FBI daily news briefing newsletter, May 21, 2021

From:	"Bulletin Intelligence" <FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com>
To:	"FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com" <FBI@BulletinIntelligence.com>
Subject:	[EXTERNAL EMAIL] - FBI Public Affairs News Briefing Friday, May 21, 2021
Date:	Fri, 21 May 2021 10:29:59 +0000
Importance	Normal

Mobile version and searchable archives available at fbi.bulletinintelligence.com.¶

FBI News Briefing¶

TO: THE DIRECTOR AND SENIOR STAFF¶

DATE: FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2021 6:30 AM EDT¶

TODAY’S TABLE OF CONTENTS¶

LEADING THE NEWS¶

• Psaki Calls GOP Opposition To Capitol Riot Commission “Incredibly Disappointing.”

• Biden Signs Anti-Asian-American Hate Crimes Bill Into Law.

• Biden Sees “Genuine Opportunity” For Peace As Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Takes Effect.

CAPITOL VIOLENCE NEWS¶

• Affidavit Contradicts FBI Testimony That Capitol Rioters Had No Guns.

• Three More Associates Of Right-Wing Groups Arrested In Connection To Capitol Riot.

• House Passes Capitol Security Bill By One Vote.

COUNTER-TERRORISM¶

• DHS To Track Domestic Extremists On Social Media.

COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE¶

• Prosecutors Say 18 Electronic Devices Seized From Giuliani And Firm.

• Asked About COVID Lab Leak Theory, Psaki Maintains Call For Independent Investigation.

• Congress To Hold Joint Hearings On Key Air Force, Pentagon Leaders Next Week.

• Senate May Increase DARPA Budget By Billions.

• Military Times Interviews SOCOM Commander On “The Future Of SOF.”

• Canadian Infectious Disease Specialists Collaborated With China.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS¶

• FBI Probing Colorado Asian-American Teen’s 2017 Death As Possible Hate Crime.

• Rochester Mayor’s Husband Pleads Not Guilty To Drug And Weapons Charges.

• Nooses Discovered At Construction Site Of Amazon Facility In Connecticut.

• FBI Digs Up Human Remains In Florida.

• FBI Still Probing Drone Flight Near CBP Helicopter In Arizona.

• FBI Brought In To Search For Missing Nebraska Boy.

• WPost: Brown’s Death Must Be Fully Investigated.

• Arkansas Teacher’s Assistant Arrested On Child Pornography Charges.

• Texas Businessman Indicted For Child Sex Crimes.

• Former School Nurse Faces Child Porn Charges In Tennessee.

• FBI Raids Home In San Diego.*

EFTA00149721¶

• Alabama Man Gets 6.5 Years For Child Porn.

• FBI Assistance In Search For Missing Nebraska Boy Noted.

• Man Charged With Murder In 40-Year-Old Texas Cold Case.

• Minnesota Man Faces Murder Charge 11 Years After Wife’s Death.

• Four Face Illegal Gambling Charges After FBI Raid In Kentucky.

• FBI Arrests New Hampshire Man In String Of Gas Station Robberies.

• Secret Informants Played Significant Role In Cincinnati Corruption Probe.

• Allegedly Unruly Plane Passenger Charged With Cocaine Possession.

• Honolulu Police Department Seizing Drugs During Illegal Gambling Crackdown.

FINANCIAL CRIME & CORPORATE SCANDALS¶

• Politico Analysis: New York AG Is “All In” On Manhattan Criminal Probe Of Trump Organization.

• New Jersey Congressman Made Money On Stock Sales Amid Pandemic.

CYBER DIVISION¶

• Colonial Pipeline CEO To Appear Before House Homeland Security Committee.

• CNA Financial Paid $40M To Hackers In March.

• Regulators Looking At Cryptocurrency Oversight, Transaction Reporting.

• Biden Order On Software Security Gets Favorable Reception From Experts.

• Tulsa City Administration Did Not Engage Hacker.

• Researchers Uncover Leak 100M Users From 23 Android Apps.

• Science Policy Nominee Passes Senate Commerce Committee Vote.

• Arizona Secretary of State Advises Replacement Of Voting Equipment.

