Monday, October 31, 2022

Thomas Mautone gers 30 months in federal prison for cheating Oregon senior of $ 1 million

EUGENE, Ore.— Thomas Gerard Mautone, 43, formerly residing in Newark, New Jersey was sentenced Friday  to 30 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for his role in a scheme to deceive and cheat $1 million from an elderly man residing in Roseburg, Oregon. Mautone was also ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to his victim.





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According to court documents and trial testimony, Mautone was one of five individuals who together perpetrated a scheme to convince an elderly man to invest $1 million in a fraudulent high-yield international investment scam. In July 2015, one of Mautone’s co-defendants, Jared Mack, 46, of Utah, made initial contact with the victim to pitch an investment opportunity claiming to produce weekly returns of 20%. Once the victim expressed interest in the purported investment opportunity – and produced evidence he had $1 million to invest – Mack introduced him to Mautone, the supposed connection to investment “platform partner,” and codefendant Olabode Olukanni, 39, of New York.

For several months, Mautone and his co-defendants maintained frequent contact with the victim and repeatedly attempted to assure him, of the investment opportunity’s legitimacy, low risk, and promised returns. Mautone made these false representations despite knowing that others had their money stolen by his supposed Hong Kong investment partner, and despite being convicted only two years earlier of wire fraud for pitching a similar high-yield investment scam in South Carolina. 

In December 2015, the victim wired $1 million to a bank account in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which was controlled by codefendant Rovshan Bahader Oglu Qasimov, 38, of Azerbaijan. Qasimov immediately withdrew the money and used it to purchase gold from a jewelry store in Dubai. The victim never saw his money again, nor did he receive the promised investment returns.

On June 21, 2017, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a six-count indictment charging Mautone, Mack, Olukanni, and Qasimov with wire fraud.

On May 13, 2022, Mautone was convicted at trial by a jury in Eugene.

Mack, Olukanni, and Qasimov all pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the scheme.

Sunday, October 30, 2022

The Taliban of the USA Battles Elon Musk

We live in an age where people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions but demand apologies and  reparations for atrocities they never experienced, from people who never committed them. They like to cancel art, ideas, symbols, language & history they don't agree with - they even cancel names of military bases and main stream media celebrates.  Even CNN published an op-ed by Scott Jennings, June 24, 2021 titled Removing Teddy Roosevelt’s statue is the worst kind of pandering.  Jennings wrote “Monday’s decision by officials in New York City to remove the iconic equestrian statue of Teddy Roosevelt from the front of the American Museum of Natural History (the board of which called for its removal last year) is the worst kind of pandering. Getting rid of the Rough Rider does nothing to advance the cause of racial harmony, but it does serve the goals of those who believe America is an irredeemable, racist nation that must be torn down. When this national statue removal madness started, we were assured advocates were just after the Confederates. Why are we honoring traitors, they asked?’

 

Confederate Leaders Fall Down - then Teddy:  What's Next?

The Intolerant of Tolerance Left – The Taliban of the West

Afghanistan, like many of today’s nations has been  melting pot of cultures that make up the colorfully robust and dynamic foundation of Afghanistan in general and art specifically,  These civilizations include, the empires and kingdoms like the  Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, the Islamic Empire and the Sassanid Empire. Like the empires, Afghanistan's transient and nomadic kingdoms and dynasties that rose to power: Greco-BactriansKushansHephthalitesTurk ShahisSaffaridsSamanidsGhaznavidsGhuridsKartidsTimuridsMughalsHotaki dynasty and Durrani dynasty. They helped shape the development of Afghan art as well as its preservation and destruction. Through 1992, Taliban attacks and looting of the National Museum of Afghanistan resulted in a loss of 70% of the 100,000 artifacts of Afghan culture and History. On orders from Taliban founder Mullah Omar, the  Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed in March 2001, after the Taliban government declared that they were idols.The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th-century monumental statues carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley of Hazarajat region in central Afghanistan. Omar’s edict created a global uproar, including moderate Muslim clerics and heads of state who asked the Taliban to reverse coarse. UNESCO representatives argued for the need to preserve a cultural heritage and to respect religious tolerance. UNESCO, the MET in New York) and  some Buddhist states, such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, offered to buy the Buddhas. To make the destruction more dramatic, journalists were flown to Bamiyan on March 26 to see with their own eyes ground zero, where the statues had stood. Prior to that, on March 19, the Taliban had agreed for this one occasion to let Al-Jazeera cameramen witness the final phase of the demolition.

