DOJ says retired New York Police Department officer and former Marine Thomas Webster, 54, has been charged in connection with an attack on a Washington, DC law enforcement officer during the assault on the Capitol Jan. 6th.
DOJ says Webster struck at a police officer multiple times using a large metal flagpole holding a U.S. Marine Corps flag. Webster allegedly berated the officer, yelling, “You f------- piece of s---. You ----ing Commie m------------, man."
DOJ says video shows Webster pinning the officer to the ground and straddling him while he tries forcibly to remove the officer’s face shield and gas mask. According to the affidavit, the officer could not breathe during the assault because he was being choked by his chinstrap.
DOJ says this is a picture of the retired NYPD officer assaulting the DC Metropolitan Police officer:
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I asked FireEye CEO Kevin Manida if there could be more Russian SolarWinds-style hacks we don't know about yet. He said, "There could be, and right now that’s the big question. Where is the next implant? Does it already exist? Maybe it’s not in use and it’s just sitting there."
Mandia also told me US intelligence may well have known something about the SolarWinds hack before FireEye revealed it publicly. He said: "when we were sharing details with the government, there wasn't shock and surprise."
He explained that government and private sector companies were all getting indicators that something was wrong in their systems: "I think we were all coming at it from different places."
DOJ says in late December alleged Oath Keeper member Kelly Meggs wrote in a Facebook message, “Trump said It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! He wants us to make it WILD that’s what he’s saying. He called us all to the Capitol."
DOJ says Maggs said his group would not need to be armed for the attack on the U.S. Capitol, because there would be a “heavy QRF 10 Min out[.]” The abbreviation “QRF” is alleged to refer to “quick reaction force.”
Here's the press release: justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/six…
DOJ alleges Kelly and Connie Meggs, Graydon Young, Laura Steele, and Sandra Parker donned paramilitary gear and joined in a military-style “stack” formation marching up the center steps on the east side of the Capitol, breached the door at top, and stormed the building.
Breathtaking scope to this new North Korean cryptocurrency hacking indictment by DOJ. The US government is accusing three alleged North Korean intelligence officers of a conspiracy "to steal and extort more than $1.3 billion of money and cryptocurrency."
For crypto users, the key to pay attention to is the US saying North Koreans actually developed their own crypto apps up to as recently as September that gave them "a backdoor into victims' computers." Those include: Celas Trade Pro, WorldBit-Bot, iCryptoFx + 6 others.
This all allegedly dates back as far as 2014. I asked officials whether they noticed any pause during former President Donald Trump's diplomatic overtures to North Korea. DOJ official said NKorea has been "fairly persistent," but can't say whether there were any pauses.
Investigators looking into President Trump’s conduct up to and on Jan. 6th will likely be able to get access to his phone records, I’m told, because the president rarely places calls himself.
One aide rarely saw him dial a phone on his own - in the Oval, he would press a button for an assistant, and in the residence press a button for White House operators. The operator calls are logged and an auto generated email is sent to a list controlled by the chief of staff.
Those records will likely be available to the incoming Biden team on Jan. 20.
I asked a Trump Administration official what to make of the dramatic moves at the Pentagon. He said: “It’s just Trump guys getting revenge on people they don’t like and padding their resumes. It doesn’t mean anything on policy front.”
But I also spoke w/a former Trump Admin official who says this indicates National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien is trying to keep his options open for the future: “There are some people inside the White House who really believe that Trump's going to pull this off.“
“The person who really wanted Mark Esper out because he coveted Mark's job is Robert O'Brien,” the former official said. “O'Brien wants someone to keep the seat warm so he could get the job [in a second Trump term]. Christopher Miller is his guy, so now he can reach in.”