LOS ANGELES – An Iranian national and United States lawful permanent resident has been arrested on a four-count federal indictment charging him with unlawfully exporting electronics used in railway signaling and telecommunications systems from the United States to Iran, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR).
Bahram Mohammad Ostovari, 66, a resident of Tehran, Iran, and Santa Monica, was arrested Thursday afternoon upon his arrival at Los Angeles International Airport.
Ostovari is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and three counts of violating the IEEPA.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment today in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. A federal magistrate judge ordered him released on $1.3 million bond and scheduled a September 2 trial date.
According to the indictment unsealed today, Ostovari is the founder and CEO of a Tehran-based engineering company – identified in the indictment as “Company A” – that supplied signaling and communications systems to Iran and its government, including on projects for the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways. From at least May 2018 to July 2025, Ostovari and his co-conspirators obtained and shipped sophisticated computer processors, railway signaling equipment, and other electronics and electronic components to Company A in Iran. Many of these items were controlled under federal regulations, and their export to Iran without a license was prohibited.
To perpetrate his illegal export scheme, Ostovari used two front companies he controlled in the UAE – MH-SYS FZCO and Match Systech FZE – as conduits. Ostovari directed co-conspirators at these front companies to acquire the electronics and electronic components for Company A. Ostovari and his co-conspirators intentionally concealed from electronics suppliers in the United States and elsewhere that the goods were destined for Iran, falsely stating that MH-SYS and Match Systech in the UAE were the end users when in fact the true end user was Company A in Iran. Ostovari then directed his co-conspirators to arrange to ship the goods from the UAE to Company A in Iran.
After he became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in May 2020, Ostovari continued to export, sell, and supply electronics and electrical components to Company A in Iran.
Ostovari knew of the U.S. sanctions against Iran, mentioning them in emails to co-conspirators and directing one co-conspirator to provide false information to a federal export control officer regarding the end use of U.S.-origin goods they had shipped to Company A in Iran.
The IEEPA and the ITSR impose controls and restrictions on transactions involving Iran based on the threats posed by Iran to the national security of the United States including, among others, its pursuit of nuclear weapons and sponsorship of terrorism. The IEEPA and ITSR, among other things, prohibit the export, re-export, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States or by a United States person, wherever located, of any goods, technology, or services to Iran or the Government of Iran without first obtaining authorization from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
At no time did Ostovari, his companies, or his co-conspirators apply for or obtain authorization from OFAC to export, sell or supply goods and technologies from the United States to Iran.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted, Ostovari would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count.
Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys David C. Lachman and Colin S. Scott of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section are prosecuting this case. Trial Attorney Kathryn DeMarco of the Justice Department National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section provided valuable assistance.
DETROIT – Jibreel Pratt, 26, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty today to two counts of concealing cryptocurrency donations he intended to make to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan.
According to the plea agreement, in February 2023, Pratt initiated a conversation with a Confidential Human Source (CHS) who Pratt believed was an ISIS member who could facilitate overseas travel to join ISIS. Over the next several months, Pratt communicated his desire to travel overseas to join ISIS and recorded a video pledging allegiance to ISIS’s leader. Pratt also provided ideas, information, documents and handwritten notes on a variety of subjects, including how ISIS could use drones and remote-controlled cars to deliver explosives, how ISIS could organize intelligence operations, and how ISIS could improve its air defense systems. And, in March and May 2023, Pratt sent cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) to the CHS, intending that the money would be used to help pay for the travel of other individuals who were purportedly traveling to join ISIS and/or to help fund an individual who Pratt believed would commit an act of violence in support of ISIS. Pratt concealed the nature and source of his Bitcoin transfers by using a privacy focused VPN and an app that encrypted private keys and transaction data.
“Jibreel Pratt has many talents. And he swore a binding oath to use them to help ISIS—a genocidal anti-American terrorist organization,” said U.S. Attorney Gorgon. “Pratt meticulously plotted to support ISIS and covertly sent them money to further their evil works. We will find the terrorists operating in our shadows and bring them to justice.”
“Today’s guilty plea by Jibreel Pratt underscores the serious threat posed by individuals who attempt to support foreign terrorist organizations known for violence and human rights abuses,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The FBI remains unwavering in its commitment to protecting the American people from those who seek to carry out or orchestrate acts of terrorism. This outcome reflects the strength of our partnerships with law enforcement and intelligence agencies, as well as the dedication of our Joint Terrorism Task Force. The FBI in Michigan will continue working relentlessly to disrupt any plot that threatens the security of our nation.”
Sentencing is scheduled for November 13, 2025. A conviction for concealing the financing of terrorism carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The parties agreed that a 9-year sentence is an appropriate resolution of the matter.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Douglas Salzenstein and Jennifer Burke, Trial Attorney, National Security Division, U.S. Department of Justice are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Gang members, human traffickers, pedophiles, and suspected terrorists are among those defended by rioters and Democratic politicians
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reveals the criminal histories of illegal aliens detained at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center on the night of the July 4 coordinated ambush.
On July 4, 2025, over 1,000 illegal aliens were in custody at Prairieland. Their offenses include molestation of a minor, sexual assault, murder, kidnapping, arson, aggravated assault and human trafficking. There are also almost 50 detainees who are members of foreign terrorist organization or gangs—including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua— as well as 13 Known Suspected Terrorists (KSTs). These are the type of savage individuals Democratic politicians and rioters are defending over American victims.
The violence against DHS law enforcement must end. Our brave ICE officers, who put their lives on the line every day to defend America, are facing a nearly 700 percent increase in assaults against them. This week, violent protestors attacked ICE officers while conducting targeted enforcement operations in San Francisco. Last month, Portland rioters violently targeted law enforcement and stormed an ICE field office.
“On Independence Day, a group of approximately 15 rioters violently attacked and shot at the brave law enforcement operating ICE Prairieland Detention Center that houses monsters including pedophiles, human traffickers, murderers and terrorists,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “And yet, these violent rioters are attacking our law enforcement who are keeping Americans safe and these deprecated individuals out of American communities. Secretary Noem has made it clear: If you threaten or attempt to harm a law enforcement officer, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
Gang members, human traffickers, pedophiles, and suspected terrorists are among those defended by rioters and Democratic politicians
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reveals the criminal histories of illegal aliens detained at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center on the night of the July 4 coordinated ambush.
On July 4, 2025, over 1,000 illegal aliens were in custody at Prairieland. Their offenses include molestation of a minor, sexual assault, murder, kidnapping, arson, aggravated assault and human trafficking. There are also almost 50 detainees who are members of foreign terrorist organization or gangs—including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua— as well as 13 Known Suspected Terrorists (KSTs). These are the type of savage individuals Democratic politicians and rioters are defending over American victims.
The violence against DHS law enforcement must end. Our brave ICE officers, who put their lives on the line every day to defend America, are facing a nearly 700 percent increase in assaults against them. This week, violent protestors attacked ICE officers while conducting targeted enforcement operations in San Francisco. Last month, Portland rioters violently targeted law enforcement and stormed an ICE field office.
“On Independence Day, a group of approximately 15 rioters violently attacked and shot at the brave law enforcement operating ICE Prairieland Detention Center that houses monsters including pedophiles, human traffickers, murderers and terrorists,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “And yet, these violent rioters are attacking our law enforcement who are keeping Americans safe and these deprecated individuals out of American communities. Secretary Noem has made it clear: If you threaten or attempt to harm a law enforcement officer, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
Gang members, human traffickers, pedophiles, and suspected terrorists are among those defended by rioters and Democratic politicians
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reveals the criminal histories of illegal aliens detained at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center on the night of the July 4 coordinated ambush.
On July 4, 2025, over 1,000 illegal aliens were in custody at Prairieland. Their offenses include molestation of a minor, sexual assault, murder, kidnapping, arson, aggravated assault and human trafficking. There are also almost 50 detainees who are members of foreign terrorist organization or gangs—including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua— as well as 13 Known Suspected Terrorists (KSTs). These are the type of savage individuals Democratic politicians and rioters are defending over American victims.
The violence against DHS law enforcement must end. Our brave ICE officers, who put their lives on the line every day to defend America, are facing a nearly 700 percent increase in assaults against them. This week, violent protestors attacked ICE officers while conducting targeted enforcement operations in San Francisco. Last month, Portland rioters violently targeted law enforcement and stormed an ICE field office.
“On Independence Day, a group of approximately 15 rioters violently attacked and shot at the brave law enforcement operating ICE Prairieland Detention Center that houses monsters including pedophiles, human traffickers, murderers and terrorists,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “And yet, these violent rioters are attacking our law enforcement who are keeping Americans safe and these deprecated individuals out of American communities. Secretary Noem has made it clear: If you threaten or attempt to harm a law enforcement officer, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
**A top member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Shaheen built on her years-long legacy of securing key New Hampshire priorities, as well as measures that address America’s top security challenges**
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a top member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, helped advance the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – annual defense legislation that authorizes Pentagon priorities and programs for the next fiscal year. The bill was approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) in a bipartisan vote.
As a senior member of SASC, Senator Shaheen’s additions to the defense bill address both America’s top national security objectives, while also enhancing New Hampshire’s role in support of our national defense.
“With Secretary Hegseth at the helm of the Pentagon, it’s more critical this year than ever that Congress uses the annual defense bill to assert its oversight authority and advance policy to improve the lives of service members. The legislation cleared by the Senate Armed Services Committee this week is not perfect but includes many of my provisions to put guardrails on Secretary Hegseth’s harmful policies, including to protect the shipyard workforce from hiring freezes, ensure President Trump’s trade war isn’t passing the price of defense contracts onto the taxpayer, to make sure promised military assistance continues to flow to Ukraine in their fight for democracy and freedom and protect U.S. basing in Europe, the Middle East and the Indo Pacific.” said Senator Shaheen. “I was also proud to secure provisions that support New Hampshire’s defense industry and good-paying jobs, improve service members’ access to affordable child care and housing, invest in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s capacity and more.”
The Committee-passed bill now moves to the full Senate before it is conferenced with the U.S. House of Representatives. Below is a summary of top New Hampshire and national security priorities secured by Shaheen in the FY 2026 NDAA.
Protecting the Public Shipyard Workforce
Senator Shaheen led a provision to ensure the chaos and confusion that ensued from Secretary Hegseth’s Department of Defense (DoD) civilian hiring freeze does not happen again. The legislation will protect thousands of jobs integral to America’s national security at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and public shipyards across the nation.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is a key economic driver in the region, supporting thousands of jobs integral to America’s national security. After calls from Shaheen and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), DoD claimed to have exempted the shipyard workforce from the civilian hiring freeze, but issues persist in implementation. Shaheen’s provision will make this exemption final and addresses hiring delays that Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has continued to face.
Reassuring America’s Allies and Partners
Standing with Ukraine:
Senator Shaheen has consistently worked to ensure the delivery of military, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine as they fight for their freedom and democracy amid Putin’s war of aggression.
The Committee-passed NDAA includes a reauthorization of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, Department of Defense’s authority to equip the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Shaheen also secured language prohibiting the diversion of military equipment obligated for Ukraine after the Pentagon’s misguided decision, since overruled by President Trump.
The Committee-passed bill also includes Shaheen-authored amendments that allow the continued sharing of U.S. information, intelligence and imagery to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the battlefield and prevent cuts to security cooperation funding for U.S. forces in Europe.
Supporting NATO Allies and Enhancing Global Partnerships:
Shaheen also secured provisions that send a strong message of commitment to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allies and other U.S. partners abroad. Her legislation requires the executive branch to consult with Congress and our NATO Allies before any attempt to abdicate the Commander of U.S. European Command’s dual role of Supreme Allied Commander Europe. This comes after Shaheen pressed senior U.S. military officials on the importance of this U.S. responsibility at NATO. An American general has also served as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Forces in Europe since General Dwight Eisenhower assumed the role following the establishment of the NATO alliance.
The bill includes legislation led by Shaheen requiring the Pentagon to consult with Congress before making changes to U.S. military force posture in Europe and on the Korean Peninsula. U.S. presence in Europe and the Indo Pacific deters adversaries and strengthens our alliances. This legislation will require the Secretary of Defense to certify to Congress that he has consulted the Secretary of State, Director of National Intelligence, senior U.S. military officers in the theaters and officials from regional governments—including NATO Allies, South Korea, Japan and others—before reducing our force presence in Europe or South Korea.
Shaheen also prevented the further consolidation of U.S. military bases in Syria—a move that helps to prevent a resurgence of ISIS influence in the region following the establishment of a new, post-Assad Syrian government.
Protecting Defense Supply Chains from Reckless Tariffs
The bill includes Senator Shaheen’s amendment that would require the Department of Defense to assess the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on the defense supply chain and protect current regulations that are providing relief to small businesses in the defense industrial base.