• Indonesia Investigating Potential Leak Of Social Security Data.

LABORATORY¶

• Director Of DC Crime Lab Resigns After Audit Report.

LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES¶

• Warren And Moulton Seeks Answers On Walsh’s Role In Police Commissioner Controversy.

• US Park Police Officers In San Francisco To Wear Body Cameras.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS¶

• López Obrador Comments On Investigation Involving Governor Of Mexican State.

LAWFUL ACCESS¶

• MI5 Head Criticizes Facebook’s Encryption Plan.

OTHER FBI NEWS¶

• Politico: Trump Sought To Oust Wray Last Spring.

• Trump DOJ Secretly Obtained CNN Reporter’s Phone, Email Records.

• Wray Taps Merrill As New Hawaii SAC.

• FBI Agent Says Chinese Communist Party Is Greatest Threat In US.

OTHER WASHINGTON NEWS¶

• New COVID Cases Fall Below 30K.

• Fauci, Pfizer, And Moderna CEOs: Booster Shots Will Be Needed Within A Year Of Being Vaccinated.

• Public Health Experts Express New Concern Over Vaccination Gaps Across US.

• Vaccine Data Highlight Growing Disparity In Access For Black Americans.

• WPost Analysis: Biden Failed To “Follow The Science” Through Latest CDC Update.

• Republicans Continue To Challenge Pelosi

• Maryland Announces Vaccine Lottery.

• Seattle’s Vaccination Campaigned Lauded.

EFTA00149722¶

• US Depending On “Honor System” For Summer Travelers.

• Treasury Has Distributed $105.3B In COVID Aid To State And Local Governments.

• Republicans Have Not Moved From Initial Offer In Infrastructure Talks.

• Lenders “Overwhelmed,” Borrowers “Panicking” As PPP Winds Down.

• Restaurant Revitalization Fund Seeing High Demand.

• House Democrats Propose Changes To Biden’s Inheritance Tax Proposal.

• Administration Proposes Lower-Than-Expected 15% Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate.

• Politico Analysis: Biden Has Moved Leftward On Taxes And Spending.

• Biden Order Directs Agencies To Mitigate Financial Risk Of Climate Change.

• Treasury Details Plan To Raise $700B Through New Tax Compliance Measures.

• Senate Panel Approves OSTP Nominee Lander.

• ICE Will No Longer Detain Immigrants In Two Jails Facing Federal Probes.

• Administration Releases Wildfire Strategy.

• Four House Democrats Urge Leaders To Push Through Voting Rights Bills.

• WPost Analysis: Roberts No Longer A Swing Vote After Barrett’s Confirmation To SCOTUS.

• Chris Cuomo Was Involved In Strategy Calls About Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Brother.

• WPost: Postal Reform Measure Is Good, But Insufficient.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS¶

• WTO Head: Developing World Should Be Producing Vaccines.

• NYTimes Analysis: Global Vaccination Effort Suffers Repeated Setbacks.

• China Says It Is Providing Vaccines To Almost 40 African Nations.

• WHO: New Cases In Europe Down 60% In A Month.

• EU Announces Updated Rules Ahead Of Summer Travel Season.

• Brazilian Company Completes First Locally Produced Batch Of Sputnik V.

• Lancet Study Finds Africans Are More Likely To Die From COVID.

• European Parliament Declines To Ratify Pact With China Over Human Rights Abuses.

• Russian Ambassador To UK Says G7 Pushing Russia And China Together.

• South Korea’s Moon To Discuss Climate With Biden Friday.

• NYTimes Analysis: North Korean Nuclear Program Here To Stay.

• Kremlin: Lavrov-Blinken Meeting A “Positive Signal” Ahead Of Potential Biden-Putin Summit.

• Merkel Welcomes Biden’s Nord Stream Sanctions Waiver.

• Blinken Says US Not Seeking To Purchase Greenland.

• Rouhani: Biden Has Agreed To Lift Sanctions On Iran Imposed By Trump.

• US Imposes Sanctions On Yemeni Houthi Military Leaders.

• Russia And Iran Competing For Syrian Oil, Mining, And Construction Projects.

• African Union Urges Joint Civilian-Military Provisional Government In Chad.

