World

U.S. Secret Service provides single text exchange to Jan 6 investigation

Published

6 months ago

July 21, 2022

The US Secret Service has provided a single text exchange to the investigation into the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

The security organisation provided the conversation to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general investigating the agency’s record-keeping.

The watchdog had requested the messages sent and received by 24 Secret Service personnel between December 2020 and January 2021.

The disclosure comes as the committee examines what then-President Donald Trump did in the 187 minutes between his speech to supporters and when he eventually called on them to go home.

“The Secret Service submitted the responsive records it identified, namely, a text message conversation from former US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund to former Secret Service Uniformed Division Chief Thomas Sullivan requesting assistance on January 6, 2021, and advised the agency did not have any further records responsive to the DHS OIG’s request for text messages,” Assistant Director Ronald Rowe said in the letter to the committee.

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: Protesters gather on the second day of pro-Trump events fueled by President Donald Trump’s continued claims of election fraud in an to overturn the results before Congress finalizes them in a joint session of the 117th Congress on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Secret Service cooperation

Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the Secret Service has been cooperating with the House investigation.

“Yesterday morning we delivered an initial set of documents and records responsive to the subpoena issued on Friday, July 15, 2022,” he said.

“Our delivery included thousands of pages of documents, Secret Service cell phone use and other policies, as well as operational and planning records.”

“We continue to scrutinize our records, databases, and archives to ensure full compliance with the Committee’s subpoena. We are taking all feasible steps to identify records responsive to the subpoena, to include forensic examinations of agency phones and other investigative techniques.”

A Secret Service spokesman last week acknowledged text messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, were deleted after being sought by the DHS inspector general.

Sport

Bombshell pro-Russian video emerges from Australian Open

Published

3 hours ago

January 27, 2023

ticker NEWS

A bombshell video has emerged of the father of tennis star Novak Djokovic, amplifying the Russian controversy the Australian Open

Djokovic’s father was seen posing for pictures with a group of Putin supporters after his son won against Russia’s Andrey Rublev, to qualify for his 10th semi-final.

Russian flags have been banned from the Australian Open, but that didn’t stop one fan.

A man was seen holding a Russian flag with Putin’s face on it and wearing a t-shirt with the pro-war ‘Z’ symbol on it.

Four spectators were questioned by police and evicted from Melbourne Park.

After losing her semi-final, Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka hit back at media when pressed on tennis’ relationship with Russia’s war on Ukraine.

She told reporters incidents like Novak’s father posing with Russian fans have nothing to do with players.

World

FBI Director discusses classified documents as U.S. lawmakers demand answers

Published

3 hours ago

January 27, 2023

Veronica Dudo

Bipartisan outrage on Capitol Hill as politicians say the Biden administration is stonewalling their quest for answers

FBI Director Christopher Wray is speaking out for the first time after several batches of classified documents were discovered in U.S. President Joe Biden’s Wilmington home and Washington think tank office.

On Thursday, Wray urged lawmakers and officials to be “conscious of the rules” when dealing with classified documents.

The statements appear to be a veiled criticism of President Biden after news broke that some of the classified papers in the President’s possession date back 14-years ago to when Biden was a Delaware Senator raising questions if this is a pattern for the president to mishandle classified information.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, there is bipartisan outrage as lawmakers say the Biden administration is stonewalling them in their quest for answers.

Currently, both Biden and former President Donald Trump are facing special counsel investigations into their mishandling of classified documents—and just this week, former Vice President Mike Pence turned over classified documents to the DOJ.

World

Black box from Nepal plane disaster to be sent to Singapore

Published

4 hours ago

January 27, 2023

ticker NEWS

The black box recovered from the January 15 Nepal plane crash in Nepal is being sent to Singapore for analysis

The aim will be to identify the cause of the Yeti Airlines crash that killed all 72 people on board.

Both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder will be examined by experts at Singapore’s Transportation Safety Investigation Bureau.

A government committee is still looking into the cause of the plane disaster.

It was initially suggested the black box be taken to France where the aircraft was manufactured, but Nepalese authorities decided to send it to Singapore.