The FBI is on the hunt for an Iranian intelligence operative who has been allegedly plotting to assassinate current and former U.S. government officials, including Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state under former President Donald Trump.
Last week, the Bureau’s Miami field office <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorinfo/majid-dastjani-farahani" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a public alert as it sought information on Majid Dastjani Farahani, who is suspected of being a member of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, Semafor <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/03/04/2024/fbi-hunts-for-suspected-iranian-assassin-targeting-trump-era-officials" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The FBI warned of Farahani, 42, in a Most Wanted notice on Friday, saying that he speaks Farsi, French, Spanish, and English and will often move between Iran and Venezuela.
According to the FBI, Farahani was recruiting “individuals for various operations in the United States, to include lethal targeting of current and former United States Government officials” as part of a revenge operation for the U.S. taking out Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in 2020 under Trump and Pompeo.
<div id="attachment_705411" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-705411" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-705411" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.04.14-PM-300x216.png" alt="" width="600" height="432" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.04.14-PM-300x216.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.04.14-PM-798x576.png 798w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.04.14-PM-768x554.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.04.14-PM-1536x1108.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.04.14-PM.png 1616w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />MAJID DASTJANI FARAHANI/FBI Wanted Poster</div>
Semafor reported that U.S. officials said Pompeo and former special envoy for Iran Brian Hook were given 24-hour security after the FBI warned of Farahani. In 2022, the Department of Justice indicted members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for an alleged plot to assassinate former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who also served under Trump.
Farahani is also accused of recruiting people to run “surveillance activities focused on religious sites, businesses, and other facilities in the United States.”
Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike ordered by Trump in January 2020. The brutal Iranian general had been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American troops in Iraq, and the U.S. State Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-dept-iranian-general-killed-in-u-s-strike-responsible-for-17-of-american-deaths-in-iraq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> Soleimani was directly behind 17% of all U.S. personnel deaths during the Iraq War.
Shortly after Soleimani’s death, the top Iranian general and other officials <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-iranian-general-revenge-for-soleimani-death-to-happen-within-u-s-no-one-will-forget-what-we-do" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> that Iran would get <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iran-vows-revenge-for-general-killed-by-u-s-says-it-will-hit-those-responsible" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revenge</a> on the U.S. Iran’s volatility raised concerns again when Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists launched an attack on Israel on October 7, killing over 1,200 and taking hundreds hostage into the Gaza Strip. The IRGC <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/irans-guard-corps-hamas-oct-7-attack-was-revenge-for-killing-of-soleimani-in-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> two months after the terrorist attack on Israel that it was “one of the revenges” for the killing of Soleimani.
While Hamas denied it had the same reason as the IRGC for its 10/7 atrocities, Iran’s threats, and thirst for bloodshed following the death of its beloved general were heard clearly. U.S. forces were even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/multiple-u-s-soldiers-killed-dozens-injured-by-iranian-backed-terrorists-in-middle-east" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attacked</a> by Iranian-backed terrorists in January, and three American soldiers were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-on-u-s-soldiers-killed-tragic-consequence-of-joe-bidens-weakness-and-surrender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed</a>.
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The Iranian-backed Houthis have also been causing chaos in the Red Sea and the Middle East, launching attacks on shipping vessels and Israeli forces. The U.S. has responded to the ongoing terrorist actions with limited strikes inside Yemen and a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strike-smokes-multiple-iranian-backed-terrorist-leaders-reports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drone strike</a> that killed multiple terrorist leaders in Baghdad, Iraq, last month.

Iran

FBI Looking For Iranian Spy Who Is Allegedly Plotting Assassinations Of Trump Admin Officials