Shaheen has been vocal in her concerns about the administration’s trade war and its impacts on America’s national defense and military readiness, including by calling on Secretary Hegseth to address how tariffs are impacting the Department’s purchasing power, weakening supply chains and raising costs on small businesses. This provision in the NDAA comes after Shaheen’s third annual bipartisan Congressional delegation to the largest trade show in the world, the Paris Air Show, where she heard concerns about the President’s trade war from allies, partners and the defense and civil aerospace industry. Following the Air Show, Shaheen penned an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal..
Supporting Jobs and the New Hampshire National Guard
To bolster the civilian defense and national security workforce, Senator Shaheen secured an amendment in line with her Defense Workforce Integration Act. The bipartisan, bicameral Shaheen-led bill would leverage existing programs and best practices within the Department of Defense to address persistent workforce shortages by retaining the talent and motivation of those who desire to serve in uniform but are found to be medically disqualified.
As co-chair of the bipartisan U.S. Senate National Guard Caucus, Shaheen has long advocated on behalf of National Guard members. To strengthen the National Guard’s ability to protect and aid New Hampshire in times of crisis, Shaheen secured a provision in this year’s NDAA to help the National Guard retain quality commissioned and warrant officers and maintain increased levels of personnel readiness. Specifically, the amendment allows officers and warrant officers to transfer from active status in the Reserves to the Inactive National Guard.
Confronting the Challenges Posed by PFAS Contamination
Senator Shaheen successfully added an amendment to respond more quickly to the spread of PFAS contamination at certain military installations and surrounding communities where PFAS are discovered in existing water sources as a result of military activities. The policy requires the Department of Defense to take action to address contamination hotspots and provide safe drinking water to communities while the lengthier remedial investigation process moves forward. Shaheen also secured adoption of an amendment to clarify that DoD can use innovative technologies for destroying PFAS to provide more tools to address contamination.
Shaheen opposed amendments that were ultimately adopted to rescind the moratorium on PFAS incineration and prohibit the military from procuring a variety of items containing PFAS, including cookware used to prepare food in military galleys and furniture upholstery and carpeting for military installations. These provisions add unnecessary exposure to harmful toxins for service members and their families, increasing their chances of long-term health impacts.
Shaheen has worked for more than a decade to hold the Department of Defense responsible for remediation of PFAS contamination at military bases and ensure transparency for affected communities. Shaheen spearheaded the first nationwide PFAS health impact study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) that is in its final stages. Shaheen leads efforts in Congress to uncover the potential health effects related to PFAS contamination. Because of her efforts, Pease served as a model site for the nationwide study. Shaheen has also led efforts to improve the Defense Department’s transparency and engagement with local communities, improve safety of firefighting gear, phase out use of PFAS-laden firefighting foam and expand blood-testing for military firefighters exposed to PFAS. Shaheen also secured record funding to upgrade drinking water and wastewater infrastructure to address PFAS contamination in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021.
Defending and Strengthening Support for America’s Service Members and Their Families
Addressing Sexual Assault in the Military:
Senator Shaheen successfully fought for a provision to increase accountability and transparency for investigations into military sexual assault cases. The Committee-passed NDAA includes Shaheen’s amendment requiring the National Guard Bureau to provide an annual report on the number of Guardsmen who participate in Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) training each year.
Shaheen has championed efforts in the Senate to respond to and address sexual assault in the military. In the FY23 NDAA, she helped secure reforms that expanded the types of sexual misconduct offenses and addressed the role of military commanders’ convening authority power. She played a pivotal role in the adoption of historic reforms to the Uniform Code of Military Justice to address sexual assault in the military, including taking those offenses out of a service member’s chain of command.
Expanding Access to Child Care for Military Families:
Shaheen helped secure inclusion of a provision to expand child care access for military families by directing the Department of Defense to support the recruitment and retention of providers in order to build a future child care workforce and make long-term investments in child care providers. The provision also authorizes the Department of Defense to enter into an interagency partnership with a federal agency, such as AmeriCorps, to place national service participants and volunteers trained in education services at military child care centers.
The provision is based on bipartisan legislation Shaheen co-leads with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), the Expanding Access to Child Care for Military Families Act, to support workforce development opportunities for child care providers and to add capacity to the child care sector.
Addressing Service Members and Military Families’ Quality of Life:
To help service members and their families navigate the nation’s housing affordability crisis, Shaheen secured an amendment in the NDAA to improve DoD’s financial counseling offerings. To ensure service members learn about fees and other costs associated with homebuying, the provision allows Service Secretaries to work with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development certified housing counselors and other qualified counselors to help service members and families.
Bolstering Mental Health Resources and Responses:
Shaheen helped secure a provision in line with her National Adverse Childhood Experiences Response Team (ACERT) Grant Program Authorization Act directing the DoD to study and report on establishing a program to address adverse childhood experiences associated with exposure to trauma by connecting law enforcement and first responders with local child specialists and professionals.
The legislation also includes Shaheen’s amendment to address the shortage of quality, accessible mental and behavioral health care for service members. Her provision requires DoD to assess where there are shortages in providers and the impact of those staffing shortages on service members.
Investing in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and New England’s Shipbuilding Workforce
Senator Shaheen built on her long legacy of support for New England’s shipbuilding industry and workforce, including through authorizing funding and workforce development for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The Committee-approved FY26 NDAA includes full authorization for the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) investments at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which will expand the Shipyard’s capacity to maintain America’s fast-attack submarine fleet. As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations and Armed Services Committees, Senator Shaheen helped secure this funding beginning in the fiscal year 2019 funding legislation, which she has continued in ensuing years.
Shaheen also helped to authorize funding for increased reliability, resiliency and capacity to the existing electric and water utility systems primarily responsible for the nuclear support facilities at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Additionally, the bill authorizes $26 million for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art Readiness Center to support the New Hampshire National Guard in Plymouth, New Hampshire.
In addition, the bill reauthorizes funding for Virginia-class submarines, which are repaired at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Shaheen is a steadfast supporter of the Virginia-class program and is a fierce advocate for Shipyard priorities.
Shaheen also secured a provision aimed at improving the quality of life and bolstering recruitment and retention of employees at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the country’s three other public shipyards. The Shaheen amendment requires DoD to assess the feasibility, costs and benefits of providing civilian employees with apartment-style or dormitory housing options. Shaheen also secured report language to encourage DoD to explore the feasibility of low-interest loans for maritime industrial base (MIB) suppliers.
Finally, the bill includes Shaheen’s legislation to extend direct hire authority to the Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair (SUPSHIP), which will give Navy the ability to fill these positions quickly, address workforce delays and reduce delays in submarine construction and maintenance.
Supporting Americans Affected by Directed Energy Attacks
Senator Shaheen built on her progress to ensure that all U.S. personnel and their loved ones suffering from anomalous health incidents (AHIs) – also known as “Havana Syndrome” or directed-energy attacks – get the medical attention they deserve. Shaheen successfully secured a provision that encourages the Department of Defense to supply the cross-functional team addressing AHIs with the resources that they need to provide those affected with necessary treatment and timely compensation under the Helping American Victims Affected by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) Act of 2021. The amendment also urges the Department to redouble its efforts to identify emerging directed energy threats, understand their origin and develop countermeasures to defend against them.
Shaheen has been a leader in supporting American public servants who have incurred AHIs. In October 2021, President Biden signed legislation Shaheen helped lead, the Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA Act), into law. The law authorizes financial support to ensure medical care for those affected by AHIs. In the FY21 NDAA, Shaheen successfully included language to expand a provision in law that she previously wrote to provide long-term, emergency care benefits to all U.S. government employees and their dependents who were mysteriously injured while working in China and Cuba.
Bolstering Congressional Oversight and Reining in Wasteful Spending
In this year’s NDAA, Senator Shaheen secured several provisions to assert Congress’s oversight authority over the Trump administration and prohibit wasteful spending, including the use of Department of Defense resources for immigration enforcement activities. The bill requires DoD to notify Congress before using military airlift for immigration enforcement purposes and expands existing notifications to include requests for assistance in support of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at Guantanamo Bay. In the first five months of migrant operations at Guantanamo Bay, DoD has already spent over $40 million providing non-reimbursable support to DHS.
Additionally, Shaheen included language in the NDAA urging DoD not to downgrade the U.S. Naval Hospital at Guantanamo Bay to a clinic. The hospital is the only source of health care for the over 6,000 active duty personnel, DoD civilians, family members, contract personnel and local and foreign national employees stationed at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay (NSGB).
The provisions come after Shaheen joined a Congressional delegation to Guantanamo Bay in March of this year after the Pentagon refused to answer Congressional oversight questions on its support to DHS’s new migrant operations there.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11)
(NEW YORK, NY) – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s decision to strike down a plea deal that would have allowed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants to avoid the death penalty:
“I applaud today’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals to rightly reject an outrageous plea deal that would have allowed the 9/11 mastermind and his accomplices to escape the death penalty. This ruling confirms what we’ve been saying all along: the Biden Administration never should have considered such a deal in the first place.
The American people have waited more than two decades for justice. The families who lost loved ones, along with the first responders who continue to suffer, deserve full accountability for those who orchestrated the deadliest terrorist attack on our nation’s soil. It is time to move forward by setting a trial date and pursuing the death penalty to ensure these terrorists are finally held fully accountable for their crimes.”
In 2024, Malliotakis was joined by 9/11 Families & First Responders Call for Justice to be Served Against 9/11 Terrorists.
In 2023, Malliotakis joined Texas Senator Ted Cruz in writing to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urging the Department of Defense to scrap any possibility for a plea dealwith 9/11 terrorists that takes the death penalty off the table.
From the prologue of the 40th anniversary edition of David Robie’s seminal book on the Rainbow Warrior’s last voyage, former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark (1999-2008) writes about what the bombing on 10 July 1985 means today.
The bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour on 10 July 1985 and the death of a voyager on board, Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira, was both a tragic and a seminal moment in the long campaign for a nuclear-free Pacific.
It was so startling that many of us still remember where we were when the news came through. I was in Zimbabwe on my way to join the New Zealand delegation to the United Nations World Conference on Women in Nairobi. In Harare I met for the first time New Zealand Anglican priest Father Michael Lapsley who, in that same city in 1990, was severely disabled by a parcel bomb delivered by the intelligence service of the apartheid regime in South Africa. These two bombings, of the Rainbow Warrior and of Michael, have been sad reminders to me of the price so many have paid for their commitment to peace and justice.
It was also very poignant for me to meet Fernando’s daughter, Marelle, in Auckland in 2005. Her family suffered a loss which no family should have to bear. In August 1985, I was at the meeting of the Labour Party caucus when it was made known that the police had identified a woman in their custody as a French intelligence officer. Then in September, French prime minister Laurent Fabius confirmed that French secret agents had indeed sunk the Rainbow Warrior. The following year, a UN-mediated agreement saw the convicted agents leave New Zealand and a formal apology, a small amount of compensation, and undertakings on trade given by France — the latter after New Zealand perishable goods had been damaged in port in France.
Both 1985 and 1986 were momentous years for New Zealand’s assertion of its nuclear-free positioning which was seen as provocative by its nuclear-armed allies. On 4 February 1985, the United States was advised that its naval vessel, the Buchanan, could not enter a New Zealand port because it was nuclear weapons-capable and the US “neither confirm nor deny” policy meant that New Zealand could not establish whether it was nuclear weapons-armed or not.
In Manila in July 1986, a meeting between prime minister David Lange and US Secretary of State George Schultz confirmed that neither New Zealand nor the US were prepared to change their positions and that New Zealand’s engagement in ANZUS was at an end. Secretary Schultz famously said that “We part company as friends, but we part company as far as the alliance is concerned”.
Pour les 40 ans de l’attentat de la France contre le Rainbow Warrior, le journaliste néo-zélandais @DavidRobie publie une nouvelle édition de son livre sur le dernier voyage du navire de Greenpeace. Préfacée par Helen Clark, ex-PM de Nouvelle-Zélandehttps://t.co/n1v8Nduel6
New Zealand passed its Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act in 1987. Since that time, until now, the country has on a largely bipartisan basis maintained its nuclear-free policy as a fundamental tenet of its independent foreign policy. But storm clouds are gathering.
Australia’s decision to enter a nuclear submarine purchase programme with the United States is one of those. There has been much speculation about a potential Pillar Two of the AUKUS agreement which would see others in the region become partners in the development of advanced weaponry. This is occurring in the context of rising tensions between the United States and China.
Many of us share the view that New Zealand should be a voice for deescalation, not for enthusiastic expansion of nuclear submarine fleets in the Pacific and the development of more lethal weaponry.
Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage and Legacy of the Rainbow Warrior . . . publication 10 July 2025. Image: David Robie/Little Island Press
Nuclear war is an existential threat to humanity. Far from receding, the threat of use of nuclear weapons is ever present. The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists now sits at 89 seconds to midnight. It references the Ukraine theatre where the use of nuclear weapons has been floated by Russia. The arms control architecture for Europe is unravelling, leaving the continent much less secure. India and Pakistan both have nuclear arsenals. The Middle East is a tinder box with the failure of the Iran nuclear deal and with Israel widely believed to possess nuclear weapons. North Korea continues to develop its nuclear weapons capacity. An outright military conflict between China and the United States would be one between two nuclear powers with serious ramifications for East Asia, South-East Asia, the Pacific, and far beyond.
August 2025 marks the eightieth anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A survivors’ group, Nihon Hidankyo, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. They bear tragic witness to the horror of the use of nuclear weapons. The world must heed their voice now and at all times.
In the current global turbulence, New Zealand needs to reemphasise the principles and values which drove its nuclear-free legislation and its advocacy for a nuclear-free South Pacific and global nuclear disarmament. New Zealanders were clear — we did not want to be defended by nuclear weapons. We wanted our country to be a force for diplomacy and for dialogue, not for warmongering.
The multilateral system is now in crisis — across all its dimensions. The UN Security Council is paralysed by great power tensions. The United States is unlikely to pay its dues to the UN under the Trump presidency, and others are unlikely to fill the substantial gap which that leaves. Its humanitarian, development, health, human rights, political and peacekeeping, scientific and cultural arms all face fiscal crises.
This is the time for New Zealand to link with the many small and middle powers across regions who have a vision for a world characterised by solidarity and peace and which can rise to the occasion to combat the existential challenges it faces — including of nuclear weapons, climate change, and artificial intelligence. If our independent foreign policy is to mean anything in the mid-2020s, it must be based on concerted diplomacy for peace and sustainable development.
Movement back towards an out-of-date alliance, from which New Zealand disengaged four decades ago, and its current tentacles, offers no safe harbour — on the contrary, these destabilise the region within which we live and the wide trading relationships we have. May this new edition of David Robie’s Eyes of Fire remind us of our nuclear-free journey and its relevance as a lode star in these current challenging times.
The 40th anniversary edition of Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage and Legacy of the Rainbow Warrior by David Robie ($50, Little Island Press) can be purchased from Little Island Press.
From the prologue of the 40th anniversary edition of David Robie’s seminal book on the Rainbow Warrior’s last voyage, former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark (1999-2008) writes about what the bombing on 10 July 1985 means today.
The bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour on 10 July 1985 and the death of a voyager on board, Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira, was both a tragic and a seminal moment in the long campaign for a nuclear-free Pacific.
It was so startling that many of us still remember where we were when the news came through. I was in Zimbabwe on my way to join the New Zealand delegation to the United Nations World Conference on Women in Nairobi. In Harare I met for the first time New Zealand Anglican priest Father Michael Lapsley who, in that same city in 1990, was severely disabled by a parcel bomb delivered by the intelligence service of the apartheid regime in South Africa. These two bombings, of the Rainbow Warrior and of Michael, have been sad reminders to me of the price so many have paid for their commitment to peace and justice.
It was also very poignant for me to meet Fernando’s daughter, Marelle, in Auckland in 2005. Her family suffered a loss which no family should have to bear. In August 1985, I was at the meeting of the Labour Party caucus when it was made known that the police had identified a woman in their custody as a French intelligence officer. Then in September, French prime minister Laurent Fabius confirmed that French secret agents had indeed sunk the Rainbow Warrior. The following year, a UN-mediated agreement saw the convicted agents leave New Zealand and a formal apology, a small amount of compensation, and undertakings on trade given by France — the latter after New Zealand perishable goods had been damaged in port in France.
Both 1985 and 1986 were momentous years for New Zealand’s assertion of its nuclear-free positioning which was seen as provocative by its nuclear-armed allies. On 4 February 1985, the United States was advised that its naval vessel, the Buchanan, could not enter a New Zealand port because it was nuclear weapons-capable and the US “neither confirm nor deny” policy meant that New Zealand could not establish whether it was nuclear weapons-armed or not.
In Manila in July 1986, a meeting between prime minister David Lange and US Secretary of State George Schultz confirmed that neither New Zealand nor the US were prepared to change their positions and that New Zealand’s engagement in ANZUS was at an end. Secretary Schultz famously said that “We part company as friends, but we part company as far as the alliance is concerned”.
Pour les 40 ans de l’attentat de la France contre le Rainbow Warrior, le journaliste néo-zélandais @DavidRobie publie une nouvelle édition de son livre sur le dernier voyage du navire de Greenpeace. Préfacée par Helen Clark, ex-PM de Nouvelle-Zélandehttps://t.co/n1v8Nduel6
New Zealand passed its Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act in 1987. Since that time, until now, the country has on a largely bipartisan basis maintained its nuclear-free policy as a fundamental tenet of its independent foreign policy. But storm clouds are gathering.
Australia’s decision to enter a nuclear submarine purchase programme with the United States is one of those. There has been much speculation about a potential Pillar Two of the AUKUS agreement which would see others in the region become partners in the development of advanced weaponry. This is occurring in the context of rising tensions between the United States and China.
Many of us share the view that New Zealand should be a voice for deescalation, not for enthusiastic expansion of nuclear submarine fleets in the Pacific and the development of more lethal weaponry.
Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage and Legacy of the Rainbow Warrior . . . publication 10 July 2025. Image: David Robie/Little Island Press
Nuclear war is an existential threat to humanity. Far from receding, the threat of use of nuclear weapons is ever present. The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists now sits at 89 seconds to midnight. It references the Ukraine theatre where the use of nuclear weapons has been floated by Russia. The arms control architecture for Europe is unravelling, leaving the continent much less secure. India and Pakistan both have nuclear arsenals. The Middle East is a tinder box with the failure of the Iran nuclear deal and with Israel widely believed to possess nuclear weapons. North Korea continues to develop its nuclear weapons capacity. An outright military conflict between China and the United States would be one between two nuclear powers with serious ramifications for East Asia, South-East Asia, the Pacific, and far beyond.
August 2025 marks the eightieth anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A survivors’ group, Nihon Hidankyo, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. They bear tragic witness to the horror of the use of nuclear weapons. The world must heed their voice now and at all times.
In the current global turbulence, New Zealand needs to reemphasise the principles and values which drove its nuclear-free legislation and its advocacy for a nuclear-free South Pacific and global nuclear disarmament. New Zealanders were clear — we did not want to be defended by nuclear weapons. We wanted our country to be a force for diplomacy and for dialogue, not for warmongering.
The multilateral system is now in crisis — across all its dimensions. The UN Security Council is paralysed by great power tensions. The United States is unlikely to pay its dues to the UN under the Trump presidency, and others are unlikely to fill the substantial gap which that leaves. Its humanitarian, development, health, human rights, political and peacekeeping, scientific and cultural arms all face fiscal crises.
This is the time for New Zealand to link with the many small and middle powers across regions who have a vision for a world characterised by solidarity and peace and which can rise to the occasion to combat the existential challenges it faces — including of nuclear weapons, climate change, and artificial intelligence. If our independent foreign policy is to mean anything in the mid-2020s, it must be based on concerted diplomacy for peace and sustainable development.
Movement back towards an out-of-date alliance, from which New Zealand disengaged four decades ago, and its current tentacles, offers no safe harbour — on the contrary, these destabilise the region within which we live and the wide trading relationships we have. May this new edition of David Robie’s Eyes of Fire remind us of our nuclear-free journey and its relevance as a lode star in these current challenging times.
The 40th anniversary edition of Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage and Legacy of the Rainbow Warrior by David Robie ($50, Little Island Press) can be purchased from Little Island Press.
overnor Kathy Hochul issued a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging the Department to make funding available to state and local governments through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) as has been done every year since 2002.
HSGP provides states, local jurisdictions and their law enforcement, public safety, homeland security and emergency management officials with critical resources to further their preparedness and response capabilities. Without these resources, first responders and frontline emergency management operation teams will be unable to access state-of-the-art training, the latest advancements in equipment and the ability to seamlessly share and analyze intelligence with each other.
As the threat of terrorism increases amid the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, it is essential that the federal government ensures the availability of funding for all essential components of counterterrorism efforts.
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Secretary Noem:
As Governor, my chief responsibility is ensuring the safety and security of New York State and all its residents. Not only does New York face the nation’s most diverse threat landscape, but with numerous economic, governmental, and recreational assets, it remains the nation’s top target for terrorism. In recent months, that threat has only grown given the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, making it essential that the federal government, specifically, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ensure the availability of critical homeland security funding to states and local governments.
I am deeply troubled that DHS has yet to make funding available to states and local governments through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) as it has every year since 2002.
On June 22, 2025, DHS issued a bulletin through the National Terrorism Advisory System notifying Americans of the heightened threat environment our nation faces due to our recent involvement in the ongoing conflict between the nations of Israel and Iran. As noted in the bulletin:
“….Low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks. Iran also has a long-standing commitment to target US Government officials it views as responsible for the death of an Iranian military commander killed in January 2020. The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland. Multiple recent Homeland terrorist attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks.”
As home to the country’s largest economic center, and the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, these threats put New York communities at a greater risk than perhaps anywhere else in the nation. Thankfully, since your agency’s inception, New York and DHS have maintained a strong partnership to counter these threats. This partnership has been essential to ensure that the State and local governments and their public safety agencies have the funding and resources needed to prepare for, mitigate, prevent and withstand terrorist threats and targeted violence.
One core component of this partnership has been DHS’ Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP). In 2024, New York received $219.9 million in HSGP funding, $156.1 million of which was allocated through the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) for jurisdictions in the New York City Metro Area, principally the New York Police Department. In 2023, New York received $244.7 million with $173.9 million allocated through UASI.
HSGP provides states, local jurisdictions and their law enforcement, public safety, homeland security and emergency management officials with critical resources to further their preparedness and response capabilities. Without these resources, the heroic men and women who continuously put their lives on the line to protect their fellow Americans are unable to access state of the art training, the latest advancements in equipment and the ability to seamlessly share and analyze intelligence with each other – all essential components of counterterrorism efforts.
Furthermore, HSGP funding is vital to securing and maintaining critical infrastructure assets (transportation hubs, power grids, water systems, communication networks) which are top targets of nefarious actors, as well as to assist local law enforcement with border security via Operation Stonegarden. Through Operation Stonegarden, jurisdictions along international borders receive direct funding to not only enhance cooperation and coordination between federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, but to support joint operations. As a state with a 445-mile international border, security of this boundary is of the utmost importance to me. To that end, I have secured $8 million in state funds, as well as dedicated State Police and other public safety resources to support this federal mission.
Any further delays in the availability of HSGP will degrade the capabilities of our nation to prevent terrorism and make us less safe at a time when the variety and severity of security threats continue to grow.
I urge you to release the FY2025 HSGP Notice of Funding Opportunity immediately and help ensure our nation remains ready and able to defend ourselves against anyone seeking to threaten our way of life.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) vide public document ‘High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action’ – 13 June 2025, has called on its members and other jurisdictions to refer to the statement on Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran adopted in February 2020 which remains in effect. Further, Myanmar was added to the list of High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action in the October 2022 FATF plenary and FATF has called on its members and other jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence measures proportionate to the risk arising from Myanmar. When applying enhanced due diligence measures, countries have been advised to ensure that flows of funds for humanitarian assistance, legitimate NPO activity and remittances are not disrupted. The status of Myanmar in the list of countries subject to a call for action, remains unchanged.
FATF had earlier identified the following jurisdictions as having strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing and had placed the jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring, which had developed action plan with the FATF to deal with them. These jurisdictions were: Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Lebanon, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen. As per the June 13, 2025 FATF public statement, Bolivia and the Virgin Islands (UK) have been added to the list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring while Croatia, Mali and Tanzania have been removed from this list based on review by the FATF.
FATF plenary releases documents titled “High-Risk jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action” and “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring” with respect to jurisdictions that have strategic AML/CFT deficiencies as part of the ongoing efforts to identify and work with jurisdictions with strategic Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) deficiencies. This advice does not preclude the regulated entities from legitimate trade and business transactions with these countries and jurisdictions mentioned there.
The detailed information is available in the updated public statements and document released by FATF on June 13, 2025. The statements and document can be accessed at the following URL:
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions. The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally. The FATF’s decision making body, the FATF Plenary, meets three times a year and updates these statements, which may be noted.
Ajit Prasad Deputy General Manager (Communications)
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) vide public document ‘High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action’ – 13 June 2025, has called on its members and other jurisdictions to refer to the statement on Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran adopted in February 2020 which remains in effect. Further, Myanmar was added to the list of High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action in the October 2022 FATF plenary and FATF has called on its members and other jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence measures proportionate to the risk arising from Myanmar. When applying enhanced due diligence measures, countries have been advised to ensure that flows of funds for humanitarian assistance, legitimate NPO activity and remittances are not disrupted. The status of Myanmar in the list of countries subject to a call for action, remains unchanged.
