EFTA01658495.pdf

From: To: Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Thursday, October 01, 2020 Date: Thu, 01 Oct 2020 10:28:00 +0000 Importan c Normal e: From: Bulletin Intelligence Sent: Thursday, October 1, 2020 6:27:19 AM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) To: [email protected] Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Thursday, October 01, 2020 Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com. FBI News Briefing TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF DATE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020 6:30 AM EDT TODAY'S TABLE OF CONTENTS LEADING THE NEWS • Comey Defends FBI's Trump-Russia Investigation In Testimony To Senate Panel. PROTESTS • Cuccinelli: Trump Pushing Officials To Devote Proper Resources To Restore Peace. • "Portland Sheriff" Says He "Will Never" Support Trump After President Claims Endorsement. • Man Charged In Shooting Attack On Two Los Angeles County Deputies. OPERATION LEGEND • Operation LeGend Helps St Louis Fight Soaring Homicide Rate. • Kansas City Mayor Launches Law Enforcement Effort Modeled After Operation LeGend. • Operation LeGend Assisting Memphis Police With Several Child Murders. COUNTER-TERRORISM • Father And Son From US Charged With Joining Islamic State. • Court Denies Bond To Texas Man Charged With Supporting ISIS. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE • House Report: US Intel Unprepared To Counter Threats From China. • Judge Rules OO3 Must Release Redacted Portions Of Mueller Report Before Election. • Intel Officials Urged Ratcliffe Not To Disclose Unverified Russian Claims About Clinton. EFTA01658495 • Andrew Weissmann Says He Hasn't Been Subpoenaed In Durham Probe. • FBI Releases Film On Chinese Spy Recruitment Threat. • FBI Says Risk Of Voter Fraud Low. • Twitter Removes 130 Accounts For Attempting To Disrupt Discourse On Trump-Biden Debate. • Russia Says It "Is Not Going To Intervene" In US Election. • Few Governors Have Sought National Guard Assistance For Election. • Fear About Voting Process Fuels "Unprecedented Scrutiny" Of Secretaries Of State. • Privacy, Civil Rights Advocates Seek Transparency On Amazon Election Data Breaches. • Sen. Cotton Proposes Food Technology Intelligence Office. • Esper Visits Africa For First Time "Seeking To Push Back On Russia And China." • "American Friends" Of Ecuadorean Embassy's Security Detail Allegedly Plotted To Kidnap Assange. • Snowden Ordered By Judge To "Surrender Book Profits" To US. • Pentagon Collaborating With Armed Services On JEDI Cloud Transition. • Russian Intelligence Chief Says CIA Behind Unrest In Belarus. • US, Allied Intelligence: North Korea Used Easing Of Tensions To Build, Safeguard Nuclear Capabilities. • Japan's Defense Ministry Submits Largest-Ever Budget Request. • US Sanctions Leading Cuban General. • US Offers Millions In Rewards For Former Venezuelan Officials. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS • Judge Delays Release Of Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Recordings To Friday. • Seagram's Heiress Sentenced To 81 Months In NXIVM Sex Slave Case. • Baltimore Police Received Gun Trace Task Force Tip Well Before FBI Probe Surfaced. • Navy Veteran Ruled Not Competent To Stand Trial In Virginia Slaying. • New Mexico Prison Gang Member Pleads Guilty To Racketeering. • Five Arrested In Canada In Alleged Kidnapping Of New York Couple. • Trans Person Shot In Puerto Rico In Sixth Killing This Year. • FBI Seeks Public's Help Identifying Man Who May Know Sexually Exploited Child. • Continuing Coverage: Nebraska Woman Facing Murder Trial. • Heroin Trafficking Probe Results In 14-Month Prison Sentence For Massachusetts Man. • Virginia Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. • North Carolina Man Arrested On Murder Charge In New Jersey. • Former SUNY Official Pleads Guilty To Falsifying Resume. • Missouri Man Sentenced Over Child Pornography. • Michigan Man Facing Hate Crimes Charges. • US Marshals Operation Rescues 11 Missing Children In Louisiana. • Tennessee Minor Charged With Sexploitation Charges. • Convicted Sex Trafficker Arrested In Tennessee. • New Jersey Men Charged With Participation In Gun Trafficking. • Mississippi Man Pleads Guilty To Methamphetamine Trafficking. FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS • California Lobbyist Pleads Guilty In Los Angeles City Hall Bribery Probe. • Former UAW President Pleads Guilty To Embezzling From Union. • US Charges Hundreds In Connection With $6B Healthcare Fraud Takedown. • US Charges Former California Businessman In Alleged Ponzi Scheme. • US Charges Former Indiana Lawmaker, Gaming Executive In Campaign Donation Scheme. • Hawaiian Defense Contractor Arrested For CARES Act Fraud. CYBER DIVISION EFTA01658496 • FBI, CISA Warn Voters On Election-related Cyberattacks. • Anthem Settles Data Breach Probe By State AGs For Nearly $40M. • FBI To Unveil New Cyber Strategy During Virtual Event At Auburn University. • FBI Reportedly Probing Possible Ransomware Attack Against California Casino. • FBI Received 4,541 Cybercrime Complaints From South Carolina Last Year. • DHS CIO Describes New Network Incident Response Strategy. • Germany Planning Tougher Oversight of Huawei, Telecom Vendors. • NSA Launches Cybersecurity Center. • Hackers Increasingly Targeting Health Care Institutions. • CMA CGM Says Data Possibly Stolen During Cyberattack. • O'Brien: Chinese Hackers Targeted Trump Family, Campaign. • Continuing Coverage: US Cyber Command Has New Senior Enlisted Leader. • Security Experts Warn Of TikTok's Risk For Lawmakers. LABORATORY • More Unknown Michigan Homicide Victims Being Exhumed In Effort At DNA Identification. LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES • Barr Pledges More Federal Aid To Help Deal With Oklahoma Tribal Crime. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS • FBI Helping Train Australian Police Officers To Catch Foreign Spies. OTHER FBI NEWS • Nevada Court Approves $800M Settlement Between MGM Resorts, Shooting Victims. OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS • Trump's Debate Comment On Proud Boys Draws Criticism From Republicans And Others. • Cardinal Dolan Praises Barrett, Says Her Faith Should Be Respected. • Trump: COVID Death Toll Would Be Higher If Biden Was President. • Fauci Pushes Back At Trump For Misrepresenting His Stance On Masks. • Atlas: "It's Destructive To Lock Down The Healthy." • Birx Seeks To Reassure Americans Of Vaccine Safety. • Moderna Says Its Vaccine Won't Be Ready Until Spring 2021. • FDA Broadens Investigation Of AstraZeneca's Coronavirus Vaccine Trial. • White House Rejected CDC's Request For Cruise Ship Ban Extension. • CDC Report On Meatpacking Plant Safety Procedures Was Revised To Soften Language. • DO) Opens Antitrust Investigation Into Medtronic Over Ventilator Manufacturing. • As COVID Cases Rise, Insurers Reduce Coverage For Telehealth Visits. • Mnuchin, Pelosi To Continue Talks On Coronavirus Aid Package. • Senate Approves Stopgap Spending Bill. • Wheeler Defends EPA Regulations During COVID. • NFL Postpones Steelers-Titans Game After Players Test Positive. • Administration Will No Longer Block Abortion Access For Immigrant Teens In Custody. • Malinowski Faces QAnon Death Threats Following False Republican Ad. • Senate Panel Approves Wolf For DHS Post. • Whistleblower Complaints Lodged Against USAGM's Pack. • Trump Cites Botched NYC Ballots As Evidence Of Problems With Mail-In Voting. • Appeals Judges Uphold Lower Court's Order To Continue Census Count. • Northern California Wildfires Threaten Tens Of Thousands Of Homes. • Denver Moves To Rectify "Decades Of Discriminatory Municipal Planning." EFTA01658497 • Marine F-35 Pilot Ejects Safely After Midair Collision. • Hundreds Of Voting-Related Lawsuits Have Been Filed Across The Country. INTERNATIONAL NEWS • China Approves Another Vaccine For Human Trials. • UK Warns Outbreak Is Not Under Control. • France's Daily New Cases Again Tops 10,000. • Spain To Lock Down Madrid, Angering Regional Government. • US Sanctions More Syrians In Push For Assad To End War. • Taliban's Team Of Peace Negotiators Comprised Of "Old Guard." • North Korea Continuing Building Nuclear Capability Amid Talks With Trump. • Vatican Denies Pompeo An Audience With Pope Over China Tension. • US, Taiwan Move Ahead With Joint Infrastructure Projects. • Lawmakers Press Pentagon Over Lack Of Details On Germany Troop Cuts. • Fighting Between Azerbaijan And Armenia Shows No Sign Of Abating. • Cuccinelli: Foreign Powers "Haven't Been Able To Touch" Election Infrastructure. • Bolsonaro Criticizes Biden For "Coward Threats" Over Amazon. • US Embassy Worker In Ukraine Dies After Suspected Assault. • Reports: UK Considered Sending Asylum Seekers To South Atlantic Island. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events In Washington. LEADING THE NEWS Comey Defends FBI's Trump-Russia Investigation In Testimony To Senate Panel. In testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, former FBI Director James Comey defended his oversight of the investigation of ties between President Trump's campaign and Russia. The AP (9/30, Tucker, Jalonick) says that Republican senators "confronted" Comey during the "politically charged" hearing, and the Washington Examiner (9/30, Picket, 448K) that Republicans "blasted" him "for failing to provide forthright responses to their questions about the bureau's counterintelligence investigation into President Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia." The Examiner says Comey "frustrated" Republicans on the committee "by failing to recall information related to the investigation or saying it was never provided to him by subordinates." The New York Times (9/30, Fandos, 18.61M) reports Republicans on the panel "were eager to portray President Trump as a victim of a politically motivated smear by the F.B.I. that unfairly cast a shadow over his presidency. And they contended that Mr. Comey was the ringleader." The Washington Examiner (9/30, 448K) reports Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) "slammed" Comey "over his handling of the investigation." Cruz said, "Based upon what we know about how you and your agency ran the FBI's anti-Trump investigation, you are either criminally corrupt or completely incompetent. ... And I don't believe you were incompetent ... Nobody trusts the FBI anymore because of you, and that is your legacy." The Washington Post (9/30, Zapotosky, Barrett, 14.2M) says Comey "defended the bureau's 2016 investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, pushing back on Senate Republicans' skeptical questions about the probe and taking particular aim at Attorney General William P. Barr's assertion that it was unfounded." Comey "grew particularly exasperated when asked about Barr's criticism that the FBI's decision to open EFTA01658498 the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign was based on insufficient evidence, saying he had 'no idea what on earth' the attorney general was talking about." USA Today (9/30, 10.31M) reports Comey "defended" the Russia investigation as "essential." He said, "Overall, I'm proud of the work," but he "conceded that there were 'significant and important failings' in the bureau's repeated pursuit of surveillance authority to track former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, as part of the investigation." The Washington limes (9/30, Mordock, 492K) says Comey "took responsibility for what he described as 'embarrassing' errors the bureau made in the course of its investigation" into Page. Comey told the panel, "It's embarrassing. It's sloppy. I'm running out of words. ... There is no indication - and the inspector general would say it if he found it - that people were doing bad things on purpose, but that doesn't make it any less concerning or embarrassing." A report From DOJ IG "concluded the FBI's application to surveil Mr. Page was riddled with errors, mistakes and omissions." Comey "insisted he was unaware of the bungling, drawing scoffs from Republicans." Bloomberg (9/30, Strohm, 4.73M) reports, "Comey said the probe into whether people close to Donald Trump conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election was largely conducted 'by the book' but that specific aspects of the inquiry fell short." Bloomberg adds, "Pressed on Wednesday by Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, who said the probe was based on faulty assumptions and evidence tampering, Comey said he found the shortcomings - which included doctoring an email from the CIA - 'deeply disturbing.' But he backed an inspector general's report that concluded the probe was valid and not driven by bias in the bureau's leadership." CNN (9/30, Herb, 83.16M) reports, "Comey pushed back against" Attorney General Barr's "attacks on the FBI's Russia investigation, arguing on Wednesday that the Justice Department's efforts to dismiss charges against Trump's first national security adviser Michael Flynn were 'deeply concerning. "I have no idea what on Earth he is talking about; Comey said when asked to respond Barr's comments that the FBI's Russia investigation was 'abhorrent.'" Comey is quoted saying, "The notion that the attorney general believes that was an illegitimate endeavor to investigate that mystifies me." Reuters (9/30, Landay, Hosenball) reports, "Graham and other Republicans sought to pin some responsibility on Comey for the errors found in FBI applications for secret court warrants to monitor the communications of Carter Page, who briefly served as a 2016 Trump campaign advisor. 'To me this is a stunning failure of the system to work,' said Graham, a staunch Trump supporter." Reuters adds, "Several Republicans cited the case of a former FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty in August to doctoring a CIA email submitted with an application so that it said that Page was not an agency source, when in fact, he was. 'I know nothing about Mr. Clinesmith other than what I've read; Comey said." The Washington Times (9/30, Mordock, 492K) reports that Comey "admitted...that he wouldn't have signed the warrant application to wiretap former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. 'No. Not without a much fuller discussion about how they were thinking about their obligations to the court,' Mr. Comey said in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee." The Times adds, "Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz last year concluded the FBI made multiple errors when it asked the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to approve a secret order to monitor Mr. Page in 2016 and 2017. The mistakes included multiple inaccuracies and omission of exculpatory evidence. That application was renewed a total of three times and Mr. Comey said Wednesday he signed off on the renewals." The Hill (9/30, 2.98M) reports, "When asked by Graham whether it was "fair to say" the FBI investigation was 'not done by the book; Comey replied: 'No, I don't think that is fair to say.' His response did little to sway Republicans, who spent the hours-long hearing quizzing him on the investigation and venting about the handling of warrant applications. 'God help us all if this was done by the book; Graham said. 'It was such an egregious violation of fairness, EFTA01658499 altering exculpatory information, failing to tell the court the unreliability of information...If this is by the book, we need to rewrite the book and I promise you we will." ABC News (9/30, Mallin, 2.97M) reports, "Among other issues highlighted by Graham, Horowitz criticized the FBI for its reliance in the Page surveillance on a dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele which included salacious allegations that Trump had been compromised by Russia. Attorney General William Barr recently declassified information for Graham's committee revealing one of Steele's primary sources for the dossier had previously been investigated for his ties to Russian intelligence." NBC News (9/30, Williams, 6.14M) reports, "Committee Democrats, by contrast, said the inspector general's report concluded that the FBI had legitimate reasons for opening the investigation, after an Australian diplomat told U.S. authorities that a Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos, had said Russians offered him dirt on Hillary Clinton." Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) "said the errors in the Page FISA application were serious, `but they played no part in the broader Russia investigation.' Comey agreed. `The overarching investigation was very important,' he said. `The Page slice of it, far less, given the scope." Fox News (9/30, Singman, 27.59M) reports that Comey "said it didn't `ring a bell' when asked whether he received an investigative referral on Hillary Clinton purportedly approving 'a plan' attempting to tie" Trump "to Russia and distract from her email scandal before the 2016 election." Graham "asked Comey about the newly declassified information released Tuesday by Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. `You don't remember getting an investigatory lead from the intelligence community? Sept. 7, 2016, U.S. intelligence officials forwarded an investigative referral to James Comey and Strzok regarding Clinton's approval of a plan [about] Trump...as a means of distraction?' Graham asked Comey Wednesday. That doesn't ring any bells with me,' Comey replied." The New York Post (9/30, Nelson, 4.57M) reports, "Ratcliffe wrote that US intelligence officials 'forwarded an investigative referral to FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok regarding "U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's approval of a plan concerning U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private mail server"' Handwritten notes from then-CIA Director John Brennan - also disclosed by Ratcliffe - say Brennan briefed then-President Barack Obama on `alleged approval by Hillary Clinton on July 26, 2016 of a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisors to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services." The Federalist (9/30, 126K) reports Chairman Graham "grill[ed]" Comey "about the '17 significant errors and omissions' as well as the `50 errors in the FBI's Woods