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Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowNEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A New York judge on Friday said former U.S. President Donald Trump must face a lawsuit by the state's attorney general accusing him of fraudulently overvaluing his namesake real estate company's assets and his own net worth. He also said Ivanka Trump could be sued despite her claims she had not falsified valuations and not worked for the Trump Organization since 2017, saying she could be liable for participating in "continuing wrongs." In a statement, James said Trump "engaged in years of extensive financial fraud to enrich himself and cheat the system," and must defend himself in court. The lawsuit is one of many legal woes affecting Trump, who is seeking another term as president in 2024. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Feds boost reward to $500K for information on Capitol pipe bomber
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Federal investigators have increased the reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who left two pipe bombs near the Capitol the day before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by fivefold, to $500,000, the FBI said Wednesday. The two pipe bombs found in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington. The individual wore black and light grey Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes with a yellow logo. “We remain grateful to the American people, who have provided invaluable tips that have helped us advance the investigation,” Sundberg added. The unknown individual wore a face mask, glasses, gloves and a grey hooded sweatshirt and Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes.

☆ Jan. 6 transcripts detail numerous warning signs of potential for violence before Capitol attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — Transcripts of interviews with law enforcement officials released this week by the Jan. 6 committee reveal the panel learned that numerous security concerns had been raised in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol. For the most part, Jan. 6 committee leaders decided against focusing the final report on how law enforcement came to be so underprepared for the attack. The Jan. 6 committee transcripts detailed the challenges facing the FBI in the lead-up to Jan. 6. An FBI intelligence analyst raised concerns about that on New Year's Eve, as threats about Jan. 6 continued to increase. “He said it was intelligence failure," Harvin said.

☆ Elon Musk slams 'corporate journalism' over its response to the Twitter Files: 'Why is it rushing to defend the state instead of the people?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk accused "corporate journalism" of failing to side with the people over the Twitter Files. Musk retweeted a Substack article that criticized CNN for a report that denied his accusations. Musk added: "Why is corporate journalism rushing to defend the state instead of the people?" FBI agents then sent emails to Twitter staff suggesting certain accounts be banned for spreading misinformation about issues such as election integrity, per the Twitter Files. But Musk and some freelance journalists are annoyed that the Twitter Files haven't received more support from the press.

☆ I fell for a Facebook Marketplace scam and lost $300. Here are the red flags I wish I'd caught right off the bat.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Sam Silverman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

That's right: I, an editor at a business publication that often warns our readers about the dangers of online scams, fell victim to an online scam. Screenshot courtesy of Sam SilvermanI turned to Facebook Marketplace, something I've done numerous times before. Data provider BeenVerified analyzed 165,000 scam complaints over the past three years and found that Facebook Marketplace scams grew 184.8% in the past year. In one instance, a Michigan woman lost her $15,000 life savings in a Facebook Marketplace car scam. Additionally, Zelle scams were listed as the second fastest-growing scams by BeenVerified, with Zelle scams up 86% this year, many of which were tied to Facebook Marketplace listings.

☆ Trials, pardons, prison time: How Trump's legal woes could play out and what it means for 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The warrant also indicated that the Justice Department was investigating whether Trump violated three federal laws, including the Espionage Act, related to the handling of national security information. Here are some possibilities:The investigations conclude with no charges filedIn the US's 250-year history, no ex-commander in chief has ever faced criminal charges. In all, the former president, if convicted, would be facing up to 33 years of incarceration, according to legal experts. That begs the question: If Trump is charged, convicted, and winds up in prison, can he still run for president in 2024? He made headlines during his presidency for wondering why he couldn't have "my guys" at the "Trump Justice Department" do his bidding.

☆ Donald Trump rails against Jan. 6 committee in rambling Truth Social video after it blames him for Capitol riot
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Jan. 6 committee said Trump was ultimately to blame for the 2021 Capitol riot. Trump talked about the committee in a video he shared on his Truth Social platform on Friday, saying: "These are sick people. Rioters and police at the Capitol riot. DOJIn the rambling video, Trump also called the FBI raid on his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort in August a "Marxist hoax" and "a big hoax" and said it was run by a "Trump hater." Trump also went after the committee's report in a separate Truth Social post on Thursday, calling it a "highly partisan Unselect Committee Report."

☆ Intel community escapes major criticism by Jan. 6 committee for missing 'foreseeable' Capitol violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The appendix also states what is widely known: A lot of information was publicly available that suggested Jan. 6 would be violent, and law enforcement wasn’t prepared for the violence it faced. “Federal and local law enforcement authorities were in possession of multiple streams of intelligence predicting violence directed at the Capitol prior to January 6th,” the appendix said. Instead, as NBC News first reported, staffers on various teams, including the "blue" team looking at law enforcement failures, were informed that chapters they prepared would be curtailed. The final report centers on former President Donald Trump and what the committee believes is his criminal culpability for the Jan. 6 attack. The report revealed that the FBI was collecting alarming reports from around the country but didn’t start looking at them closely until Jan. 5.