assassination

Donald Trump

Mike Pompeo

Qassem Soleimani

Spying

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-navy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Navy</a> service member was sentenced to just over two years in prison after he pled guilty to being bribed to send sensitive military information to a Chinese intelligence officer. 
Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, a 26-year-old from Monterey Park, California, was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-navy-sailor-sentenced-27-months-prison-transmitting-sensitive-us-military-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> to just 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,500 fine after his guilty plea for one count of conspiring with an intelligence officer and one count of receiving a bribe. Zhao <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-navy-service-member-pleads-guilty-transmitting-sensitive-us-military-information-chinese" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could</a> have faced up to 20 years in prison, 15 years for the conspiracy charge and 5 years for the bribery charge.
“Mr. Zhao betrayed his solemn oath to defend his country and endangered those who serve in the U.S. military,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today, he is being held to account for those crimes. The Justice Department is committed to combating the Chinese government’s efforts to undermine our nation’s security and holding accountable those who violate our laws as part of those efforts.” 
He was paid at least $14,866 by a Chinese intelligence officer for sending information on the U.S. Navy operational security, military trainings and exercises, and critical infrastructure, according to the DOJ. 
Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow at Hudson Institute and the director of its Keystone Defense Initiative, slammed the “slap on the wrist” that Zhao received.
“He stole secrets about things that could get Americans killed, things related to operational security, military training, and key facilities” Heinrichs told The Daily Wire. “He did it over and over and sold it to our chief enemy. His slap on the wrist sentence is shocking and sends the wrong message at a tense time when China is relentlessly trying to recruit agents.”
The Navy service member, who had a security clearance, worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California. The DOJ said that the bribery took place from August 2021 to May 2023 during which Zhao went into restricted locations to obtain information. 
The DOJ said that the information given to the Chinese intelligence officer included the plans of a large-scale training exercise in the Pacific and operational orders and documents on Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar system in Okinawa, Japan.
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“Zhao betrayed his country and disgraced himself when he accepted bribes from an intelligence officer with the People’s Republic of China,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “As a result, he has now been removed from the military and will serve time in federal prison. Today’s sentence shows that my office will swiftly act to root out and punish those who seek to undermine our nation’s security.”
The investigation was led by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the IRS-Criminal Investigation unit.

US Navy carriers Ford, Eisenhower in eastern Mediterranean

Navy Service Member Who Sold Secrets To China Sentenced To Just 27 Months In Prison

Bribery

California

Communist China

Department of Justice

U.S. Navy

According to federal officials, a potential spying threat has been posed by Chinese nationals posing as tourists who tested the security of military bases as well as other sensitive sites — and roughly 100 reported incidents have occurred.
The officials explained that quite often the incidents occur in rural areas where tourists are not typically found, and the nationals address the security guards with what appears to be scripted language, not normal discourse. When they are stopped, they insist they have simply gotten lost.
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/chinese-gate-crashers-at-u-s-bases-spark-espionage-concerns-cdef8187?mod=e2tw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal,</a> the Defense Department and FBI joined other agencies to study the issue, finding that the Chinese nationals were required to transmit the information they found back to the Communist Chinese government.
“The advantage the Chinese have is they are willing to throw people at collection in large numbers,” Emily Harding, a former deputy staff director at the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told the Journal. “If a few of them get caught, it will be very difficult for the U.S. government to prove anything beyond trespassing, and those who don’t get caught are likely to collect something useful.”
Some of the Chinese nationals gained unauthorized access to military bases “by speeding through security checkpoints,” Sue Gough, a Pentagon spokeswoman, admitted, adding, “These individuals are often cited criminally, barred from future installation access and escorted off-base.”
When the Journal contacted the Biden White House and the Department of Homeland Security, they declined to comment.
“The relevant claims are purely ill-intentioned fabrications,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, declared, snapping, “We urge the relevant U.S. officials to abandon the Cold War mentality, stop groundless accusations, and do more things that are conducive to enhancing mutual trust between the two countries and friendship between the two peoples.”
One case involved Chinese nationals who said they were tourists attempting to force their way past guards at the military base in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, the home to the Army’s 11th Airborne Division. Chinese nationals have reportedly repeatedly photographed the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/449089main_White_Sands_Missile_Range_Fact_Sheet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">largest</a> overland military test range in the U.S.
Chinese nationals were reportedly found swimming near a Key West, Florida, military facility. They claimed they were tourists. Other Chinese nationals seemed to be scuba diving near Cape Canaveral, where spy satellites are sent into space, according to the Journal.
Last February, the U.S. military used an F-22 Raptor using a single air-to-air A9X sidewinder missile to bring down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
In early June, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unbelievable-aggression-by-china-house-intel-chairman-responds-to-chinese-military-provocations-against-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> ABC News&#8217; “This Week,” &#8220;What we&#8217;re seeing is an unbelievable aggression by China. If you look at the balloon that flew over the United States, the Chinese police stations, the aggressiveness against our both planes and ships in international water, it goes right to the heart of what President Xi said when he stood next to Putin in Russia, where he said, they&#8217;re trying to make change that had not happened in 100 years.&#8221;
“When you have, for example, a balloon that transits all across the United States, and the administration doesn&#8217;t respond until the game&#8217;s over, until it&#8217;s over the Atlantic, you start &#8212; and when you have police stations that have been operating within the United States, that took forever in order for them to take action, you get this sort of sense of permissiveness, that I think the administration needs to step up and make clear that China has identified itself as an adversary, and we&#8217;re going to treat it as such,” he added.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unbelievable-aggression-by-china-house-intel-chairman-responds-to-chinese-military-provocations-against-u-s">&#8216;Unbelievable Aggression By China&#8217;: House Intel Chairman Responds To Chinese Military Provocations Against U.S.</a>

