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The Taliban
launched a sophisticated attack on Monday
against a NATO base in the western Afghan
city of Herat, killing at least four people
and wounding more than 30.
A program
requiring Arab and Muslim men to register
with the authorities is over, but Mohammed
G. Azam is among those still caught in its
net, immigration experts say.
Protests and
violence racked Mogadishu on Friday leading
to the deaths of five people, while a
suicide bombing killed the interior minister
at his home.
Somalia's
President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed displays
documents seized by security forces after
the killing of al-Qaida leader Fazul
Abdullah Mohammed.
Supreme Court
Unanimously Decided The Issue Of What
Constitutes A Prior Drug Offense For The Purpose
Of Enhanced Sentencing.
This week, the Supreme Court delivered a
unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Thomas.
The Court answered the question of whether a
federal sentencing court must determine whether
"an offense under State law" is a "serious drug
offense" under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)
by consulting the "maximum term of imprisonment"
applicable to a defendant's previous drug
offense at the time of the defendant's state
conviction for that offense even though the
state has made that current sentencing law
retroactive. The Court held that the "maximum
term of imprisonment" for a defendant's prior
state drug offense is the maximum sentence
applicable to his offense when he was convicted
of it.
The ACCA mandates a fifteen-year mandatory
minimum prison sentence for anyone convicted
under 18 U.S.C § 922(g)(1) and applies to a
person who "violates section 922(g)" and "has
three previous convictions . . . for a violent
felony or a serious drug offense." 18 U.S.C. §
924(e)(l). A "serious drug offense" is defined
in relevant part as "an offense under State law
. . . for which a maximum term of imprisonment
of ten years or more is prescribed by law." §
924(e)(2)(A)(ii)
Police officers in Fayetteville, North Carolina
apprehended petitioner-defendant McNeill, a
felon, with crack cocaine packaged for
distribution and in possession of a firearm. In
sentencing McNeill for violating §922(g), the
district court determined that he qualified for
ACCA's sentencing enhancement based in part on
six prior North Carolina drug trafficking
convictions. When McNeill committed those
crimes, each carried a 10-year maximum sentence,
which McNeill received. However, because North
Carolina later reduced the maximum sentence for
those offenses to fewer than 10 years, McNeill
argued that none of his six prior convictions
were for "serious drug offenses" within the
meaning of §924(e)(2)(A)(ii). The district court
rejected McNeill's request that it look to
current state law and instead relied on the
10-year maximum sentence that applied at the
time that he committed his state offenses. The
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
affirmed the district court's classification of
McNeill's North Carolina drug offenses as a
"serious drug offenses" under ACCA, even though
at the time of McNeill's federal sentencing,
North Carolina's current sentencing law did not
prescribe a maximum term of imprisonment of at
least ten years for those state drug offenses.
The Supreme Court granted certiorari.
The Supreme Court looked at the plain text of
ACCA to decide the issue of whether McNeill
should have a reduced penalty due to North
Carolina changing its drug-crime penalties. The
Court held that a federal sentencing court must
determine whether "an offense under State law"
is a "serious drug offense" by consulting the
"maximum term of imprisonment" applicable to a
defendant's prior state drug offense to consult
the law that applied at the time of that
conviction of that offense. The Court determined
that the ACCA's use of the present tense in
defining a "serious drug offense" as, "an
offense . . . for which a maximum [10-year] term
. . . is prescribed by law" suggests the use of
"the present tense to refer to past
convictions."
Therefore, the Court concluded that a federal
sentencing court must determine whether "an
offense under State law" is a "serious drug
offense" by consulting the "maximum term of
imprisonment" applicable to a defendant's
previous drug offense at the time of the
defendant's state conviction for that offense.
Thus, the Court affirmed the district court's
decision to enhance McNeill's sentence in light
of his two admitted violent felony convictions.
The Court noted that McNeill needed only one
conviction for a "serious drug offense" to
trigger ACCA even though all six of his prior
drug convictions qualify as serious drug
offenses."
The case is McNeill v. U.S., No.
10-5258, dated June 6, 2011. To review the full
decision,
click here.
For more Information contact the
Registrar's Office at
(202) 355-6441or (888) 248-9841
1- Federal Law Enforcement Using
Enhanced Technology and Social Media
Over the past few months, many federal law
enforcement agencies have been utilizing social
media and other technologies to promote their
missions, improve their recruiting and keep the
public informed. The U.S. Secret Service
launched their Twitter page on May 9, while the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF) is utilizing iPads for video
surveillance.