 


Sad, sad indeed.  The same people who mourned the death of the Buddhas and the destruction of artifacts of Afghan culture and History celebrated the removal of not only Confederate Leaders, but also Teddy Roosevelt.

 

The Taliban of the West’s War on Free Speech

Now the same people are mourning the sale of Twitter to Elon Musk. Writing for Fortune Magazine, Steve Mollman is among the mourners:  Musk has owned Twitter under a week and big names are already leaving the platform, complaining about a hate surge, and calling for tighter regulation "That didn’t take long. It’s been four days since Elon Musk finalized his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, and already he’s facing pushback from celebrities, lawmakers, and advertisers worried about how the


 But we saw this movie before. Steve Herman tweeting for Bloomberg sounds a different alarm.  He tweets: “ A tide of slurs and racists memes swell on #Twitter, sparking concern, the site is entering an era of hateful speech following the takeover by @elonmusk.”  We actually found the opposite to be true: #LinkedIn #Instagram, #Facebook - even #Twitter et al have intensified their attack on free speech since Elon Musk bought Twitter.  Instagram uses USA Today to fact-check a prayer and agrees with Washington Post and NY Times:  Prayer may be hazardous to your health.


Instagram fact-checks a prayer.  Twitter flags Ballot Harvesting Report

 Meanwhile LinkedIn blocks me for posting fact-based information on COVID Vaccinbe,  its censors deem to be misleading. Yet, while Twitter has banned President Trumpand others for life, it continues to allow totalitarian regime representatives, such as Chinese Government Spokesperson Lijian Zhao @zlj517 even though he blamed the CIA for planting the COVID-19 virus!

 



But we have seen this movie before. In April of this year, we thought Musk was undertaking a big challenge, something he recently acknowledge saying he was not doing it for the money or because it was easy, but because it was the right thing to do.  A rhteorhical question we asked at the time was:  Will Musk be able to put Twitter back together again?  Not according to Pew Research:  Big Tech monetizes hate & division.  Covertly leans ProChina & AntiUSA, its algorithms reflect such bias.  In short, Bigh Tech and Twitter are diametrically opposed to Musk’s desire for a free speech digital square free of bots & SNOs & open source algorithms.  According to Musk:  “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated”

 


LinkedIn Blocks my account to to Covid "misinformation"


While not as consequential, Kanye West’s intention to buy the Social Media Platform Parler and President Trump’s Truth Social, with Twitter, make up what we dubbed the Trifecta of Social Media. This trifecta of social media accelerates the need to answer the questions we previously asked;



Accounts blocked by Twitter, still features Lijian Zhao


Will Big Tech transform itself into a free speech digital square using open-source algorithms & stop monetizing hate & division?

If the initial news that Elon Musk had offered to buy Twitter sent mainstream media, Big Tech, China, the DNC et al in a tailspin, how will they react to the Trifecta?

Will Columbia University and the Pulitzer Prize Board, stop giving Pulitzers for Fake News, like they did when they gave Pulitzers to the Washington Post and the New York Times for the Russian Hoax?

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Ho, Hum, US charges 13 CCP agents in three espionage cases: Nothing New


In three separate cases in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey, the Justice Department has charged 13 individuals, including members of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) security and intelligence apparatus and their agents, for alleged efforts to unlawfully exert influence in the United States for the benefit of the government of the PRC.