White Sands National Park – White Sands Missile Range, NM

Roughly 100 Incidents Where Chinese Nationals Tried To Access U.S. Military, Sensitive Sites: Report

China

Military Bases

Tourism

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI</a> inappropriately searched for information on a U.S. senator using an intelligence provision intended for monitoring foreign nationals, a court opinion released Friday shows. 
The opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said that the FBI improperly searched a database for information on an unidentified U.S. senator, state senator, and judge. The FBI conducted the searches under powers derived from Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but the conditions for the searches were not met, the judge said, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4110850-fbi-improperly-used-702-surveillance-powers-on-us-senator/">according</a> to The Hill.
“In June 2022, an analyst conducted four queries of Section 702 information using the last names of a U.S. senator and a state senator, without further limitation,” a court opinion from Judge Rudolph Contreras said.
Section 702 allows allows intelligence agencies to obtain the online communications of foreign nationals without a warrant.
Although the court said that a “a specific foreign intelligence service” was looking into two of the individuals, the FBI was not able to provide proper criteria for the searches as determined by the National Security Division at the Department of Justice.
Information on the judge was searched after he had accused a police chief of civil rights violations. 
A “Staff Operations Specialist ran a query using the Social Security number of a state judge who ‘had complained to [the] FBI about alleged civil right violations perpetrated by a municipal chief of police,’” the opinion said. 
Contreras said that the FBI had been doing “a better job in applying the querying standard” since the mistakes have been revealed. Previous documentation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-misused-surveillance-tool-over-278000-times-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">from the case indicates</a> that Section 702 was misused over 278,000 times to collect information on American citizens. 
The opinion was released after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued to make it public. The opinion was from April 2023. 
“The FBI continues to break the rules put in place to protect Americans, running illegal searches on public officials including a U.S. senator, and it’s long past time for Congress to step in. As Congress debates reauthorizing Section 702, these opinions make clear why fundamental reforms are urgently needed,” Patrick Toomey, of the ACLU National Security Project, told The Hill in a statement. 
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FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the FBI had implemented “substantial reforms” over its use of Section 702.
&#8220;Compliance is an ongoing endeavor, and we recently announced new additional accountability measures,&#8221; Wray <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-improperly-searched-intel-database-info-us-senator/story?id=101554896" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;We will continue to focus on using our Section 702 authorities to protect American lives and keeping our Homeland safe, while safeguarding civil rights and liberties.&#8221;
Section 702, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nsa-asks-for-reauthorization-of-surveillance-powers-as-republicans-prepare-to-investigate-security-agencies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first implemented</a> in 2008, was renewed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018 even after he <a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-politics-077b8a0f34354149ac2b55ce533f203a">said</a> the power was linked to the widely discredited Steele Dossier that purported to have evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. After initial skepticism, Trump renewed the powers following a discussion with then-House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). 
Intelligence officials have urged lawmakers to renew the powers at the end of the year, but some lawmakers have remained skeptical, especially with concerns over a politicized FBI.