According to the U.S. Secret Service, it's using
a new Twitter account to highlight its
investigative mission, share press releases,
distribute information on upcoming events in
local communities and promote upcoming
recruitment opportunities. "The internet is a
valuable resource for all people all over the
world," said Secret Service Assistant Director
Mickey Nelson. "By using social media sites, we
hope to supplement our recruitment efforts,
while providing an informative, helpful tool to
businesses and individuals who are interested in
information from our agency."
Other federal law enforcement agencies have
established Twitter pages, including the FBI,
with over 170,000 followers, and the Department
of Homeland Security with over 36,000 followers.
The U.S. Secret Service's Twitter page already
has nearly 25,000 followers and has issued over
50 tweets since its launch.
ATF has approximately 50 iPhones and iPads for
use; however, it is likely that number could
double soon. ATF has used iPads to monitor
arrests via video at the ATF National
Headquarters in Washington, D.C., among other
uses.
"People have better access to information
technology at their homes than they do at work,
and that's especially true in the public
sector," said Vivek Kundra, the federal
government's chief information officer. "If you
look at the average school kid, he or she
probably has better technology in his or her
backpack than most of us do in government
offices."
Elsewhere across government, federal agencies
are utilizing the newest technology to enhance
their abilities to do their jobs. Blackberries
have been replaced by iPhones, Microsoft Outlook
is being upended by Gmail and now iPads are used
in place of laptops. Currently, the General
Services Administration is in the process of
moving 17,000 employees onto Gmail, while the
Department of Veterans Affairs is giving their
clinicians the option of an iPad or iPhone
instead of the traditional blackberry.
"The rise of consumer technology in the
enterprise-it's here," said Kundra. "It's
happening as we speak."
Please
contact us
if you would like to arrange a meeting with our team
during our stay in Chantilly, VA. We look forward to
seeing you.
2- FBI Director Mueller
Takes Part in Senate Judiciary Hearing on Extension of
Term
On June 8, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Director Robert Mueller testified at a Senate
Judiciary Committee hearing on a bill that would
allow for a two-year extension of his term.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick
Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Charles
Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senate Intelligence
Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Ranking
Member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) introduced
legislation last month that would give Mueller a
one-time, two-year extension after President
Barack Obama made the extension request.
Mueller, 66, currently faces mandatory
retirement on Sept. 4 under a law that caps the
service of FBI directors at 10 years. The
10-year limit was set after J. Edgar Hoover
served 48 years as head of the bureau. Since
that time, no director has served the full
10-year term.
Others witnesses for the hearing included former
Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey, William
& Mary Law School Professor William W. Van
Alystne and University of Virginia School of Law
Professor John C. Harrison.
While Mueller's prepared remarks did not
directly push for an extension, he did say he
would be honored to serve an additional two
years. Additionally, Mueller noted that he spoke
to individuals inside and outside of the FBI
before deciding that he would stay if Congress
allows him to do so.
Leahy said he believes the proposed legislation
will pass and many Capitol Hill staffers expect
lawmakers to approve the extension quickly and
quietly before they leave for August recess.
However, Grassley has shown concern about
extending the FBI Director's term. "We should
proceed cautiously in setting a precedent that a
10-year term can be extended," he said. "If we
are going to extend Director Mueller's term, we
should establish a precedent that doing so will
be difficult and that unique circumstances
necessitating it exist as those are
circumstances at this particular time."
Additionally, Grassley asked about criticisms
from FBI agents in management who feel it is
unfair that Mueller may get an extension when
they are not allowed to stay in their management
role. The policy that requires FBI supervisors
to move on after seven years and compete for
another managerial position, retire or get
demoted at the same field office with a pay
decrease has been controversial. On Wednesday,
Mueller said it was difficult to make the
decision to implement the policy and it has led
to the agency losing some good people, but it
has also helped develop a pool of strong
managers.
Comey, who had been mentioned as a possible
candidate for the FBI director position, said he
supported the current 10-year limit, but
particularly dangerous circumstances call for an
exception and he supports the extension of
Mueller's term. He called Mueller "one of the
finest public servants this nation has ever
seen."
3-
Two Iraqi Nationals Charged in Terrorism-Related
Case
On May 25, two Iraqi men living in Bowling
Green, Ky. were arrested for allegedly carrying
out numerous improvised explosive device (IED)
attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and for
participating in the insurgency in Iraq. The
criminal complaints and indictment were unsealed
on May 31.
Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, and Mohanad Shareef
Hammadi, 23, both former residents of Iraq, were
charged in a 23-count indictment. Alwan is
charged with conspiracy to kill a United States
national, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass
destruction and attempting to provide material
support to terrorists. Hammadi is charged with
attempting to provide material support to
terrorists and knowingly transferring,
possessing or exporting a device designed or
intended to launch or guide a rocket or missile.
Neither is charged with plotting attacks within
the United States. Both defendants could face up
to life in prison if convicted of all the
charges in the indictment.
"Over the course of roughly eight years, Waad
Ramadan Alwan allegedly supported efforts to
kill U.S. troops in Iraq, first by participating
in the construction and placement of improvised
explosive devices in Iraq and, more recently, by
attempting to ship money and weapons from the
United States to insurgents in Iraq," said Todd
Hinnen, Acting Assistant Attorney General for
National Security.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
launched an investigation into Alwan in
September 2009 and began using a confidential
human source who met with and engaged in
recorded conversations with Alwan in August
2010. In January 2011, an investigation into
Hammadi began when he began working with Alwan.
During conversations, Alwan told the informant
that he was involved in insurgent attacks in
Iraq from 2003 to 2006. In January, the
indictment alleges that Alwan recruited Hammadi
to assist him with sending money and weapons to
Iraq. Alwan and Hammadi allegedly delivered
money to a tractor-trailer that they believe
would be shipped to al Qaeda and later helped
deliver weapons, including two Stinger missiles.
None of the weapons or money was provided to al
Qaeda in Iraq, but was controlled by law
enforcement within the undercover investigation.
Additionally, this past January, investigators
matched Alwan's fingerprints to a component of
an unexploded IED that was recovered by U.S.
forces in Iraq in 2005.
"These arrests were the culmination of extremely
well-coordinated, diligent, and tireless efforts
by the FBI and our law enforcement partners
working on the JTTFs," said Elizabeth A. Fries,
special agent in charge of the FBI Louisville
Division. "My thanks to all those who assisted
in this case."
4-
Gaddafi Ordered Mass Rape As A Weapon,
International Criminal Court Claims
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has
said that Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi ordered mass
rapes and bought containers of sex drugs for troops to
attack women.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he may ask for a new charge of
mass rape to be made against Gaddafi following the new
evidence.
The chief International Criminal Court prosecutor is
expecting a decision from judges within days on his
request for crimes against humanity charges against the
Libyan leader.
“Now we are getting some information that Gaddafi
himself decided to rape, and this is new,” Mr Moreno-Ocampo
said.
He said there were reports of hundreds of women attacked
in some areas of Libya, which is in the grip of a
months-long internal rebellion.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo said there was evidence that the Libyan
authorities bought “Viagra-type” medicines and gave them
to troops as part of the official rape policy.
“They were buying containers to enhance the possibility
to rape women,” he said.
“We had doubts at the beginning but now we are more
convinced that he decided to punish using rapes,” the
prosecutor said.
He told reporters at the UN in New York that he had
collected evidence suggesting the Libyan leader had
decided to punish women by using rape as a weapon in the
hope that it would instil fear and curb dissent.
In March, a Libyan woman, Eman al-Obeidi, made headlines
around the world after she burst into a Tripoli hotel
and said she had been raped by Gaddafi’s troops. She is
recovering at a refugee centre in Romania.
“It was very bad – beyond the limits, I would say,” Mr
Moreno-Ocampo added.
On Monday, three House Republicans unveiled a
plan that would permit hiring one new federal
employee for every three that leave in hopes of
cutting the federal workforce by 10 percent by
2015.
The 2011 Reducing the Size of the Federal
Government Through Attrition Act (H.R. 2114) was
introduced by House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)
and Reps. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) and Jason
Chaffetz (R-Utah). The lawmakers said their
proposal would save an estimated $127.5 billion
over the next ten years.
"Office of Personnel Management projections
suggest approximately 400,000 federal employees
are currently eligible to retire," said Ross.
"As these workers leave, we cannot let this
opportunity to save taxpayer money pass."
The legislation would require the Office of
Management and Budget to track the size of the
federal workforce quarterly and report to
Congress if the number of employees exceeds 90
percent of its current size in fiscal year 2011.
Agencies would not be permitted to fill jobs
once the limit is exceeded and employees would
be tallied on a full-time equivalent basis.
The bill would allow the president to make
exceptions in hiring for national security, war
and events threatening public health or safety.
Additionally, it allows hiring limits to be
waived for specific jobs if the president
decides those jobs are needed for the agency's
critical mission or to operate efficiently.