☆ Police arrest in Spain one of FBI most wanted fugitives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Spanish police on Friday said they had arrested one of the U.S. FBI's Ten Most Wanted fugitives, who was staying at a hotel in Madrid under a false identity. Michael James Pratt, a New Zealand citizen, had been sentenced to life in prison for child pornography, sexual exploitation and sexual assault in the United States. Police said he was involved in the audiovisual production of pornography, recruiting underage girls and young women through deception between 2012 and 2019. Only 57 criminals on the FBI's Most Wanted list have been apprehended outside the bureau's jurisdiction, Spanish authorities said, adding that it was the first time this has occurred in Spain. He paid other women to act as "bait" and convince the victims the recorded material would not be published online.

☆ 2022 in Review: Mar-a-Lago search showed Trump kept classified files
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Politics2022 in Review: Mar-a-Lago search showed Trump kept classified filesPostedReporter Jacqueline Thomsen recounts the ongoing legal battle sparked by the FBI's search of former President Trump's Florida home seeking sensitive government documents.

It could be the last major bill that passes this year before Republicans seize control of the House on Jan. 3. He has pressured GOP lawmakers to vote against it, forcing Democrats to supply most of the votes to pass it in the House. Capitol Hill leaders decided to attach the election bill and Ukraine aid to ease the process of passage, on the belief that the combined package has the votes to pass. For Republicans, one incentive to pass the bill now is that it funds the military at a higher level than the nondefense budget. “This is a strong outcome for Republicans,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, arguing that the GOP persuaded Democrats to back down on their long-standing demand for “parity” between the two pots of money.

☆ Over 3,000 minor victims were targeted in ‘sextortion’ crimes in the past year, U.S. law enforcement says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal law enforcement officers are cracking down on a scheme that aims to extort sexual imagery from children and teens after a dramatic increase in incidents over the past year. Sometimes, a predator shares imagery regardless of whether a victim meets payment demands, according to federal officials. Law enforcement officials say prevention is the best weapon against sextortion. The sextortion cycle generally ends when a victim tells an adult or the offender is discovered by law enforcement. "We will continue to partner with federal, state and local law enforcement to protect children from sexual exploitation in all its despicable forms."

☆ Jan. 6 defendant and another man charged with conspiring to kill FBI agents
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Dan Whitcomb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 16 (Reuters) - A defendant charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol has been indicted on charges of conspiring with a second man to kill the FBI agents investigating him, the Department of Justice said on Friday. "Today's allegations that individuals sought to attack and hurt or kill FBI personnel are sickening. Prosecutors say Kelley and Carter obtained a list of federal agents taking part in the investigation into Kelley and discussed plans to kill them with a cooperating witness. The cooperating witness was not identified in the court papers. The two men are also accused of discussing with the cooperating witness a possible attack on the FBI's field office in Knoxville.

☆ Capitol riot defendant planned to kill FBI agents who investigated him, unsealed filing alleges
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Zoë Richards | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Michael-Kosnar-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Kelley and Carter made their initial appearance in federal court in Knoxville on Friday. A cooperating witness earlier this week presented authorities with a printed document including about 37 names, positions and in some cases phone numbers of law enforcement personnel involved in the criminal investigation, the filing states. The list also identified which officers were present when Kelley was arrested in May, according to the filing. Marina Medvin, who has been representing Kelley in the Jan. 6 charges, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More than 850 defendants have been arrested on Jan. 6 charges ranging from misdemeanor parading to felony seditious conspiracy.

☆ Jan 6 defendant, second man charged with conspiring to kill FBI agents
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Dan Whitcomb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

☆ FBI says $7 billion lost in criminal cyberattacks, and most victims were small businesses
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Small and medium-sized businesses face a big threat from cyberattacks and hackers, according to a special agent in the FBI's cyber division. "Unfortunately, the majority of those victims were small businesses," Sohn told CNBC's Frank Holland. But even as small businesses are increasingly being targeted by hackers and cyber criminals, CNBC and SurveyMonkey data has shown that most small business owners are not concerned. Sohn said his key message for small and medium-sized business owners was to stay vigilant. Here are some of the pointers from Sohn for small and medium-sized business owners to make sure their basic cybersecurity practices are up to date.

☆ Meet 41-year old Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-nominated Floridian who will pick the special master to weed through the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Judge Aileen Cannon recently reversed a big win that she had handed Trump's defense team. Judge Aileen Cannon gave her confirmation testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee over Zoom on July 29, 2020. There, she prosecuted cases involving narcotics, fraud, firearms, and immigration cases, according to her Senate confirmation document. Cannon during her confirmation hearing thanked Rubio as well as fellow Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida for their "continued support." "Judge Cannon is a great judge who I am very proud to have enthusiastically supported," Rubio told Insider through his office when asked about the connection.