FBI Director Wray Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

FBI Inappropriately Used Spy Powers On U.S. Senator, Court Says

Christopher Wray

FISA

National Intelligence

Surveillance

The Russian Navy is “likely” training combat dolphins to intercept enemy divers in the Black Sea, according to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence">U.K. Ministry of Defence</a>.
The information came in an “<a href="https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1672118745991397376/photo/3">Intelligence Update</a>” from the ministry on Friday, which revealed imagery around the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s main naval base at Sevastopol, Crimea.
“Russia has trained animals for a range of missions, but the ones housed in Sevastopol harbour are highly likely intended to counter enemy divers,” the statement said.
The intelligence gathered by the U.K. showed nets, booms, and marine mammal pens used to defend the base and train dolphins for military purposes. The ministry’s post stated,“This includes at least four layers of nets and booms across the harbour entrance. In recent weeks, these defences have highly likely also been augmented by an increased number of trained marine mammals.”
The U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) reviewed the imagery and <a href="https://news.usni.org/2022/04/27/trained-russian-navy-dolphins-are-protecting-black-sea-naval-base-satellite-photos-show">confirmed</a> the intelligence, concluding that Russia moved the two dolphin pens to Sevastopol in February. According to the USNI, the dolphins could “be tasked with counter-diver operations” and “prevent Ukrainian special operations forces from infiltrating the harbor underwater to sabotage warships.”
The Sevastopol base is the Russian Navy’s most important naval base in Crimea and stores many high value Russian ships. The base is seen as especially vulnerable to Ukrainian sabotage since it is out of range of Ukrainian missiles.
“Imagery shows a near doubling of floating mammal pens in the harbour which highly likely contain bottle-nosed dolphins,” the statement continued. The suspected dolphin training comes alongside heightened security in Sevastopol following Ukrainian drone strikes in April, according to <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/world/2023/06/26/russia-dolphins-ukraine-war-uk/70356695007/">The Tennessean</a>. 
Bottle-nosed dolphins can detect underwater mines and enemy swimmers using echolocation — sounds the dolphin emits and then bounce back to the dolphin. According to the <a href="https://www.niwcpacific.navy.mil/marine-mammal-program/">Naval Information Warfare Center</a>, dolphins have the most sophisticated sonar known to science. 
Russia has previously used Beluga whales and seals in the Arctic Ocean for naval surveillance missions. A Beluga whale made <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56956365">headlines</a> in 2021 when it appeared on the coast of Norway when it appeared to be used for Russian intelligence. Locals nicknamed the whale “Hvaldimir” and freed the whale from its camera-bearing harness.
This isn’t the first time dolphins have been used in a military context. The U.S. studied and trained dolphins and beluga whales to improve their own sonar technology and improve their vessels’ speed, according to “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/navycron.html">A Whale of Business</a>,” a PBS’ episode of “Frontline.”
The Marine Mammal Program (MMP), starting in 1960, “also trained dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions and other marine mammals to perform various underwater tasks, including delivering equipment to divers underwater, locating and retrieving lost objects, guarding boats and submarines, and doing underwater surveillance using a camera held in their mouths.”
According to PBS, the MMP had over 100 dolphins and operated with an $8 million budget in the 1980s, playing a key surveillance role in the Cold War. 
The U.S. Navy used bottlenose dolphins in the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars to patrol waters, alert guards, and tag enemy swimmers with a tracking device so American troops could capture or neutralize the swimmer. Though the Navy denies it, the episode claims that dolphins were also trained to shoot enemy swimmers.

Dolphins in Caribbean Sea water

Russian Navy ‘Likely’ Training Combat Dolphins, UK Defense Ministry Says

Russian Navy 'Likely' Training Combat Dolphins, UK Defense Ministry Says

Dolphin

Russia

U.K.

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Whale

wildlife

Communist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unbelievable-aggression-by-china-house-intel-chairman-responds-to-chinese-military-provocations-against-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> has reached a deal with Cuba to build an electronic eavesdropping base in the island country — around 100 miles off the American coast, U.S. officials <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cuba-to-host-secret-chinese-spy-base-focusing-on-u-s-b2fed0e0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Wall Street Journal. 
The deal, which is reportedly worth billions and has been agreed upon in principle, will allow China to construct a facility that can intercept communications in the southeastern U.S., home to dozens of military bases. The Chinese spy base could also monitor U.S. ship traffic, WSJ reported. 
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he could not speak specifically to the alarming report, but the planned spy base in Cuba has caused alarm within the Biden administration, according to the outlet. Officials said that the Chinese facility would allow Beijing to monitor emails, phone calls, and satellite transmissions through espionage monitoring known as <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/Signals-Intelligence/Overview/#:~:text=SIGINT%20is%20intelligence%20derived%20from,capabilities%2C%20actions%2C%20and%20intentions." target="_blank" rel="noopener">SIGINT</a>. 
“While I cannot speak to this specific report, we are well aware of — and have spoken many times to — the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in this hemisphere,” Kirby said. “We monitor it closely, take steps to counter it, and remain confident that we are able to meet all our security commitments at home, in the region, and around the world.”
The report of a potential Chinese spy operation targeting the U.S. from just outside its borders comes as relations between the two world powers continue to deteriorate. China has raised tensions as it reportedly mulls a plan to take over Taiwan, but the U.S. has stood strong by Taiwan, selling arms and deploying a small number of troops to the island that China claims sovereignty over. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to China to meet with communist dictator Xi Jinping later this month. 
Earlier this week, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unbelievable-aggression-by-china-house-intel-chairman-responds-to-chinese-military-provocations-against-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> recent events have pointed to “unbelievable aggression” from communist China directed at Western nations.
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“Well, what we’re seeing is an unbelievable aggression by China,” Turner told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday. “If you look at the balloon that flew over the United States, the Chinese police stations, the aggressiveness against our both planes and ships in international water, it goes right to the heart of what President Xi said when he stood next to Putin in Russia, where he said, they’re trying to make change that had not happened in 100 years.”
According to some experts, China believes a base in Cuba would level the playing field since the U.S. has a presence in Taiwan off of China’s coast. 
“Establishing this facility signals a new, escalatory phase in China’s broader defense strategy. It’s a bit of a game changer,” Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Journal. “The selection of Cuba is also intentionally provocative.”