• NYTimes Reporter Deported By Ethiopia.

• Nigerian Boko Haram Leader “Badly Wounded.”

• African Union Calls For Power Sharing In Chad.

• Ethiopia Expels Irish NYTimes Reporter.

• Spain, Morocco At Odds Over Border Controls, Separatist Leader.

THE BIG PICTURE¶

• Headlines From Today’s Front Pages.

WASHINGTON’S SCHEDULE¶

• Today’s Events In Washington.

LEADING THE NEWS¶

EFTA00149723¶

Psaki Calls GOP Opposition To Capitol Riot Commission “Incredibly Disappointing.”¶

The Hill (5/20, Samuels, 5.69M) reports a day after the House passed a bill to establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol with limited support from Republicans, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called GOP opposition to the measure “incredibly disappointing.” Psaki said at a press briefing, “The attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 was an unprecedented assault on our democracy. … It demands a full and independent investigation into what happened. This is not a political issue in the President’s view, this is a question of how we secure our democracy and the rule of law. So it’s incredibly disappointing to see how many representatives have opted to turn this into a political issue instead of doing what’s right.” Psaki would not comment “on whether the White House would support moving forward on some type of investigation with only Democratic support.”¶

Reuters (5/20) says 35 House Republicans “joined the 219 majority Democrats” in voting to create a commission. Reuters says the vote “would appear to weaken” House Minority Leader McCarthy, “who hopes to become speaker of the 435-member House if his party can assemble a majority with just five more seats in the November 2022 congressional election.” But McCarthy “denied any loss to his leadership. … He told reporters that he had expected a larger number of Republicans to break ranks.” The Wall Street Journal (5/20, Peterson, Wise, Subscription Publication, 8.41M) reports on McCarthy’s efforts to restore unity within the GOP caucus. The Journal says if Republicans win back the majority in 2022, McCarthy will need the support of the caucus’ conservative and moderate factions if he is to become speaker.¶

The Boston Globe (5/20, 1.04M) reports the level of Republican support for the measure in the House “raises the prospect that the measure could pass the Senate as well. At the moment that appears unlikely, but it also cannot be ruled out altogether. Yes, there is a chance.” Since January, “there has not yet been a case where 10 Republican votes have broken a filibuster on a controversial bill. So this might be an uphill battle, but if you really squint, you can almost make out a path.” However, the New York Times (5/20, Russonello, 20.6M) says “it appears unlikely to pass the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to override the threat of a filibuster. It’s the latest sign, and possibly the clearest yet, that Trump retains an iron grip on the party’s direction.”¶

McCarthy Says He Would Be Willing To Testify Before Commission. Politico (5/20, Forgey, 6.73M) reports McCarthy “said on Thursday that he would be willing to testify before an independent commission investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection about his conversation with then-President Donald Trump as the attack on the Capitol unfolded.” McCarthy told reporters, “Sure, next question.” The Washington Post (5/20, 10.52M) says McCarthy is one of several Republicans opposed to creating a commission who “are potential witnesses to what former president Donald Trump and his aides were saying and doing as the mob laid siege.” In an exchange with reporters, “McCarthy declined to say whether he thinks lawmakers issued a subpoena to testify before the commission should comply.” He said, “That’s a hypothetical. Talk to me if it goes through,” and then he “remained silent when asked whether anyone who spoke with Trump on Jan. 6 should testify.”¶

Trump Blasts “Wayward” House Republicans Who Voted For Commission. The Hill (5/20, Oshin, 5.69M) reports Trump on Thursday “took aim” at the 35 House Republicans who voted to establish the commission. Trump said in a statement, “See, 35 wayward Republicans – they just can’t help themselves. We have much better policy and are much better for the Country, but the Democrats stick together, the Republicans don’t. They don’t have the Romney’s, Little Ben Sasse’s, and Cheney’s of the world. … Unfortunately, we do. Sometimes there are consequences to being ineffective and weak. The voters understand!”¶

Brennan Discusses House Vote On January 6 Commission. MSNBC (5/20, 8.1M) interviews former CIA director John Brennan and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) to “discuss how although the bill to establish an independent January 6th commission passed the House, 175 GOP members still voted against it.”¶