Many federal manager and employee groups are
critical of the bill and say cutting the federal
workforce would lead agencies to outsource those
jobs and could leave certain job
responsibilities unfulfilled. "We are primarily
concerned that enacting proposals promoting a
government-wide workforce reduction or hiring
freeze absent of a comprehensive strategic plan
will severely impede agencies' efforts to
acquire the proper staffing levels based on
their established missions," wrote the Federal
Managers Association, Senior Executives
Association and Professional Managers
Association in testimony submitted in response
to a May 26 hearing on "rightsizing" the federal
workforce.
Beth Moten, legislative director for the
American Federation of Government Employees was
also doubtful the proposal would result in
savings. She pointed out that the 1990s
downsizing initiative led to more contractors
doing the work of federal employees. "It didn't
work in the 1990s, and it won't work now," she
said.
6- Government Case
Against Whistleblower Thomas Drake Collapses
The Obama Administration’s aggressive war on
whistleblowers suffered a humiliating setback on June 9
when former NSA official Thomas Drake accepted [1] a
misdemeanor plea agreement for exceeding his authorized
use of a government computer.
The Department of Justice had been pursuing Drake for
alleged violations of the Espionage Act that might have
sent him to prison for up to 35 years. But the
government withdrew [2] the evidence supporting several
of the central charges after a judge ruled Drake would
not be able to defend himself unless the government
revealed details about one of the National Security
Agency’s telecommunications collection programs. On two
other counts, documents the government had claimed were
classified have either been shown to be labeled
unclassified when Drake accessed them or have since been
declassified. Faced with the prospect of trying to
convict a man for leaking unclassified information, the
government frantically crafted a plea deal in the last
days before the case was due to go to trial.
The collapse of the case against Drake may have
repercussions beyond just this one case.
This is the third time the government’s attempt to use
the Espionage Act to criminalize ordinary leaking has
failed in spectacular fashion. The first such
example—against Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel
Ellsberg—got dismissed when the government’s own spying
on Ellsberg was exposed.
More recently, the Bush Administration tried to punish
two AIPAC employees for sharing classified information
on Iran. But when the AIPAC employees moved to subpoena
top officials like Condoleezza Rice to testify about
leaking the same information, the government dropped the
case.
And now there’s the Drake case. Aside from the problems
the government had with classified evidence, it faced a
real challenge proving Drake believed the information
would cause the US harm, as the Espionage Act requires.
He gathered several of the charged documents in support
of an Inspector General complaint for which he argued
[3] the NSA spent $1 billion outsourcing a program it
could have done better in-house for $3 million. Long
before the case crumbled, the government tried to
prevent Drake from explaining his Inspector General
complaint to the jury, but the judge ruled against the
government.
The government will face some of the same challenges
when it next tries to use the Espionage Act to punish a
leaker in a case against former CIA officer Jeffrey
Sterling. DOJ alleges Sterling served as a source for
the chapter of James Risen’s book, State of War, that
describes a CIA operation to deal faulty nuclear
blueprints to Iran. Like Drake, Sterling had warned
Congressional staffers about the operation before he
went to the press. The government claims [4] that
Sterling’s alleged efforts to expose the program by
going to the press was “more pernicious than the typical
espionage case.”
Sterling’s case bears another important similarity with
Drake’s: both have been prosecuted by DOJ lawyer William
Welch. Welch is best known for heading the DOJ team
whose corruption case against Ted Stevens got thrown out
for prosecutorial misconduct. Since 2009, he has been
the Obama Administration’s point person on pursuing
whistleblowers. Welch seems to be exercising the same
poor judgment he did on the Stevens case, as when he
withheld evidence for ten months that one of the
purportedly classified documents Drake was accused of
keeping had been marked as unclassified. Perhaps the
embarrassing outcome in the Drake case will lead DOJ to
rethink Welch’s role in these controversial cases.
So, too, this embarrassment should convince DOJ to
rethink its use of the Espionage Act to prosecute things
that aren’t really spying. In addition to the Sterling
case, DOJ is controversially treating its expanding
investigation of WikiLeaks as an espionage
investigation. Bradley Manning allegedly leaked
information to WikiLeaks in response to being asked to
help Iraq crack down on legal dissidents; the WikiLeaks
cables exposed US complicity in torture and other
crimes. But now, DOJ is considering prosecuting not the
leaker (Manning is being court martialed by the
military), but the media outlet that published
classified information itself.