Flag-Raising Ceremony At Tiananmen Square On New Year’s Day

China To Build Spy Base In Cuba Focused On Intercepting Communications Within U.S.: Report

Cuba

Military

U.S.

Robert Hanssen, a former FBI agent who turned into a spy for Russia and did significant damage to U.S. national security, was found dead in his prison cell on Monday. He was 79 years old.
&#8220;On Monday, June 5, 2023, at approximately 6:55 am, inmate Robert Hansen was found unresponsive at the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) specifically, the ADX in Florence, Colorado,&#8221; the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. &#8220;Responding staff immediately initiated life-saving measures. Staff requested emergency medical services and life-saving efforts continued. The inmate was subsequently pronounced dead by outside emergency medical personnel.&#8221;
Hanssen was arrested in 2001 and charged with spying for Russia and the former Soviet Union using the alias “Ramon Garcia.” He earned nearly $1.5 million in cash, diamonds, and bank funds for his treasonous actions.
He started spying for Russia in 1985 and the information that he transferred to them using dead drops “compromised numerous human sources, counterintelligence techniques, investigations, dozens of classified U.S. government documents, and technical operations of extraordinary importance and value,” according to the FBI.
The U.S. government eventually caught Hanssen when they secured a Russian document that appeared to identify him as their source. An extensive subsequent investigation caught him red-handed giving classified material to the Russians.
He pled guilty to 15 counts of espionage and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He served his time at the supermax prison in Colorado, which is considered to be the most secure prison in the world.
&#8220;A betrayal of trust by an FBI Agent, who is not only sworn to enforce the law but specifically to help protect our nation&#8217;s security, is particularly abhorrent,&#8221; then-FBI Director Louis J. Freeh said at the time. &#8220;This kind of criminal conduct represents the most traitorous action imaginable against a country governed by the Rule of Law.&#8221;
This is a breaking news story; refresh the page for updates.