In the Eastern District of New York, an eight-count indictment was unsealed on Oct. 20 charging seven PRC nationals – two of whom were arrested on Oct. 20 in New York – with participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States. The defendants are accused of conducting surveillance of and engaging in a campaign to harass and coerce a U.S. resident to return to the PRC as part of an international extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt, " which has been going on for years.  Our last report on Operation Fox Hunt was in April.  Also on April of this year FBI Director Christopher Wray finally called out China as an Inside Threat 




You might recall Eric Swalwell and Fang Fang. Or as Fox's Michael Ruiz puts it: Democrats' China connections keep piling up, including representative Eric Swalwell and Barbara Boxer. Senator Ted Cruz told Sunday Morning Futures Maria Bartiromo ” ‘The Democratic Party today is funded by Big Tech and giant corporations which are in bed with Chinese communists’”
In February of this year, FBI Director Christopher Wray felt compelled to call out LinkedIn when discussing the Chinese threat: “Now, as an aside, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that we see an awful lot of Chinese intelligence outreach on social media, especially on LinkedIn." In March five defendants were charged with various crimes related to efforts by the Chinese secret police to stalk, harass and spy on Chinese nationals residing in Queens, New York, and elsewhere in the United States. On April 27, 2022, FBI Director Christopher Wray illustrated the extent of the Chinese threat, saying that of the 56 field offices the FBI has across the country, every single one has cases on the Chinese government’s attempts to steal U.S.-based information and technology, use intelligence officers, hackers, front companies, seemingly benign joint ventures or research partnerships and recruiting employees who use their legitimate access to steal corporate secrets, what we all refer to as “insider threats. in May Chemist Dr. Xiaorong You for conspiracy to steal trade secrets, economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, and wire fraud and five indicted on charges related to CCP spying on Chinese nationals in US and abroad
But if you believe Mainstream Media, This is due to a Biden initiative. According to Politico "The Biden administration is intensifying its efforts to put the spotlight on alleged covert operations by the Chinese government in the United States, unveiling a trio of criminal cases on Monday that included one in which Chinese operatives were accused of attempting to pay bribes for inside information about the high-profile prosecution of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei." This story, like the mainstream media pouncing on the Election Integrity narrative with vanilla headlines and without asking a single question looks more like PR:  While we have been urging the FBI to address the insidious Inside Threat for years, both mainstream media and law enforcement seem to ignore it.



Back to today's news:  criminal complaint was unsealed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn charging two People’s PRC intelligence officers with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of New York. The defendants remain at large.

In the District of New Jersey, an indictment was unsealed today charging four Chinese nationals, including three Ministry of State Security (MSS) intelligence officers, in connection with a long-running intelligence campaign targeting individuals in the United States to act as agents of the PRC

United States v. Quanzhong An, et al., Eastern District of New York

An eight-count indictment was unsealed on Oct. 20 in Brooklyn charging a total of seven nationals of the PRC – Quanzhong An, 55, of Roslyn, New York; Guangyang An, 34, of Roslyn, New York; Tian Peng, 38, of the PRC; Chenghua Chen of the PRC; Chunde Ming of the PRC; Xuexin Hou, 52, of the PRC; and Weidong Yuan, 55, of the PRC – with participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States. The lead defendant, Quanzhong An, allegedly acted at the direction and under the control of various officials with the PRC’s government’s Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection (Provincial Commission) – including Peng, Chen, Ming, and Hou – to conduct surveillance of and engage in a campaign to harass and coerce a U.S. resident to return to the PRC as part of an international extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”

Quanzhong An and Guangyang An were arrested on Thursday and were arraigned that afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr. The remaining defendants remain at large.

As alleged in the indictment, the defendants participated in an international campaign to threaten and intimidate John Doe-1, a resident of United States, and his family to force John Doe-1 to return to the PRC. These efforts were part of “Operation Fox Hunt,” an initiative by the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security to locate and repatriate alleged fugitives who flee to foreign countries, including the United States. The PRC government has targeted these alleged fugitives and their families to compel cooperation with the PRC government and self-repatriation to the PRC. The PRC government has taken such law enforcement actions on U.S. soil in a unilateral manner without approval, of or coordination with the U.S. government.

Quanzhong An, who is a businessman operating in Queens, New York, and the majority shareholder of a hotel in Flushing, acted as the primary U.S.-based liaison for the Provincial Commission’s targeting of John Doe-1 and his family members, including his son, John Doe-2, both in the United States and in the PRC. As part of the scheme, various PRC-based conspirators forced a relative in the PRC (John Doe-3) to travel from the PRC to the United States in September 2018 to meet with John Doe-2 and convey threats that were intended to coerce John Doe-1’s return to the PRC. Yuan – John Doe-3’s superior at the PRC’s State Administration of Taxation – escorted John Doe-3 from the PRC to the United States, under the guise of a visit with a tour group.