All of these whistleblowers at least claim to have been
exposing corruption, waste, and abuse. After DOJ has
spent over four years investigating Thomas Drake and
over a year trying to prosecute him, in part, for
possession of two unclassified documents, DOJ should
probably worry more about people reporting on its own
waste and abuse than using the Espionage Act to
criminalize whistleblowing.
7- IRAN:
Intelligence Ministry claims to arrest 30 alleged CIA
spies
Iran claimed a major intelligence victory over the
United States on Saturday, saying it uncovered and
dismantled what it called a "complex espionage and
sabotage network" and arrested 30 people allegedly
spying for the CIA.
It claimed that it also arrested 42 others in connection
to the alleged spy network, the website of Iran's
state-owned Press TV website reported.
According to a statement by the Intelligence Ministry
published on the website of the semi-official Mehr news
agency (link in Persian), the network was run by CIA
agents via U.S. embassies in the United Arab Emirates,
Turkey and Malaysia.
"Due to the massive intelligence and counterintelligence
work by Iranian intelligence
agents, a complex espionage and sabotage network linked
to America's spy organization was uncovered
and dismantled," said a statement from the Intelligence
Ministry read on state TV.
There was no immediate response by U.S. officials.
In the Iranian regime's shadowy worldview, foreign
"agents" and "spies" are constantly working to undermine
the country's goals. But the detailed nature of
Saturday's announcement was unusual.
Iran claimed the arrests were conducted by an elite
squad belonging to the Iranian Intelligence Ministry in
various sting operations, according to the statement.
The nationalities of those arrested were not immediately
clear, nor when the arrests were made.
"Elite agents of the Intelligence Ministry in their
confrontation with the CIA elements were able to arrest
30 America-linked spies through numerous intelligence
and counterintelligence operations," the statement said.
Mehr cited the Intelligence Ministry as saying the spy
network was active simultaneously in several undisclosed
countries and under the cover of labor recruitment
agencies. "The elites, educated and naive people were
recruited to get visas, residency permits, education
abroad and employment," the agency quoted the
Intelligence Ministry as saying.
"Thanks to the sincere endeavor of your children by
collecting intelligence through infiltrating in the
network and by penetrating in the network through double
agents, we managed to disband the network and arrest the
30 spies in and outside of the country," the statement
said.
ISLAMABAD: Leon Panetta, chief of the Central
Intelligence Agency, left Islamabad on Saturday morning
after a meeting with Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq
Parvez Kayani and ISI head Gen Shuja Pasha, but without
a deal on resetting the relationship between the spy
agencies.
Mr Panetta, who arrived on Friday evening, did not meet
anyone other than the Kayani-Pasha duo who he met at the
Army House over dinner and discussed what was described
by the ISPR as “framework for future intelligence
sharing”.
Mr Panetta’s departure without routine calls on
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani was seen by observers here as a sign of
stalemate in his discussions with the military
leadership. According to sources, Mr Panetta was
surprised by the rigidity shown by the military, which
went to the extent of even declining an offer by
Washington of security assistance.
But government officials insisted that unlike in the
past this time he was not scheduled to meet anyone else.
While Gen Kayani had even before his visit made it clear
that the Army would not allow the CIA to carry out
independent operations and that any future intelligence
cooperation would be reciprocal and transparent, Mr
Panetta did little to pacify Pakistani generals and
instead confronted them with “evidence of collusion with
Taliban militants”.
This, a source claimed, would further sour the
relationship which had already been under strain since
the start of this year and got worse after the May 2
Abbottabd raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound.
According to US media reports, Mr Panetta shared with
the military leadership video and satellite imagery of
militants leaving two bomb-making factories in
Waziristan after allegedly having been tipped off about
a raid.
The US reportedly shared the information with Pakistan
last week, asking it to take action against the two
sites. But Mr Panetta alleged at the meeting that the
information was leaked within 24 hours of sharing and by
the time the raiding teams reached those places, the
militants had melted away.
A defense source said the CIA chief, who is set to take
over as the next US defense secretary, reportedly used
this as an instance to tell the army and intelligence
chiefs why America distrusted Pakistani military
establishment and needed to have its own independent
operations inside the country to deal with Al Qaeda and
Taliban.
Efforts to get a version from official sources in
Islamabad did not bear fruit.
CIA FOOTPRINT
Mr Panetta, during his visit, reportedly tried to
convince the Pakistanis to allow some critical CIA
operations to continue after the agency was asked to cut
down its footprint. He also asked for some CIA
operatives to be given visas to enable them to enter the
country and work independently.
