials condemned the actions of demonstrators, which were reminiscent of January 6, 2021, when rioters stormed the US Capitol in an effort to prevent the certification of the 2020 election and President Joe Biden’s win over former President Donald Trump.

“The National Congress has never denied a voice to those who want to demonstrate peacefully. But it will never give room for turmoil, destruction and vandalism,” Arthur Lira, president of the Lower House of Congress said on Twitter. “Those responsible for promoting and abetting this attack on Brazilian democracy and its main symbols must be identified and punished in accordance with the law.”

Brazil’s Attorney General’s office (MPF) said in a statement it is investigating all involved in the breaches.

“The Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, monitors and follows with concern the acts of vandalism to public buildings that occur in Brasília this Sunday (8),” the MPF said.

Aras has also “requested the Attorney General’s Office in the Federal District (PRDF) to immediately open a criminal investigation procedure aimed at holding those involved accountable.”

Several hours after the breach, Brazil’s Federal District Military Police (PMDF) said in a statement they had begun dispersing pro-Bolsonaro protesters inside the buildings.

Those identified as taking part in “acts of vandalism” were taken to the police station, according to the PMDF.

Dino, who said he was at the Ministry of Justice headquarters, condemned the actions of Bolsonaro’s supporters in a statement on Twitter, saying, “This absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail.”

Gleisi Hoffman, president of the Worker’s Party, called the breaches “a crime announced against democracy” and “against the will of the polls.”

Federal District Security Secretary Anderson Torres – and the former justice minister under Bolsonaro’s government – similarly called the scenes “regrettable,” adding that he had ordered “immediate steps to restore order in the center of Brasília.”

Torres, who was the Justice Minister under Bolsonaro, was appointed to the Federal District office by current governor Ibaneis Rocha but was dismissed after Sunday’s breaches.

Rocha posted a video on YouTube Sunday night apologizing for the storming of federal public buildings.

“What happened was unacceptable,” Rocha said. “We did not believe at all that the demonstrations would take on the proportions that they did. They are true vandals, true terrorists, and they will have every fight with me to punish them.”

Brazilian Federal Public Defender (AGU) asked the country’s Supreme Court to issue an arrest order for Torres and “other public agents responsible for acts and omissions.”

The AGU also requested the “immediate evacuation of all federal public buildings across the country, and the dissolution of anti-democratic acts carried out in the vicinity of barracks and other military units.”

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Sunday afternoon condemned the violence in Brazil’s capital and “any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil.”

“President Biden is following the situation closely and our support for Brazil’s democratic institutions is unwavering. Brazil’s democracy will not be shaken by violence,” Sullivan wrote on Twitter.

Portugal’s government said in a statement it condemns “the acts of violence and disorder that took place today in Brasilia” and pledged support for authorities “in restoring order and legality.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, joined other world leaders in offering support to President Lula: “The will of the Brazilian people and democratic institutions must be respected! President Lula da Silva can count on the unconditional support of France,” Macron said on Twitter.

The President of the European Council Charles Michel also condemned “the assault on the democratic institutions of Brazil” and pledged his support to the Brazilian president, as did Spain and Colombia.



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World

Germany detains Iranian national suspected of planning a terror attack

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CNN
 — 

German police have detained an Iranian national on suspicion of planning a terror attack, authorities in the country said Sunday.

Police in the western city of Munster said the 32-year-old man is believed to have procured unspecified amounts of the toxins cyanide and ricin in preparation for an “Islamist-motivated attack.”

The suspect was detained following an investigation by the North Rhine-Westphalia Central Office for the Prosecution of Terrorism, a unit of the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to police.

Police retrieved materials during a search of the suspect’s home in the city of Castrop-Rauxel and an investigation is ongoing, police said.

Another person is also being held in connection with the case, police said, without providing more details.

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World

Ukraine: Kyiv dismisses Putin’s call for ceasefire as ‘hypocrisy’

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CNN
 — 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his defense minister to implement a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine for 36 hours this week to allow Orthodox Christians to attend Christmas services, according to a Kremlin statement Thursday. But the proposal was swiftly dismissed as “hypocrisy” by Ukrainian officials.

Putin’s order came after the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, called for a ceasefire between January 6 and January 7, when many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas.

But Ukrainian officials voiced skepticism about the temporary ceasefire, saying Moscow just wanted a pause to gather reserves, equipment and ammunition.

During his nightly address on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia aims to use Orthodox Christmas “as a cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.

“What will this accomplish? Only another increase in the casualty count,” he added.

Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, told Ukrainian television: “Regarding this truce – they just want to get some kind of a pause for a day or two, to pull even more reserves, bring some more ammo.”

“Russia cannot be trusted. Not a single word they say,” Haidai added.

Now in its 11th month, the battle that many experts thought would be over within days or weeks has become a grueling war.