PRC-based defendants and coconspirators also engaged in a pattern of harassment targeting John Doe-1’s family members. In November 2017, Hou wrote John Doe-2 warning him that “coming back and turning yourself in is the only way out.” Hou further threatened that “avoidance and wishful thinking will only result in severe legal punishments.” The PRC government also harassed John Doe-1 and John Doe-2 through the filing of a lawsuit in New York State court, alleging that John Doe-1 had stolen funds from his former PRC based employer and that John Doe-2 had knowledge of and benefitted from his father’s scheme.

In a series of recorded meetings in 2020, 2021, and 2022, Quanzhong An repeatedly met with John Doe-2 and attempted to persuade John Doe-2 to cause the return of John Doe-1 to the PRC. In these meetings, Quanzhong An acknowledged that he is a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which enforces the rules and regulations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) abroad. At various times, he attributed his instructions to Chen, Ming, and Peng and acknowledged that the Fox Hunt operation was motivated by the PRC government’s need to “save their faces” and repatriate as many fugitives as possible.

Quanzhong An admitted that he was acting as an agent of the Provincial Commission to increase his standing in the PRC. During his meetings with John Doe-2, Quanzhong An repeatedly transmitted threats on behalf of the PRC government. If John Doe-1 did not return, the PRC government would “keep pestering you, [and] make your daily life uncomfortable,” in addition to actions to “target and monitor” John Doe-1’s relatives in the PRC. On another occasion, he stated that “they will definitely find new ways to bother you” and “it is definitely true that all of your relatives will be involved.”

As set forth in the detention memorandum, Quanzhong An met with John Doe-2 again on Sept. 29, 2022. During this meeting, Quanzhong An pressed for John Doe-1 to execute an agreement to return to the PRC in advance of the CCP’s 20th National Congress, which began on Oct. 16, 2022. As part

United States v. Dong He, et al., Eastern District of New York

criminal complaint was unsealed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn charging two People’s Republic of China (PRC) intelligence officers with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of New York. The defendants remain at large.

According to court documents, Dong He, aka Guochun He and aka Jacky He, and Zheng Wang, aka Zen Wang, allegedly orchestrated a scheme to steal files and other information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to the ongoing federal criminal investigation and prosecution of a global telecommunications company (Company-1) based in the PRC, including by paying a $41,000 Bitcoin bribe to a U.S. government employee who the defendants believed had been recruited to work for the PRC, but who in fact was a double agent working on behalf of the FBI.

Dong He and Zheng Wang are charged with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution of Company-1 in federal district court in the Eastern District of New York. Defendant He also is charged with money laundering based upon a bribe payment of $41,000 in Bitcoin made in furtherance of the scheme.

According to the complaint, the defendants are PRC intelligence officers conducting foreign intelligence operations targeting the United States, on behalf of the PRC government and for the benefit of Company-1. Starting in 2019, they directed an employee at a U.S. government law enforcement agency (GE-1), whom they believed they had recruited as an asset, to steal confidential information about the criminal prosecution of Company-1 in order to interfere with that prosecution. In actuality, GE-1 was working as a double agent on behalf of the FBI.

In September 2021, the defendants tasked GE-1 with reporting about meetings that GE-1 was purportedly having with prosecutors in Brooklyn at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. In written communications, the defendants said they were particularly interested in knowing which Company-1 employees had been interviewed by the government and in obtaining a description of the prosecutors’ evidence, witness list and trial strategy.

In October 2021, GE-1 used an encrypted messaging program to send the defendants a single page from a purported internal strategy memorandum from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York regarding the Company-1 case. The document appeared to be classified as “SECRET” and to discuss a plan to charge and arrest two current Company-1 employees living in the PRC. Dong He responded that the document was “exactly what I am waiting for” and that he was “waiting for the feedback from some guys” about whether there were any questions about the document. Dong He then paid GE-1 approximately $41,000 in Bitcoin for stealing that document.