process' in applications to spy on" Page. Graham asked, "Does the FBI director have any responsibility to make sure the facts are right when they're given to the court?" Comey replied, "Not in connection with the certification. ... But in general the FBI director is responsible for everything that is being done underneath the FBI director." Graham asked, "Do you wish that you had informed the court that Mr. Page was in fact, working with the CIA, and that explains these contacts?" Comey said, "I don't agree with your preamble. I don't think the record established that he was working with the CIA. I think Horowitz found he was a contact." Comey was "shot down by Graham who said that there was an email disclosing the relationship between Page and the CIA." The Daily Caller (9/30, Ross, 716K) says Comey "pleaded ignorance" throughout the hearing "regarding significant problems with the Steele dossier." Matt Vespa writes on Townhall (9/30, 177K) that Comey's testimony "can be summed up in three words. I. Know. Nothing." Wednesday afternoon, Trump retweeted a post from Hoover Institution media fellow Paul Sperry, which said, "BREAKING: Comey swears he doesn't remember hearing anything about Steele's primary subsource, Igor Danchenko, being the subject of an FBI C.I. investigation, as a suspected Russian agent, and doesn't recall his own CrossFire Hurricane team interviewing Danchenko in Jan 2017" In his tweet, Trump wrote, "LIAR!II" Late Wednesday, Trump retweeted EFTA01658500 another post from Sperry which said, "all this memory loss and out-of-the-loop i dunnos is strange for a guy who took copious notes after playing a case agent spying on Trump and locked them in his home safe, and wrote a book and is writing a second book now" Trump wrote in his tweet, "Comey is a disaster who cheated and lied. How do you write books when you can't remember anything? Should be tried for treason. This is ridiculous!" In a tweet Wednesday evening, Trump wrote, "So when will something significant happen to James Comey? Got caught cold. He is either very dumb, or one of the worst liars in political history. TOO LONG. EMBARRASSING!" Fox News (9/30, Stabile, 27.59M) reports that Graham told "Hannity" on Wednesday that Page "deserves to be compensated" after Comey "testified about the Russia investigation before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'What happened here is the Democratic Party hired a foreign agent, Christopher Steele, who enlisted a suspected Russian spy to create a dossier that was a bunch of garbage, Russian disinformation,' Graham told host Sean Hannity. 'And the FBI bought it hook, line and sinker, used it four times against an American citizen, a Trump campaign person, to get a warrant. If that doesn't bother America, then something's wrong.' 'To my Democratic colleagues,' Graham added, 'if the shoe were on the other foot, you'd be burning the place down." Graham "characterized Comey as having a 'convenient memory' of what was 'damning' to President Trump but denying any incriminating conduct by his investigators." Comey Says Russians Have "Some Dirt" On Trump. The Washington Times (9/30, Dinan, 492K) reports that Comey "said Wednesday that the only explanation he can see for President Trump's actions on Russia is that Moscow has some dirt on him, and urged voters to take that into consideration when they cast ballots." Comey said, "It's difficult to explain his conduct, his statements, in any other way." Comey Says Biden Never Raised Prospect Of Prosecuting Flynn Under The Logan Act. Breitbart (9/30, Pollak, 673K) reports Comey testified that Joe Biden "never raised the prospect of prosecuting then-incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn under the Logan Act." Comey "said that Biden never suggested prosecuting Flynn under the Logan Act, and that he would have remembered if it happened, because it would have been 'highly inappropriate." Comey: Dal's Move To Drop Flynn Prosecution "Deeply Disturbing." Politico (9/30, Cheney, Desiderio, 4.29M) reports, "Carney said on Wednesday that the Justice Department's attempt to drop the prosecution of Michael Flynn is 'deeply concerning,' suggesting President Donald Trump's former national security adviser is receiving special treatment and key pieces of evidence have been misrepresented. 'It's deeply concerning because this guy is getting treated in a way that nobody's been treated before,' Comey said during public testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee." Politico adds, "Under questioning, Comey also sought to undercut a specific premise of Flynn's legal defense. Flynn in 2017 pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his dealing with the ambassador to Russia, but recently the Justice Department dropped the prosecution. The DOD's move is currently being challenged." PROTESTS Cuccinelli: Trump Pushing Officials To Devote Proper Resources To Restore Peace. Acting Deputy DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said on the Steve Gruber Show (9/30) that "the President, when he uses a bully pulpit the last four or five months, dealing with the violence going on, it's to push governors and mayors and so forth to use the resources they already have and the authorities they already to have to bring peace to their cities and he offers them help. So, it's the opposite of starting the fight." Cuccinelli said, "When you bring enough responsible police force to bear, and that can include National Guard, you get peace in the streets and the President has said repeatedly that's what he wants for these cities, is peace, so they can live their lives, go to work, raise their families without having to be afraid or have their city burned down." EFTA01658501 "Portland Sheriff" Says He "Will Never" Support Trump After President Claims Endorsement. USA Today (9/30, Yancey-Bragg, 10.31M) reports Multnomah, Oregon County Sheriff Mike Reese "said he has never and 'will never' support President Donald Trump after the president claimed the 'Portland sheriff' endorsed him during the first presidential debate Tuesday night." Trump