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Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and media commentator, is appointed Deputy Director of FBI by President Trump, joining new leadership with Kash Patel as FBI Director.

Dan Bongino Appointed Deputy FBI Director

Trump names Dan Bongino as deputy director of FBI

Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and media commentator, is appointed Deputy Director of FBI by President Trump, joining new leadership with Kash Patel as FBI Director.

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday evening that Dan Bongino, a well-known conservative commentator and former Secret Service agent, has been appointed as the Deputy Director of the FBI.
Trump made the announcement via Truth Social, expressing his confidence in Bongino and the new FBI leadership.
Bongino, 50, has a background in law enforcement, having served as an NYPD officer and a Secret Service special agent. He later transitioned to a media career, previously hosting "Unfiltered" on Fox News before parting ways with the network in 2023.
Despite his success in media, which includes hosting "The Dan Bongino Show" podcast, Bongino has decided to step back into public service, ending his podcast to take on his new role.
President Trump praised the leadership team, including newly appointed FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, expressing optimism in restoring "Fairness, Justice, Law and Order" in the United States.&nbsp;
Kash Patel, who has been a vocal critic of the FBI prior to his appointment, was confirmed by the Senate with a narrow 51-49 vote and began his 10-year term as FBI Director on Friday.
Bongino, responding to his appointment, extended his gratitude to President Trump and the new leadership team on social media platform X.&nbsp;
In addition to his law enforcement career, Bongino has academic ties to New York City, holding a master&rsquo;s degree in psychology from the City University of New York, as highlighted by President Trump.

Patel, expressing gratitude for the role, has committed to transforming the agency into one that prioritizes transparency, accountability, and justice.

Kash Patel Confirmed as FBI Director

Kash Patel confirmed as FBI director in senate vote

Patel, expressing gratitude for the role, has committed to transforming the agency into one that prioritizes transparency, accountability, and justice.

Indian-origin Kash Patel has been confirmed as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), following a Senate vote on Thursday.
Patel, expressing gratitude for the role, has committed to transforming the agency into one that prioritizes transparency, accountability, and justice.
In his remarks, Patel thanked former President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi for their support, highlighting his dedication to rebuilding public trust in the FBI. In a post shared on X, he stated, "I am honoured to be confirmed as the ninth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Thank you to President Trump and Attorney General Bondi for your unwavering confidence and support."
Patel reflected on the FBI's legacy, mentioning iconic "G-Men" figures and the agency's critical role post-9/11. He acknowledged the challenge of depoliticizing the justice system, which, he noted, has undermined public confidence, and declared his commitment to addressing these issues.
He affirmed his intention to restore the FBI's standing, along with the dedication of its workforce, saying, "Working alongside the dedicated men and women of the Bureau and our partners, we will rebuild an FBI the American people can be proud of. And to those who seek to harm Americans&mdash;consider this your warning. We will hunt you down in every corner of this planet. Mission First. America Always. Let's get to work."
Patel's confirmation, reported by NBC News, marked a contentious vote. Despite opposition from Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, the rest of the party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell&mdash;who has previously opposed other Trump nominees&mdash;supported him. The Senate confirmed Patel with a narrow 51-49 vote, with all Senate Democrats voting against the nomination.

America recorded a nearly 12% increase in hate crimes in 2021.

USA hate crimes: FBI reveals big spike in 2021. Watch what report said

America recorded a nearly 12% increase in hate crimes in 2021.

USA's premier investigation agency FBI on 13 March 2023 released data which showed a spike in the number of hate crimes in the country in 2021.
America recorded a nearly 12% increase in hate crimes in 2021. 64.5% of the victims were targeted due to their race, ethnicity or ancestry. 16% were targeted over their sexual orientation, while 14% of cases involved religious bias, according to the FBI report.
The nearly 12 per cent increase marks a reversal of a previous, incomplete report from the agency that appeared to show a drop but was missing data from some of the nation's largest cities, including New York and Los Angeles.
The hate crime numbers now include those and other large departments, and the total is the highest level in decades, said Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate &amp; Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino.
&ldquo;We are in a unique and disturbing era where hate crimes overall stay elevated for longer punctuated by broken records,&rdquo; he said.
(With agency inputs)
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China dismisses FBI statement on COVID-19 lab leak theory

'US politicising coronavirus origin': China dismisses FBI's 'lab leak' theory

In a second rebuttal to US's allegations, a Chinese official urged the US to "respect science and facts saying that rehashing lab leak theory will only hurt Washington's credibility

For the second day in a row, China on Wednesday dismissed U.S. suggestions that the COVID-19 pandemic may have been triggered by a virus that leaked from a Chinese laboratory.
Responding to comments by FBI Director Christopher Wray, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the involvement of the U.S. intelligence community was evidence enough of the &ldquo;politicisation of origin tracing.&rdquo; &ldquo;By rehashing the lab-leak theory, the U.S. will not succeed in discrediting China, and instead, it will only hurt its own credibility,&rdquo; Mao said.
&ldquo;We urge the U.S. to respect science and facts ... stop turning origin tracing into something about politics and intelligence, and stop disrupting social solidarity and origins cooperation,&rdquo; she said.
In an interview with Fox News that aired Tuesday, Wray said, &ldquo;The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in (central China's) Wuhan.&rdquo; &ldquo;Here you are talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab,&rdquo; Wray said.
Referring to efforts to trace the origin of the coronavirus, he added, &ldquo;I will just make the observation that the Chinese government, it seems to me, has been doing its best to try to thwart and obfuscate the work here, the work that we're doing, the work that our U.S. government and close foreign partners are doing. And that's unfortunate for everybody.&rdquo; On Tuesday, Mao pushed back at a report from the U.S. Department of Energy that assessed with &ldquo;low confidence&rdquo; that the virus that was first detected in Wuhan in late 2019 leaked from a nearby government laboratory.
The report hasn't been made public and officials in Washington stressed that U.S. agencies are not in agreement on the origin of the virus.
Mao on Tuesday insisted that China has been &ldquo;open and transparent&rdquo; in the search for the virus' origins and has &ldquo;shared the most data and research results on virus tracing and made important contributions to global virus tracing research.&rdquo; A World Health Organisation expert group said last year that &ldquo;key pieces of data&rdquo; to explain how the pandemic began were still missing.
The scientists cited avenues of research that were needed, including studies evaluating the role of wild animals and environmental studies in places where the virus might have first spread.
The Associated Press has previously reported that the Chinese government was strictly controlling research into the origin of the pandemic that has killed more than 6.8 million people worldwide, clamping down on some work and promoting fringe theories that it could have come from outside the country.
Some scientists are open to the lab-leak theory, but many scientists believe the virus came from animals, mutated, and jumped to people, as has happened with other viruses in the past.
Experts say the origin of the pandemic may not be known for many years &mdash; if ever.&nbsp;
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The FBI agents did take some handwritten notes and other materials relating to Biden's time as vice president for review, as per reports.

No classified documents found during FBI search at Joe Biden's home, claims Biden's attorney

The FBI agents took some handwritten notes and other materials relating to Biden's time as vice president for review, as per reports.

The White House Counsel's office says the FBI searched President Joe Biden's vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Wednesday without finding any classified documents. Agents did take some handwritten notes and other materials relating to Biden's time as vice president for review.
The search, disclosed by Biden's personal lawyer, was the latest discomfiting moment for a president who has sought to contrast his sensitivity to rule-following with that of his predecessor Donald Trump, who faces a criminal investigation into his handling of classified documents.
Wednesday's search, the third for a Biden home or office, was an extraordinary development for a sitting president, and made clear that an investigation that had simmered quietly for weeks was continuing rather than fading away as Biden, who has said he was surprised by an earlier records discovery, presumably hoped.
Biden's attorney, Bob Bauer, said FBI agents spent three and a half hours searching the home and that, "No documents with classified markings were found."
A spokesman for the White House Counsel's office, Ian Sams, defended the administration's public response, which has been delayed and uneven.
"I think we've been pretty transparent from the very beginning," he said. "We want to be careful to be very respectful of the integrity of that ongoing investigation."
Sams reiterated that Biden was working with Justice investigators.
"The president has been fully cooperative in offering unprecedented access to his home... every single room of his home in Rehoboth as well as the one in Wilmington," he said.
Biden's attorneys revealed last month that they had undertaken their search of the home without turning up classified materials. The fact the FBI did its own search reflected the Justice Department's determination to retrieve any and all possible classified items rather than rely on assurances that such documents had been located.
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In a statement disclosing the search, Bauer sought to portray the president and his team as fully transparent and cooperative. He described the search as "planned" and "a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate."
He did not mention Trump by name, but the statement seemed aimed at juxtaposing the Biden investigation with the Trump case, where months of fruitless Justice Department efforts to recover all the classified records taken to the former president's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, culminated in an August search warrant and the removal of nearly three dozen boxes of documents and other items.
Searches of Biden's former office and Delaware homes, by contrast, have all been done voluntarily and without a warrant.
The latest search follows the FBI's 13-hour, top-to-bottom check of his Wilmington, Delaware, home, where agents located documents with classified markings from his time as a vice president and senator and also took possession of some of his handwritten notes.
One week earlier, Biden's personal lawyers revealed that they had found a document bearing classified markings while searching the Wilmington property but said they had not found others during a separate inspection of the Rehoboth Beach home.
The White House did not disclose the Justice Department's investigation until last month, when it acknowledged the Nov. 2 discovery of a "small number" of classified documents by Biden lawyers as they closed an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank affiliated with the Ivy League school.
Though officials did not say so at the time, The Associated Press and other news organizations reported on Tuesday that the FBI had conducted a voluntary search of that office later in November.