FBI Agent Arrested for Spying

Robert Hanssen, Ex-FBI Agent Turned Russian Spy, Found Dead In His Jail Cell

Crime

Politics

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CIA</a> Director William Burns made a covert trip to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> in May in an effort to open up communications with Chinese intelligence leaders in the aftermath of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinese-spy-balloon-collected-intelligence-from-sensitive-military-sites-sent-back-to-beijing-in-real-time-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appearance of a spy balloon</a> over the U.S., according to multiple reports.
A <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/5fdfed4f-7270-455f-ac33-fedbef887423" target="_blank" rel="noopener">source told</a> the Financial Times that Burns&#8217; trip was for the purpose of meeting with intelligence officials and that he did not have any “diplomatic engagements” while in the communist country. 
“Last month, director Burns traveled to Beijing where he met with Chinese counterparts and emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communications in intelligence channels,” a U.S. official said. 
President Joe Biden has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/cia-director-bill-burns-took-secret-trip-china-may-rcna87433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">been seeking</a> a “thaw” in the relationship between the U.S. and China since a Chinese spy balloon was shot down in February off the coast of South Carolina after traveling over the continental U.S. 
Last month, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, met with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Vienna for several hours. But <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/beijing-snubs-u-s-rejects-meeting-between-top-military-officials" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tensions remain</a> as China snubbed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> last weekend, rejecting a request from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-defense">Pentagon</a> for a meeting between the top military officials of Washington and Beijing last weekend.
Prior to Burns’ trip, the top senior official to visit China from the Biden administration occurred in July 2021 when Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visited. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to visit China in February, but his visit was canceled in the wake of the spy balloon controversy. 
The Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-tried-to-conceal-chinese-spy-balloon-to-not-disrupt-blinken-trip-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly knew</a> about the Chinese spy balloon sailing over the U.S. earlier than when it became widely known but kept quiet so as to not disrupt Blinken’s trip.
Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-04/from-china-to-big-sky-the-balloon-that-unnerved-the-white-house?leadSource=uverify%20wall#xj4y7vzkg">reported</a> that U.S. officials were “well aware” that the balloon had crossed into American airspace on January 28 and that it was over Idaho on Tuesday, but decided to not inform the public to not upend Blinken’s diplomatic trip to China. 
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Burns also has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epstein-scheduled-meetings-with-now-cia-director-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">come under fire</a> after newly disclosed records show that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jeffrey-epstein">Jeffrey Epstein</a> scheduled meetings with him in the years after the wealthy and well-connected financier registered as a child sex offender.
Burns, who became President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden&#8217;</a>s CIA director in March 2021, had three meetings scheduled with Epstein in 2014 when Burns was deputy secretary of state, the documents show. The report mentioned a planned lunch in August at a law firm in Washington and two evening appointments in September at Epstein’s townhouse in Manhattan.

Senate Intelligence Committee Hears Testimony On Worldwide Threats To The U.S.

CIA Director Took Secret Visit To China To Meet With Intelligence Officials: Reports

Antony Blinken

Biden Administration

National Security

A male <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/beluga-whale-alleged-be-russian-spy-appears-have-ashe-schow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beluga suspected of being trained to be a Russian spy</a> reappeared off the coast of a yet another country, according to a group that tracks the whale.
Hvaldimir, as the whale is known, swam around <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/norway" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Norway</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isrg8IGi4qs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed up</a> in the waters of neighboring <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sweden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sweden</a> where local authorities are helping to look after the creature, the OneWhale organization <a href="https://www.kron4.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/636386619/sweden-takes-swift-action-upon-arrival-of-world-famous-spy-whale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced in a statement</a> Monday.
“After four years of swimming south down the coast of Norway, Hvaldimir – known worldwide as the ‘Russian spy’ beluga whale – is now in Swedish waters,” the group said.
The whale first made headlines in 2019 when it was spotted in Norwegian waters wearing a harness with GoPro camera mounts and clips that said, &#8220;Equipment off St Petersburg,&#8221; <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/30/europe/russian-spy-whale-sweden-scli-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to CNN</a>.
Norwegian intelligence officials conducted an investigation and told <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65753749" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the BBC</a> the whale was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/norwegians-found-beluga-whale-harness-now-they-ashe-schow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">likely trained by the Russian military</a>. Russia&#8217;s Defense Ministry has denied the existence of programs to train sea mammals for surveillance purposes, even though <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/30/beluga-spy-whale-hvaldimir-sweden-norway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post notes</a> that it published an advertisement several years back seeking to recruit dolphins.
In the years since Hvaldimir showed up in Norwegian waters, the beluga has become a local celebrity. As reported by the BBC, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65753749" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hvaldimir&#8217;s name</a> combines the Norwegian word for whale, &#8220;hval,&#8221; and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
OneWhale <a href="https://www.onewhale.org/home/?_gl=1*us179h*_gcl_au*MTg3MDY0OTEzOC4xNjg1NTU0NjM1#meethvaldimir" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says on its website</a> that Hvaldimir likes to hang around industrial salmon farms, but a &#8220;dramatic&#8221; increase in unregulated tourism aimed at the whale has led to the creature being injured by boat propellers and fishing hooks.
Hvaldimir &#8220;is a friendly, tamed, displaced, formerly captive whale who relies on humans for social interaction. Belugas are highly social whales and he has been living all alone the past four years,&#8221; the group said in its Monday statement.
Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist with OneWhale, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/29/suspected-russia-trained-spy-whale-reappears-off-swedens-coast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Guardian</a> that Hvaldimir, who is believed to be between 13 and 14 years old, is at an age where hormones are &#8220;very high&#8221; and therefore the whale may be searching for other belugas.
Now, according to the OneWhale, there are plans to move the whale north to arctic waters and the group is working with the Norwegian port city of Hammerfest to create a reserve to hold Hvaldimir until he can be released back into a wild beluga population.
“Hvaldimir’s situation remains an extremely vulnerable one as Sweden is a highly populated country, but we are very grateful Swedish authorities have quickly taken action to care for the whale,&#8221; said OneWhale President Rich German.