claimed he was endorsed by Reese during an exchange with Joe Biden. Reese tweeted shortly afterwards, "In tonight's presidential debate the President said the 'Portland Sheriff' supports him. As the Multnomah County Sheriff I have never supported Donald Trump and will never support him." Portland Asks US To Rescind Federal Deputization Of City Police. The AP (9/30, Flaccus) reports Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler "has asked US officials to end the federal deputation of dozens of police officers in Oregon's largest city as part of the response to ongoing protests in the city." Wheeler said late Tuesday that he had "asked the U.S. attorney's office to withdraw the designation" that deputized the officers. The AP notes that 56 Portland officers "were deputized before a rally in the city last weekend by the far-right Proud Boys group." Man Charged In Shooting Attack On Two Los Angeles County Deputies. The Los Angeles Times (9/30, Winton, 4.64M) reports Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey announced charges Wednesday "against a man in the shooting attack on two deputies at the Compton Metro station earlier this month." Attempted murder charges were filed against Deonte Lee Murray, 36, "who was taken into custody Sept. 15 after a lengthy standoff in Lynwood in connection with a separate case." Capt. Kent Wegener said Wednesday that a ballistic comparison of a pistol found in Murray's car "revealed that the .40 caliber pistol was the same weapon used in the attack on the deputies." On the CBS Evening NewsVi (9/30, story 5, 1:35, O'Donnell, 3.95M), Carter Evans said that at the time of Murray's arrest, "officials were adamant the cases were unrelated." ABC World News TonightVi (9/30, story 5, 1:35, Muir, 6.98M) reported, "The sheriff said he didn't know what the motive might be, but did allude to rising anti-police sentiment." The AP (9/30, Dazio) reports Murray is being held on $6.15 million bail, and the New York Times (9/30, Levenson, 18.61M) says he plead not guilty during his arraignment Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. OPERATION LEGEND Operation LeGend Helps St Louis Fight Soaring Homicide Rate. KSDK-TV St. Louis (9/30, Richey, 493K) reports from St. Louis, "As of this week, St. Louis toppled its own record for homicides per resident for all but one of the last 50 years. In 1993, there were 267 homicides within city limits. By the end of the year, there had been almost 70 homicides for every 100,000 residents in the city. So far in 2020, there have been around 68 homicides for every 100,000 city residents." KSDK-TV adds that Major Shawn Dace, "commander in the Bureau of Investigations for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department," said the department "got a little extra help from the Department of Justice's Operation Legend starting in August." Dace "said Operation Legend has accomplished a lot in St. Louis already, including more than three hundred arrests for violent crime in St. Louis. He noted that 33 of those arrests were for homicides." Kansas City Mayor Launches Law Enforcement Effort Modeled After Operation LeGend. The Kansas City (MO) Star (9/30, Rice, 549K) reports, "In response to the city's dramatic and ongoing surge of violent crime, Mayor Quinton Lucas on Wednesday announced a four-pronged plan that he said would help reverse the trend and build stronger community ties." The Star EFTA01658502 adds, "Emphasis of the new effort, called Reform Project KC, will focus on prevention, intervention, enforcement and administrative reforms, or 'trust-building activities.' Lucas said his plan would seek to unify existing resources, and create new ones, in an effort to reduce shootings and killings." According to the Star, "The enforcement portion would be modeled after the Operation LeGend, the federal initiative launched this summer that aimed to get killers off the streets. It was named for 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed in Kansas City while sleeping in June." Operation LeGend Assisting Memphis Police With Several Child Murders. WHBQ-TV Memphis, TN (9/30, Coy, 23K) reports, "Memphis police have reported a staggering number of young people murdered in 2020. So far this year, 27 children have been killed. Nine of the cases remain unsolved, according to MPD." WHBQ-TV adds, "FOX 13 has learned some of the suspects are now on the FBI's radar due to Operation Legend. According to MPD, in 12 of the juvenile homicides, investigators have either identified or arrested a suspect." According to WHBQ-TV, "A spokesman for the FBI Memphis told FOX13 if a suspect is under federal investigation for gang and drug crimes when the juvenile murder happened, then the case could be part of Operation Legend." COUNTER-TERRORISM Father And Son From US Charged With Joining Islamic State. The AP (9/30) reports from Miami, Florida, "A father and son accused of traveling from the U.S. to Syria and joining the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham are facing terrorism charges in South Florida, prosecutors said." Emraan Ali, 53, "a U.S. citizen born in Trinidad & Tobago, and Jihad Ali, 19, a U.S. citizen born in New York, made their initial court appearances Wednesday in Miami federal court, according to records. The father is charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, and the son is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS." The AP adds, "According to criminal complaints, Emraan Ali took his family to Syria to join the Islamic State group in March 2015. Both Emraan Ali and Jihad Ali received military and religious training and served as fighters in support of the terrorist organization, prosecutors said." WTSP-TV St. Petersburg, FL (9/30, 119K) reports, "The complaint said Emraan Ali also served in other roles in support of ISIS. According to the complaint, Jihad Ali was 14 or 15 years old when he attended ISIS military training. In March 2019, the DOJ said Emraan Ali and Jihad Ali surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces near Baghuz. The investigation and charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Ariana Fajardo Orshan, FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Miami Field Office George Piro and members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force." Court Denies Bond To Texas Man Charged With Supporting ISIS. KABB-TV San Antonio (9/30, 54K) reports from Gonzales, Texas, "An area man accused of providing support to the terrorist group ISIS is considered a flight risk and will continue to be held." The court "decided as much Wednesday during Jaylyn Christopher Molina's detention hearing. FBI investigators say Molina, along with a South Carolina man, Kristopher Sean Matthews, discussed the planning of terrorist attacks in the United States and overseas in a private group chat. They say in those forums, Molina posted instructions on how to train with an AK-47 and make a bomb." COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE EFTA01658503 House Report: US Intel Unprepared To Counter Threats From China. The Washington Post (9/30, Demirjian, 14.2M) says a new report from the House Intelligence Committee "warns that if the United States does not significantly change its approach to China, it will risk falling behind the rising superpower, creating economic, security and health consequences for decades to come." According to the Post, "The committee released a 37-page summary of the report on Wednesday, after the panel approved it by a voice vote. The document, written by Democrats on the panel, is the product of nearly a two-year investigation that began in early 2019." According to Politico (9/30, Matishak, 4.29M), the report concludes that "the U.S. intelligence community has failed to keep pace with the technological and political strides made by China over the last two decades, a lag that risks leaving policymakers permanently in the dark about a growing, strategic challenge to the country's national security. ... 'Absent a significant realignment of resources, the U.S. government and intelligence community will fail to achieve the outcomes required to enable continued U.S. competition with China on the global stage for decades to come, and to protect the U.S. health and security,' the summary warns." The New York Times (9/30, Barnes, 18.61M) reports the US "could fall behind in its global competition with China without additional resources to develop better intelligence on the Chinese government, and spy agencies must focus more on the challenge of pandemics and trade, according to a report by the Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee released Wednesday." The warnings "were similar to the conclusions of a Republican study on China also released Wednesday." While that report "has a wider focus, it too called for a more aggressive stance toward China and better defenses against Chinese theft of intellectual property and efforts to influence American politics." The Hill (9/30, 2.98M) adds that the report "said the IC places 'insufficient emphasis and focus' on 'soft threats,' such as viral pandemics and climate change, and that if the IC did not modernize systems to increase focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence, national security could be undermined." Foreign Policy (9/30, Mackinnon, 340K) reports that a Democratic official on the committee said on background, "COVID-19 cropped up as a very real world example while we were drafting and finalizing this report. At least for us it really does crystallize some of the nontraditional threats that can emanate out of China." CBS News (9/30, Gazis, 3.68M) says that the report, "based on hundreds of hours of interviews with intelligence officers and quality checks of thousands of analytic products, also evaluated the intelligence community's budget allocations. The final report includes more than two dozen public, and more than 100 classified, recommendations." Reuters (9/30, Brunnstrom) reports that the report "called for a broadening of programs to mentor the next generation of China analysts and said agencies should consider 'reskilling' programs for those working in counterterrorism." CNN (9/30, Cohen, 83.16M) reports that House Intel Chair Adam Schiff said "our nation's intelligence agencies have a lot of work to do to fully address the challenge posed by China." He added, "The stakes are enormous. We must do everything possible to accurately predict and characterize Beijing's intent, or we will continue to struggle to understand how and why the leadership of the CCP makes decisions, and fail to respond effectively. The good news is that we still have time to adapt." The Wall Street Journal (9/30, O'Keeffe, Strobel, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports that in a statement, DNI Ratcliffe said, "I'm glad to see that there's congressional recognition of what I've been saying since my confirmation: China poses a greater national security threat to the U.S. than any other nation." NBC News (9/30, Dilanian, 6.14M) reports that Ratcliffe added, "As DNI, I'm committing the Intelligence Community resources needed to fully understand the threat posed by China and provide policymakers with the best intelligence to counter China's activities." Fox News (9/30, Henney, 27.59M) also runs a report, as does Public Radio International (9/30, 28K), and the Washington Examiner (9/30, Dunleavy, 448K). EFTA01658504 Judge Rules Dal Must Release Redacted Portions Of Mueller Report Before Election. BuzzFeed News (9/30, Leopold, Bensinger) reports a federal judge has ruled "that the Justice Department improperly redacted significant portions of the Mueller report and must release those sections by Nov. 2, just one day before the presidential election." In a 40-page opinion "released Wednesday, US District Court Judge Reggie Walton said the agency violated federal law when it redacted sections of the report dealing with, among other things, discussions within the special counsel's office about whether to charge certain individuals with crimes." At the same time, the judge "ruled that the government was right to redact much of the Mueller report under separate