FATF had earlier identified the following jurisdictions as having strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing and had placed the jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring, which had developed action plan with the FATF to deal with them. These jurisdictions were: Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Lebanon, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen. As per the June 13, 2025 FATF public statement, Bolivia and the Virgin Islands (UK) have been added to the list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring while Croatia, Mali and Tanzania have been removed from this list based on review by the FATF.
FATF plenary releases documents titled “High-Risk jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action” and “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring” with respect to jurisdictions that have strategic AML/CFT deficiencies as part of the ongoing efforts to identify and work with jurisdictions with strategic Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) deficiencies. This advice does not preclude the regulated entities from legitimate trade and business transactions with these countries and jurisdictions mentioned there.
The detailed information is available in the updated public statements and document released by FATF on June 13, 2025. The statements and document can be accessed at the following URL:
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions. The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally. The FATF’s decision making body, the FATF Plenary, meets three times a year and updates these statements, which may be noted.
Ajit Prasad Deputy General Manager (Communications)
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says that small businesses will benefit from upcoming reforms to New Zealand’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws, as the Government moves to make compliance more proportionate and practical for low-risk operators.
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has announced Cabinet’s approval to draft a new Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Omnibus) Amendment Bill to overhaul the existing system.
Under current rules, even small businesses and professionals, such as real estate agents, face complex and time-consuming checks, often regardless of how much risk they face,” Mrs McKee says.
“This level of scrutiny is overkill for a small business dealing with law abiding New Zealanders and it’s an example of why our AML laws need to be smarter and more risk-based,” Mrs McKee says.
“These reforms will enable simplified customer due diligence (CDD) where businesses have assessed the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing to be low and have appropriate controls in place to manage risk. This will support a wide range of small businesses to reduce costs for their customers.
“For example, currently, families selling their home must undergo enhanced customer due diligence if the home is held within a family trust.
“Even when there are clear low risk indicators, such as a property being owned for over a decade and held in a non-trading trust, real estate agents are still required to collect extensive personal and legal information.
“For real estate agents, this would mean taking a common-sense approach to low-risk customers, for example only needing to verify the homeowners’ identity documents and their role as trustees, and retaining a copy of the trust deed.
“Similarly, share brokers and bookkeepers may be able to reduce the level of CDD required for low-risk customers and businesses where there are appropriate restrictions and conditions put in place, such as transaction limits.”
The Government has also directed the future AML/CFT supervisor to issue clear guidance so that businesses like bookkeepers, real estate agents, lawyers, and banks know exactly how to apply these simplified checks without fear of penalty.
“This Government is serious about targeting criminals, not clogging up legitimate businesses and everyday people with red tape.
“We’ve heard from parents who’ve been unable to set up bank accounts for their kids because they can’t prove where their child lives. We’ve heard from elderly Kiwis who, after the death of a spouse, find they can’t open an account in their own name due to a lack of documentation. That’s not a system based on risk, that’s bureaucracy getting in the way of people’s lives.”
As well as making things easier for small business, the bill will enable:
Simplified CDD for low-risk individuals and activities such as opening children’s bank accounts and using digital wallets.
Simplify compliance for small businesses in rural areas.
Grant new powers to combat criminal activity, such as a $5,000 cap on payments of cash for international transfers and banning crypto ATMs.
“Since 2019, the global financial landscape has shifted dramatically, and New Zealand is overdue for a clear and modern national strategy, one that protects against organised crime, while also making compliance easier for those doing the right thing,” Mrs McKee says.
“We want New Zealand to be the safest place in the world to do business legitimately, and the hardest place for criminals to operate.
“By the time we’re finished, New Zealand will have a world-class AML/CFT regime – one that hits criminals hard, not ordinary New Zealanders.”
Sebastião Bugalho, Ingeborg Ter Laak, David McAllister, François‑Xavier Bellamy, Andrzej Halicki, Wouter Beke, Željana Zovko, Isabel Wiseler‑Lima, Andrey Kovatchev, Tomas Tobé, Ioan‑Rareş Bogdan, Tomáš Zdechovský, Davor Ivo Stier, Sander Smit, Elissavet Vozemberg‑Vrionidi, Eleonora Meleti, Vangelis Meimarakis, Georgios Aftias, Dimitris Tsiodras, Emmanouil Kefalogiannis, Antonio López‑Istúriz White, Matej Tonin, Massimiliano Salini, Łukasz Kohut, Loránt Vincze, Seán Kelly, Mirosława Nykiel, Michał Wawrykiewicz, Inese Vaidere, Michalis Hadjipantela, Miriam Lexmann on behalf of the PPE Group Yannis Maniatis, Francisco Assis, Marco Tarquinio, Hana Jalloul Muro, Evin Incir, Nikos Papandreou on behalf of the S&D Group Adam Bielan, Reinis Pozņaks, Alexandr Vondra, Veronika Vrecionová, Ondřej Krutílek, Guillaume Peltier, Marion Maréchal, Nicolas Bay, Laurence Trochu, Małgorzata Gosiewska, Aurelijus Veryga, Bogdan Rzońca, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Waldemar Tomaszewski, Assita Kanko, Marlena Maląg, Carlo Fidanza, Alberico Gambino, Joachim Stanisław Brudziński on behalf of the ECR Group Nathalie Loiseau, Oihane Agirregoitia Martínez, Petras Auštrevičius, Malik Azmani, Dan Barna, Engin Eroglu, Svenja Hahn, Karin Karlsbro, Jan‑Christoph Oetjen, Urmas Paet, Marie‑Agnes Strack‑Zimmermann, Hilde Vautmans, Lucia Yar on behalf of the Renew Group Hannah Neumann on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group Nikolas Farantouris
European Parliament resolution on the urgent need to protect religious minorities in Syria following the recent terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus
–having regard to its previous resolutions on Syria,
–having regard to the statements by the VP/HR and EEAS Spokesperson of 11 March, 7 May and 23 June 2025 on Syria,
–having regard to the Council conclusions of 23 June 2025 on Syria and the European Council conclusions of 26 June 2025 on the Middle East,
–having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas Syria’s religiously and ethnically diverse society suffered for over a decade at the hands of the violent and divisive Assad regime and terrorist groups, especially Daesh, affecting all communities, including Arabs, Kurds, Sunnis, Shias, Alawites, Christians, Druze and Yazidis;
B.whereas a spree of widespread violence, including sexual violence, along the Syrian coast targeting the Alawite community began in March 2025 and is still ongoing, with over 1 200 civilian victims;
C.whereas widespread sectarian clashes in April 2025 killed over 10 Druze civilians;
D.whereas on 22 June 2025, a suicide terrorist attack on the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus killed at least 25 and injured over 60, marking the deadliest attack against Christians in years; whereas a newly formed Islamist terrorist group, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, claimed this attack;
1.Strongly condemns the traumatic terrorist attack against the Mar Elias Church and all threats against worship sites, some historically significant;urges the Syrian authorities to improve safety measures and restore the Mar Elias Church;
2.Strongly condemns all attacks targeting religious and ethnic communities and acknowledges heightened fears among them, seven months into the political transition; expresses solidarity with all victims;
3.Urges the Syrian transitional authorities to facilitate swift, transparent and independent investigations into these acts, and take all necessary actions to quell sectarian violence, ensure accountability, including by prosecuting perpetrators and enablers of human rights violations such as in the case of Mar Elias, uphold freedom of religion and protect all communities;
4.Reiterates the EU’s support, including through conditionally lifting sanctions, for a human rights-based political transition in Syria, with transitional justice, the fight against impunity, prohibiting arbitrary violence, inclusive governance and a People’s Assembly required for its success; calls for the EU to create a Syria reconstruction fund, conditional on demonstrable progress on these priorities and in coordination with relevant international institutions, to promote interfaith dialogue, conflict resolution and reconciliation; calls on the Commission to hold the Day of Dialogue Conference in Syria with Syrian civil society as soon as possible;
5.Highlights the vulnerability of Christian communities in Syria;
6.Calls on the Council to maintain and impose more targeted sanctions on actors responsible for religious freedom violations in Syria;
7.Calls for the Syrian transitional authorities, the EU and the Member States to advance efforts against Islamist terrorism, protect all Syrians and tackle the situation in the al-Hol and Roj camps; calls for Syria’s territorial integrity to be respected;
8.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the European External Action Service, the Council and the Syrian authorities.
As someone who has taken roughly a dozen polygraphs during my 27-year career with the CIA, I read this development with some skepticism.
Polygraphs carry an ominous, almost mythological reputation among Americans. The more familiar and unofficial term – lie detector tests – likely fuels that perception. Television crime dramas have done their part, too, often portraying the device as an oracle for uncovering the truth when conventional methods fail.
In those portrayals, the polygraph is not merely a tool – it’s a window into the soul.
Among those entering government service, especially in national security, the greater anxiety is not the background check but passing the polygraph. My advice is always the same: Don’t lie.
Polygraphs are “pseudo-scientific” in that they measure physiological responses such as heart rate, blood pressure and perspiration. The assumption is that liars betray themselves through spikes in those signals. But this presumes a kind of psychological transparency that simply doesn’t hold up. A person might sweat and tremble simply from fear, anger or frustration – not deceit.
Accordingly, polygraph results are not generally admissible in U.S. courts. Only a handful of states – such as Georgia, Arizona and California – permit their use even under limited conditions. And they typically require that both parties agree to admission and a judge to approve it. Unconditional admissibility remains the exception, not the rule.
And yet, inside many national security agencies, polygraphs remain central to the clearance process – a fact I observed firsthand during my time overseeing personnel vetting and analytic hiring within the intelligence community.
While not treated as conclusive, polygraph results often serve as a filter. A candidate’s visible discomfort – or the examiner’s subjective judgment that a response seems evasive – can stall or end the hiring process. For instance, I know that government agencies have halted clearances after an examiner flagged elevated reactions to questions about past drug use or foreign contacts, even when no disqualifying behavior was ultimately documented.
The FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover headquarters building in Washington in 2016. AP Photo/Cliff Owen
In some cases, an examiner’s suggestion that a chart shows an anomaly has led otherwise strong applicants to volunteer details they hadn’t planned to share – such as minor security infractions, undeclared relationships, or casual drug use from decades earlier – that, while not disqualifying on their own, reshape how their trustworthiness is perceived.
The polygraph’s power lies in creating the conditions under which deception is confessed.
A predictable pattern
No administration has been immune to the impulse to investigate leaks. The reflex is bipartisan and familiar: An embarrassing disclosure appears in the press – contradicting official statements or exposing internal dissent – and the White House vows to identify and punish the source. Polygraphs are often part of this ritual.
Recent policies at the Pentagon now restrict unescorted press access, revoke office space for major outlets and favor ideologically aligned networks. The line between legitimate leak prevention and the surveillance or sidelining of critical press coverage has grown increasingly blurred.
Not all leaks are treated the same. Disclosures that align with official narratives or offer strategic advantage may be quietly tolerated, even if unauthorized. Others, especially those that embarrass senior officials or reveal dysfunction, are more likely to prompt formal investigation.
Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, rides in the backseat of a limousine on Oct. 27, 2005, in McLean, Va. Win McNamee/Getty Images
Leaks involving classified material draw the sharpest response when they challenge presidential authority or expose internal disputes. That was the case in 2010 with Chelsea Manning, whose disclosure of diplomatic cables and battlefield reports embarrassed senior officials and sparked global backlash. Government reaction often depends less on what was disclosed than on who disclosed it – and to what effect.
A narrow set of disclosures, such as those involving espionage or operational compromise, elicit broad consensus as grounds for prosecution. But most leaks fall outside that category. Most investigations fade quietly. The public rarely learns what became of them. Occasionally, there is a vague resignation, but direct accountability is rare.
What the future holds
Trump’s polygraph campaign is not likely to eliminate leaks to the press. But they may have a chilling effect that discourages internal candor while diverting investigative energy away from core security priorities.
Even if such campaigns succeed in reducing unauthorized disclosures, they may come at the cost of institutional resilience. Historically, aggressive internal enforcement has been associated with declining morale and reduced information flow – factors that can hinder adaptation to complex threats.
Some researchers have suggested that artificial intelligence may eventually offer reliable tools for detecting deception. One recent assessment raised the possibility, while cautioning that the technology is nowhere near operational readiness.
For now, institutions will have to contend with the tools they have – imperfect, imprecise and more performative than predictive.
As a former US intelligence officer, I am required to submit any written draft, before sharing it with other persons, for prepublication review. I submitted this draft to CIA’s Prepublication Review Board, which responded on 11 June: “No classified information was identified. Therefore, no changes are required for publication or sharing with others.”
SARS gets largest chunk of Treasury Budget transfers
National Treasury has been allocated R91.835 billion over the medium-term, with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) receiving the largest component of the transfers.