Gen Kayani and Gen Pasha are reported to have insisted
on joint operations and intelligence sharing, but no
independent operations. They said that a
recently-constituted joint task force for coordination
of intelligence activities should be the nerve centre of
any future ISI-CIA collaboration.
Reuters adds: The army and intelligence chiefs told Mr
Panetta that they were not willing to reverse a decision
to cut the number of US troops allowed in their country,
Pakistani military officials said on Saturday.
“He (Panetta) expressed concern over the reduction of
trainers and operatives. We told him very clearly ‘no
boots on our soil is acceptable’,” said a military
official.
“We told him (Panetta) that we are clear. We don’t want
their people. Intelligence sharing is fine and we are
ready for that,” said another military official. “Any
action against the militants will be taken by our forces
alone but we will share intelligence on militants
actively.”
A US embassy spokesman said he had no information on
Panetta’s talks.
9-
FBI Releases Bank Crime Statistics for First
Quarter of 2011
On June 8, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
released its bank crime statistics for all robberies,
burglaries and larcenies reported between January 1,
2011 and March 31, 2011. During this timeframe, there
were 1,081 robberies reported, which is a decrease from
the 1,183 robberies reported during the same three month
period in 2010. Additionally, there were nine burglaries
and two larcenies reported during the first quarter of
2011 for a total of 1,092 violations.
Loot was taken in 985 of the 1,092 violations, totaling
over $7.5 million. However, in 20 percent of the
instances where loot was taken there was full or partial
recovery by law enforcement agencies. The majority of
the loot taken and recovered was cash.
The majority of bank crimes occurred on Fridays with 213
banks crimes reported, followed closely by Wednesdays
with 205 reported violations and Thursdays with 203
occurrences. However, despite the day of the week, most
violations occurred between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Nearly 95 percent of all robberies, burglaries and
larcenies occurred at a branch office.
Acts of violence were reported in 4 percent of the
incidents, resulting in 24 injuries, three deaths and 18
hostages. Fourteen of the incidents where acts of
violence occurred involved the discharge of firearms, 20
instances involved assault, one instance involved an
explosive device and seven instances included a hostage
situation.
Demand notes were the most common modus operandi used,
as reported in 611 of the violations. Oral demands
closely followed and were used in 598 instances.
The majority of bank crime violations occurred in the
West with 351 instances reported. The states with the
most violations include New York with 79 violations,
followed by Ohio with 74 violations, Texas with 60
violations, Colorado with 59 violations and Pennsylvania
with 57 violations.
The FBI provided additional information in the report
regarding the number of extortions and armed carrier
incidents. However, the FBI also noted that not all bank
crimes are reported to the FBI, thus the report is not a
complete statistical compilation of all bank crimes
occurring in the United States in the first quarter of
2011.
10- National Security
Agency Official Pleads Guilty
A former National Security Agency official pleaded
guilty on Friday to one misdemeanor count of "exceeding
the authorized use of a computer."
Thomas Andrews Drake, 54, accused of leaking classified
information to a reporter, entered a plea deal with the
Justice Department. They agreed to drop all 10 more
serious charges-- including illegally possessing
classified information, obstructing the investigation
into the leaks and lying to the FBI, the New York Times
reports.
Drake's case was one among many the Obama administration
prosecuted against current or former federal officials
who allegedly leaked classified information to the news
media.
Drake's lawyers said the dismissal of the indictment was
a just result.
"Tom Drake never should have been charged under the
Espionage Act," they said in a statement. "Tom never
intended to harm his country. And he didn’t."
From August 2001-2008, Drake worked for the NSA as a
high-ranking official. He was accused of discussing
classified information with a reporter for The Baltimore
Sun. Drake denies the accusation and maintains that the
information he gave was not classified.
The NSA's Trailblazer was a computer project the
government was spending $1.2 billion on, and Drake
didn't believe it would ever work. He warned his bosses,
the Pentagon and Congress, but nothing changed.
Frustrated with the waste and worried that national
security was at risk because of the terrible computer
system, Drake became an anonymous source for Siobhan
Gorman of the Baltimore Sun on mismanagement at the NSA.
"Did you ever communicate classified information to
Siobhan Gorman?" anchor Scott Pelley asked Drake on CBS
Evening News.
"Did not," Drake replied.
"Not once ever?"
"Not once ever. That was one of the fundamental rules;
whether it was oral communication, whether it was
written, electronic or later on, even in hard copy. It
was all unclassified. Period."