Both sides have taken blows in recent weeks: Ukraine’s economy shrank by more than 30% last year, with Russian missile strikes pummeling civilian infrastructure, leaving many without heat in the height of winter. Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks on Russian barracks have killed a significant number of Russian troops and sparked controversy within Russia.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak responded to Putin’s move on Twitter by saying that Russia must leave “occupied territories” in Ukraine before any “temporary truce.”

“First. Ukraine doesn’t attack foreign territory and doesn’t kill civilians. As RF [Russian Federation] does … Second. RF must leave the occupied territories – only then will it have a ‘temporary truce’. Keep hypocrisy to yourself,” Podolyak said.

The proposal for a temporary truce also raised eyebrows among the international community.

US President Joe Biden expressed skepticism on Thursday, telling reporters that he was “reluctant to respond anything Putin says. I found it interesting. He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches on the 25th and New Year’s.”

He continued, “I mean, I think he’s trying to find some oxygen.”

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price described it as “cynical” and that the US had “little faith in the intentions behind” Russia’s proposed ceasefire.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday also warned that the promise of a ceasefire would not bring “either freedom or security” to the people living under Moscow’s brutal war.

“If Putin wanted peace, he would take his soldiers home, and the war would be over. But apparently, he wants to continue the war after a short break,” she said in a tweet.

Putin’s order comes after he spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who has attempted to position himself as a broker between the Russian president and the West – where Putin said he was open to “serious dialogue” regarding Ukraine, but Kyiv must accept the “new territorial realities,” according to a Kremlin statement.

The full statement from the Kremlin on Thursday read: “Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation to introduce from 12:00 January 6, 2023 until 24:00 January 7, 2023, a ceasefire along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine.

“Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the combat areas, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ.”

Kirill has been a vocal supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and gave a sermon in September in which he said that “military duty washes away all sins.”

The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has also been locked in a feud with Pope Francis, who has described the invasion of Ukraine as Russian “expansionism and imperialism.”

And in May, the Pope urged Patriarch Kirill not to “become Putin’s altar boy.”

In November, a branch of Ukraine’s Orthodox church announced that it would allow its churches to celebrate Christmas on December 25, rather than January 7, as is traditional in Orthodox congregations.

The announcement by the Kyiv-headquartered Orthodox Church of Ukraine widened the rift between the Russian Orthodox Church and other Orthodox believers.

In recent years a large part of the Orthodox community in Ukraine has moved away from Moscow, a movement accelerated by the conflict Russia stoked in eastern Ukraine beginning in 2014.

Ukrainians, who have suffered nearly a year of conflict, expressed distrust of Putin’s announcement.

In the southern region of Kherson, Pavlo Skotarenko doesn’t expect much to change. “They shell us every day, people die in Kherson every day. And this temporary measure won’t change anything,” he said.

From the frontlines in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, a Ukrainian soldier told CNN that the temporary ceasefire announcement looked like an effort to clean up Russia’s image.

“I do not think that this is done for some military tactical purpose, one day will not solve much,” the Ukrainian soldier, who goes by the call sign Archer, told CNN by phone.

“Perhaps this is done to make the image of the whole of Russia a little more human, because so many atrocities are constantly emerging, and this could earn them few points of support from the people,” the soldier said.

And in the capital Kyiv, where Russian attacks during New Year soured even the most modest celebrations, Halyna Hladka said she saw the temporary ceasefire as an attempt by Russians to win time.

“Russia has already shown active use of faith in numerous kinds of manipulations. And besides, in almost a year of war, Russia has not behaved itself as a country capable of adhering to promises,” she said.

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‘This made us all unemployable’: Trump White House aides respond to January 6 in angry text exchange

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CNN
 — 

A text exchange between Ivanka Trump’s chief of staff Julie Radford and White House aide Hope Hicks reveals their anger over then-President Donald Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021, hurting them professionally, according to newly released documents collected by the House select committee investigating the Capitol Hill insurrection.

“In one day he ended every future opportunity that doesn’t include speaking engagements at the local Proud Boys chapter,” Hicks wrote to Radford on January 6, 2021. “And all of us that didn’t have jobs lined up will be perpetually unemployed. I’m so mad and upset. We all look like domestic terrorists now.”

Hicks added: “This made us all unemployable. Like untouchable. God I’m so f***ing mad.”

Radford responded by texting, “I know, like there isn’t a chance of finding a job,” and indicating she already lost a job opportunity from Visa, which sent her a “blow off email.”

The new release is part of a steady stream of documents from the committee, complementing the release of its sweeping 845-page report. The latest comes as the panel winds down its work with the House majority set to change hands from Democrats to Republicans on Tuesday at the start of the new Congress.

In the text messages, Hicks then says “Alyssa looks like a genius,” an apparent reference to Alyssa Farah Griffin resigning from her post as a White House aide one month before the attack on the US Capitol.

Hicks and Radford then discuss Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s in-law Karlie Kloss, the supermodel, tweeting that Trump’s response to the election was anti-American.

“Unreal,” Radford texted.