Beluga whale tale

Suspected Russian Spy Whale Spotted Near Coast Of Sweden

Animals

General

Sweden

World

Documents leaked online show that China has targeted the United States and other countries with up to four other spy balloons, according to a new report. 
Several of the documents that were posted in a Discord channel, allegedly by 21-year-old Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, show that China has repeatedly used spy balloons around the world, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/14/chinese-spy-balloon-leaked-documents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a repor</a>t from the Washington Post. 
One of the additional spy balloons detailed in the document flew over a U.S. carrier strike group with no confrontation, while another balloon crashed into the South China Sea. Information on when these incidents occurred is not certain. 
The documents also reveal new information about the technological capabilities of the widely known spy balloon, known as Killeen-23, that was shot down over the Atlantic in February after passing over much of the continental United States. Details from three balloons are discussed in a document from February 15, just days after Killeen-23 was shot down, by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). In addition to Killeen-23, the other two balloons are known as Bulger-21 and Accardo-21. 
According to the document, Bulger-21 traveled around the world from December 2021 until May 2022 armed with surveillance equipment. It reportedly had a “full motion video payload with a capability to zoom.”
The Post reported that the documents also appear to link Bulger-21 with the Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group, a company sanctioned in connection to the spy balloon incident earlier this year. 
The documents show that Killeen-23 could generate about 10,000 watts of solar power, meaning that it could have operated a synthetic aperture radar giving it the ability to generate images during the night and see through thin layers, according to The Post. 
However, the NGA document also shows that U.S. intelligence did not have a full understanding of Killeen-23. For example, one of the documents says that U.S. analysts had “no imagery collections of the bottom of the Killeen-23 payload to analyze for an optical sensor.”
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This shows that the U.S. did not have an understanding of what exactly the spy balloon was able to survey, but still decided to let it fly all the way from Montana to the coast of South Carolina. 
The documents were from the trove of documents allegedly leaked by Teixeira, who was arrested earlier this week in Massachusetts. Other leaked documents contain information relating to the Russia-Ukraine War, including <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/11/politics/pentagon-documents-ukraine-war-assessment/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggestions</a> that the U.S. believes the war could go on significantly longer.

Chinese spy balloon flying above Charlotte

Leaked Documents Reveal More Chinese Spy Balloon Operations: Report

Balloon

leaks

The Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States earlier this year gathered and reported intelligence from multiple sensitive American military sites despite the Pentagon&#8217;s claims it blocked transmission, according to a new <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/china-spy-balloon-collected-intelligence-us-military-bases-rcna77155" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from NBC News.  
The report, which cites two current American officials and one former administration official, says the balloon was controlled by China, who maneuvered it to make several passes over certain military sites, sometimes in a figure-eight pattern – all while transmitting the gathered data back to Beijing in “real time.” The three officials say the data obtained by China was primarily electronic signals that could be collected from weapons systems or base communications. 
When the National Security Council was pressed for comment from NBC, the news outlet was directed to remarks made in February by the Department of Defense, where officials claimed the balloon had “limited additive value” to the Chinese “over and above what [China] is likely able to collect through things like satellites in low earth orbit.”
Pentagon officials told lawmakers in February that little new intelligence was gathered in the Chinese balloon operation because of U.S. measures to protect sensitive intelligence, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/09/politics/spy-balloon-technology/index.html#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to CNN</a>.
While the balloon was able to traverse the country for a week in late January and early February before being shot down, the officials cited said the communist nation could have gathered even more intelligence if the Biden administration hadn’t taken actions to move potential targets around to disrupt intelligence gathering. 
The State Department previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinese-spy-balloon-passing-over-sensitive-sites-could-collect-communications-state-department-reveals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> the spy balloon had intelligence-gathering capabilities. The balloon flew over Montana, the home of a nuclear missile silo field at Malmstrom Air Force Base. It took a flight path that could have allowed it to collect intelligence at several other sensitive military sites. China claimed it was a civilian airship.
The spy balloon was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on February 4 when the U.S. military used an F-22 Raptor to down the object with a single air-to-air AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.
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General Glen VanHerck, Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), said that the balloon was up to 200 feet tall and weighed “in excess of a couple thousand pounds.”
After the balloon was shot down, the U.S. subsequently downed three more unidentified objects over Alaska, Lake Huron, and Canada.
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this report.

