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REUTERS/Seth Herald/File PhotoOct 26 (Reuters) - A Michigan jury on Wednesday found three men guilty of aiding a conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, a plot that prosecutors said grew out of hostility over restrictions she imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The verdict was a victory for state prosecutors who argued that the men on trial assisted two others who in August were found guilty in federal court of kidnapping conspiracy. In the earlier trial, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were found guilty of plotting to abduct Whitmer from her vacation home. Prosecutors said Morrison, Musico and Bellar were members of a militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen. Morrison and Musico were accused of hosting tactical training sessions on their property in a remote part of Michigan.

☆ 3 men convicted of supporting plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Whitmer
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Three men accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor were convicted of all charges Wednesday, a triumph for state prosecutors after months of mixed results in the main case in federal court. They held gun drills in rural Jackson County with a leader of the scheme, Adam Fox, who was disgusted with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials in 2020 and said he wanted to kidnap her. Prosecutors said COVID-19 restrictions ordered by Whitmer turned out to be fruit to recruit more people to the Watchmen. Defense attorneys argued that the three men had broken ties with Fox by late summer 2020 when the Whitmer plot came into focus.

☆ 3 men convicted of supporting plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer waits to speak at a canvass kickoff on Michigan Primary Election Day on August 2, 2022 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Three men accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor were convicted of all charges Wednesday, a triumph for state prosecutors after months of mixed results in the main case in federal court. They held gun drills in rural Jackson County with a leader of the scheme, Adam Fox, who was disgusted with Gov. Prosecutors said Covid-19 restrictions ordered by Whitmer turned out to be fruit to recruit more people to the Watchmen. Defense attorneys argued that the three men had broken ties with Fox by late summer 2020 when the Whitmer plot came into focus.

☆ Prospective jurors in the case against Trump's business say 'I don't like him,' and call Trump a 'criminal' who's done 'irreparable harm'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Laura Italiano | Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Trump Organization — not Trump himself — is on trial for tax evasion in New York Supreme Court. I mean I can't deny it, I really, really don't like Trump at all," the woman, a native of Ireland, told Trump Organization lawyer William Brennan. The Trump Organization — not Trump himself — is on trial. "We all have an opinion about Donald Trump, but I don't have an opinion about his company," a marketing company CEO said. Steinglass continued, "You'll notice that Donald Trump is not sitting here … because Donald Trump is not personally charged. "

☆ Former Trump aide Mark Meadows asks South Carolina judge to block Georgia grand jury subpoena in election-meddling probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows asked a South Carolina judge to block a subpoena demanding his testimony before a Georgia grand jury investigating possible criminal interference in the 2020 presidential election. Meadows' request Monday afternoon came hours after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas temporarily delayed a similar subpoena that the same grand jury issued to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Meadows, a former Republican congressman, resides in South Carolina. Bannister said the subpoena was moot because it had required Meadows' appearance before the grand jury on Sept. 27. The grand jury in this case does not have the power to criminally charge individuals but can recommend charges.

☆ Fake billionaire, Harvard MBA grad Justin Costello denied bail after judge calls him 'economic danger' to public
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"The weight of the evidence is strong," Butcher wrote in his detention order in U.S. District Court in San Diego. Source: FBIButcher wrote that the evidence itself is the least important factor in his decision to keep Costello in jail. Costello, who has ties to Washington, Las Vegas and California, is due in San Diego court later Tuesday for another hearing related to his expected transfer to Washington state to face trial. But he never showed up as agreed at the FBI's office in San Diego, and went on the lam. Cash and gold bars as detailed in court filing in US District court in San Diego in case of former fugitive Justin Costello.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterChinese nationals Guochun He and Zheng Wang were charged with trying to interfere in the prosecution, the prosecutors said. Court documents did not name the company, but the complaint referenced the same dates in which the U.S. unsealed its charges against Huawei, in 2019 and 2020. In addition to the case against the two Chinese nationals accused of interfering in the Huawei prosecution, the Justice Department also announced charges in two other schemes. The second case charges four Chinese nationals out of New Jersey with running a decade-long intelligence campaign, while the third accuses seven others of waging a harassment campaign against a U.S. resident in a bid to convince him to return to China. Of the 13 people charged, 10 are Chinese intelligence officers and Chinese government officials.

Prosecutors charged Chinese nationals Guochun He and Zheng Wang with trying to interfere in prosecution of an international telecommunications company. While court documents did not name the company, a person familiar with the investigation said they were trying to interfere with the prosecution of Huawei (HWT.UL). Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA spokesperson for Huawei could not be reached for comment on Monday. Prosecutors also unveiled charges against four Chinese nationals in what they called a long-running intelligence campaign. The complaint against He and Wang alleges they tried to obtain confidential information concerning witnesses, trial evidence and any potential new charges the company could face.