exemptions that are designed to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, law enforcement techniques and procedures, and individuals' privacy." The Hill (9/30, Neidig, 2.98M) reports the specific redactions "he took issue with cover the decisionmaking process within former special counsel Robert Mueller's team over whether to charge certain people with crimes during the probe." Walton wrote "the Court concludes that the Department has failed to satisfy its burden to demonstrate that the withheld material is protected by the deliberative process privilege." Newsweek (9/30, Martin, 1.53M) also reports. Intel Officials Urged Ratcliffe Not To Disclose Unverified Russian Claims About Clinton. The Wall Street Journal (9/30, Volz, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports DNI Ratcliffe ignored pleas from senior US intelligence officials not to release information about Russian intelligence containing unverified allegations about Hillary Clinton and the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the matter. Intelligence officials feared that sharing the information with Congress would give credence to the unsubstantiated allegations. Politico (9/30, Desiderio, Cheney, 4.29M), meanwhile, reports that Ratcliffe "raced to arrange a briefing for senators on Tuesday night, according to three congressional sources, after declassifying [the] unverified Russian intelligence assessment." The "hastily assembled briefing...caught staffers off-guard and exacerbated concerns about what Democrats said was the deployment of Russian disinformation to support" President Trump's "effort to discredit the investigation into his 2016 campaign's contacts with the Russian government." Andrew Weissmann Says He Hasn't Been Subpoenaed In Durham Probe. CBS News (9/30, Quinn, 3.68M) reports Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor "who was a top official in special counsel Robert Mueller's office, said Wednesday he has not been subpoenaed by US Attorney John Durham, who is conducting a sweeping review of the origins of the FBI's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and the Trump campaign's ties to Russia." Weissmann told CBSN, "I have not been subpoenaed and I don't anticipate it," adding, "I'm happy to give any information I have. I don't think, given what I understand he's looking at, which is the genesis of the Russia investigation, which I was involved in, I don't suspect that I'm going to have particularly relevant information." The Washington Examiner (9/30, Chaitin, 448K) reports Weissman added, "I don't think, given what I understand he's looking at, which is the genesis of the Russia investigation, which I was involved in. I don't suspect that I'm going to have particularly relevant information." Sen. Graham Suggests Inviting Andrew Weissmann To Testify. The Washington Examiner (9/30, Chaitin, 448K) reports Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham during a hearing with former FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday "floated an invitation for a top prosecutor in former special counsel Robert Mueller's team who has criticized the Russia investigation." After noting "that Mueller had declined his invitation to testify, Graham delivered a general invitation to committee members in the room to request Weissmann as a witness." Graham told Comey, "If you want [Andrew] Weissmann to come, I would invite him." Mueller released a "rare statement on Tuesday to defend the Russia investigation as Weissmann has gone around in a media blitz to promote his new book and said the special counsel investigation EFTA01658505 "absolutely" let people down." In particular, he "said Mueller's team erred in choosing not to subpoena Trump to testify and not reaching a decision on whether Trump obstructed justice." DO) Lawyer Who Signed Carter Page Warrants "Now Regrets Doing So." The Daily Caller (9/30, Ross, 716K) reports the Justice Department attorney who "signed the four surveillance warrant applications against Carter Page says they would not have done had they known of the information withheld by the FBI, according to a letter sent to the Senate this month." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) read "portions of the letter at the beginning of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with former FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday." The attorney, who works in the DOJ's Office of Intelligence (OI) "is not identified in the letter." The attorney signed "all four of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants granted against Page." The letter reads, "The DI attorney advises that had he/she been aware of the significant errors and omissions identified by the OIG and the errors in the Woods process, he/she would not have signed the filed Page FISA applications." Sen. Lee Argues FBI PISA Abuse "Inevitable." National Review (9/30, McArdle, 731K) reports Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) on Wednesday "lambasted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant process, saying the abuse that took place during the FBI's investigation of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia was inevitable given the lack of civil liberties protections included in the statute." Rep. Collins Demands Wray Resign. The Washington Times (9/30, Blake, 492K) reports Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) wrote a "terse letter telling FBI Director Christopher A. Wray to resign Wednesday over developments some Democrats have rejected as Russian disinformation." Collins told Wray he has proven to "unwilling or unable to bring accountability to the upper echelon of the FBI" and should accordingly "do the right thing for this country and resign." The congressman cited details "that emerged the day before due to Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, releasing newly declassified information he received from the administration." Mr. Graham published a "letter Tuesday he received from John Ratcliffe, a former Republican congressman serving as President Trump's director of national