Tabling National Treasury’s Budget Vote in Parliament, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the department’s budget (excluding direct charges) over the medium-term is R91.835 billion, which is an average growth rate of 6.2% from 2024/25 – 2027/28.
“The largest component is for transfers to SARS, which is allocated R45.760 billion (or 49.8%) of the department’s budget for operations and capital projects over the medium-term.
“This is an increase of R8 billion of the SARS baseline compared to the 2024 Estimate of Expenditure. Part of this increase is to improve effectiveness in revenue collection by enhancing their ability to collect debt through better systems, increasing staff capacity and modernising their processes to establish e-invoicing for VAT, instant payment systems and upgrades of customs infrastructure,” Godongwana said on Tuesday.
Last week, National Treasury published monthly debt collection data from SARS for the first time to monitor progress and improve transparency.
The budget allocation per economic classification over the medium-term is as follows:
R3.422 billion on compensation of employees;
R6.983 billion on goods and services;
R78.554 billion on transfers and subsidies;
R89 million on payment of capital assets, and
and R2.786 billion on payment for financial assets.
Sustainable public finances
National Treasury’s Annual Performance Plan 2025/26 sets out clear and ambitious programmes to realise its goals of job creation, lowering poverty and greater inclusion.
“In terms of restoring sustainability and the impact of our public finances, a review of how the government spends money has been central to our policy efforts. To achieve all of our national priorities we need to realise much greater efficiencies on the spending side,” the Minister said.
As such there are new reviews that government plans to conduct, namely:
An audit of ghost workers in the public service using a data-driven approach that links administrative and financial databases to identify bogus and non-existent employees and immediately remove them from the system.
An infrastructure conditional grant review. This will assess why provinces and municipalities underspend, why projects are not delivered on time and within budget, and where relevant, why the quality of the deliverables is poor; and
A review of the remuneration of executives and board members of public entities. The aim is to develop a standardised framework for all schedule three public entities, based on their mandates, areas of influence, and the complexity of a given organisation.
Financial Action Task Force grey list
With South Africa completing all 22 recommended action items outlined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Minister stressed that the country must continue to strengthen the laws to fight illicit and corrupt financing.
“Lastly, I am happy to say that our endeavors, not just the National Treasury’s but the government’s as a whole, to remove South Africa from the Financial Action Task Force grey list, are succeeding,” he said.
South Africa was placed on the FATF grey list due to deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regime.
The FATF recently confirmed that South Africa has substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site assessment.
The on-site assessment will be to verify that the implementation of AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained, and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation in the future.
The on-site visit will take place before the next FATF Plenary, and, if the outcome of the visit is positive, the FATF will delist South Africa from the greylist at its next Plenary in October 2025. Preparations for the on-site visit have commenced.
“A General Laws Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing Bill, to further improve our ability to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing, is being finalised for another round of public comment, and tabling in Parliament in the third quarter of 2025.
“Similarly, the National Treasury has made substantial progress implementing the State Capture Commission recommendations through multiple concrete actions. SARS investigations have recovered R4.8 billion in unpaid taxes, while professional bodies like the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) have imposed consequence management including disbarment,” the Minister said.
The Financial Intelligence Centre launched the ‘Enablers Project’ with law enforcement to trace state capture fund flows, and a 10-year ban was imposed on Bain & Co (currently under litigation).
“Critically, a central register now tracks dismissed officials and those who have resigned during their disciplinary processes across all government spheres,” Godongwana said. – SAnews.gov.za
The world experienced over 60 armed conflicts in 2024, a “historically high” number according to scholars in the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University. Consequently, the risks faced by multinational companies (MNCs) operating in conflict-torn regions, especially the Middle East and North Africa, have significantly intensified. Israel’s recent airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities are another reminder of the escalating violence and instability that are causing loss of life and threatening businesses.
In response to the increase in international crises and armed violence, the United Nations Global Compact has urged companies and investors to adopt more responsible practices in conflict-affected and high-risk areas, so as to position themselves as crucial actors in providing peace and stability.
1) an exit strategy (ie withdrawing from a conflict zone)
2) a business-as-usual strategy that merely complies with changing local conditions and regulations
3) a take-advantage strategy of profiteering from a war economy
4) or a proactive engagement strategy aimed at contributing to public security
But, if an MNC decides to stay and continue operating in a conflict zone, it can hardly be guided by a single strategy. Moreover, since strategies evolve in response to unfolding events, their adaptation may lead to unforeseen consequences and possibly far-reaching negative impacts.
This is clearly demonstrated by our recent study on the case of Lafarge in Syria. Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS), the local subsidiary of the former French multinational construction company Lafarge, continued operating during the Syrian civil war from 2011 until 2014, while most foreign companies withdrew in response to escalating violence and political instability. To maintain production at its Jalabiya plant in northeast Syria, LCS managers established arrangements with various armed groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the al-Nusrah Front (ANF) – “both US-designated foreign terrorist organisations” – providing financial payments called “protection money” and purchasing raw material from suppliers under their control.
The MNC’s stay-at-all-cost strategy in an active civil war zone culminated in a forced withdrawal from Syria – the night before ISIS took full control over the LCS factory – and subsequent, ongoing legal proceedings in France against Lafarge and LCS for alleged financing of terrorism (at least €13 million paid to armed groups including ISIS), violation of international sanctions against Syria, complicity in crimes against humanity, and endangering the lives of others. In early 2024, a French court dropped the charge against Lafarge of endangering the lives of its Syrian employees.
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A ‘downward spiral’
In our study, we examined how some Lafarge and LCS managers navigated Syria’s shifting wartime landscape by analysing the relational, informational and financial strategies they used to engage with various non-state armed groups to sustain operations. Our findings reveal that over the four-year period from 2011 to 2014, a series of short-term, cost-benefit decisions produced a “downward spiral” of strategic responses. Rather than ensuring the company’s survival in an active conflict zone, these strategies increased its dependence on regime-connected intermediaries and war profiteers, and entangled it in the darkness of the Syrian war economy. Ultimately, this led to consequences that extended far beyond mere business failure.
Four key factors shaped this downward spiral. The first is the diversity and fluidity of non-state armed actors with whom the company engaged. LCS paid “protection money” to a range of armed groups – including Kurdish military factions, insurgent groups and militias – prior to the emergence of jihadist organisations, particularly ISIS, in the vicinity of its cement factory. Initially, threats posed by jihadist groups were overshadowed by the complex, shifting alliances and rivalries among local actors vying for control over the resources in the region.
The second factor that shaped the downward spiral is the gradual collapse of state authority in Syria, especially in the region near the factory. When the factory began production in 2010, its operations took place in a zone under the control of the Syrian government. This was a certain guarantee of security provided by the regime, which wanted to ensure the continuous payment of LCS local taxes. But after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, the government started losing control in many parts of the country, including northeast Syria. Faced with this institutional vacuum, LCS managers took security into their own hands by establishing arrangements with various armed groups to safeguard their business.
The third factor is the level of the subsidiary’s exposure to the conflict. At first, the plant’s exposure to violence was low because of its geographical distance from the heart of the conflict. However, by mid-2012, and especially in 2013, fighting intensified close to the factory, which sat near the strategic M4 highway linking eastern Syria to Turkey and Iraq. The highway was a key route used by the company’s suppliers, but also by local rebel and militia groups.
The fourth factor relates to the vulnerability of infrastructure and local supply chains. With $680 million invested in the cement plant’s construction and big hopes for a post-war reconstruction boom in the region, Lafarge was determined to protect its assets and access to critical resources. This imperative, coupled with ambitions to merge with Holcim as early as 2013 (the merger was completed in 2015), drove the company to prioritize continued production, even if it meant aligning with local warlords.
These four factors and their respective dynamics pushed Lafarge and LCS to adopt increasingly unconventional and ethically questionable strategies. In adapting to the unfolding conflict and increasing violence, the company made a series of compromises that ultimately led to negotiations and arrangements with ISIS.
What lessons should MNCs draw from this case?
Lafarge’s dismal experience in war-torn Syria highlights a pattern of “organisational shortsightedness” that often affects MNC managers operating in conflict zones. As security deteriorates, firms may become entangled with local power brokers, adapting incrementally to survive, until they are so embedded that withdrawal becomes impossible. To break this cycle, companies must rigorously assess the potential fallout of their strategies and avoid entanglements with armed factions altogether. Moreover, to survive in conflict zones, MNC subsidiary managers need to gain country-specific knowledge and experience, and consider context complexity and dynamics as constituent elements of their strategies.
Our research serves as a cautionary tale. It warns decision-makers of the dangers of deploying financial and relational strategies in conflict zones that may increase a company’s dependence on non-state armed groups. Such business practices risk compromising objective decision-making and obscuring legal and ethical boundaries and can ultimately backfire. To avoid this, managers should design a responsible withdrawal strategy at the beginning of an armed conflict to ensure employees’ safety. Managers must also adopt ethical and conflict-sensitive practices in strict compliance with the actions for businesses operating in conflict zones recommended by the UN Global Compact.
We also encourage corporate leaders to develop “critical geopolitical awareness” by gaining more contextual knowledge and integrating a multilevel political risk analysis into their strategies. This would provide them with a deeper understanding of the complexity and dynamics of an armed conflict and the relevant actors they need to engage with or avoid. Only with informed leadership can managers effectively and responsibly navigate the complex and often hazardous landscape of doing business in conflict zones.
Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: OSCE and the United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel (‘CT Travel’) Programme provide expert support to Turkmenistan with establishing an Advance Passenger Information (API) system
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Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Washington, DC – This week, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) joined Congressman Lou Correa (D-CA) and 21 House Democrats in pressing U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on the alarming actions of federal agents in California, including Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties. In a letter to Secretary Noem, the Members expressed deep concerns about the Trump Administration’s lack of transparency in the agency’s recent immigration enforcement operations and activities, including the detention of individuals with no criminal record. The letter strongly condemns the administration’s overreach and demands immediate transparency.
“President Trump initially promised to go after the worst of the worst in his immigration policy,” wrote the Members. “However the actions of this administration and your DHS show you are not interested in arresting dangerous criminals like murderers, rapists, and drug dealers. Instead, you are sending masked individuals who do not identify themselves as law enforcement to arrest college and high school students, restaurant workers, factory workers, and even American children.”
“This administration refuses to provide accurate details around what criminal record, if any, DHS components use to justify the arrest of an individual,” wrote the members.
A recent analysis by the Los Angeles Times found that 69% of individuals detained by ICE had no criminal convictions. In their letter, the Members demanded DHS to provide immediate and accurate information on their immigration enforcement activities, including:
A breakdown of criminal charges and convictions of people detained since January 20, 2025
Number of deported individuals and their criminal offenses
How many individuals have proven ties to gangs, foreign terrorist organizations, or criminal enterprises
DHS arrest policy
How agents and officers identify themselves when approaching an individual to detain
Arresting officers’ training
If arresting officers are federal agents.
Earlier this year, Brownley also contacted DHS to express concerns about ICE actions in the community, but ICE has thus far refused to answer questions or provide details on its operations. Brownley continues pressing the Trump administration to adhere to DHS’ mission and act “with honor and integrity to safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.”
The letter was also signed by Representatives Val Hoyle (D-OR), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (D-GA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Danny Davis (D-IL), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), John Garamendi (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Darren Soto (D-FL), Eleanor Norton (D-DC), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Timothy Kennedy (D-NY), and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO).
The full letter can be found here and below:
The Honorable Kristi Noem Secretary Department of Homeland Security Washington, D.C. 20528
Secretary Noem:
We write to express serious concern with this administration’s chilling actions of rounding up and arresting individuals with no criminal history and doing so without the transparency as to why the individuals are being arrested. The lack of accountability and transparency from this administration is of grave concern to the citizens of this country. Not only are Members of Congress concerned with the lack of transparency, accountability, and its immigration actions, but the majority of the American people do not agree with this administration’s actions either.
President Trump initially promised to go after the worst of the worst in his immigration policy. Similarly, you recently went on Fox News and claimed you were going after the worst of the worst. However, the actions of this administration and your DHS show you are not focused on arresting dangerous criminals like murderers, rapists and drug dealers. Instead, you are sending masked individuals who do not identify themselves as law enforcement to arrest college and high school students, restaurant workers, factory workers, and even American children, some of whom have cancer which is beyond heartless. The scope of your enforcement activities has grown so large to include migrant workers and tourists with visas, that you are unable to effectively focus on arresting dangerous criminals, which makes our country less safe.
Even though President Trump has finally acknowledged his immigration policies are harming individuals and businesses, particularly farmers, and those in the hotel and leisure business which is further damaging our once strong economy – we fear this administration will not learn from their mistakes. White House officials have said they hope U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can scale up to 3,000 arrests a day, from approximately 660 during the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency. Since these numbers cannot be achieved without arresting non-criminals, it appears this administration will continue arresting hardworking individuals who pose no threat to our communities. It also appears this is why DHS has eliminated any transparency efforts regarding migrant arrests. For an administration that claims to be the most transparent in history, you have contributed to being the least transparent this country has ever seen.