FBI searches Joe Biden's Delaware home, more classified documents found

The president and first lady Jill Biden were not at the home when it was searched.&nbsp;

The FBI searched President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware and located six additional documents containing classified markings and also took possession of some of his notes, the president's lawyer said.
The documents taken by the FBI on Friday spanned Biden's time in the Senate and the vice presidency, while the notes dated to his time as vice president, said Bob Bauer, the president's personal lawyer, on Saturday.
He added that the search of the entire premises lasted nearly 13 hours. The level of classification, and whether the documents removed by the FBI remained classified, was not immediately clear as the Justice Department reviews the records.
"We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place," Biden told reporters Thursday in California. "We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department." Biden added that he was "fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly".
The president and first lady Jill Biden were not at the home when it was searched. They were spending the weekend at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
It remains to be seen whether additional searches by federal officials of other locations might be conducted. Biden's personal attorneys previously conducted a search of the Rehoboth Beach residence and said they did not find any official documents or classified records.
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The FBI chief said that China can use its AI advancements for greater hacking, intellectual property theft, and repression of dissidents.

'Oh god, they can do...': On China's artificial intelligence programme, FBI chief's reaction at Davos WEF

The FBI chief said that China can use its AI advancements for greater hacking, intellectual property theft, and repression of dissidents.

The chief of USA's premier probe agency on 19 January 2023 expressed "deep concern" about the Chinese government's artificial intelligence programme.
Christopher Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that Beijing's AI programme was "not constrained by rule of law". He added that it was "built on top of massive troves of intellectual property and sensitive data that they've stolen over the years".
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the FBI chief said that China can use its AI advancements for greater hacking, intellectual property theft, and repression of dissidents.
More broadly, he said, "AI is a classic example of a technology where I have the same reaction every time. I think, Wow, We can do that?' And then I think, Oh god, they can do that.'"
Such concerns have long been voiced by US officials. In October 2021, for instance, US counterintelligence officials issued warnings about China's ambitions in AI as part of a renewed effort to inform business executives, academics and local and state government officials about the risks of accepting Chinese investment or expertise in key industries.
(With agency inputs)
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&nbsp;

Former President Donald Trump talked politics in a phone call to a rally for a Republican senatorial candidate in Connecticut Monday evening.
Trump did not mention the raid on his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, by the FBI.
In a lengthy statement Monday, Trump said that the FBI was conducting a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and asserted that agents had broken open a safe.
The circumstances of the search were not immediately clear, though the Justice Department has been actively investigating the discovery of classified information in boxes of records that were taken to Trump's Florida residence after he left the White House.
The action marks a dramatic escalation in law enforcement scrutiny of Trump and comes as he has been laying the groundwork to make another bid for president.
"After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate," Trump said in his statement.
Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson declined to comment on the search, including about whether Attorney General Merrick Garland had personally authorized the search.
The discovery of classified information at Mar-a-Lago was referred to the Justice Department by the National Archives and Records Administration, which said it had found classified material in 15 boxes at the residence.
Federal law bars the removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations, though it is possible that Trump could try to argue that, as president, he was the ultimate declassification authority.

Donald Trump: FBI conducting search of my Mar-a-Lago home in Florida

The 45th US President released a lengthy statement on Monday, where he declared his Florida home was &ldquo;under siege&rdquo;.

Former President Donald Trump talked politics in a phone call to a rally for a Republican senatorial candidate in Connecticut Monday evening.
Trump did not mention the raid on his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, by the FBI.
In a lengthy statement Monday, Trump said that the FBI was conducting a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and asserted that agents had broken open a safe.
The circumstances of the search were not immediately clear, though the Justice Department has been actively investigating the discovery of classified information in boxes of records that were taken to Trump's Florida residence after he left the White House.
The action marks a dramatic escalation in law enforcement scrutiny of Trump and comes as he has been laying the groundwork to make another bid for president.
"After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate," Trump said in his statement.
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Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson declined to comment on the search, including about whether Attorney General Merrick Garland had personally authorized the search.
The discovery of classified information at Mar-a-Lago was referred to the Justice Department by the National Archives and Records Administration, which said it had found classified material in 15 boxes at the residence.
Federal law bars the removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations, though it is possible that Trump could try to argue that, as president, he was the ultimate declassification authority.

A college staff member was injured late Tuesday night after a suspicious package exploded while being opened on the campus of Boston's Northeastern University. 
According to authorities, the Boston's bomb squad neutralised another parcel near the city's Museum of Fine Arts, situated on the outskirts of the university campus.  They further added that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is assisting with the investigations 
The package that blew up was one of the two that were reported to police earlier in the evening. 
An NBC Boston report states that the package was delivered to Holmes Hall close to 7 PM, detonating when it was being opened. 
The Boston Bomb Squad, police and fire departments were quick to respond and help in evacuating the building, the report added. (with AP inputs) Also Watch| US: pilot threatening to crash into Walmart arrested after landing

One injured after unidentified package explodes in Boston university; FBI involved in probe 

The one that blew up was one of the two that were reported to police earlier in the evening. 

The package that blew up was one of the two that were reported to police earlier in the evening.&nbsp;

A college staff member was injured late Tuesday night after a suspicious package exploded while being opened on the campus of Boston's Northeastern University.&nbsp;
The package that blew up was one of the two that were reported to police earlier in the evening.&nbsp;
An NBC Boston report states that the package was delivered to Holmes Hall on campus, close to 7 PM, detonating when it was being opened.&nbsp;
The Boston Bomb Squad, police and fire departments were quick to respond and help in evacuating the building, the report added.
According to authorities, the Boston's bomb squad neutralised another parcel near the city's Museum of Fine Arts, situated on the outskirts of the university campus. They further added that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is assisting with the investigations.&nbsp;&nbsp; (with AP inputs)&nbsp; Also Watch| <a href="https://www.editorji.com/india-news/us-pilot-threatens-to-crash-plane-into-walmart-in-mississippi-1662213251274">US: pilot threatening to crash into Walmart arrested after landing</a>

Donald Trump's lawyers dismissed as a “storage dispute” the former president's retention of top-secret documents at his Florida home, urging a judge Monday to upload order that temporarily halted key aspects of the probe against him. 
Setting the stage for possible further delays to the investigation, the Trump team also said it opposed the candidates the Justice Department proposed for an independent arbiter who is to be tasked with reviewing the documents seized during the FBI's August 8 search of Mar-a-Lago.
In a 21-page filing, Trump's lawyers referred to the documents that were seized as “purported classified records,” suggesting his lawyers do not concede the Justice Department's contention that highly sensitive, top-secret information was found by the FBI in its search last month.
The lawyers asserted there is no evidence any of the records were disclosed to anyone and said that at least some of the documents belong to Trump himself rather than the Justice Department.
The filing underscores the significant factual and legal disagreements between lawyers for Trump and the U.S. government as the Justice Department looks to move forward with its criminal investigation into the illegal retention of national defense information at Mar-a-Lago and into the potential obstruction of that probe.
“This investigation of the 45th President of the United States is both unprecedented and misguided,” they wrote.
“In what at its core is a document storage dispute that has spiraled out of control, the Government wrongfully seeks to criminalize the possession by the 45th President of his own Presidential and personal records.” The investigation hit a roadblock last week when U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted the Trump team's request for the appointment of an independent arbiter, also known as a special master, to review the seized records and prohibited for now the department from examining the documents for investigative purposes.
The Justice Department has asked the judge to lift that hold and said it would contest her ruling to a federal appeals court.
The department said its investigation risked being harmed beyond repair if that order remained in place, noting that confusion about its scope and meaning had already led the intelligence community to pause a separate risk assessment it was doing.
But Trump's lawyers said in their own motion Monday that Cannon should not permit the FBI to resume its review of classified records.

Trump team takes aim at classified records probe; calls it 'misguided'

Donald Trump's lawyers dismissed as a “storage dispute” the former president's retention of top-secret documents at his Florida home, urging a judge Monday to upload order that temporarily halted key aspects of the probe against him. 