☆ The federal judge who appointed Trump's special master just threw out his lawsuit against the FBI's raid of Mar-a-Lago
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Jake Epstein | Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A federal judge officially dismissed the special master reviewing documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in a Monday one-page order that she was dismissing the case because of a "lack of jurisdiction." A three-judge federal appeals court on December 2 wrote a scathing decision overturning Cannon's initial decision to side with Trump and grant him a special master to review documents taken in the FBI's search. During a search of Mar-a-Lago on August 8, the FBI seized boxes of materials, some highly classified, according to court records. Trump has without evidence accused the FBI of planting materials at his home, and the special master, Senior Judge Raymond Dearie, said Trump's team must provide evidence to support their claims.

☆ Judge dismisses Trump's case challenging Mar-a-Lago document seizure after appeals court ends special master review
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

An aerial view of former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents raided it, in Palm Beach, Florida, August 15, 2022. Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, signed a one-page order dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction. That includes Trump's effort to obtain an unredacted version of the search warrant affidavit that was used to sanction the raid. Cannon in September had appointed retired Judge Raymond Dearie as special master, while she blocked the Justice Department from reviewing the seized materials as part of a criminal investigation. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Dec. 1 that Cannon should not have appointed the special master, writing that she "improperly exercised" an expansion of her jurisdiction.

The sky was darkening above Hazelton federal penitentiary in West Virginia when a prison van rolled up carrying an elderly gangster. ‘I’m deteriorating’His final hours were described in detail for the first time in a Justice Department Inspector General report released Wednesday. The news somehow got out among the Hazelton inmates, the report says, a detail that had been previously disclosed by federal prosecutors. The facility, known as Misery Mountain, was among the most violent in the federal prison system. Two hours passed before a prison staffer went into the cell and found Bulger’s lifeless body.

☆ National security concerns reportedly delay TikTok-U.S. deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The government has yet to come back with TikTok with new requests on how to address the concerns, the Journal reported based on unnamed sources. TikTok confirmed it has not received an update from the government about any unresolved concerns. The two sides had reached broad agreements about storing U.S. user data on Oracle servers in the U.S., the Journal reported, moving it from TikTok data centers in Virginia and Singapore. U.S. officials and lawmakers have been vocal about their security concerns with TikTok. Cowen analysts wrote Wednesday that Meta's Reels, short-form videos similar to those on TikTok, "would be the biggest beneficiary" of a TikTok ban, followed by YouTube's Shorts.

☆ Apple announces plans to encrypt iCloud backups
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Apple announced on Wednesday that it plans to allow users to encrypt additional kinds of iCloud data on its servers, including full backups, photos and notes. Encrypted backups will be opt-in, according to Apple, and will be available in the U.S. before the end of the year. While Apple has previously encrypted a lot of data it stores on servers, entire device backups that included text messages, contacts, and other important data were not end-to-end encrypted, and Apple previously had access to the contents of the backups. It also means that user data content would not be exposed if Apple's servers were ever breached. At the time, Apple said that an unencrypted iCloud backup on its servers was an option to get the same data.

☆ FBI director warns that TikTok could be exploited by China to collect user data for espionage
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

FBI Director Chris Wray said on Friday that he has national security concerns about TikTok, per AP News. Wray warned that China could use TikTok to collect user data for espionage operations, AP News said. He added that China could collect users' data for traditional espionage operations, the news agency reported. TikTok said in June that it started routing American users' data via US-based servers owned by Oracle, per The Verge. However, BuzzFeed News reported that US user data was still being repeatedly accessed from China.

☆ Florida's attorney general says Americans from blue states are moving to the Sunshine State because it's tough on crime: 'It's not rocket science'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Isabella Zavarise | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Florida AG Ashley Moody says Americans are moving to Florida because it's a law and order state. Americans have flocked to the Sunshine State largely due to its low taxes, and business-friendly policies, according to the state's CFO, Jimmy Patronis. Using data from the FBI's 2018 Uniform Crime Reporting Program, USA Today ranked states from lowest violent crime rate to highest. Florida ranked 21st with a violent crime rate of 384.9 per 100,000 people, while California — the most populous state — ranked 14th with a violent crime rate of 447.4 per 100,000 people, according to the news outlet. New York was 25th on the list with a violent crime rate of 350.5 per 100,000 people.

A passenger disturbance on a Southwest Airlines flight prompted its diversion to Little Rock, Arkansas, on Saturday on one of the year's busiest travel weekends. "The FBI is the primary federal agency authorized to investigate potential assault aboard aircraft violations," Hagan said by email. The exact nature of the disturbance on board the Columbus, Ohio-bound flight from Houston wasn't entirely revealed. The disturbance came amid one of the year's busiest travel weekends, when many Americans partook in Thanksgiving reunions following the end of pandemic isolation. On Monday, authorities alleged, a Utah man held a straight-edge razor near another passenger’s throat on a New York City-to-Salt Lake City flight.

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