This administration refuses to provide accurate data and details around what criminal record, if any, DHS components use to justify the arrest of an individual. After President Trump took office DHS stopped issuing detailed statistical reports on immigration enforcement, which makes it challenging to gauge the scope of your immigration crackdown.
Since your administration will not provide transparent data, we must piecemeal different data sources to get an accurate picture of DHS’s enforcement efforts. For example, we look at The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse – a project from Syracuse University that compiles immigration figures – which estimates that of the 51,302 people in ICE detention facilities as of June 1, about 44% had no criminal record aside from entering the US without permission. News outlets also report ICE detention statistics show the number of detainees arrested by ICE with no other criminal charges or convictions rose from about 860 in January to 7,800 this month – a more than 800% increase.
And if we look at recent events and updates from ICE, the unnecessary and harmful immigration raids in Los Angeles saw the immigration arrests of 118 people, which DHS said included five gang members. While the agency has identified a handful of people with criminal histories, due to DHS refusing to provide more transparent details of their actions, it’s unclear how many of the 118 individuals have criminal histories.
Sadly, this administration’s credibility is so badly damaged we cannot simply rely on the words coming from a DHS spokesperson or yourself that this administration is targeting the worst of the worst. The fact this administration has repeatedly misrepresented migrants’ criminal histories, lied to the American people by photoshopping gang tattoos on the body of individual they were illegally detaining, and having to reluctantly admit to clerical errors and software errors that resulted in arrests and deportations of migrants with no criminal history, we in Congress and the American people cannot trust the administration’s word that they are doing what they say. President Trump and his administration leadership have eroded the trust of the American people and Congress, and we must request all necessary pieces of information to get a truthful picture of your immigration enforcement activities.
Therefore, given these concerns we request the following information by July 18, 2025:
A breakdown of the criminal charges and convictions migrants that have been arrested and detained by a DHS component from January 20, 2025 to date.
Of these individuals how many have been deported since January? Please provide a breakdown of their criminal offenses by category.
How many of the individuals have been found by a court to have proven ties, not alleged ties without proof, to criminal enterprises, gangs, or Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO)?
What is the policy DHS components follow when deciding to arrest an individual? How are agents and officers deciding who to detain and arrest in public?
How are agents and officers identifying themselves when they approach an individual to detain and or arrest in the streets?
What type of training do arresting officers have?
Are the arresting officers federal agents?
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We must remind you of the DHS mission statement which is “With honor and integrity, we will safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.” It seems you have forgotten this, and we truly hope you reverse course and start leading with integrity and honor while working to keep us safe.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Washington, DC – This week, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) joined Congressman Lou Correa (D-CA) and 21 House Democrats in pressing U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on the alarming actions of federal agents in California, including Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties. In a letter to Secretary Noem, the Members expressed deep concerns about the Trump Administration’s lack of transparency in the agency’s recent immigration enforcement operations and activities, including the detention of individuals with no criminal record. The letter strongly condemns the administration’s overreach and demands immediate transparency.
“President Trump initially promised to go after the worst of the worst in his immigration policy,” wrote the Members. “However the actions of this administration and your DHS show you are not interested in arresting dangerous criminals like murderers, rapists, and drug dealers. Instead, you are sending masked individuals who do not identify themselves as law enforcement to arrest college and high school students, restaurant workers, factory workers, and even American children.”
“This administration refuses to provide accurate details around what criminal record, if any, DHS components use to justify the arrest of an individual,” wrote the members.
A recent analysis by the Los Angeles Times found that 69% of individuals detained by ICE had no criminal convictions. In their letter, the Members demanded DHS to provide immediate and accurate information on their immigration enforcement activities, including:
A breakdown of criminal charges and convictions of people detained since January 20, 2025
Number of deported individuals and their criminal offenses
How many individuals have proven ties to gangs, foreign terrorist organizations, or criminal enterprises
DHS arrest policy
How agents and officers identify themselves when approaching an individual to detain
Arresting officers’ training
If arresting officers are federal agents.
Earlier this year, Brownley also contacted DHS to express concerns about ICE actions in the community, but ICE has thus far refused to answer questions or provide details on its operations. Brownley continues pressing the Trump administration to adhere to DHS’ mission and act “with honor and integrity to safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.”
The letter was also signed by Representatives Val Hoyle (D-OR), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (D-GA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Danny Davis (D-IL), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), John Garamendi (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Darren Soto (D-FL), Eleanor Norton (D-DC), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Timothy Kennedy (D-NY), and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO).
The full letter can be found here and below:
The Honorable Kristi Noem Secretary Department of Homeland Security Washington, D.C. 20528
Secretary Noem:
We write to express serious concern with this administration’s chilling actions of rounding up and arresting individuals with no criminal history and doing so without the transparency as to why the individuals are being arrested. The lack of accountability and transparency from this administration is of grave concern to the citizens of this country. Not only are Members of Congress concerned with the lack of transparency, accountability, and its immigration actions, but the majority of the American people do not agree with this administration’s actions either.
President Trump initially promised to go after the worst of the worst in his immigration policy. Similarly, you recently went on Fox News and claimed you were going after the worst of the worst. However, the actions of this administration and your DHS show you are not focused on arresting dangerous criminals like murderers, rapists and drug dealers. Instead, you are sending masked individuals who do not identify themselves as law enforcement to arrest college and high school students, restaurant workers, factory workers, and even American children, some of whom have cancer which is beyond heartless. The scope of your enforcement activities has grown so large to include migrant workers and tourists with visas, that you are unable to effectively focus on arresting dangerous criminals, which makes our country less safe.
Even though President Trump has finally acknowledged his immigration policies are harming individuals and businesses, particularly farmers, and those in the hotel and leisure business which is further damaging our once strong economy – we fear this administration will not learn from their mistakes. White House officials have said they hope U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can scale up to 3,000 arrests a day, from approximately 660 during the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency. Since these numbers cannot be achieved without arresting non-criminals, it appears this administration will continue arresting hardworking individuals who pose no threat to our communities. It also appears this is why DHS has eliminated any transparency efforts regarding migrant arrests. For an administration that claims to be the most transparent in history, you have contributed to being the least transparent this country has ever seen.
This administration refuses to provide accurate data and details around what criminal record, if any, DHS components use to justify the arrest of an individual. After President Trump took office DHS stopped issuing detailed statistical reports on immigration enforcement, which makes it challenging to gauge the scope of your immigration crackdown.
Since your administration will not provide transparent data, we must piecemeal different data sources to get an accurate picture of DHS’s enforcement efforts. For example, we look at The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse – a project from Syracuse University that compiles immigration figures – which estimates that of the 51,302 people in ICE detention facilities as of June 1, about 44% had no criminal record aside from entering the US without permission. News outlets also report ICE detention statistics show the number of detainees arrested by ICE with no other criminal charges or convictions rose from about 860 in January to 7,800 this month – a more than 800% increase.
And if we look at recent events and updates from ICE, the unnecessary and harmful immigration raids in Los Angeles saw the immigration arrests of 118 people, which DHS said included five gang members. While the agency has identified a handful of people with criminal histories, due to DHS refusing to provide more transparent details of their actions, it’s unclear how many of the 118 individuals have criminal histories.
Sadly, this administration’s credibility is so badly damaged we cannot simply rely on the words coming from a DHS spokesperson or yourself that this administration is targeting the worst of the worst. The fact this administration has repeatedly misrepresented migrants’ criminal histories, lied to the American people by photoshopping gang tattoos on the body of individual they were illegally detaining, and having to reluctantly admit to clerical errors and software errors that resulted in arrests and deportations of migrants with no criminal history, we in Congress and the American people cannot trust the administration’s word that they are doing what they say. President Trump and his administration leadership have eroded the trust of the American people and Congress, and we must request all necessary pieces of information to get a truthful picture of your immigration enforcement activities.
Therefore, given these concerns we request the following information by July 18, 2025:
A breakdown of the criminal charges and convictions migrants that have been arrested and detained by a DHS component from January 20, 2025 to date.
Of these individuals how many have been deported since January? Please provide a breakdown of their criminal offenses by category.
How many of the individuals have been found by a court to have proven ties, not alleged ties without proof, to criminal enterprises, gangs, or Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO)?
What is the policy DHS components follow when deciding to arrest an individual? How are agents and officers deciding who to detain and arrest in public?
How are agents and officers identifying themselves when they approach an individual to detain and or arrest in the streets?
What type of training do arresting officers have?
Are the arresting officers federal agents?
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We must remind you of the DHS mission statement which is “With honor and integrity, we will safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.” It seems you have forgotten this, and we truly hope you reverse course and start leading with integrity and honor while working to keep us safe.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)
Congress Codifies 28 of President Trump’s Executive Actions in One Big Beautiful Bill
Washington, July 8, 2025
WASHINGTON — Last week, when House Republicans passed President Trump’s signature legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill, they codified into law 28 executive actions taken by President Trump.
“President Trump has done more to improve the lives of working Americans in the last six months than almost anyone could have imagined,” said Speaker Johnson. “He has repaired Joe Biden’s damage and kickstarted America’s new Golden Age. To help accomplish the mission, Congress has cemented President Trump’s agenda by passing the Administration’s signature legislation—the One Big Beautiful Bill. In this historic act, Republicans included 28 of President Trump’s top executive actions – now codifying some of the most significant America First priorities.”
Executive Actions Codified into Law by the One Big Beautiful Bill:
Securing our Borders
Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States
Protecting the American People Against Invasion
Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders
Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and other National Security and Public Safety Threats
Implementing the President’s “DOGE” Cost Efficiency Initiative
Protecting America’s Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy
Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos
Iron Dome for America
Unleashing American Drone Dominance
Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance
Unleashing American Energy
Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry
Eby’s request raises broader legal questions. What does it mean to label a group a terrorist organization in Canada and what happens once that label is applied?
Under Section 83.05 of the Criminal Code, the federal government can designate an entity a terrorist organization if there are “reasonable grounds to believe” it has engaged in, supported or facilitated terrorist activity. The term “entity” is defined broadly, covering individuals, groups, partnerships and unincorporated associations.
The process begins with intelligence and law enforcement reports submitted to the public safety minister, who may then recommend listing the group to cabinet if it’s believed the legal threshold is met. If cabinet agrees, the group is officially designated a terrorist organization.
A designation carries serious consequences: assets can be frozen and financial dealings become criminalized. Banks and other institutions are protected from liability if they refuse to engage with the group. Essentially, the designation cuts the group off from economic and civic life, often without prior notice or public hearing.
This marked a turning point: for the first time, Canada extended terrorism designations beyond ideological or political movements to include transnational criminal networks.
This has determined not only who is targeted, but also what forms of violence are taken seriously as national security concerns.
That is why the recent expansion of terrorism designations — first with the listing of Mexican cartels in early 2025, and now potentially with the Bishnoi gang — feels so significant.
It signals a shift away from targeting ideology alone and toward labelling profit-driven organized crime as terrorism. While transnational gangs may pose serious public safety risks, designating them terrorist organizations could erode the legal and political boundaries that once separated counterterrorism initiatives from criminal law.
Canada’s terrorism listing process only adds to these concerns. The decision is made by cabinet, based on secret intelligence, with no obligation to inform the group or offer a chance to respond. Most of the evidence remains hidden, even from the courts.
In effect, the label becomes final. It brings serious legal consequences like asset freezes, criminal charges and immigration bans. But the informal fallout can be just as harsh: banks shut down accounts, landlords back out of leases, employers cut ties. Even without a trial or conviction, the stigma of being associated with a listed group can dramatically change someone’s life.
What’s at stake
Using terrorism laws to go after violent criminal networks like the Bishnoi gang may seem justified. But it quietly expands powers that were originally designed for specific types of threats. It also stretches a national security framework already tainted by racial and political bias.
Canadians should be asking: what happens when tools built for exceptional threats become the default response to complex criminal violence?
As the federal government considers whether to label the Bishnoi gang a terrorist organization, the real question goes beyond whether the group meets the legal test. It’s about what kind of legal logic Canada is endorsing.
Terrorism designations carry sweeping powers, with little oversight and lasting consequences. Extending those powers to organized crime might appear pragmatic, but it risks normalizing a process that has long operated in the shadows, shaped by secrecy and executive discretion.
As national security law expands, Canadians should ask not just who gets listed, but how those decisions are made and what broader political agendas they might serve.
Basema Al-Alami does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Five men have been convicted for their involvement in a Russian-ordered arson attack on a London warehouse full of supplies destined for Ukraine.
Approximately £1 million of damage was caused after two units in an industrial estate in Leyton were deliberately set alight on 20 March last year.