Originally he faced up to 35 years in prison, but the
Justice Department does not plan to now seek any prison
time. There will also be no trial.
BEIRUT: A Lebanese Army colonel accused of spying for
Israeli intelligence filed an appeal Friday to retract
his previous testimony made to Lebanese Army
intelligence investigators.
During a trial at the military court, Colonel Antoine
Abu Jaoude stated that his testimony to military
intelligence personnel was made under torture.
Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr charged Abu Jaoude
for collaborating with Israel by providing them with
valuable information on Lebanese Army and Hezbollah
positions.
Abu Jaoude was also accused of holding several meetings
with members of Israel’s Mossad, beginning in 2006.
According to the indictment, Abu Jaoude provided Mossad
with names and addresses of Lebanese Army and Hezbollah
officials, in an attempt to aid the Israelis in a future
invasion of Lebanon.
Dozens of Lebanese Army officials, clergymen and
civilians have been arrested since 2009 as a result of a
security crackdown over the Israeli spy network
throughout the country.
If the court’s charges stand against Abu Jaoude, he
would faces a possible death sentence on charges of
treason. Following the appeal, the trial was adjourned
to Sep. 22, when the court is expected to announce its
decision.
12-
U.S. Marshals and ATF Arrest 129 Gang Members and
Fugitives in Tulsa
The U.S. Marshals Service, Tulsa Police Department and
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
arrested 129 suspected gang members as part Operation
Triple Beam II.
During the operation, 40 local and federal law
enforcement officers from 11 agencies fanned out across
the city and patrolled areas that had been designated as
hot spots for gang and violent crime. They talked with
people to gather information, documented gang tattoos
and updated photographs and addresses of people they
made contact with. There were 30 targets on the list
including 14 street gangs, such as the Hoover Crips and
the Hispanic Surenos.
The operation began on May 2 and ended two weeks later.
Over the course of the operation, law enforcement
officers served 12 search warrants, made 54 felony
arrests, 74 misdemeanor arrests and seized 24 firearms.
Operation Triple Beam II was similar to an undercover
operation last summer that is credited with a reduction
in violent crime in Tulsa. However, after a recent
increase in shootings in Tulsa, Police Chief Chuck
Jordan approached Chad Hunt, deputy U.S. marshal for the
Northern District of Oklahoma, to work together with the
goal of investigating gangs, arresting fugitives and
taking guns off the street.
"We've had close to 200 firearm assaults in the past
several months, so we want to get guns off the streets,"
said Hunt. "This operation is styled to go after people
carrying guns."
Jordan called it the perfect example of successful
collaboration between federal and local law enforcement.
"There is a reason this operation was a success," said
Jordan. "It's because we target the right people. We are
going after the violent offenders. We are going after
the people we know are committing the crimes."
During the August 2010 operation, 163 gang members and
associates were arrested. With the second sweep, over
300 gang members have been arrested in Tulsa over the
past year. Additionally, 15 of the 129 gang members
recently arrested are newly certified gang members.
During the second operation, robberies decreased by 24
percent, firearm assaults went down by 50 percent and
burglaries declined by 12 percent. Firearm assaults were
down 81 percent in the north side of the city and 63
percent in south Tulsa.
Tulsa is the first city in the nation to launch
Operation Triple Beam.
13-
Ex-top Pakistan spy doubts bin Laden hid years in
Abbottabad
The man who took charge of Pakistan's intelligence
agency after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks said
Wednesday that he wasn't surprised that Osama bin Laden
had been living in his country but that he doubted the
al Qaeda leader had been hiding out for five years in
the compound where he died.
"It would be totally uncharacteristic of al Qaeda to
keep its No. 1 in one place for five years," retired
Gen. Ehsan ul-Haq said in rare public comments after
addressing a conference on security issues in London.
"He might've been there for only a few months."
Pakistani intelligence officials have said that bin
Laden's wife told them under questioning that the al
Qaeda leader and his family had lived in a walled
compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, for five years before
U.S. special forces stormed in May 2 and shot him to
death.
Bin Laden's refuge in Abbottabad, a military garrison
town that is home to the country's most prestigious
military academy, sparked speculation that he must have
had support from Pakistan's military or spy agencies,
but ul-Haq said he was confident that wasn't true.
"He must've thought it was safe," ul-Haq said of bin
Laden, because the town has experienced "no serious acts
of terror."
But he also acknowledged that bin Laden's undetected
presence reflected poorly on Pakistan's military.
"How was it that we weren't the ones who picked him up?
That was an embarrassment," he said.