GE-1 also asked the defendants for any feedback about the “SECRET” document. In November 2021, Dong He stated that “[Company-1] didn’t give me specifically feedback now yet, but they are obviously interested in it, and my boss and they need further information.” Dong He further told GE-1 that “[Company-1] obviously will be interested” in GE-1 stealing another part of the strategy memorandum, and “maybe will offer more” for that information. In December 2021, in response to a further request by GE-1 for feedback or guidance from Company-1 about “what they want me to get,” Dong He explained that “they didn’t give me any positive feedback yet and demanded to communicate with you directly.” Dong He said that he refused Company-1’s request to speak directly to GE-1 because “it’s too dangerous.

United States v. Wang Lin et al., District of New Jersey

federal indictment was unsealed Monday charging four Chinese nationals, including three Ministry of State Security (MSS) intelligence officers, in connection with a long-running intelligence campaign targeting individuals in the United States to act as agents of the PRC.

As alleged in the indictment, from at least 2008 to 2018, Wang Lin, 59; Bi Hongwei, age unknown; Dong Ting, aka Chelsea Dong, 40; Wang Qiang, 55, and others engaged in a wide-ranging and systematic effort to target and recruit individuals to act on behalf of the PRC in the United States with requests to provide information, materials, equipment, and assistance to the Chinese government in ways that would further China’s intelligence objectives. These recruitment efforts included targeting professors at universities, a former federal law enforcement and state homeland security official, and others to act on behalf of, and as agents of, the Chinese government.

As part of the conspiracy, MSS intelligence officers Wang Lin, Dong Ting, and others used a purported academic institute at Ocean University of China – referred to as the Institute for International Studies (IIS) – as cover for their clandestine intelligence activities. Acting under cover as the purported director of the IIS, Wang Lin, in coordination with other MSS operatives operating under the guise of academics at the IIS, targeted professors at American universities and others in the United States with access to sensitive information and equipment.

According to the indictment unsealed today, MSS intelligence officers Wang Lin, Bi, Dong, and others, acting for and on behalf of the MSS and the Chinese government, systematically targeted United States persons, including but not limited to a coconspirator who was a resident of the state of New Jersey and a second individual who was a former federal law enforcement officer and state homeland security official and a professor at an American university.

Among other things, the conspiracy targeted the second individual by inviting the individual in 2008 and 2018 on all-expenses-paid trips to China sponsored by the IIS. During those trips, Wang Lin, Dong, and others sought to recruit this individual as a human source, requesting that the individual provide sensitive fingerprint technology, information, and assistance with stopping planned protests along the 2008 Olympic Games torch route in the United States, which the conspirators expressed would be “embarrassing” to China. The individual also was requested to sign a contract for purported consulting services with a Chinese company whose “core value” was the “national interest and national security” of China, with an objective to “protect the national interest and Chinese enterprises’ overseas interest[s]” and to “build sources and channels to collect security information.” Recognizing Wang Lin, Dong, and others as Chinese intelligence officers, the individual refused these requests and reported them to law enforcement.

The conspiracy also targeted the coconspirator in New Jersey by tasking the coconspirator to take specific action in the United States in furtherance of the MSS’ intelligence objective. Wang Qiang coordinated a meeting in 2016 between the coconspirator, Wang Lin, and Bi Hongwei in the Bahamas, at which time MSS intelligence officers Wang Lin and Bi directed the coconspirator to obtain U.S. currency and provide it to a designated individual in New Jersey. The coconspirator returned to New Jersey and did as Wang Lin and BI instructed. Wang Qiang then visited the coconspirator in New Jersey, at which time Wang Qiang and the coconspirator discussed in detail their and others’ activities taken on behalf of the Chinese government in the United States.

Lin, Bi, Dong and Qiang, all are nationals and residents of the People’s Republic of China. They each are charged in the indictment with conspiracy to act in the United States as agents of a foreign government, namely, the People’s Republic of China, without prior notification to the Attorney General of the United States, as required by law, and to direct such unlawful action by others in the United States. The conspiracy charge carries a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000

Thursday, October 20, 2022

U.S. Attorney Announces District Election Officers for Western District of Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh announced today Assistant United States Attorneys Lena Busscher in the Abingdon Division, Michael Baudinet in the Roanoke Division, and Ronald M. Huber in the Charlottesville Division have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEO) for the Western District of Virginia. in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022 general election.






