Month: August 2023

A campaign fundraiser who worked with Rep. George Santos has been indicted on four counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, after he allegedly impersonated a top aide to a member of the House while contacting donors for Santos’ campaign. Santos’ office has declined to comment on Miele.

According to an indictment and memo filed in federal court, during the 2022 election cycle Samuel Miele allegedly impersonated someone labeled “Person #1” in the indictment (who is believed to be the chief of staff to now-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, according to reports from CNBC and The New York Times. In a separate memo, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York alerted federal judges in New York that Miele had been indicted over alleged efforts to “defraud prospective contributors to Devolder Santos’s campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives during the 2022 election cycle.”

The indictment of Miele claims he “falsely and without authorization impersonated Person #1, in both email and telephone communications with potential contributors, for the purpose of soliciting financial contributions to support the campaign and enriching himself through commissions earned on these financial contributions to the campaign.” The indictment says Miele’s commission was 15% of each contribution; Miele allegedly admitted in a letter to “faking my identity to a big donor,” saying he was “high risk, high reward in everything I do.” Miele did not respond to a request seeking comment; an initial court date in his case has not yet been set.

Santos pleaded not guilty on charges filed in May of fraud, money laundering and more crimes. Federal prosecutors allege in Santos’ case that the freshman congressman from New York’s Long Island operated a limited liability company to defraud prospective supporters of his 2022 congressional campaign, and that Santos induced supporters to donate money to the unnamed company “under the false pretense that the money would be used to support” his candidacy. In addition to his federal court case, Santos faces an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

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According to a statement released by the White House on Wednesday, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Maui on Monday, August 21 after devastating wildfires on the Hawaiian island killed more than 100 people and caused mass destruction in the area. The death toll from the fires rose to 106 on Wednesday as recovery efforts continued.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Mr. and Mrs. Biden will meet with first responders, survivors, as well as federal, state, and local officials during their trip: “The president and first lady will be welcomed by state and local leaders to see firsthand the impacts of the wildfires and the devastating loss of life and land that has occurred on the island, as well as discuss the next steps in the recovery effort. The president continues to marshal a whole-of-government response to the deadly Maui fires, and he has committed to delivering everything that the people of Hawaii need from the federal government as they recover from this disaster.”

The White House has been working closely with Hawaii’s Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, Gov. Josh Green, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, keeping the President up-to-date on search and recovery efforts. FEMA said more than 4,400 survivors have registered for federal assistance and may be eligible for immediate resources, including hotel rooms or financial assistance. Criswell said on Wednesday that FEMA has approved more than $2.3 million in assistance to 1,331 households, including more than $798,000 in initial rental assistance, to help survivors start the recovery process. FEMA also opened a joint disaster recovery center where survivors can speak face-to-face with FEMA specialists to have access to other federal and state resources.

Biden had said earlier in the week that while he wanted to travel to Maui, he wanted to ensure that a presidential visit would not hinder recovery efforts. “I don’t want to get in the way — I’ve been to too many disaster areas, but I want to go and make sure we got everything we need. I want to be sure we don’t disrupt the ongoing recovery efforts,” Biden said, adding that he pledged Maui will have “every asset, every asset they need.”

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Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who is one of the co-defendants charged with racketeering in the Georgia 2020 election probe, is seeking to move the Fulton County case to federal court.

In a 14-page court document filed on Tuesday, Meadows argued that the charges in the indictment pertain to actions he took while serving in the Trump administration.  His attorneys wrote: “Mr. Meadows has the right to remove this matter. The conduct giving rise to the charges in the indictment all occurred during his tenure and as part of his service as Chief of Staff.”   Meadows’ lawyers requested “prompt removal,” citing a federal law that allows a United States officer to remove a civil action or criminal prosecution in state court against them to the district court.

The request from Meadows comes just one day after the former Chief of Staff, along with former President Donald Trump and 17 other defendants, were indicted on felony charges in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. Meadows faces two counts in the sprawling 41-count indictment, including alleged violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act and solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer.

The probe was launched by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.  According to the indictment, Meadows, Trump and other unindicted co-conspirators “unlawfully solicited, requested, and importuned” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021. Trump shares the charges faced by Meadows and faces 11 additional counts, stemming from allegedly filing false documents, making false statements and writings, and several conspiracy charges. Other Trump allies were also charged, including Rudy Giuliani and former Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark.  Trump and Giuliani have denied any wrongdoing.