Ul-Haq, who's now 61, was appointed the head of the
Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, Pakistan's spy
agency, after 9/11, a position he held until 2004, when
he was appointed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. He retired in 2007.
That would have placed him in a position of authority at
the time that bin Laden settled in Abbottabad, if the
earlier accounts are true.
Ul-Haq began his military career as an air defense
officer, and he said the undetected "ingress" by U.S.
Navy SEALs in a special stealth helicopter was also
embarrassing.
"You'd like your air defenses to protect your
sovereignty," he said. "We should've known."
Ul-Haq said he was also embarrassed for his country that
the Americans didn't trust the Pakistanis enough to let
them share in the operation or at least know about it.
"I think it's not fair to Pakistan, given our
sacrifices."
Pakistani security forces had earlier scooped up two key
al Qaeda catches in the war on terrorism, self-professed
9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed on March 1, 2003,
in another garrison town, Rawalpindi, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh
on Sept. 11, 2002, in Karachi in a gun battle that
wounded some Pakistani security forces.
14- Verrilli Confirmed
as Solicitor General of the United States
On June 6, the Senate confirmed Donald B. Verrilli as
the next Solicitor General of the United States by a
72-16 vote. He was nominated in January 2011 by
President Barack Obama.
Verrilli will replace Neal Katyal, who has served as
acting solicitor general since former Solicitor General
Elena Kagan was nominated to the Supreme Court in May
2010.
Since February 2010, Verrilli has served in the White
House Legal Counsel's office as a senior and deputy
counsel to the president. From February 2009 to January
2010, he served as associate deputy attorney general at
the Department of Justice.
Prior to entering government work, Verrilli worked in
private practice at Jenner & Block LLP in Washington,
D.C. His practice was focused on First Amendment,
telecommunications and intellectual property law, as
well as pro bono matters. He was co-chair of Jenner &
Block's Supreme Court practice group from 2000 until he
left the firm in 2009. He has participated in more than
100 cases before the Supreme Court and argued 12.
Verrilli also served as an adjunct professor of
constitutional law at the Georgetown University Law
Center for over 15 years, focusing on First Amendment
law.
Prior to entering private practice in 1988, Verrilli
served as a law clerk for the Hon. William J. Brennan,
Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Hon. J. Skelly
Wright of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit.
He received his law degree from Columbia Law School and
a B.A. with honors from Yale University. While at
Columbia, Verrilli was a Kent Scholar and
Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Law Review.
At least 3 years of recent
(within the last 48 months) experience teaching foreign
language at the secondary level or higher (a minimum of
200 classroom hours) and a bachelor's degree in
teaching, education, language, or a closely related
field to be approved by Government or at least 6 years
recent, related experience teaching at the secondary
level or higher (a minimum of 600 classroom hours) and a
Associate's degree. Possess regional and cultural area
expertise for the target region's history, demography,
politics, customs, beliefs, practices, etc. as they
pertain to interaction with target region's people.
For more information please contact Sherry
Henson at
S.Henson@c4sem.org.
SME:
WMD/EOD
Must be
familiar with the Strategic Information Operation Center
of the FBI to assist in development of field to SIOC and
DOE home team coordination protocols. Support the
Stabilization program at the ECM working groups in
coordination with the TSWG, DHS, and FBI. Individuals
interested in participating need a minimum of 5 years of
relevant experience. For more information please
contact Sherry Henson at
S.Henson@c4sem.org.
About C4SEM
The Center for Security and Emergency Management (C4SEM) is a veteran owned, small business (VOSB) global security and emergency management policy, training and consulting institute. As an adviser on security and emergency management strategies, we partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their vulnerabilities, address their most critical challenges and transform their organization. Mission:
The Center for Security and Emergency Management (C4SEM) was established to enhance the capabilities of military security forces, law enforcement officers, emergency responders and local officials to prepare for, respond to, and recover from catastrophic events resulting from natural events, man-made accidents, or terrorist attacks. Since its inception, C4SEM has provided military, federal, state and local departments and agencies with high-quality, service, hands-on, scenario-driven training, exercises, technical assistance, and strategy development.
The Center’s mission is to study the goals, tactics and strategies of terrorism and develop responses to:
· Educate, Train and Certify First Responders
· Advance Emergency Response Strategies
· Advance Counter Terrorism Strategies
· Develop Risk Assessment and Management Standards
· Identify Terrorists Communications and Operations Capabilities
· Identify Indicators Pertaining to Terrorist Actions
· Develop Security and Emergency Management Strategies