Donald Trump's lawyers dismissed as a &ldquo;storage dispute&rdquo; the former president's retention of top-secret documents at his Florida home, urging a judge Monday to upload order that temporarily halted key aspects of the probe against him.&nbsp;

Donald Trump's lawyers dismissed as a &ldquo;storage dispute&rdquo; the former president's retention of top-secret documents at his Florida home, urging a judge Monday to upload order that temporarily halted key aspects of the probe against him.&nbsp;
Setting the stage for possible further delays to the investigation, the Trump team also said it opposed the candidates the Justice Department proposed for an independent arbiter who is to be tasked with reviewing the documents seized during the FBI's August 8 search of Mar-a-Lago.
In a 21-page filing, Trump's lawyers referred to the documents that were seized as &ldquo;purported classified records,&rdquo; suggesting his lawyers do not concede the Justice Department's contention that highly sensitive, top-secret information was found by the FBI in its search last month.
The lawyers asserted there is no evidence any of the records were disclosed to anyone and said that at least some of the documents belong to Trump himself rather than the Justice Department.
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The filing underscores the significant factual and legal disagreements between lawyers for Trump and the U.S. government as the Justice Department looks to move forward with its criminal investigation into the illegal retention of national defense information at Mar-a-Lago and into the potential obstruction of that probe.
&ldquo;This investigation of the 45th President of the United States is both unprecedented and misguided,&rdquo; they wrote.
&ldquo;In what at its core is a document storage dispute that has spiraled out of control, the Government wrongfully seeks to criminalize the possession by the 45th President of his own Presidential and personal records.&rdquo; The investigation hit a roadblock last week when U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted the Trump team's request for the appointment of an independent arbiter, also known as a special master, to review the seized records and prohibited for now the department from examining the documents for investigative purposes.
The Justice Department has asked the judge to lift that hold and said it would contest her ruling to a federal appeals court.
The department said its investigation risked being harmed beyond repair if that order remained in place, noting that confusion about its scope and meaning had already led the intelligence community to pause a separate risk assessment it was doing.
But Trump's lawyers said in their own motion Monday that Cannon should not permit the FBI to resume its review of classified records.

A new court filing by the US Department of Justice claims that top secret documents found at Donald Trump's Florida estate Mar-a-Lago were 'concealed and removed' to obstruct a probe by the FBI into potential mishandling of classified documents.

Secret files 'likely concealed' at Trump home to block FBI probe

A new court filing by the US Department of Justice claims that top secret documents found at Donald Trump's Florida estate Mar-a-Lago were 'concealed and removed' to obstruct and mislead a probe by the FBI into the former President's potential mishandling of classified documents. 

The claim of obstruction piles further legal pressure on the Republican ex-president &mdash; because the Justice Department has historically viewed obstruction as an aggravating factor that tilts in favour of bringing charges in investigations.
<div class="author-container hidden-xs">&nbsp;</div>

A new court filing by the US Department of Justice claims that top secret documents found at Donald Trump's Florida estate Mar-a-Lago were 'concealed and removed' to obstruct and mislead a probe by the FBI into the former President's potential mishandling of classified documents.
While the allegation does not necessarily mean that Trump will face charges, it could pose the most direct legal threat to Trump or those in his orbit, in part because the Justice Department has historically viewed obstruction as an aggravating factor that tilts in favour of bringing charges in investigations involving the mishandling of classified information.
"It goes to the heart of trying to suborn the very integrity of our criminal justice system,&rdquo; said David Laufman, who once oversaw the same Justice Department counterintelligence section now responsible for the Mar-a-Lago investigation.
The latest Justice Department motion in the case is focused less on the removal last year of classified information from the White House to Mar-a-Lago and more on the events of this past spring. That's when law enforcement officials tried &mdash; unsuccessfully &mdash; to get all documents back and were assured, falsely, that everything had been accounted for after a &ldquo;diligent search.&rdquo; The Justice Department issued a grand jury subpoena in May for the records, and officials visited Mar-a-Lago on June 3 to collect them. When they got there, Tuesday's department document says, they were handed by a Trump lawyer a &ldquo;single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape&rdquo; containing documents.
A custodian for the records presented a sworn certification to the officials saying that &ldquo;any and all responsive documents" to the subpoena had been located and produced. A Trump lawyer said that all records that had come from the White House had been held in one location &mdash; a storage room &mdash; and that there were none in any private space or other spots at the house.
But the FBI came to doubt the truth of those statements and obtained a search warrant to return on Aug. 8.
Officials had "developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation,&rdquo; the new Justice Department filing says.
In their August search, agents found classified documents not only in the storage room but also in the former president's office, including three classified documents on an office desk, according to the Justice Department. In some instances, the agents and attorneys conducting the review of seized documents required additional clearances since the material was so highly classified.
&ldquo;That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the diligent search' that the former president's counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter,&rdquo; the document states.
In its own filing Wednesday night, Trump's lawyers decried the search as having taken place in &ldquo;the midst of the standard give-and-take&rdquo; between a former president and the National Archives and Records Administration over presidential records. It said the department had &ldquo;gratuitously&rdquo; made public certain information, including a photograph of classified documents taken from the home.
The Justice Department has stated in court filings that, besides investigating crimes related to the mishandling of national defence information and other documents, it is also looking into whether anyone committed obstruction.
It is not clear from Tuesday's filing how much of that inquiry might center on Trump, who has repeatedly insisted that his team was cooperative with the FBI, as opposed to any of his lawyers or representatives who were directly involved in making the representations to the department. It's also unclear what role Trump himself had in those representations.
Obstruction matters because it's one of the factors investigators look for in weighing whether to bring charges. For instance, in his July 2016 announcement that the FBI would not be recommending criminal charges against Hillary Clinton in an investigation involving the handling of her emails, FBI Director James Comey cited the absence of obstruction as one of the reasons.
When the Justice Department charged former CIA Director David Petraeus in 2015 with sharing classified information with his biographer, it made a point of including in court documents details about false statements prosecutors said he made during an FBI interview.
It is also not the first time that an obstruction investigation has surfaced in connection with Trump. Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated whether Trump had obstructed an inquiry into whether his 2016 presidential campaign had colluded with Russia, and though Mueller did not recommend charges against the then-sitting president, he also pointedly declined to exonerate him.
In the current case, federal investigators are likely evaluating why Trump representatives provided statements about the status of classified information at Mar-a-Lago that proved easily contradicted by the evidence, as well as which individuals were involved in removing boxes and why.
Sarah Krissoff, a New York lawyer and former federal prosecutor, said the detailed information in this week's filing tells its own tale.
&ldquo;Reading between the lines of what they were saying here, it suggests that they had very direct information from a source regarding the location of classified documents within Mar-a-Lago and essentially the concealment of, or lack of cooperation with, the prior efforts to recover those documents,&rdquo; she said.
The purpose of the Tuesday night filing was to oppose a request from the Trump legal team for a special master to review the documents seized during this month's search and to return to him certain seized property. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is to hear arguments on the matter Thursday.
Trump's lawyers responded Wednesday night by saying that a special master was needed for the sake of fairness, asserting that &ldquo;left unchecked, the DOJ will impugn, leak, and publicize selective aspects of their investigation.&rdquo; Cannon on Saturday said it was her &ldquo;preliminary intent&rdquo; to appoint such a person but also gave the Justice Department an opportunity to respond.
On Monday, the department said it had already completed its review of potentially privileged documents and identified a &ldquo;limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information.&rdquo; It said Tuesday that a special master was therefore unnecessary and that the presidential records that were taken from the home do not belong to Trump.&nbsp;
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Fourteen of the 15 boxes recovered from ex-President Donald Trump's Florida estate contained classified documents, many of them top secret, mixed in with miscellaneous newspapers, magazines and personal correspondence, as per FBI's affidavit.

Trump mixed top secret documents with magazines and other items: FBI 

<div class="author-container hidden-xs">The document makes clear how the haphazard retention of top secret government records has exposed Trump to fresh legal peril just as he lays the groundwork for another potential presidential run in 2024.</div>