intelligence since earlier this year." In the letter, Ratcliffe "revealed U.S. intelligence agencies `obtained insight into Russian intelligence analysis' involving the 2016 race White House race ultimately won by President Trump." FBI Releases Film On Chinese Spy Recruitment Threat. Bloomberg (9/30, Davalos, 4.73M) reports, "U.S. national intelligence agencies released a movie Wednesday to raise awareness of how foreign intelligence entities use social media to target Americans." According to Bloomberg, "The film, called 'The Nevernight Connection,' tells the fictional account of a former U.S. intelligence official who went to spy for the Chinese. The official was targeted by a Chinese foreign intelligence service through a fake profile on a professional networking site and recruited to turn over classified information. It was inspired by the true story of former Central Intelligence Agency officer Kevin Mallory, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019 for passing national defense information to a Chinese intelligence officer. The 30-minute film, released by the FBI and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, is free and available on the FBI's website." The Washington Times (9/30, Gertz, 492K) reports, "In the video, a gum-chewing Chinese hacker is shown posting a notice on a fictional social networking site in a bid to contact people with access to secrets who may be recruited as spies. The email entices a U.S. intelligence community expert who was a former underwater warfare specialist at a Naval Support Facility Dahlgren in Virginia. The specialist is offered $1,500 to produce a white paper on how advanced technology will affect undersea exploration." The Times adds, "Alan E. Kohler, FBI assistant director for counterintelligence said in a statement the movie 'highlights [how] foreign intelligence services are posing as headhunters and consultants on professional networking sites to aggressively target Americans." EFTA01658506 FBI Says Risk Of Voter Fraud Low. KTSM-TV/Nexstar El Paso, TX (9/30) reports the FBI is urging people "to beware of disinformation designed to undermine the 2020 elections." FBI El Paso Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Britton Boyd told the outlet, "On a national level, the FBI has not seen any coordinated efforts to manipulate the elections." Boyd adds, "These are crimes that happen more on a local basis. Here in the El Paso region, it's been very uncommon for any allegations that have been substantiated that would affect an election." The FBI's El Paso Division "says the risk for election crimes continues to be low despite the President's claims to the contrary." Britton "said the FBI hopes voters will critically evaluate the sources of their information, and be diligent about seeking (and sharing) accurate and reliable information." KGUN-TV Tucson, AZ (10/1, Smith, 61K) reports FBI agents are "watching for the sort of lies and frauds that interfere with your right to vote." FBI Tucson Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Steven Patterson "says a lot of that happens on social media, email and texts." Patterson says, "We work with the Postal Inspectors office, as part of our partnership. And again, working with the state and the county is, as well. So I'm standing here today, but we are all working in partnership, and very much aware of trying to ensure that we are keeping everything as safe and smooth as it's been going for the last few hundred years." Twitter Removes 130 Accounts For Attempting To Disrupt Discourse On Trump-Biden Debate. Reuters (9/30, Bhalla) reports Twitter on Wednesday said "it had removed 130 accounts, as they were attempting to disrupt the public conversation during the first US presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden." Twitter removed the accounts, "which appeared to originate in Iran, `based on intel' provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it said in a tweet." The accounts had "very low engagement and did not make an impact on the public conversation, the social media giant said, adding, that the accounts and their content will be published in full once the investigation is complete." KRON- TV/Nexstar San Francisco (9/30, Rodriguez, 87K) reports the intelligence "was provided by the FBI. An investigation has since been launched." Russia Says It "Is Not Going To Intervene" In US Election. The Washington Times (9/30, Toms, 492K) reports Russia is intensely following the "US presidential election between President Trump and his Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden, Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said Wednesday following the first debate, but he insisted Moscow will not intervene." In a conference call with reporters, Peskov said, "Of course, we are spotting new turns in US political culture. But we do not want to make any assessments or make any statements as this could be immediately viewed as an attempt to intervene. Russia has never, is not and is not going to intervene in US domestic affairs." Few Governors Have Sought National Guard Assistance For Election. The Kansas City (MO) Star (9/30, Copp, 549K) reports the National Guard is prepared to "help with security at polling sites, sort ballots or bolster cybersecurity for the November elections, but so far few governors have requested that assistance, Guard units across the country told McClatchy on Wednesday." National Guard spokesman Army Master Sgt. Michael Houk said that governors can request units under state control to provide "defensive cybersecurity in some states, as well as assisting in setting up polling stations, sorting ballots, and providing physical security for citizen safety and protection." The Kentucky National Guard, "has been asked by the governor to assist polling locations in the 2020 election with tasks such as cybersecurity help or even directing traffic." The service members who "provide support for the general election will be in civilian clothes, said Kentucky National Guard spokesman Maj. Stephen Martin." Only one other Guard unit "contacted by Mc