Barrack, 75, is charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent and lying to the FBI. Prosecutors said UAE officials also pressed Barrack for details on who Trump would pick for various high-level jobs, including CIA director and at the State and Defense departments. Barrack's lawyers have said their client is his own man and was doing what he thought was right — not acting as an Emirati agent. Even viewed in the light most favorable to the government, the evidence shows only that the 'UAE' sometimes asked Mr. Barrack to do something, or to consider doing something, and Mr. Barrack then decided for himself whether he would do it or not." He said that Barrack had pushed him to convince then-President Trump to support Qatar in a blockade over the UAE.

Companies Huawei Technologies Co Ltd FollowNEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have charged two Chinese nationals with trying to obstruct the prosecution of a Chinese global telecommunications company, according to a filing in federal court in Brooklyn. The defendants Guochun He and Zheng Wang were charged in a criminal complaint dated Oct. 20 and made public on Monday. The telecommunications company is a defendant in an ongoing prosecution, where the U.S. Department of Justice announced a superseding indictment in February 2020. The complaint does not name the company, though it contains details which suggest the case pertains to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. According to the complaint, He and Wang first started trying to access non-public information about the Justice Department's investigation when the company was initially charged in 2019.

☆ U.S. takes note of China congress, says important to keep communications open
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it had taken note of the Communist Party congress in strategic rival China that confirmed Xi Jinping in an unprecedented third term as leader, and stressed the importance of keeping lines of communication open. read moreState Department spokesperson Ned Price told a regular briefing the party congress would not bring a change in the U.S. approach to China, which he referred to by the initials of its official name. "We continue our efforts to keep lines of communication open, including at the leader level," she said. "We believe it important to keep those conversations ongoing and we will continue to do that." Xi secured an unprecedented third leadership term on Sunday and introduced a top governing body stacked with loyalists, cementing his place as China's most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.

☆ Former longtime Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg expected to be star witness in company's tax fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former Trump Organization CFO will be a star witness in the company's tax fraud trial, Bloomberg reports. Prosecutors allege that the company engaged in a tax fraud scheme by compensating senior executives with perks like apartments and company cars under Weisselberg's supervision. Under the plea's conditions, Weisselberg — a loyal, 40-year bookkeeper for Trump and his family —agreed to testify in the upcoming trial. The criminal charges are against Trump's corporation, a small private company, but Donald Trump is the Trump Organization." If the Trump Organization is found guilty, it would have to pay back taxes and fines totaling about $1.6 million.

☆ Hacker who stole unreleased songs from Ed Sheeran and Lil Uzi Vert sentenced to 18 months, U.K. prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON — A computer hacker who stole unreleased songs from British pop star Ed Sheeran and American rap artist Lil Uzi Vert has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, U.K. prosecutors said Friday. Adrian Kwiatkowski, 23, of Ipswich in southern England, hacked the artists’ cloud-based accounts and sold their songs on the dark web in exchange for cryptocurrency. It then identified the IP address of the device used to hack one of the accounts as his home address. After further investigation, Kwiatkowski was arrested by the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit in September 2019. “Cybercrime knows no borders, and this individual executed a complex scheme to steal unreleased music in order to line his own pockets,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L Bragg Jr said.

Share this -Link copiedSteve Bannon sentenced to four months Bannon was sentenced to four months in federal prison along with a $6,500 fine. He noted Bannon had not been employed in the executive branch for several years and so was unlikely to possess information that would be covered by executive privilege. Share this -Link copiedNo comments from Bannon Bannon declined to make a comment before the judge imposes his sentence, saying his lawyers had spoken for him. The committee countered that executive privilege should not extend to Bannon, because he was not working for the White House at the time. Share this -Link copiedThis isn't the end of Bannon's legal troubles Bannon has more legal problems on the horizon.

Prosecutors decried Bannon 'stunt' Prosecutors have noted in the past that Trump lawyer Justin Clark had repeatedly told Bannon and his attorney that they were taking their executive privilege claims too far. Share this -Link copiedCourt in session Court is in session around 9 a.m. Share this -Link copiedBannon arrives to court Bannon arrived to federal court just after 8:30 a.m. The committee countered that executive privilege should not extend to Bannon, because he was not working for the White House at the time. Share this -Link copiedThis isn't the end of Bannon's legal troubles Bannon has more legal problems on the horizon.

Prosecutors on Monday asked the judge to sentence Bannon to six months in prison, while Bannon's attorneys had sought probation. Bannon has played an instrumental role in right-wing media and has promoted right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad. In addition to Bannon, prosecutors have charged former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the same committee, with a Nov. 17 trial date set. Friday's sentencing does not end Bannon's legal troubles. Trump is facing a federal criminal investigation over the removal of sensitive government records from the White House.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterProsecutor J.P. Cooney said at Friday's hearing that Bannon chose to "thumb his nose at Congress." Bannon, 68, served as Trump's chief White House strategist during 2017 before a falling out between them that was later patched up. "Today was my judgment day by the judge," Bannon told reporters. In addition to Bannon, prosecutors have charged former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the same committee, with a Nov. 17 trial date set. "A more egregious contempt of Congress would have been to say 'Screw you Congress, take your subpoena and shove it!'"