South Carolina Balloon

Chinese Spy Balloon Collected Intel, Sent Back To Beijing In ‘Real Time’ Despite Pentagon Claims: Report

Chinese Spy Balloon Collected Intelligence From Sensitive Military Sites, Sent Back To Beijing In ‘Real Time’: Report 

Global Politics

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> officials expressed shock as they revealed dozens of U.S. government employees are believed to have been targeted by commercial <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/spying" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spyware</a>.
Mobile phones belonging to at least 50 federal employees, some of whom held senior positions, were confirmed or were suspected to have been hit by hacking attacks in 10 foreign countries across multiple continents, government officials told reporters.
&#8220;We were astounded by the number,&#8221; said one senior official, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/27/spyware-diplomats-us-pegasus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a> reported on Monday. The tally, which is higher than previously known publicly, could rise as efforts to examine the vulnerability continue.
In conjunction with the disclosure, President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/27/fact-sheet-president-biden-signs-executive-order-to-prohibit-u-s-government-use-of-commercial-spyware-that-poses-risks-to-national-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled an executive order</a> that seeks to institute rules that restrict federal agencies&#8217; &#8220;operational use&#8221; of commercial spyware that the White House said poses risks to national security or has been misused by foreign actors to enable human rights abuses.
Governments from around the world, including the United States, have purchased from vendors commercial spyware that works to gain access to electronic devices and surreptitiously collect their data. That includes, for instance, the Drug Enforcement Administration using a spyware tool called Graphite created by Israeli firm Paragon, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/08/us/politics/spyware-nso-pegasus-paragon.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The New York Times</a>.
The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/03/business/nso-group-spyware-blacklist.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal government blacklisted</a> another Israeli company, NSO Group, in 2021 over accusations of spyware abuse. The firm developed Pegasus, a mobile phone hacking tool <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/police-tracked-a-terror-suspectuntil-his-phone-went-dark-after-a-facebook-warning-11577996973?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alleged to have been used</a> to monitor journalists, activists, and politicians. Apple notified 11 U.S. Embassy employees in Uganda that their phones were hacked by Pegasus spyware, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/12/03/israel-nso-pegasus-hack-us-diplomats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post reported</a> in December 2021.
An NSO Group executive <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/head-of-israeli-cyber-firm-nso-group-reaffirms-company-commitment-to-spyware-11674738269?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Wall Street Journal</a> in January that it cut ties with 10 customers for allegedly misusing its technology, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/police-tracked-a-terror-suspectuntil-his-phone-went-dark-after-a-facebook-warning-11577996973?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which the company insisted</a> “is only licensed, as a lawful solution, to government intelligence and law-enforcement agencies for the sole purpose of preventing and investigating terror and serious crime.&#8221;
FBI Director Wray told Congress last year that the bureau purchased a license for Pegasus for evaluation <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/27/spyware-diplomats-us-pegasus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">but insisted</a> &#8220;the FBI has not and did not use the NSO products operationally in any investigation.&#8221;
The White House released a fact sheet on Monday that said Biden&#8217;s new order identifies &#8220;concrete remedial steps that commercial spyware vendors can take to reduce identified risks, such as cancelling relevant licensing agreements or contracts that present such risks,&#8221; and directs &#8220;important new reporting and information-sharing requirements within the Executive Branch.&#8221;
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Matthew Duss, a <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/experts/2260" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visiting scholar</a> in the American Statecraft program at the Carnegie Endowment and former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), <a href="https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1640401728964116480" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said he has been</a> &#8220;critical of the Biden administration for falling short on human rights commitments but clamping down on spyware and similar tools of repression is an area where they deserve great credit. This is really strong and welcome.&#8221;
The order precedes the second &#8220;Summit for Democracy,&#8221; which Biden is expected to co-host this week with leaders of other countries. The White House said Biden&#8217;s order will &#8220;serve as a foundation to deepen international cooperation to promote responsible use of surveillance technology, counter the proliferation and misuse of such technology, and spur industry reform.&#8221;

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