Fourteen of the 15 boxes recovered from former President Donald Trump's Florida estate early this year contained classified documents, many of them top secret, mixed in with miscellaneous newspapers, magazines and personal correspondence, according to an FBI affidavit released Friday.
No space at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate was authorized for the storage of classified material, according to the court papers, which laid out the FBI's rationale for searching the property this month, including &ldquo;probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found.&rdquo; The 32-page affidavit &mdash; heavily redacted to protect the safety of witnesses and law enforcement officials and &ldquo;the integrity of the ongoing investigation&rdquo; &mdash; offers the most detailed description to date of the government records being stored at Mar-a-Lago long after Trump left the White House. It also reveals the gravity of the government's concerns that the documents were there illegally.
The document makes clear how the haphazard retention of top secret government records, and the failure to return them despite months of efforts by US officials to get them back, has exposed Trump to fresh legal peril just as he lays the groundwork for another potential presidential run in 2024.
Also read: &nbsp;<a href="https://www.editorji.com/world-news/over-100-classified-documents-recovered-at-donald-trump-s-florida-home-in-january-1661311016190">Over 100 classified documents recovered at Donald Trump's Florida home in January</a>
&ldquo;The government is conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorised spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records,&rdquo; an FBI agent wrote on the first page of the affidavit in seeking a judge's permission for a warrant to search the property.
Documents previously made public show that federal agents are investigating potential violations of three federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act. The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.
Trump has long insisted, despite clear evidence to the contrary, that he fully cooperated with government officials. And he has rallied Republicans behind him by painting the search as a politically motivated witch hunt intended to damage his reelection prospects. He repeated that refrain on his social media site Friday, saying he and his representatives had had a close working relationship with the FBI and &ldquo;GAVE THEM MUCH&rdquo;.
The affidavit does not provide new details about 11 sets of classified records recovered during the Aug 8 search at Mar-a-Lago but instead concerns a separate batch of 15 boxes that the National Archives and Records Administration retrieved from the home in January.
The National Archives then sent the matter to the Justice Department, indicating in its referral that a review showed &ldquo;a lot&rdquo; of classified materials, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit argues a search of Mar-a-Lago was necessary due to the highly sensitive material found in the boxes recovered by the National Archives. Of 184 documents marked classified, 25 were at the top secret level, the affidavit says. Some had special markings suggesting they included information from highly sensitive human sources or the collection of electronic &ldquo;signals&rdquo; authorised by a special intelligence court.
Some of those classified records were mixed with other documents, including newspapers, magazines and miscellaneous print-outs, the affidavit says, citing a letter from the Archives.
Douglas London, a former senior CIA officer and author of &ldquo;The Recruiter", said this showed Trump's lack of respect for controls. &ldquo;One of the rules of classified is you don't mix classified and unclassified so there's no mistakes or accidents," he said.
The affidavit shows how agents were authorized to search a large swath of Mar-a-Lago, including Trump's official post-presidential &ldquo;45 Office&rdquo;, storage rooms and all other areas in which boxes or documents could be stored. They did not propose searching areas of the property used or rented by Mar-a-Largo members, such as private guest suites.
The document notes that no space at Mar-a-Lago had been authorized for the storage of classified information at least since the end of Trump's term in office.
The FBI submitted the affidavit, or sworn statement, to a judge so it could obtain the warrant to search Trump's property. Affidavits typically contain vital information about an investigation, with agents spelling out the justification for why they want to search a particular property and why they believe they're likely to find evidence of a potential crime there.
Affidavits routinely remain sealed during pending investigations. But in an acknowledgment of the extraordinary public interest in the investigation, US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday ordered the department by Friday to make public a redacted version of the affidavit.
In a separate document unsealed Friday, Justice Department officials explained that it was necessary to redact some information to &ldquo;protect the safety and privacy of a significant number of civilian witnesses, in addition to law enforcement personnel, as well as to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation&rdquo;.
The second half of the affidavit is almost entirely redacted, making it impossible to discern the scope of the investigation or where it might be headed. It does not identify by name any people who may be subjects of the investigation and it does not answer core questions, such as why top secret documents were taken to Mar-a-Lago at the end of the president's term even though the government regards them as presidential records that belong to the National Archives and require special storage.
It also does not include details about the interactions between Trump representatives and the Justice Department in the months leading up to the search, including a subpoena in May for records and a visit to the property in June by the department's top counterintelligence official. The back-and-forth culminated in the Aug 8 search in which agents retrieved the 11 sets of classified records.
Still, the document unsealed Friday does offer insight into arguments the Trump legal team is expected to make as the case moves forward. It includes a letter from Trump lawyer M Evan Corcoran in which he asserts that a president has &ldquo;absolute authority" to declassify documents and that &ldquo;presidential actions involving classified documents are not subject to criminal sanction&rdquo;.
Mark Zaid, a longtime national security lawyer who has criticised Trump for his handling of classified information, said the letter was &ldquo;blatantly wrong&rdquo; to assert Trump could declassify &ldquo;anything and everything&rdquo;.
&ldquo;There are some legal, technical defences as to certain provisions of the espionage act whether it would apply to the president,&rdquo; Zaid said. &ldquo;But some of those provisions make no distinction that would raise a defence.&rdquo;

The Justice Department is set to release Friday a heavily blacked out document explaining the justification for an FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate earlier this month, when agents removed top secret government records and other classified documents.
The document, expected by noon, is likely to offer at least some new details about an ongoing criminal investigation that has brought fresh legal peril for Trump just as he lays the groundwork for another presidential run. Though Justice Department officials are expected to have removed sensitive details about witnesses, and the scope and direction of the probe, the affidavit may offer the fullest explanation yet about the events leading up to the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago.
The document being released is the redacted form of an affidavit, or sworn statement, that the FBI submitted to a judge so it could obtain a warrant to search Trump's property. Affidavits typically contain vital information about an investigation, with agents spelling out to a judge the justification for why they want to search a particular property and why they believe they're likely to find evidence of a potential crime there. But affidavits routinely remain sealed during pending investigations, making the judge's decision to reveal portions of it all the more striking.
In an acknowledgment of the extraordinary public interest in the investigation, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday ordered the department by Friday to make public a redacted version of the affidavit. The directive came hours after federal law enforcement officials submitted under seal the portions of the affidavit that they want to keep secret as their investigation moves forward.
The redactions proposed by the Justice Department are likely to be extensive given the sensitivity of the investigation, lessening the likelihood that the document will offer a comprehensive look at the basis for the unprecedented search or significant insights about the direction of the probe. Yet even a redacted affidavit can contain at least some fresh revelations about the investigation, and is likely to help explain why federal agents who had tried for months to recover sensitive government records from Mar-a-Lago ultimately felt compelled to obtain a search warrant.
Documents already made public show the FBI retrieved from the property 11 sets of classified documents, including information marked at the top secret level. They also show that federal agents are investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act. The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.
It's possible that the affidavit, particularly in its unredacted form, could shed light on key unanswered questions, including why sensitive presidential documents — classified documents, among them — were transported to Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House and why Trump and his representatives did not supply the entire tranche of material to the National Archives and Records Administration despite repeated entreaties.
It could also offer additional details on the back-and-forth between Trump and the FBI, including a subpoena for documents that was issued last spring, as well as a June visit by FBI and Justice Department officials to assess how the materials were being stored.
The Justice Department had earlier contested arguments by media organizations to make any portion of the affidavit public, saying the disclosure could contain private information about witnesses and about investigative tactics. But Reinhart, acknowledging the extraordinary public interest in the investigation, said last week that he was disinclined to keep the entire document sealed and told federal officials to submit to him in private the redactions it wanted to make.
In his order Thursday, Reinhart said the department had made compelling arguments to leave sealed broad swaths of the document that, if disclosed, would reveal grand jury information; the identities of witnesses and “uncharged parties"; and details about the investigation's “strategy, direction, scope, sources and methods.” But he also said he was satisfied “that the Government has met its burden of showing that its proposed redactions are narrowly tailored to serve the Government's legitimate interest in the integrity of the ongoing investigation and are the least onerous alternative to sealing the entire Affidavit.”

FBI raid on Trump's home: why redacted affidavit is set to be released

FBI agents had removed top secret government records and other classified documents during the raid.

The Justice Department is set to release Friday a heavily blacked out document explaining the justification for an FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate earlier this month, when agents removed top secret government records and other classified documents.
The document, expected by noon, is likely to offer at least some new details about an ongoing criminal investigation that has brought fresh legal peril for Trump just as he lays the groundwork for another presidential run. Though Justice Department officials are expected to have removed sensitive details about witnesses, and the scope and direction of the probe, the affidavit may offer the fullest explanation yet about the events leading up to the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago.
The document being released is the redacted form of an affidavit, or sworn statement, that the FBI submitted to a judge so it could obtain a warrant to search Trump's property. Affidavits typically contain vital information about an investigation, with agents spelling out to a judge the justification for why they want to search a particular property and why they believe they're likely to find evidence of a potential crime there. But affidavits routinely remain sealed during pending investigations, making the judge's decision to reveal portions of it all the more striking.
In an acknowledgment of the extraordinary public interest in the investigation, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday ordered the department by Friday to make public a redacted version of the affidavit. The directive came hours after federal law enforcement officials submitted under seal the portions of the affidavit that they want to keep secret as their investigation moves forward.
The redactions proposed by the Justice Department are likely to be extensive given the sensitivity of the investigation, lessening the likelihood that the document will offer a comprehensive look at the basis for the unprecedented search or significant insights about the direction of the probe. Yet even a redacted affidavit can contain at least some fresh revelations about the investigation, and is likely to help explain why federal agents who had tried for months to recover sensitive government records from Mar-a-Lago ultimately felt compelled to obtain a search warrant.
Documents already made public show the FBI retrieved from the property 11 sets of classified documents, including information marked at the top secret level. They also show that federal agents are investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act. The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.
It's possible that the affidavit, particularly in its unredacted form, could shed light on key unanswered questions, including why sensitive presidential documents &mdash; classified documents, among them &mdash; were transported to Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House and why Trump and his representatives did not supply the entire tranche of material to the National Archives and Records Administration despite repeated entreaties.
It could also offer additional details on the back-and-forth between Trump and the FBI, including a subpoena for documents that was issued last spring, as well as a June visit by FBI and Justice Department officials to assess how the materials were being stored. Also Watch: <a href="https://www.editorji.com/in-depth/the-hook/usa-s-top-secret-nuclear-weapon-papers-taken-illegally-from-white-house-enemy-leak-risk-trump-raid-row-1660934431829">USA's top-secret nuclear weapon papers taken illegally from White House; enemy leak risk? Trump raid row</a>
The Justice Department had earlier contested arguments by media organizations to make any portion of the affidavit public, saying the disclosure could contain private information about witnesses and about investigative tactics. But Reinhart, acknowledging the extraordinary public interest in the investigation, said last week that he was disinclined to keep the entire document sealed and told federal officials to submit to him in private the redactions it wanted to make.
In his order Thursday, Reinhart said the department had made compelling arguments to leave sealed broad swaths of the document that, if disclosed, would reveal grand jury information; the identities of witnesses and &ldquo;uncharged parties"; and details about the investigation's &ldquo;strategy, direction, scope, sources and methods.&rdquo; But he also said he was satisfied &ldquo;that the Government has met its burden of showing that its proposed redactions are narrowly tailored to serve the Government's legitimate interest in the integrity of the ongoing investigation and are the least onerous alternative to sealing the entire Affidavit.&rdquo;