☆ Reports shed new light on last hours of S.Korean slain by North in 2020
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, Oct 20 (Reuters) - An investigation by the government of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is raising fresh questions about the death of a South Korean official in 2020, which the previous administration wrote off as a failed defection attempt. Prosecutors on Tuesday filed for arrest warrants against a former defence minister and the former coast guard chief. The parliamentary report concludes that the coast guard and navy violated rules during their initial rescue efforts by failing to seek help from other vessels and authorities nearby. In June 2022, the coast guard apologised for "causing confusion", and its chief and eight other senior officials resigned. Prosecutors have raided a presidential archive and the offices and homes of two former intelligence chiefs, a former defence minister and the resigned coast guard head.

☆ Son found guilty in murder-for-hire plot to kill alleged mobster father
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Anthony Zottola also tried unsuccessfully to have his brother, Salvatore Zottola, killed, according to prosecutors. Sylvester Zottola was threatened by a masked gunman in late 2017 and later survived being stabbed and having his throat slashed. Salvatore Zottola was shot in the head, chest and hand in front of his residence but survived, according to prosecutors. Five other defendants have pleaded guilty, including Bushawn Shelton, who prosecutors alleged was hired by Anthony Zottola and then engaged Ross to carry out the hit. “It was his own son, who was so determined to control the family’s lucrative real estate business that he hired a gang of hit men to murder his father.”

WASHINGTON — An ex-police officer "betrayed" his sworn oath by warning a fellow Donald Trump supporter who entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to remove his Facebook content about the attack, a federal prosecutor told a jury Tuesday. Afterward, Riley told Hiles he would give him a tour of the Capitol next time. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Dohrmann told jurors Tuesday that "there was nothing legal or funny about what happened at the Capitol on Jan. "He was duped" by Hiles, Macchiaroli said. "He made a mistake, he had a lapse in judgment," Macchiaroli added, arguing that Riley didn't intend to obstruct a federal grand jury.

Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said. They used a German company to ship the military technologies, as well as Venezuelan oil, to Russian purchasers, prosecutors said. The U.S.-origin technologies can be used in fighter aircraft, ballistic and hypersonic missile systems, smart munitions, and other military applications, Treasury said. After the initial round of U.S. sanctions on PDVSA, Russia's Rosneft emerged as a key intermediary for Venezuelan crude. After Washington sanctioned Rosneft subsidiaries over their dealings with PDVSA, dozens of firms with no track record of oil trading have been intermediating in sales of Venezuelan oil to Chinese buyers.

☆ Analyst who provided Trump-Russia dossier information acquitted of lying to FBI
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Julia Jester | Julia Jester Is A Producer For Nbc News Based In Washington | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Prosecutors alleged Danchenko provided false information to the FBI in 2017 when the agency was trying to verify information in a dossier detailing Trump’s alleged ties to Russia that was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele. The largely unsubstantiated dossier was used by the FBI to support its surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Millian has denied being a source of information for the dossier. When asked by the FBI whether he had talked to Dolan for the information, Danchenko said he had not. Trump had called the dossier fake news and evidence of a political witch hunt against him.

Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim (HOLN.S) in 2015, agreed to pay $778 million in forfeiture and fines as part of the plea agreement. "Lafarge made a deal with the devil," Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, told reporters following the guilty plea. At that point, Islamic State took possession of the remaining cement and sold it for the equivalent of $3.21 million, prosecutors said. REUTERS/Charles PlatiauHolcim said that former Lafarge executives involved in the conduct concealed it from Holcim, as well as from external auditors. No Lafarge executives were charged in the United States.

Companies Lafarge Sa FollowHolcim AG FollowNEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - French cement maker Lafarge pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a U.S. charge that it made payments to groups designated as terrorists by the United States, including Islamic State. The admission in Brooklyn federal court marked the first time a company has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization. Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim (HOLN.S) in 2015, agreed to pay $778 million in forfeiture and fines as part of the plea agreement. U.S. prosecutors said that Lafarge paid Islamic State and al Nusra Front, through intermediaries, the equivalent of approximately $5.92 million. At that point, Islamic State took possession of the remaining cement and sold it for the equivalent of $3.21 million, prosecutors said.

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Domestic disinformation campaigns and homegrown threats to poll workers are emerging as bigger concerns ahead of the Nov. 8 U.S. congressional elections than foreign interference, according to U.S. cybersecurity and law enforcement officials. "At this time, we are not aware of any specific or credible threats to compromise or disrupt election infrastructure," top U.S. cybersecurity official Jen Easterly told reporters last week during a video conference on election security. Opinion polls have shown that a large majority of Republican voters believe Trump won that election. The Election Integrity Partnership, a non-partisan group that has helped the CISA combat election disinformation, said the vast majority of disinformation and false rumors about the 2020 election spread primarily through far-right influencers catering to Trump voters. Meta spokesperson Corey Chambliss declined to comment on the company's election security efforts.

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