The committee also released call logs from the days leading up to January 6, 2021 painting a fuller picture of who the former president was speaking to as he and his allies were plotting for him to stay in office, the first time the panel is releasing White House call logs in their entirety.

The logs have been crucial to the panel’s investigation in piecing together a timeline of events. While the log for January 6 has a seven-hour gap, the committee has gone to great lengths to fill in that part of the timeline through witness interviews and other records.

The day before the US Capitol attack, Trump spoke to then-Vice President Mike Pence. After that conversation, Trump spoke with Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who helped fuel Trump’s election lies in the state, and then the switchboard operator left a note “that Senator Douglas Mastriano will be calling in for the Vice President.”

Trump also talked to a number of members of Congress on January 5, including Sens. Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Trump and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri tried calling each other many times but could not connect. Trump also spoke with John Eastman, who helped Trump create the fake elector scheme that day.

The January 2 call log shows what happened in the immediate aftermath of the infamous hour-long call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger when Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” votes for him to win the state. Once the call with Raffensperger wrapped, Trump had a zoom with his then-lawyer Rudy Giuliani and spoke on the phone with his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and later Steve Bannon.

On January 3, Trump had multiple calls with former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark and GOP Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, as the former President tried and ultimately failed to install Clark as the acting head of DOJ. The call logs reflect a flurry of calls with DOJ officials, including then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and his deputy Richard Donoghue.

At 4:22 p.m. ET that day, Clark is listed as acting attorney general, but earlier in the day he was not.

This story has been updated with additional developments Monday.

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US

NYC Crime: 3 officers injured in machete attack blocks away from Times Square investigated as possible terrorism

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MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) — The NYPD and the FBI are investigating after three officers were attacked by a man with a machete just blocks away from Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

The attack on the officers is being investigated as a possible incident of terrorism because of online postings and the method of attack by the 19-year-old suspect, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The attack happened near 57th and 8th around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night, just hours before the ball drop.

All three officers were hospitalized, one with a fractured skull and another with a bad cut, but were expected to recover.

One of the officers was an eight-year veteran while the other was a rookie officer who just graduated from the police academy on Friday.

Moments after the attack, the suspect was shot in the shoulder by police.

Police did not immediately identify the 19-year-old suspect, who also was expected to recover.

The suspect came to New Years Eve in NYC from Maine, and federal and local law enforcement officials are now starting to look through online postings that preliminarily indicate recent extremist Islamic radicalization, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

While his motive remains under investigation, the authorities are not ruling out that the suspect came to NYC specifically to attack police officers, the sources said.

The man has no prior arrests, but was recently reported by concerned family members.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force had previously looked into the suspect, law enforcement sources said, after he was reported by the relatives.

The attack and sound of a gunshot briefly sent some people in the crowd running, but the incident did not impact the festivities in Times Square, which continued uninterrupted.

Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference that he had spoken to one of the wounded officers as he was being stitched up at the hospital.

“He was in good spirits,” Adams said. “He understood that his role saved lives of New Yorkers today.”

The blocks where the biggest crowds gather to see performances and the midnight ball drop can only be accessed through checkpoints where officers use metal-detecting wands to screen for weapons. Large bags and coolers are banned. Barriers are set up to prevent vehicle attacks in the secure area.

The security perimeter can only extend so far, though. The attack took place on 8th Avenue, which is often packed with thick crowds navigating around the frozen zone or trying to find one of the secure entrances.

Both federal and local law enforcement stressed at an early morning news conference Sunday the attack that injured three NYPD officers appeared to be an isolated incident and there was no larger threat.

Prior to New Year’s Eve, the NYPD noted in a pre-event assessment “Throughout December, multiple pro-ISIS users disseminated extremist propaganda graphics broadly calling for attacks in advance of the New Year, advocating a wide range of low-tech tactics.”

Knife attacks have long been promoted by Islamist terror groups.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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US

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin announces he has ‘serious but curable form of cancer’

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CNN
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Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland announced on Wednesday that he has a “serious but curable form of cancer” and will begin outpatient treatment.

In a statement, Raskin said, “After several days of tests, I have been diagnosed with diffuse large B cell lymphoma, which is a serious but curable form of cancer. I am about to embark on a course of chemo-immunotherapy on an outpatient basis at Med Star Georgetown University Hospital and Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prognosis for most people in my situation is excellent after four months of treatment.”

The Maryland Democrat serves on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. He also was the lead impeachment manager of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in 2021 and was just elected by his colleagues to serve as the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

“I plan to get through this and, in the meantime, to keep making progress every day in Congress for American democracy,” Raskin said in the statement.

He noted that he expects “to be able to work through this period but have been cautioned by my doctors to reduce unnecessary exposure to avoid COVID-19, the flu and other viruses.”

According to the American Cancer Society, diffuse large B cell lymphoma “tends to grow quickly” and is frequently treated with chemotherapy through a four-drug regimen administered in cycles three weeks apart. It can be cured in about half of all patients, but it largely depends on factors including the stage when the disease is caught, the society notes.

This story is breaking and has been updated.

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