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The mother of a 6-year-old boy who authorities say used her gun to shoot his first-grade teacher at a elementary school in Virginia pleaded guilty Tuesday to a state charge stemming from the shooting in January. The case drew national attettion to school safety and gun violence and led to the ouster of the school’s superintendent and an assistant principal.

Deja Taylor, 26, was charged in April with felony child neglect and recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child, a misdemeanor. Taylor could serve up to six months in state prison based on a recommendation by the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney. A judge will sentence Taylor on Oct. 27. The separate misdemeanor charge was dropped in a plea agreement, allowing Taylor to avoid a potential six-year prison sentence. Taylor’s attorney James Ellenson told reporters outside the courthouse: “She feels very responsible, feels very bad … It’s just very emotional, the whole hearing. It’s all just very upsetting to everybody.”

Abigail Zwerner, the teacher in the shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, was shot with a 9 mm handgun in their classroom after recess on Jan. 6, police said in a search warrant for the investigation. Zwerner told investigators the boy pulled a gun out of his jacket pocket and pointed it at her. When she asked what he was doing, he fired one shot. Zwerner was hit in the left hand and upper torso. As a result, Zwerner has filed a $40 million lawsuit alleging that school administrators ignored multiple warnings from staff and students who believed the boy had a gun and posed an imminent threat on the day of the shooting, knowing the child “had a history of random violence.”

According to the search warrant, Taylor told police that she normally stored the gun in her purse with a trigger lock in place or in a lock box, and on the morning of the shooting Taylor thought the gun was in her purse on top of her dresser in her bedroom. She said she kept the key for the trigger lock under her mattress. However in a federal case stemming from the shooting, investigators said they couldn’t find a trigger lock or a lock box during searches of Taylor’s home or her mother’s home. Taylor also pleaded guilty in federal court in June to the use of marijuana while possessing a firearm. She is expected to be sentenced in October and could receive 18 months to 24 months in prison.

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Officials announced Monday that a 17-year-old in Philadelphia has been charged and arrested with multiple state charges stemming from an FBI terrorism investigation. The investigation began when the FBI became aware of the teen’s alleged communication with Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ), a foreign terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda. Over a period of weeks, the FBI identified the teen and conducted an investigation. The teen allegedly had acquired chemicals and had taken steps to build a weapon of mass destruction.

Dozens of FBI agents and other law enforcement partners descended upon a neighborhood in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia Friday as part of the investigation, and searched a residential property. FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire said that as investigators became aware that the teen had collected materials necessary to build a functional device, the FBI moved quickly to arrest him.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said at a news conference that the teen, whose name is not being released, is being charged as a juvenile. Said Krasner: “The young man who is under arrest is — was an aspiring terrorist who was not merely thinking, but was doing things that are deeply disturbing and presented a grave danger to everyone.”  The case has been filed in juvenile court, but the DA’s office is seeking to have the case moved to adult court, Krasner said, adding that the teen “is currently charged with the following offenses: weapons of mass destruction, criminal conspiracy, arson, causing or risking catastrophe, attempt to commit criminal mischief, possession of an instrument of crime, and reckless endangerment of another person.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire said at the news conference: “Among the items he purchased were tactical equipment, wiring, chemicals and devices often used as remote detonators. He had not only taken steps in acquiring those items and materials that are commonly used in improvised explosive devices, but that he had also taken steps to start putting potential devices together.”  The teen also had access to “quite a significant number of firearms,” Maguire said.

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A grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, has indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 of his associates for election fraud, racketeering and other charges related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The indictment names Trump and 18 others, including Rudy Giuliani, his former lawyer; John Eastman, a conservative lawyer; and Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff. Other co-defendants include Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official; and Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, conservative lawyers who pushed baseless claims of voter fraud. The filing lists 41 total counts, including 13 against Trump, and notes there are 30 unindicted co-conspirators. In all, 19 defendants are charged with “the offense of violation of the Georgia RICO Act,” among other charges.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said that arrest warrants have been issued for all the defendants in the case, and that they have until noon on Aug. 25 to turn themselves in: “The state’s role in this process is essential to the functioning of our democracy. Georgia, like every state, has laws that allow those who believe that results of the election are wrong, whether because of intentional wrongdoing, or unintentional error to challenge those results in state courts,” she said. But rather than abiding by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, she said, the defendants “engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result subsequent to the indictment.”

Willis said the racketeering charges have “time that you have to serve, so it’s not a probated sentence,” meaning that if convicted, the defendants will be sentenced to prison time.

Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges, and has now been charged in four separate cases involving allegations at the end of his presidency.

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