Former President Donald Trump has reportedly sued the US government over the raid at his Mar-a-Lago home by the FBI. British newspaper The Guardian reported that Trump filed a lawsuit against the government to prevent the federal agency from reading 

Ex-President Donald Trump sues US government over FBI's raid at his home

Donald Trump has reportedly sued the US government over the raid at his home by the FBI. The Guardian reported that Trump filed a lawsuit against the government to prevent the federal agency from reading the materials seized during the search.

Trump filed a lawsuit against the government to prevent the federal agency from reading the materials seized during the search, reported The Guardian.

Former President Donald Trump has reportedly sued the US government over the raid at his Mar-a-Lago home by the FBI. British newspaper The Guardian reported that Trump filed a lawsuit against the government to prevent the federal agency from reading the materials seized during the search.
The report claimed that Trump is seeking a special master, generally, a retired judge or lawyer, to investigate the matter as the FBI allegedly may have seized privileged materials in its raid. In the suit, he reportedly argued that the Department of Justice should not "itself decide what it can use in its investigation".
Also watch: <a href="https://www.editorji.com/in-depth/the-hook/usa-s-top-secret-nuclear-weapon-papers-taken-illegally-from-white-house-enemy-leak-risk-trump-raid-row-1660934431829">USA's top-secret nuclear weapon papers taken illegally from White House; enemy leak risk? Trump raid row</a>
Trump also has sought a more detailed receipt report for property from the government and sought the return of any "item seized that was not within the scope of the search warrant&rdquo;, the report quoted.&nbsp;

Over 5,000 nuclear weapons, enough to destroy the world not once, but more than ten times over. This is the power of USA's nuclear arsenal. But, have closely-guarded secrets of this deadly weaponry been exposed to America's enemies? Were classified documents relating to USA's nuclear weapons programme illegally taken out of the President's residence, the White House? Could information from the documents have fallen into the hands of America's biggest enemies?
At the centre of this entire controversy, is one of USA's most mercurial Presidents - Donald Trump. USA's Federal Bureau of Investigation recently conducted raids at former President Trump's Florida property, the Mar-a-Lago Club. Among the items FBI searched for, were classified documents on nuclear weapons, according to news reports quoting sources.
This is quite worrisome for the US as nuclear weapon information is considered extra-sensitive. This is why it is usually restricted to a few senior government officials. Secret documents kept in non-government storage may be less secure, and papers not being kept according to prescribed measures increases the threat of leakage.
If any top-secret nuclear information is leaked, America may face some very difficult scenarios. Firstly, if the documents are about US weapons, then information may fall into enemy hands. America's foes may get significant intel to build systems to counter US nuclear arms. But if the papers are about some other country's nuclear programme, then it may lead to a huge diplomatic crisis. If the country is a US ally, then it may feel betrayed, while non-allies may see leakage of the information as a threatening ploy. This entire saga would also have the potential to heighten the nuclear arms race amid increasing tension between America, and Russia and China.
There are many countries which would do virtually anything to get their hands on American nuclear secrets. China is currently engaged in expanding its nuclear capabilities in the backdrop of Washington's comments that Beijing is a strategic adversary and a threat to its neighbours. Russia is a traditional nemesis of America, and the two have a long history of nuclear espionage. North Korea is another nation seen as a threat by the US, since Pyongyang has continued to develop nuclear weapons despite sanctions. Iran's nuclear programme is also a big headache for the US as tension between Tehran and Washington has risen in recent years after Trump's government pulled out of the JCPOA pact.
Trump is now under investigation over possible improper handling of documents. The former President is accused of unauthorised removal of material from the White House. The National Archives and Records Administration had sought return of the material, and later asked the Justice Department to investigate.
The raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago club took place on 8 August 2022. FBI agents seized around a dozen boxes of materials, according to reports. A safe, and a padlocked storage bay were also searched. 11 sets of classified papers were taken, according to the Wall Street Journal. Four of the seized document sets were marked 'top secret'.Three were labelled 'secret', and another three tagged 'confidential'. One set of papers was marked 'various classified/TS/SCI' which is a higher level of confidentiality. Trump had earlier returned 15 boxes of papers and items, which contained some 'confidential' papers as well.
If authorities choose to prosecute Trump, he could be charged under various laws. The first is the Espionage Act, a 1917 law meant to crush dissent against US support for World War I. It is now reportedly used against spies, and unauthorised leakage of information. It criminalises the unauthorised retention or disclosure of information, and covers information that could harm America or help its enemies. The second is Title 18 Section 1519 of the US Code which makes it illegal for anyone to "knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, cover up, falsify, or make a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency." Another possible charge could be under Title 18 Section 1001 of the US Code which relates to making false statements, or plotting to defraud the United States.
In his response, Donald Trump has called the nuclear issue a "hoax". The former President accused the FBI of "planting evidence" during the raid. He compared the ongoing case to the earlier charge that he collaborated with Russia. Trump blamed the "same sleazy people" for the current case. He also criticised the FBI for not letting his lawyers be present during the search of Mar-a-Lago. Trump and his Republican Party have alleged politically motivated malice in FBI's action.
The government has reacted sharply to Trump's attack. US Attorney General Merrick Garland called FBI dedicated public servants. He said that the probe agency's integrity was being "unfairly attacked". Garland said that the FBI protects Americans from violent crime and terrorism while undertaking great personal risk and sacrifice.
The US has a formidable nuclear arsenal consisting of over 5,550 nuclear warheads. Around 1/5th of the weapons is reportedly kept on hair-trigger alert. This means that around 900 nuclear weapons are ready to launch in under 15 minutes. The most powerful nuclear bomb in USA's arsenal is reported to be the B83 with a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons. This makes it 60 times more powerful than the bomb dropped over Japan's Nagasaki. Over 600 B83 bombs are reportedly in active service.
America's nuclear weapons form the backbone of its military deterrence programme. This is all the more important in a world where Russia is openly waging war against Ukraine, and China is threatening war against Taiwan. In such a situation, even rumours of USA's nuclear weapons information being compromised is a big blow to America's military credibility.

USA's top-secret nuclear weapon papers taken illegally from White House; enemy leak risk? Donald Trump FBI raid row

USA's top-secret nuclear weapon papers taken illegally from White House; enemy leak risk? Trump raid row


USA's FBI recently conducted raids at former President Trump's Florida property, the Mar-a-Lago Club, to reportedly look for nuclear weapon-related papers.