In that capacity, these AUSAs are responsible for overseeing their Districts’ handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

While The CotoBuzz Journal welcomes the DOJ's nationwide Election Day Program, TCBJ continues to urge DOJ/FBI to guard against the Inside Threat, which by our estimation is a higher risk vulnerability. Insiders include The United Postal Service Workers, IT workers, Electoral Registration Forms Officials, and so on. If not monitored properly, can create the most damage. We also urge the DOJ to  adopt a new security paradigm:  The Higher the Trust Level, The Lower the Trust - in this case. The AUSAs work would be closely scrutinized






U.S. Attorneys Announce District Election Officers for Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s United States Attorneys, Gregory J. Haanstad of the Eastern District and Timothy M. O’Shea of the Western District, announced today that four Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) will lead their offices’ efforts in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the November 8, 2022, general election. 





AUSAs Christopher Ladwig and Philip Kovoor have been appointed to serve as District Election Officers (DEOs) for the Eastern District, and AUSAs Daniel Graber and Meredith Duchemin have been appointed to serve as DEOs for the Western District.  In that capacity, these AUSAs are responsible for overseeing their Districts’ handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.



While The CotoBuzz Journal welcomes the DOJ's nationwide Election Day Program, TCBJ continues to urge DOJ/FBI to guard against the Inside Threat, which by our estimation is a higher risk vulnerability. Insiders include The United Postal Service Workers, IT workers, Electoral Registration Forms Officials, and so on. If not monitored properly, can create the most damage. We also urge the DOJ to  adopt a new security paradigm:  The Higher the Trust Level, The Lower the Trust - in this case. The AUSAs work would be closely scrutinized

DOJ Appoints AUSA Boone to Lead Eastern District of Kentucky Election Day Program

 US Attorney Carlton S. Shier, IV announced today that Assistant US Attorney (AUSA) Andy Boone will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program, for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election. 




AUSA Boone. as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Eastern District of Kentucky,  is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

While The CotoBuzz Journal welcomes the DOJ's nationwide Election Day Program. TCBJ continues to urge DOJ/FBI to guard against the Inside Threat, which by our estimation is a higher risk vulnerability. Insiders include The United Postal Service Workers , IT workers, Electoral Registration Forms Officials, and so on. If not monitored properly, can create the most damage. We also urge the DOJ to  adopt a new security paradigm:  The Higher the Trust Level, The Lower the Trust - in this case. Boone's work would be closely scrutinized.







DOJ Appoints AUSA Osborn to Lead District of Maine Election Day Program

PORTLAND, Maine: U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) John Osborn will lead the efforts of her office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022 general election.



AUSA Osborn, as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Maine, is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department headquarters in Washington.


While The CotoBuzz Journal welcomes the DOJ's nationwide Election Day Program, TCBJ continues to urge DOJ/FBI to guard against the Inside Threat, which by our estimation is a higher risk vulnerability. Insiders include The United Postal Service Workers , IT workers, Electoral Registration Forms Officials, and so on. If not monitored properly, can create the most damage. We also urge the DOJ to  adopt a new security paradigm:  The Higher the Trust Level, The L9Kower the Trust - in this case. Osborn's work would be closely scrutinized.

DOJ"s Newman to lead District of Montana's Election Day Program

HELENA – US Attorney Jesse Laslovich announced today that Assistant US Attorney JohnNewman will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the DOJ's nationwide Election Day Program, November 8, 2022,


Newman, as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Montana is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with DOJ Headquarters in Washington.




TCBJ continues to urge DOJ/FBI to guard against the Inside Threat
where insiders include The United Postal Service Workers to, IT workers, Electoral Registration Forms Officials, since if not monitored properly, can create the most damage. We also urge the DOJ to  adopt a new security Paradigm:  The Higher the Trust Level, The Lower the Trust - in this case. Newman's work would be closely scrutinized.