An investigation led by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command found that Dylan Earl, aged 21, established contact with the Wagner Group, a private military organisation that acts on behalf of the Russian state, in 2023.
Earl then recruited a group of men to set fire to the Leyton warehouse and organised surveillance of two businesses in Mayfair in preparation for further arson attacks.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said; “This case is clear example of an organisation linked to the Russian state using ‘proxies’ – in this case British men – to carry out very serious criminal activity in this country on their behalf.
“The ringleaders – Earl and Reeves – willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state. I am pleased that, working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, we were able to use the new National Security Act legislation, which meant the severity of Earl and Reeves’s offending was reflected in the charges they faced.
“The warehouse arson put members of the public at great risk, and it was only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured or worse. Those involved showed little or no regard for the potential impact of their actions on the UK’s wider security. Seemingly motivated by the promise of money, they were prepared to commit criminal acts on behalf of Russia.
“I hope these convictions send a strong warning of the very serious consequences of committing offences on behalf of a foreign country.”
The businesses based in the warehouses damaged by the arson were both Ukrainian-owned.
The fire was initially investigated by local Met officers in Waltham Forest. However, after officers became aware that another warehouse belonging to the same Ukrainian company was also subject to an arson attack in Madrid, Spain, detectives from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command took over the investigation.
Met counter terrorism detectives then worked quickly to identify the individuals involved, which led them to suspect that Earl was the architect of the plot.
Earl was the first to be arrested in a B&Q car park in Hinckley, Leicestershire, on 10 April 2024. Analysis of his mobile phone revealed his contact with the Wagner Group on Telegram, via an account with the usernames ‘Privet Bot’ and ‘Lucky Strike’.
In total, detectives extracted 56GB of data from Earl’s phone including, 5702 instant messages, 1244 e-mails, 51528 images, 3629 videos, 183 documents and 4840 social media files; some of the content required translation from Russian.
The swift investigation was crucial in preventing Earl and others from carrying out further arson attacks at two premises in Mayfair – evidence of which was found by officers following his arrest. Messages recovered from Earl’s phone showed that reconnaissance had already been carried out and discussions were ongoing about the use of explosives to damage buildings.
Detectives found that Earl was also raising the possibility of kidnapping the owner of the business, a Russian dissident, and “exiling him back to Russia to face prison.”
Analysis of Earl’s Telegram messages showed the first person he recruited for the warehouse arson plot was Jake Reeves, who then recruited his friend Kojo Mensah to carry out the arson. In turn, Mensah recruited his friend Jakeem Rose. Ugnius Asmena was also recruited to take part.
The investigation team established that three men – Mensah, Rose and Asmena met up on the evening of 20 March 2024 and travelled in a red Kia Picanto to the scene of the arson. Officers found evidence that Mensah filmed the warehouse being set alight and livestreamed it on Face Time to Earl and Reeves.
Dmitrijus Paulauskas, a friend of Reeves, and Ashton Evans, who helped Earl supply drugs, were also charged as part of the investigation as social media messages allegedly showed they were both aware of the arson attack and the planned offences in Mayfair.
On 8 July Mensah , 23 (03.06.02) from Thornton Heath, Rose 23 (24.05.02), of Croydon and Asmena, 21 (31.12.04) of no fixed address, were convicted of aggravated arson.
Paul English 61 (02.10.63) from Roehampton was found not guilty of the same charge.
Paulauskas 23 (02.01.02), of Croydon was found not guilty of two counts of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts.
Evans 20 (11.01.2005) of Newport. Evans was found not guilty of the first count (relating to the Leyton arson) but guilty of the second count related to the plot to damage businesses in Mayfair.
Rose previously pleaded guilty to having a bladed article in a public place (in relation to a knife he left at the scene of the arson in Leyton). Evans also previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
Earl 21 (17.02.04) of Elmesthorpe, Leicester, pleaded guilty to preparatory conduct, contrary to section 18 of the National Security Act (NSA) 2023, aggravated arson, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of criminal property.
Reeves, 23 (20.10.01), of Croydon pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 17(2) and (11), NSA 2023, and aggravated arson.
Earl and Reeves are the first people to be convicted of offences under the National Security Act, which came into legislation at the end of 2023.
All the defendants will be sentenced at the Old Bailey at a later date.
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says the Government is continuing to cut through unnecessary bureaucracy with reforms to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act, which will make life easier for hard-working Kiwi families managing property through family trusts. “For thousands of New Zealanders, setting up a family trust is part of securing their financial future, especially when it comes to their home. But under the current AML regime, selling a house held in a trust triggers a burdensome level of document verification and compliance checks that has little to do with actual risk,” Mrs McKee says. “Families who’ve worked hard, paid off their mortgage, and saved for the future shouldn’t be treated like potential criminals just because they want to move house. Take, for example, a couple who’ve spent 15 years in the same home, raising their children and gradually paying off their mortgage. Like many Kiwi families, they’ve placed their home in a Family Trust to help manage and protect their most valuable asset. “If they decide to sell, real estate agents are currently required to collect an overwhelming amount of personal and legal information — including the names and addresses of all beneficiaries, even their children, trustees, and lawyers, along with a detailed explanation and documents to prove how the home was paid for. “Under the new reforms, a real estate agent can apply simplified customer due diligence if the sale is clearly low risk. That could mean only:
Confirming the property’s ownership and trustee details match what’s on the certificate of title Verifying the couple’s identity documents and their role as trustees Retaining a copy of the trust deed.
“When there’s clearly nothing untoward going on, there’s no need for invasive investigations or repetitive paperwork.” The Government has also directed the future AML/CFT supervisor to issue clear guidance so that real estate agents, lawyers, and accountants know exactly how to apply these simplified checks without fear of penalty. “These changes are about recognising that not all customers carry the same risk and it’s time our laws reflected that,” Ms McKee says. “New Zealanders who play by the rules, work hard, and save for their future should be supported by the system, not tied up in red tape.” This is part of a wider programme of reform to make New Zealand’s AML/CFT regime smarter, more proportionate, and focused on genuine risks.
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee is making changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act that will make it easier for parents to open bank accounts for their children. “Opening a bank account for children should be a simple and positive step toward teaching them the value of saving. Unfortunately, regulations designed to prevent serious crimes can make the process unnecessarily difficult,” says Mrs McKee. “The Government is cutting red tape that can make it harder for parents to do the easy thing and open a bank account for their children. “According to the Act, a parent who wants to open an account for their eight-year-old child needs to gather and verify a long list of information, including their child’s address, date of birth, name, and their own authority to act on their child’s behalf. The Act also requires banks to obtain the nature and purpose of the business relationship, evaluate whether further due diligence is required, and monitoring the child’s transactions on an ongoing basis. “Under the Government’s new reforms, banks will be allowed to apply a simplified processes when risk is low. This means that if a bank puts measures in place to make a child’s bank account low-risk (e.g. by setting appropriate transaction limits) all that could be required is a birth certificate to confirm the child’s name and date of birth, and prove the relationship to the parent. “They could also skip the intrusive and unnecessary questions about the “nature and purpose” of the account, and reduce or forego ongoing monitoring of a child’s banking activity, until the account’s settings are changed (e.g., removal of transaction limits when a child turns 18). The Government has also directed the future AML/CFT supervisor to issue clear guidance so that businesses like banks know exactly how to apply these simplified checks without fear of penalty. “This is a common-sense reform. Parents shouldn’t be asked to jump through bureaucratic hoops just to open a bank account for their kids. We’re streamlining the system so that New Zealanders can spend less time on paperwork and more time teaching their children the value of money. “These changes reflect the Government’s wider commitment to smarter regulation, focusing on outcomes rather than ticking boxes, and trusting New Zealanders to make responsible decisions without being buried under red tape.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11)
Pfluger Fly-By: July 3, 2025
Washington, July 3, 2025
July 3, 2025
Friend,
Welcome back to the weekly Pfluger Fly-By, a roundup of events and updates to keep you informed about everything I’m doing week by week to represent you in Congress.
This week was one for the history books. The House officially passed the One Big Beautiful Bill, a major step forward in delivering on President Trump’s agenda and keeping our promises to the American people. The bill now heads to President Trump’s desk and is set to be signed into law on July 4th — a fitting way to begin the celebrations of the 250th year of the greatest nation on earth.
As we mark six months of the 119th Congress today, I’ve included a special mid-year report below highlighting our accomplishments so far. You’ll also find information on how my office can assist you with any federal issues you may be facing. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact my office if we can ever be of assistance.
Best,
Happy Independence Day, Texas-11
On the eve of Independence Day, I want to take a moment to wish everyone in Texas-11 a very Happy 4th of July!
As we prepare to gather with family and friends tomorrow to celebrate, I am reminded of the incredible privilege it is to be an American and to live in the greatest country on earth. This day marks the birth of our great nation, and it is a time to reflect on our history, honor the sacrifices made by countless individuals, and reaffirm our commitment to safeguarding the values that make the United States a beacon of hope and liberty.
I had the honor of serving nearly two decades as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, flying combat missions against ISIS over Syria and Iraq, and defending our country against foreign and domestic threats. Those years shaped my deep appreciation for America and the immense responsibility we all share to protect it. Every mission reminded me of what’s at stake—and of the courage it takes to defend freedom.
I am a proud Texan and a staunch conservative. I believe in the founding principles that have guided our nation since its inception. Our Constitution, our freedoms, and our way of life are worth defending with every ounce of our strength. That is what drives me each day in Congress.
This Independence Day, let us celebrate the freedoms we enjoy while remembering the duty we each have to protect them. This year also marks the beginning of America’s 250th year—a historic time to be alive. The United States of America is the greatest country the world has ever known, and it is our responsibility to keep it that way.
Happy Independence Day, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
My Statement on the Passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill
The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill today is a big, beautiful win for Texas families, workers, seniors, and small businesses. This legislation locks in President Trump’s historic tax cuts — protecting taxpayers in my district from a devastating 26% tax increase, which would have been the largest in American history. It also delivers $13.5 billion in border reimbursements for states like Texas, and makes the most significant investments in border security ever seen.
This bill reclaims America’s energy independence — lowering energy costs for families, creating high-paying jobs in the Permian Basin, and reversing President Biden’s disastrous energy policies. I fought to make sure Texas values were reflected in this package: from much-needed support through strategic investments for farmers and ranchers, to ending forced taxpayer funding of abortion, to nearly $150 billion in military investments that will directly support the incredible men and women serving at Goodfellow Air Force Base and Fort Hood.
The American people are tired of business as usual in Washington. They demanded that we secure the border, eliminate wasteful spending, and make life genuinely affordable for hardworking American families – and this bill does exactly that.
6-Month Report on the 119th Congress
Serving the incredible men and women of Texas’s 11th District in Congress is the honor of my lifetime. I’m proud of the meaningful progress we’ve achieved during the first six months of the Republican trifecta, and I remain committed to delivering real results that bring Texas values to Washington and implement the priorities of my district—the greatest district in America.
You can read my mid-year report here or by clicking the image below.
Telephone Town Hall on the One Big Beautiful Bill
I also hosted a Telephone Town Hall this week ahead of the vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill to discuss why this historic legislation is great news for TX-11. Thank you to everyone who tuned in!
REMINDER: If you are in need of assistance with a federal agency, my office is here to help. For more information, please visit our website HERE.
Thank you for reading. It is the honor of my lifetime to serve you in Congress. Please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) for daily updates.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Olayinka Ajala, Associate professor in Politics and International Relations, Leeds Beckett University
More than 40 Malian soldiers were killed and one of the country’s military bases was taken over in early June 2025 in a major attack by an al-Qaeda linked group, Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), on the town of Boulikessi.
The same group launched an attack on the historic city of Timbuktu. The Malian army claimed it repelled the Timbuktu attack and killed 14 terrorists.
Terrorist groups have attacked Boulikessi in large numbers before. In October 2019, 25 Malian soldiers were killed. The target was a G5 Sahel force military camp.
Timbuktu has been in the sights of terrorist groups since 2012. JNIM laid siege to the city for several months in 2023. Timbuktu has a major airport and a key military base.
In neighbouring Burkina Faso, there have been running battles in recent months between the military and terrorist groups. About 40% of the country is under the control of groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Military bases in the country have also been targeted.
Mali and Burkina Faso are under military rule. Insecurity, especially increasing terrorist attacks, were key reasons the military juntas gave for seizing power in both countries.
Military camps are attacked to lower the morale of the soldiers and steal ammunition. It also sends a message to locals that military forces are incapable of protecting civilians.
I believe there are four main reasons for an increase in large scale attacks on military bases in the region:
the loss of the US drone base in Niger, which has made surveillance difficult
an increase in human rights abuses carried out in the name of counter terrorism
a lack of a coordinated approach to counter terrorism
constant changes of tactics by the terrorists.
Identifying and addressing these issues are important to counter the trend.
Why are the attacks increasing?