Over 5,000 nuclear weapons, enough to destroy the world not once, but more than ten times over. This is the power of USA's nuclear arsenal. But, have closely-guarded secrets of this deadly weaponry been exposed to America's enemies? Were classified documents relating to USA's nuclear weapons programme illegally taken out of the President's residence, the White House? Could information from the documents have fallen into the hands of America's biggest enemies?
At the centre of this entire controversy, is one of USA's most mercurial Presidents - Donald Trump. USA's Federal Bureau of Investigation recently conducted raids at former President Trump's Florida property, the Mar-a-Lago Club. Among the items FBI searched for, were classified documents on nuclear weapons, according to news reports quoting sources.
This is quite worrisome for the US as nuclear weapon information is considered extra-sensitive. This is why it is usually restricted to a few senior government officials. Secret documents kept in non-government storage may be less secure, and papers not being kept according to prescribed measures increases the threat of leakage.
If any top-secret nuclear information is leaked, America may face some very difficult scenarios. Firstly, if the documents are about US weapons, then information may fall into enemy hands. America's foes may get significant intel to build systems to counter US nuclear arms. But if the papers are about some other country's nuclear programme, then it may lead to a huge diplomatic crisis. If the country is a US ally, then it may feel betrayed, while non-allies may see leakage of the information as a threatening ploy. This entire saga would also have the potential to heighten the nuclear arms race amid increasing tension between America, and Russia and China.
There are many countries which would do virtually anything to get their hands on American nuclear secrets. China is currently engaged in expanding its nuclear capabilities in the backdrop of Washington's comments that Beijing is a strategic adversary and a threat to its neighbours. Russia is a traditional nemesis of America, and the two have a long history of nuclear espionage. North Korea is another nation seen as a threat by the US, since Pyongyang has continued to develop nuclear weapons despite sanctions. Iran's nuclear programme is also a big headache for the US as tension between Tehran and Washington has risen in recent years after Trump's government pulled out of the JCPOA pact.
Trump is now under investigation over possible improper handling of documents. The former President is accused of unauthorised removal of material from the White House. The National Archives and Records Administration had sought return of the material, and later asked the Justice Department to investigate.
The raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago club took place on 8 August 2022. FBI agents seized around a dozen boxes of materials, according to reports. A safe, and a padlocked storage bay were also searched. 11 sets of classified papers were taken, according to the Wall Street Journal. Four of the seized document sets were marked 'top secret'. Three were labelled 'secret', and another three tagged 'confidential'. One set of papers was marked 'various classified/TS/SCI' which is a higher level of confidentiality. Trump had earlier returned 15 boxes of papers and items, which contained some 'confidential' papers as well.
If authorities choose to prosecute Trump, he could be charged under various laws. The first is the Espionage Act, a 1917 law meant to crush dissent against US support for World War I. It is now reportedly used against spies, and unauthorised leakage of information. It criminalises the unauthorised retention or disclosure of information, and covers information that could harm America or help its enemies. The second is Title 18 Section 1519 of the US Code which makes it illegal for anyone to "knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, cover up, falsify, or make a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency." Another possible charge could be under Title 18 Section 1001 of the US Code which relates to making false statements, or plotting to defraud the United States.
In his response, Donald Trump has called the nuclear issue a "hoax". The former President accused the FBI of "planting evidence" during the raid. He compared the ongoing case to the earlier charge that he collaborated with Russia. Trump blamed the "same sleazy people" for the current case. He also criticised the FBI for not letting his lawyers be present during the search of Mar-a-Lago. Trump and his Republican Party have alleged politically motivated malice in FBI's action.
The government has reacted sharply to Trump's attack. US Attorney General Merrick Garland called FBI dedicated public servants. He said that the probe agency's integrity was being "unfairly attacked". Garland said that the FBI protects Americans from violent crime and terrorism while undertaking great personal risk and sacrifice.
The US has a formidable nuclear arsenal consisting of over 5,550 nuclear warheads. Around 1/5th of the weapons is reportedly kept on hair-trigger alert. This means that around 900 nuclear weapons are ready to launch in under 15 minutes. The most powerful nuclear bomb in USA's arsenal is reported to be the B83 with a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons. This makes it 60 times more powerful than the bomb dropped over Japan's Nagasaki. Over 600 B83 bombs are reportedly in active service.
America's nuclear weapons form the backbone of its military deterrence programme. This is all the more important in a world where Russia is openly waging war against Ukraine, and China is threatening war against Taiwan. In such a situation, even rumours of USA's nuclear weapons information being compromised is a big blow to America's military credibility.

The FBI recovered documents that were labeled "top secret" from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the unprecedented search this week.
Associated Press Justice Department Reporter Michael Balsamo describes the property receipt unsealed by the court that shows FBI agents took 11 sets of classified records from the estate during a search on Monday.
The seized records include some marked not only top secret but also "sensitive compartmented information," a special category meant to protect the nation's most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause "exceptionally grave" damage to U.S. interests.
The court records did not provide specific details about information the documents might contain.
The warrant says federal agents were investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act.
The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.
The property receipt also shows federal agents collected other potential presidential records, including the order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone, a "leatherbound box of documents," and information about the "President of France."
A binder of photos, a handwritten note, "miscellaneous secret documents" and "miscellaneous confidential documents" were also seized in the search.
Trump's attorney, Christina Bobb, who was present at Mar-a-Lago when the agents conducted the search, signed two property receipts — one that was two pages long and another that is a single page.
In a statement earlier Friday, Trump claimed that the documents seized by agents were "all declassified," and argued that he would have turned them over if the Justice Department had asked.
While incumbent presidents generally have the power to declassify information, that authority lapses as soon as they leave office and it was not clear if the documents in question have ever been declassified.
And even an incumbent's powers to declassify may be limited regarding secrets dealing with nuclear weapons programs, covert operations and operatives, and some data shared with allies.
Trump kept possession of the documents despite multiple requests from agencies, including the National Archives, to turn over presidential records in accordance with federal law.
The Mar-a-Lago search warrant served Monday was part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the discovery of classified White House records recovered from Trump's home earlier this year.
The Archives had asked the department to investigate after saying 15 boxes of records it retrieved from the estate included classified records.
It remains unclear whether the Justice Department moved forward with the warrant simply as a means to retrieve the records or as part of a wider criminal investigation.
Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified information, with both criminal and civil penalties, as well as presidential records.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the same judge who signed off on the search warrant, unsealed the warrant and property receipt Friday at the request of the Justice Department after Attorney General Merrick Garland declared there was "substantial public interest in this matter," and Trump said he backed the warrant's "immediate" release.
The Justice Department told the judge Friday afternoon that Trump's lawyers did not object to the proposal to make it public.
In messages posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, "Not only will I not oppose the release of documents ... I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents."
The Justice Department's request was striking because such warrants traditionally remain sealed during a pending investigation.
But the department appeared to recognize that its silence since the search had created a vacuum for bitter verbal attacks by Trump and his allies, and felt that the public was entitled to the FBI's side about what prompted Monday's action at the former president's home.
"The public's clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing," said a motion filed in federal court in Florida on Thursday.
The information was released as Trump prepares for another run for the White House. During his 2016 campaign, he pointed frequently to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, over whether she mishandled classified information.
To obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must prove to a judge that probable cause exists to believe that a crime was committed. Garland said he personally approved the warrant, a decision he said the department did not take lightly given that standard practice where possible is to select less intrusive tactics than a search of one's home.
In this case, according to a person familiar with the matter, there was substantial engagement with Trump and his representatives prior to the search warrant, including a subpoena for records and a visit to Mar-a-Lago a couple of months ago by FBI and Justice Department officials to assess how the documents were stored. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
FBI and Justice Department policy cautions against discussing ongoing investigations, both to protect the integrity of the inquiries and to avoid unfairly maligning someone who is being scrutinized but winds up ultimately not being charged.
That's especially true in the case of search warrants, where supporting court papers are routinely kept secret as the investigation proceeds.
In this case, though, Garland cited the fact that Trump himself had provided the first public confirmation of the FBI search, "as is his right."
The Justice Department, in its new filing, also said that disclosing information about it now would not harm the court's functions.
The Justice Department under Garland has been leery of public statements about politically charged investigations, or of confirming to what extent it might be investigating Trump as part of a broader probe into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

FBI found 'top secret' documents during raid on Donald Trump's home

Associated Press Justice Department Reporter Michael Balsamo describes the property receipt unsealed by the court that shows FBI agents took 11 sets of classified records from the estate during a search on Monday.