Wednesday, October 19, 2022

The DOJ/FBI Expands the Election Integrity Narrative With 2022 Election Day Program - Inside Threat Not Addressed

 You might recall that last week, the FBI warned, and mainstream media quickly jumped on it,  about threats against election workers, volunteers & officials, because according to the FBI, free and fair elections are the cornerstone of American democracy. Individuals who oversee and participate in the administration of elections, including poll workers, volunteers, and election officers, help safeguard the integrity of the democratic process.  Specific examples of election workers identified by the DOJ in the warning, it includes:

  • A Secretary of State or someone in their staff
  • An employee of a state or county’s board of elections
  • An individual volunteering at polling stations
  • Clerks handling and counting casted ballots


And according to the Department of Justice, the DOJ in close partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, established the Threats to Election Workers Task Force (Task Force) to identify, mitigate, and investigate reports of threats targeting election workers. The Task Force receives and assesses reports of threats targeting election workers to determine next steps, in consultation with the Department of Justice.  

While the mainstream media pounced on the Election Integrity narrative with vanilla headlines and without asking a single question.  At first it appeared there were no takers.  As the day progressed, the media did pick up the story with the headlines designed to provide what their audience wanted to hear:  Like WVNCTV “Program ready to stop Fraud, protect rights.” Or KCRG’s “Election Day Program Seeks to Thwart Voting Discrimination and Intimidation.”  On closer examination, we noticed that the press releases coming from the Department of Justice announcing the Election Day Program all had similar headlines: United States Attorney Announces Election Day Program, except that the one coming out from the Southern District of West Virginia reads as follows: United States Attorney's Office Implements Election Day Program to Stop Fraud and Protect Voting Rights. Why only Virginia?

 We faulted last week’s FBI's  warnings for not addressing the higher risk vulnerability:  The Inside Threat


Vanilla Headlines

Today’s 2022 Election Day Program advances the narrative, and still falls short. as it states that the DOJ  has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud.  The Department will address these violations wherever they occur.  The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process. Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice.  


Election Day Program Headlines


As the DOJ seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process, we get the news that no one involved on the Dirty Russia Dossie designed to interfere with the 2016 elections has been held to account. Just yesterday, IgorDanchenko accused of lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of the dossier was acquired. The third case brought by Special Counsel John Durham as part of his probe into how the FBI conducted its own investigation into allegations of collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Recall the FBI offered Christopher Steele $1 million to prove the dossier claims. Then there is the FBI's tone deaf Trust In Me Public Service Announcement.




 “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson.  He added  “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy,” Thompson said. “We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.  In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA Goes will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at

In case of a crime of violence or intimidation, you are advised to call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

As we like to say often, A Security professional’s worse nightmare is Insiders with Motive. Insiders with Motive have #MOM – Motive, Opportunity & Means to commit any crime, including voter fraud, A motive can be money, power, revenge, jealousy, political partisanship and so on. Earlier this year the FBI issued a warning titled “Mitigating Threats Posed by Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Actors’ Exploitation of Default Multifactor Authentication Protocol and “PrintNightmare” Vulnerability” encouraging all organizations to take enable, enforce, and properly configure MFA as well as prioritize patching of known exploited vulnerabilities. Yet Dr. Anna Gabrielian, Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, and Major Jamie Lee Henry, US Army, Fort Bragg, NC., were indicted for trying to provide medical information about U.S. military members to the Russian Federation.  The takeaway is that anyone in the election process, from United Postal Service Workers to, IT workers, Electoral Registration Forms Officials, if not monitored properly, can create the most damage and we do not see the DOJ/FBI actively protect against this threat.

 

 Related



Exhibit A:  Corporate Greed & Inside Threat


US software gives #China its hypersonic edge

Investigative report shows how US software firms put profit before security by selling China #hypersonicweapon test tools


https://asiatimes.com/2022/10/us-software-gives-china-its-hypersonic-edge/
Exhibit A: Inside Threat The Agency’s carelessness in protecting its own agents reveals the cynicism of the US government’s treatment of whistleblowers



https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/10/18/the-cias-hypocrisy-on-sources-and-methods/







It’s been two years since 51 intelligence agents interfered with an election — they still won’t apologize



https://nypost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/nypost.com/2022/10/19/its-been-two-years-since-51-intelligence-agents-interfered-with-an-election-they-still-wont-apologize/amp/