First is the loss of the US drone base in Agadez, Republic of Niger, in 2024 after the military seized power in the country.
I was initially sceptical when the drone base was commissioned in 2019. But it has in fact acted as a deterrent to terrorist groups.
Terrorist organisations operating in the Sahel knew they were being watched by drones operating from the base. They were aware surveillance information was shared with member states. The loss of the base has reduced reconnaissance and surveillance activities in the region.
Second, an increase in human rights abuse in the fight against terrorism in the region is dividing communities and increasing recruitment into terrorist groups. A report by Human Rights Watch in May 2025 accused the Burkina Faso military and allied militias of killing more than 130 civilians during counter-terrorism operations.
The report argued that members of the Fulani ethnic group were targeted in the operations because they were perceived to have relationships with terrorist groups. Terrorist groups are known to use such incidents to win the hearts and minds of local populations.
Third, the lack of a coordinated approach to counter terrorism in the region is reversing the gains made in the last decade. Major developments have included the dissolving of the G5 Sahel. This grouping was created in 2014 to enhance security coordination between members. The members were Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad and Niger. The organisation launched joint counter-terrorism missions across member states but was dissolved in December 2023 after Niger and Burkina Faso withdrew.
The weakening of the Multinational Joint Task Force due to the military coup in Niger and the countries’ strategic repositioning is undermining counter-terrorism initiatives. Task force members were Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin.
The mandate of the task force is to combat Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating around the Lake Chad basin. After its establishment in 2015 the task force achieved significant progress. In January 2025, Niger suspended its membership, putting the fight against terrorism in the region in jeopardy.
Fourth, terrorist groups in the region are becoming more sophisticated in their approach. In April 2025, JNIM terrorists were suspected of launching a suicide drone attack on Togolese military positions.
For its part, the military in the Sahelian countries are struggling to adapt to the terrorists’ new tactics. In the last few years, there has been a proliferation of drones in Africa by states and non-state actors.
Halting the trend
To combat the increasing attacks by terrorist groups, especially large-scale attacks on military positions, four immediate steps are necessary.
First, nation states need to invest in surveillance capabilities. The loss of the drone base in Niger means Sahelian states must urgently find new ways of gathering and sharing intelligence. The topography of the region, which is mainly flat, with scattered vegetation, is an advantage as reconnaissance drones can easily detect suspicious movements, terrorist camps and travel routes.
In addition, countries fighting terrorism must find a way to improve the relationship between the military (and allied militias) and people affected by terrorism. My latest publication on the issue shows that vigilante groups engaged by the military forces are sometimes complicit in human rights abuse.
Training on human rights is essential for military forces and allied militias.
Terrorism funding avenues must be identified and blocked. Large scale terrorist attacks involve planning, training and resources. Funding from illegal mining, trafficking and kidnapping must be identified and eradicated. This will also include intelligence sharing between nation states.
As the numbers and intensity of terrorist activities are increasing across the Sahel, immediate action is necessary to combat this trend.
– West Africa terror: why attacks on military bases are rising – and four ways to respond – https://theconversation.com/west-africa-terror-why-attacks-on-military-bases-are-rising-and-four-ways-to-respond-258622
More than 40 Malian soldiers were killed and one of the country’s military bases was taken over in early June 2025 in a major attack by an al-Qaeda linked group, Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), on the town of Boulikessi.
The same group launched an attack on the historic city of Timbuktu. The Malian army claimed it repelled the Timbuktu attack and killed 14 terrorists.
Terrorist groups have attacked Boulikessi in large numbers before. In October 2019, 25 Malian soldiers were killed. The target was a G5 Sahel force military camp.
Timbuktu has been in the sights of terrorist groups since 2012. JNIM laid siege to the city for several months in 2023. Timbuktu has a major airport and a key military base.
In neighbouring Burkina Faso, there have been running battles in recent months between the military and terrorist groups. About 40% of the country is under the control of groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Military bases in the country have also been targeted.
Mali and Burkina Faso are under military rule. Insecurity, especially increasing terrorist attacks, were key reasons the military juntas gave for seizing power in both countries.
Military camps are attacked to lower the morale of the soldiers and steal ammunition. It also sends a message to locals that military forces are incapable of protecting civilians.
I believe there are four main reasons for an increase in large scale attacks on military bases in the region:
the loss of the US drone base in Niger, which has made surveillance difficult
an increase in human rights abuses carried out in the name of counter terrorism
a lack of a coordinated approach to counter terrorism
constant changes of tactics by the terrorists.
Identifying and addressing these issues are important to counter the trend.
Why are the attacks increasing?
First is the loss of the US drone base in Agadez, Republic of Niger, in 2024 after the military seized power in the country.
I was initially sceptical when the drone base was commissioned in 2019. But it has in fact acted as a deterrent to terrorist groups.
Terrorist organisations operating in the Sahel knew they were being watched by drones operating from the base. They were aware surveillance information was shared with member states. The loss of the base has reduced reconnaissance and surveillance activities in the region.
Second, an increase in human rights abuse in the fight against terrorism in the region is dividing communities and increasing recruitment into terrorist groups. A report by Human Rights Watch in May 2025 accused the Burkina Faso military and allied militias of killing more than 130 civilians during counter-terrorism operations.
The report argued that members of the Fulani ethnic group were targeted in the operations because they were perceived to have relationships with terrorist groups. Terrorist groups are known to use such incidents to win the hearts and minds of local populations.
Third, the lack of a coordinated approach to counter terrorism in the region is reversing the gains made in the last decade. Major developments have included the dissolving of the G5 Sahel. This grouping was created in 2014 to enhance security coordination between members. The members were Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad and Niger. The organisation launched joint counter-terrorism missions across member states but was dissolved in December 2023 after Niger and Burkina Faso withdrew.
The weakening of the Multinational Joint Task Force due to the military coup in Niger and the countries’ strategic repositioning is undermining counter-terrorism initiatives. Task force members were Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin.
The mandate of the task force is to combat Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating around the Lake Chad basin. After its establishment in 2015 the task force achieved significant progress. In January 2025, Niger suspended its membership, putting the fight against terrorism in the region in jeopardy.
Fourth, terrorist groups in the region are becoming more sophisticated in their approach. In April 2025, JNIM terrorists were suspected of launching a suicide drone attack on Togolese military positions.
For its part, the military in the Sahelian countries are struggling to adapt to the terrorists’ new tactics. In the last few years, there has been a proliferation of drones in Africa by states and non-state actors.
Halting the trend
To combat the increasing attacks by terrorist groups, especially large-scale attacks on military positions, four immediate steps are necessary.
First, nation states need to invest in surveillance capabilities. The loss of the drone base in Niger means Sahelian states must urgently find new ways of gathering and sharing intelligence. The topography of the region, which is mainly flat, with scattered vegetation, is an advantage as reconnaissance drones can easily detect suspicious movements, terrorist camps and travel routes.
In addition, countries fighting terrorism must find a way to improve the relationship between the military (and allied militias) and people affected by terrorism. My latest publication on the issue shows that vigilante groups engaged by the military forces are sometimes complicit in human rights abuse.
Training on human rights is essential for military forces and allied militias.
Terrorism funding avenues must be identified and blocked. Large scale terrorist attacks involve planning, training and resources. Funding from illegal mining, trafficking and kidnapping must be identified and eradicated. This will also include intelligence sharing between nation states.
As the numbers and intensity of terrorist activities are increasing across the Sahel, immediate action is necessary to combat this trend.
Olayinka Ajala does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization responsible for distributing food to the population of Gaza, has been led since June 3 by evangelical preacher Johnnie Moore Jr., considered by Newsmax Magazine as “one of the 25 most influential evangelical leaders in the United States.”Moore replaces Jake Wood, a former Marine who resigned as executive director of the GHF, claiming that he “could not carry out the aid project in strict compliance with the humanitarian principles of solidarity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I am not prepared to renounce.” This was not the only defection affecting the foundation, created in February 2025 in the US state of Delaware. Its headquarters in Geneva, which existed only formally, was dissolved at the end of June by the Swiss authorities. The Boston Consulting Group also publicly distanced itself from the project, noting in a statement that, in October 2024, some of its employees had volunteered to organize a team to create a humanitarian aid structure for Gaza, “without disclosing the full nature of the work and subsequently performing unauthorized tasks.” These individuals subsequently left the company.The arrival of Johnnie Moore Jr. accentuates the involvement of American evangelical communities close to Israel in the management of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Moore, President of the Congress of Christian Leaders, serves on the Board of Directors of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), which presents itself as “the leading nonprofit organization building bridges between Christians and Jews, blessing Israel and the Jewish people worldwide with humanitarian care and lifesaving aid.” Among its activities, the IFCJ assists Israeli soldiers with vouchers for food, clothing, furniture, and other essential items, as well as programs to support former soldiers, vulnerable soldiers, and “lone soldiers” (people who immigrate to Israel to enlist in the military and have no family in the country).Above all, the IFCJ promotes Jewish immigration to Israel as a “fulfillment of biblical prophecy.” According to its website, they state, “We have contributed to the fulfillment of prophecy by helping more than 760,000 Jews make aliyah, immigrate to Israel, since 1983.” Moore is also a member of the Anti-Defamation League’s Task Force for Minorities in the Middle East, the organization founded in 1913 to combat anti-Semitism in the United States.Presenting himself as a defender of religious freedom, Moore spoke out during the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) regarding the plight of Christian and Yazidi minorities persecuted by jihadists. The current leader of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been very active in the Middle East for years, where he has held meetings with political and religious leaders, including the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Moore claims to have been actively involved in the signing of the “Abraham Accords,” the strategic pacts between Israel and some Arab states promoted under the aegis of the first Trump administration (2017-2021). His relationship with the current US president dates back to the 2016 election campaign, when Moore served as co-chair of Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board. The following year, Moore and other evangelical leaders pressured Trump to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump subsequently appointed Moore to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.The opaque nature of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) funds has sparked controversy even within Israel. Opposition leader Yair Lapid has called the foundation a “shell company” covertly funded by the Israeli government itself. Lapid has used the same definition for another US organization working in Gaza with the GHF: Safe Reach Solutions (SRS). This company, along with UG Solutions (run by a former US Green Beret), has been commissioned by the GHF to provide armed protection for food distribution centers in Gaza. In practice, these are armed contractors who, according to the Israeli press, have been operating in Gaza since January 2025 without the supervision of the Shin Bet, the Israeli security service that also operates in the Palestinian territories. SRS is headed by Phil Reilly, a former CIA officer. Safe Reach Solutions (SRS) was incorporated in the state of Wyoming on November 20, 2024, and is believed to be linked to the American strategic consulting firm Orbis Operations. In the fall of 2024, the Israeli government commissioned Orbis to design a plan to distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza without going through UN agencies. The plan presented by Orbis envisioned the creation of a food distribution center managed by a private humanitarian organization, entrusting its security to private contractors in coordination with the Israeli army. This is the plan ultimately adopted by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and the two contracting companies, SRS and UG Solutions.According to UN estimates, since the start of GHF operations in Gaza, more than 580 civilians have been killed and more than 4,000 injured in the foundation’s aid distribution centers. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 7/7/2025)
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Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3
News story
Prime Minister and Home Secretary mark 20th anniversary of 7/7
The Prime Minister and Home Secretary have paid tribute to victims and survivors of the 7/7 attacks and will join the nation in marking the 20th anniversary.
Memorials will be held throughout the day alongside victims, survivors, loved ones and first responders to remember the 52 people killed and hundreds of others injured in the attacks.
Ahead of the anniversary, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
Today the whole country will unite to remember the lives lost in the 7/7 attacks, and all those whose lives were changed forever.
We honour the courage shown that day—the bravery of the emergency services, the strength of survivors, and the unity of Londoners in the face of terror.
Those who tried to divide us failed. We stood together then, and we stand together now—against hate and for the values that define us of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
Marking 20 years, the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said:
Twenty years have passed since 7/7 but the passage of time makes what happened that day no less shocking. It was an appalling attack on our capital city and on democracy itself.
As we come together to mark this anniversary, my thoughts remain with the victims, survivors and all who loved them. Amid the horror of that day, we saw the best of people, our emergency services, first responders and ordinary Londoners who bravely acted to help one another. Their courage continues to inspire us.
We will always confront the threats facing this country to keep the public safe and preserve our way of life.
The anniversary of a terrorist attack can re-trigger trauma for victims and survivors of terrorism. If you, or someone you know has been affected by terrorism, support is available at gov.uk/victimsofterrorism.
The government has taken action to deliver strengthened support for victims and survivors of terrorism, announcing plans for a new dedicated support hub to help victims recover and rebuild their lives. Proposals for a new national day for victims and survivors of terrorism have also been consulted on, helping the country to remember and honour victims.
The public will also be better protected through strengthened security of public events and venues following the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, better known as Martyn’s Law, receiving royal assent in April.