The FBI recovered documents that were labeled "top secret" from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the unprecedented search this week.
Associated Press Justice Department Reporter Michael Balsamo describes the property receipt unsealed by the court that shows FBI agents took 11 sets of classified records from the estate during a search on Monday.
The seized records include some marked not only top secret but also "sensitive compartmented information," a special category meant to protect the nation's most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause "exceptionally grave" damage to U.S. interests.
The court records did not provide specific details about information the documents might contain.
The warrant says federal agents were investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act.
The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.
The property receipt also shows federal agents collected other potential presidential records, including the order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone, a "leatherbound box of documents," and information about the "President of France."
A binder of photos, a handwritten note, "miscellaneous secret documents" and "miscellaneous confidential documents" were also seized in the search.
Trump's attorney, Christina Bobb, who was present at Mar-a-Lago when the agents conducted the search, signed two property receipts &mdash; one that was two pages long and another that is a single page.
In a statement earlier Friday, Trump claimed that the documents seized by agents were "all declassified," and argued that he would have turned them over if the Justice Department had asked.
While incumbent presidents generally have the power to declassify information, that authority lapses as soon as they leave office and it was not clear if the documents in question have ever been declassified.
And even an incumbent's powers to declassify may be limited regarding secrets dealing with nuclear weapons programs, covert operations and operatives, and some data shared with allies.
Trump kept possession of the documents despite multiple requests from agencies, including the National Archives, to turn over presidential records in accordance with federal law.
The Mar-a-Lago search warrant served Monday was part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the discovery of classified White House records recovered from Trump's home earlier this year.
The Archives had asked the department to investigate after saying 15 boxes of records it retrieved from the estate included classified records.
It remains unclear whether the Justice Department moved forward with the warrant simply as a means to retrieve the records or as part of a wider criminal investigation.
Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified information, with both criminal and civil penalties, as well as presidential records.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the same judge who signed off on the search warrant, unsealed the warrant and property receipt Friday at the request of the Justice Department after Attorney General Merrick Garland declared there was "substantial public interest in this matter," and Trump said he backed the warrant's "immediate" release.
The Justice Department told the judge Friday afternoon that Trump's lawyers did not object to the proposal to make it public.
In messages posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, "Not only will I not oppose the release of documents ... I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents."
The Justice Department's request was striking because such warrants traditionally remain sealed during a pending investigation.
Also Watch| <a href="https://www.editorji.com/world-news/fbi-looked-for-secret-nuclear-documents-during-raid-on-trump-s-florida-house-report-1660287456497">FBI looked for secret nuclear documents during raid on Trump's Florida house: report</a>
But the department appeared to recognize that its silence since the search had created a vacuum for bitter verbal attacks by Trump and his allies, and felt that the public was entitled to the FBI's side about what prompted Monday's action at the former president's home.
"The public's clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing," said a motion filed in federal court in Florida on Thursday.
The information was released as Trump prepares for another run for the White House. During his 2016 campaign, he pointed frequently to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, over whether she mishandled classified information.
To obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must prove to a judge that probable cause exists to believe that a crime was committed. Garland said he personally approved the warrant, a decision he said the department did not take lightly given that standard practice where possible is to select less intrusive tactics than a search of one's home.
In this case, according to a person familiar with the matter, there was substantial engagement with Trump and his representatives prior to the search warrant, including a subpoena for records and a visit to Mar-a-Lago a couple of months ago by FBI and Justice Department officials to assess how the documents were stored. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
FBI and Justice Department policy cautions against discussing ongoing investigations, both to protect the integrity of the inquiries and to avoid unfairly maligning someone who is being scrutinized but winds up ultimately not being charged.
That's especially true in the case of search warrants, where supporting court papers are routinely kept secret as the investigation proceeds.
In this case, though, Garland cited the fact that Trump himself had provided the first public confirmation of the FBI search, "as is his right."
The Justice Department, in its new filing, also said that disclosing information about it now would not harm the court's functions.
The Justice Department under Garland has been leery of public statements about politically charged investigations, or of confirming to what extent it might be investigating Trump as part of a broader probe into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

FBI agents were reportedly looking for secret documents about nuclear weapons when they searched former US president Donald Trump’s home.The Washington Post cited people familiar with the investigation as saying nuclear weapons documents were thought to be in the trove the FBI was hunting in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. 
They did not specify what kind of documents or whether they referred to the US arsenal or another country’s.The report came hours after the attorney general, Merrick Garland, said he had personally authorised the government request for a search warrant. The suspected presence of nuclear weapons documents at Mar-a-Lago could explain why Garland took such a politically charged step as ordering FBI agents into a former president’s house, as retrieving them would be seen as a national security priority.Trump was particularly fixated on the US nuclear arsenal while he was in the White House, and boasted about being privy to highly secret information.

FBI looked for secret nuclear documents during raid on Trump's Florida house: report

The Washington Post cited people familiar with the investigation as saying nuclear weapons documents were thought to be in the trove the FBI was hunting in Trump&rsquo;s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.&nbsp;

FBI agents were reportedly looking for secret documents about nuclear weapons when they searched former US president Donald Trump&rsquo;s home. The Washington Post cited people familiar with the investigation as saying nuclear weapons documents were thought to be in the trove the FBI was hunting in Trump&rsquo;s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.&nbsp;
They did not specify what kind of documents or whether they referred to the US arsenal or another country&rsquo;s. The report came hours after the attorney general, Merrick Garland, said he had personally authorised the government request for a search warrant. The suspected presence of nuclear weapons documents at Mar-a-Lago could explain why Garland took such a politically charged step as ordering FBI agents into a former president&rsquo;s house, as retrieving them would be seen as a national security priority. Trump was particularly fixated on the US nuclear arsenal while he was in the White House, and boasted about being privy to highly secret information.
ALSO WATCH: <a href="https://www.editorji.com/world-news/after-trump-house-raid-armed-man-tried-to-enter-fbi-office-killed-1660276161124">After Trump house raid, armed man tried to enter FBI office; killed</a>

An armed man clad in body armor who tried to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office on Thursday was shot and killed by police after he fled the scene and engaged in an hourslong standoff in a rural part of the state, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
The confrontation came as officials warned of an increase in threats against federal agents in the days following a search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The man is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection and may have been present at the Capitol on the day of the attack, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter. The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The suspect was identified as Ricky Shiffer, 42, according to the law enforcement official. He was not charged with any crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, the official said.

After Trump house raid, armed man tried to enter FBI office; killed

The man was killed after he fled the scene and engaged in an hourslong standoff in a rural part of the Ohio.

An armed man clad in body armor who tried to breach the FBI&rsquo;s Cincinnati office on Thursday was shot and killed by police after he fled the scene and engaged in an hourslong standoff in a rural part of the state, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
The confrontation came as officials warned of an increase in threats against federal agents in the days following a search of former President Donald Trump&rsquo;s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The man is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection and may have been present at the Capitol on the day of the attack, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter. The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The suspect was identified as Ricky Shiffer, 42, according to the law enforcement official. He was not charged with any crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, the official said.
ALSO WATCH: <a href="https://www.editorji.com/world-news/rishi-sunak-admits-he-diverted-funds-meant-for-deprived-areas-report-1659782192568">Rishi Sunak admits he diverted funds meant for deprived areas: report</a>

Around a year after claiming that OneCoin would be the "Number One cryptocurrency worldwide", the company's founder Dr Ruja Ignatova vanished without a trace. And now, Ignatova, who called herself "cryptoqueen", has been added to the FBI's Most Wanted List.
She is accused of masterminding a massive scam worth $4 billion, or around ₹26,000 crore. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to her arrest.
To evade arrest, Ignatova is believed to have changed her appearance, possibly through plastic surgery. She has been missing since 2017, when she boarded a flight from Bulgaria to Greece.
Ignatova went on the run after bugging her boyfriend's house over suspicion that he was cooperating with the FBI, which turned out to be true.
ALSO WATCH | WhatsApp scams target IAS, police officers: 3 types of frauds, precautions explained
With massive hype, OneCoin had managed to secure over 30 lakh investors from more than 100 countries. But how exactly did the scam work?
Investigators have called the case a Ponzi scheme with a "virtual twist". Basically, Ignatova's company sold OneCoin tokens which were worthless. Customers were promised high returns with low risk.
An exchange to convert OneCoin into real currency was never set up. Additionally, OneCoin was not backed by crypto-technology like blockchain, which is a decentralised digital ledger.
ALSO WATCH | Beware of massive Crypto scam, here is what you need to know
Customers were also told to encourage people they knew to buy OneCoin. In return, these customers were given commission for selling the cryptocurrency.
Ponzi schemes usually collapse when fresh customers dry up, and the flow of money stops, as the main product has no real value. To keep investors enthused, Ignatova also claimed that an IPO was in the pipeline, but it never occurred.&nbsp;
Some arrests have taken place in the case. In 2019, Ruja Ignatova's brother Konstantin was arrested by the FBI. He reportedly pleaded guilty and struck a deal to cooperate with the government.
Along with Konstantin Ignatov, US corporate lawyer Mark Scott was convicted for laundering $400 million for OneCoin. However, the prominent face of the company remains at large.
Ruja Ignatova was born in Bulgaria in 1980. She speaks Bulgarian, English, and German. She studied law at Oxford, and also has a PhD from Konstanz university. She worked with consultancy firm McKinsey &amp; Company before setting up OneCoin in 2014.
Ignatova made big claims about OneCoin, even calling it the "Bitcoin killer". However, OneCoin could not be traded, and could not be used for buying things.
Here are some of the other lies Ignatova told her victims.
The company claimed that OneCoin's value was based on market supply and demand. However, investigators said that the value was actually decided arbitrarily by Ignatova and the other conspirators.
Another fake claim was that OneCoin was secured by a private blockchain, as opposed to a public blockchain like other cryptos. Investigators said that there was no blockchain at all. The company also said that the crypto was mined via servers, but investigators said that the crypto was not mined at all.
The crypto market is going through a low phase these days, with investors worried about inflation, recession, and geopolitical tension. However, the digital assets periodically see a wild rise in value, attracting investors in large numbers.
But cases like OneCoin should act as a cautionary tale for investors looking to make easy money. With crypto regulations yet to catch up, people need to be careful about where they put their hard-earned cash.

₹26,000 crore crypto scam: OneCoin founder had plastic surgery done to evade FBI? | Ruja Ignatova

USA's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova's arrest.

Around a year after claiming that OneCoin would be the "Number One cryptocurrency worldwide", the company's founder Dr Ruja Ignatova vanished without a trace. And now, Ignatova, who called herself "cryptoqueen", has been added to the FBI's Most Wanted List.
She is accused of masterminding a massive scam worth $4 billion, or around ₹26,000 crore. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to her arrest.
To evade arrest, Ignatova is believed to have changed her appearance, possibly through plastic surgery. She has been missing since 2017, when she boarded a flight from Bulgaria to Greece.
Ignatova went on the run after bugging her boyfriend's house over suspicion that he was cooperating with the FBI, which turned out to be true.
ALSO WATCH | <a href="https://www.editorji.com/crime-news/whatsapp-scams-target-ias-police-officers-3-types-of-frauds-precautions-explained-1656348489821" target="_blank">WhatsApp scams target IAS, police officers: 3 types of frauds, precautions explained</a>
With massive hype, OneCoin had managed to secure over 30 lakh investors from more than 100 countries. But how exactly did the scam work?
Investigators have called the case a Ponzi scheme with a "virtual twist". Basically, Ignatova's company sold OneCoin tokens which were worthless. Customers were promised high returns with low risk.
An exchange to convert OneCoin into real currency was never set up. Additionally, OneCoin was not backed by crypto-technology like blockchain, which is a decentralised digital ledger.
ALSO WATCH | <a href="https://www.editorji.com/business-news/beware-of-massive-crypto-scam-here-is-what-you-need-to-know-1656310069965" target="_blank">Beware of massive Crypto scam, here is what you need to know</a>
Customers were also told to encourage people they knew to buy OneCoin. In return, these customers were given commission for selling the cryptocurrency.
Ponzi schemes usually collapse when fresh customers dry up, and the flow of money stops, as the main product has no real value. To keep investors enthused, Ignatova also claimed that an IPO was in the pipeline, but it never occurred.&nbsp;
Some arrests have taken place in the case. In 2019, Ruja Ignatova's brother Konstantin was arrested by the FBI. He reportedly pleaded guilty and struck a deal to cooperate with the government.
Along with Konstantin Ignatov, US corporate lawyer Mark Scott was convicted for laundering $400 million for OneCoin. However, the prominent face of the company remains at large.
Ruja Ignatova was born in Bulgaria in 1980. She speaks Bulgarian, English, and German. She studied law at Oxford, and also has a PhD from Konstanz university. She worked with consultancy firm McKinsey &amp; Company before setting up OneCoin in 2014.
Ignatova made big claims about OneCoin, even calling it the "Bitcoin killer". However, OneCoin could not be traded, and could not be used for buying things.
Here are some of the other lies Ignatova told her victims.
The company claimed that OneCoin's value was based on market supply and demand. However, investigators said that the value was actually decided arbitrarily by Ignatova and the other conspirators.
Another fake claim was that OneCoin was secured by a private blockchain, as opposed to a public blockchain like other cryptos. Investigators said that there was no blockchain at all. The company also said that the crypto was mined via servers, but investigators said that the crypto was not mined at all.
The crypto market is going through a low phase these days, with investors worried about inflation, recession, and geopolitical tension. However, the digital assets periodically see a wild rise in value, attracting investors in large numbers.
But cases like OneCoin should act as a cautionary tale for investors looking to make easy money. With crypto regulations yet to catch up, people need to be careful about where they put their hard-earned cash.

A Pakistani terrorist who plotted attacks against India, claimed to have been dead for years, and suddenly arrested and jailed a few days ago.
In an interesting turn of events, terrorist Sajid Majeed Mir has been sentenced to 15 and a half years in prison. He was part of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack plot, and had been declared dead by Pakistani authorities earlier.
An anti-terrorism court in Lahore issued the verdict in early June. Mir had been incarcerated at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat prison since his arrest in April. An embarrassed Islamabad apparently tried to keep the case under wraps with the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab Police not notifying the conviction.
ALSO WATCH | On Kashmir killings, ex-spy chief's 3 warnings: Pak terror cell, in Srinagar after decades, unknown faces
Sajid Mir is a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who is on the Most Wanted lists in India and USA. He acted as the 'project manager' of the 26/11 conspiracy, and handled the plotting and reconnaissance operations. Mir recruited David Headley, who had visited India to carry out surveys of the areas which were eventually attacked. Mir is also accused of conspiring to carry out attacks in Denmark.
He now joins other top Lashkar operatives in prison. These include chief of the terror organisation, Hafiz Saeed - the mastermind of the 26/11 attacks. He has been sentenced to 68 years in prison in terror financing cases. However, he is expected to spend very little time in jail as the sentences will run concurrently.
Another Lashkar terrorist in jail is Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. He acted as the operational commander of the 26/11 conspiracy. He is also in jail under terror financing charges.
ALSO WATCH | Explained: sticky bomb threat in Kashmir; how they are made & used; the Taliban, ISIS link
So, why is Pakistan suddenly taking action against terrorists, after years of letting them roam free?
The country is currently trying to exit the 'grey list' of the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF. Islamabad was placed in the grey list in 2018 for allowing terror financing and money laundering from its territory. In order to exit the grey list, Pakistan has to take action against terrorists. To verify that effective action has truly been taken, FATF officials are slated to visit the country soon.
If Pakistan fails to convince FATF that it is cracking down on terrorist networks, then it might be relegated to the 'black list'. This would lead to imposition of sanctions. Foreign investments and loans will dry up, and trade with other countries will become extremely difficult.
Pakistan is already struggling with economic distress along with political instability.If the FATF decides to penalise Islamabad, it might just push the country into a Sri Lanka-like situation.
But it is also difficult to believe that a country which has encouraged terrorism for many decades, has suddenly decided to clean up its act. So, is the jailing of sinister terrorists justice, or just a show?

Pakistan jails 'dead' terrorist to evade FATF 'black list': Lashkar's 26/11 plotter Sajid Mir behind bars

Terrorist Sajid Majeed Mir has been sentenced to 15.5 years in prison.He was part of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack plot, and had been declared dead by Pakistani authorities earlier.

A Pakistani terrorist who plotted attacks against India, claimed to have been dead for years, and suddenly arrested and jailed a few days ago.
In an interesting turn of events, terrorist Sajid Majeed Mir has been sentenced to 15 and a half years in prison. He was part of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack plot, and had been declared dead by Pakistani authorities earlier.
An anti-terrorism court in Lahore issued the verdict in early June. Mir had been incarcerated at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat prison since his arrest in April. An embarrassed Islamabad apparently tried to keep the case under wraps with the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab Police not notifying the conviction.
ALSO WATCH | <a href="https://www.editorji.com/india-news/local/on-kashmir-killings-ex-spy-chief-s-3-warnings-pak-terror-cell-in-srinagar-after-decades-unknown-faces-1654279593188" target="_blank">On Kashmir killings, ex-spy chief's 3 warnings: Pak terror cell, in Srinagar after decades, unknown faces</a>
Sajid Mir is a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who is on the Most Wanted lists in India and USA. He acted as the 'project manager' of the 26/11 conspiracy, and handled the plotting and reconnaissance operations. Mir recruited David Headley, who had visited India to carry out surveys of the areas which were eventually attacked. Mir is also accused of conspiring to carry out attacks in Denmark.
He now joins other top Lashkar operatives in prison. These include chief of the terror organisation, Hafiz Saeed - the mastermind of the 26/11 attacks. He has been sentenced to 68 years in prison in terror financing cases. However, he is expected to spend very little time in jail as the sentences will run concurrently.
Another Lashkar terrorist in jail is Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. He acted as the operational commander of the 26/11 conspiracy. He is also in jail under terror financing charges.
ALSO WATCH |<a href="https://www.editorji.com/india-news/local/explained-sticky-bomb-threat-in-kashmir-how-they-are-made-used-the-taliban-isis-link-1654169518794" target="_blank"> Explained: sticky bomb threat in Kashmir; how they are made &amp; used; the Taliban, ISIS link</a>
So, why is Pakistan suddenly taking action against terrorists, after years of letting them roam free?
The country is currently trying to exit the 'grey list' of the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF. Islamabad was placed in the grey list in 2018 for allowing terror financing and money laundering from its territory. In order to exit the grey list, Pakistan has to take action against terrorists. To verify that effective action has truly been taken, FATF officials are slated to visit the country soon.
If Pakistan fails to convince FATF that it is cracking down on terrorist networks, then it might be relegated to the 'black list'. This would lead to imposition of sanctions. Foreign investments and loans will dry up, and trade with other countries will become extremely difficult.
Pakistan is already struggling with economic distress along with political instability. If the FATF decides to penalise Islamabad, it might just push the country into a Sri Lanka-like situation.
But it is also difficult to believe that a country which has encouraged terrorism for many decades, has suddenly decided to clean up its act. So, is the jailing of sinister terrorists justice, or just a show?

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