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Alex Jones’ texts have been turned over to the January 6 committee, source says

Alex Jones' texts have been turned over to the January 6 committee, source says



CNN
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Approximately two years’ worth of text messages sent and received by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones have been turned over to the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Monday.

The messages were handed over to the committee by Mark Bankston, the attorney who represented two Sandy Hook parents who successfully sued Jones in Texas and won nearly $50 million in a civil trial that concluded last week.

Bankston would only tell CNN that he is “cooperating with the committee.” The select committee declined to comment.

During the trial, Bankston revealed that one of Jones’ lawyers had “messed up” and inadvertently sent him the two years of text messages. Bankston also said during the trial that the January 6 committee had expressed interest in the material.

Jones’ attorney Federico Andino Reynal asked the judge in the case to order Bankston to destroy the material and not transmit it to the House committee, but the judge declined.

“I’m not standing between you and Congress,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told Bankston when asked about sending Jones’ texts to the committee. “That is not my job. I’m not going to do that.”

The source wouldn’t provide details of the exact timeframe of when Jones sent and received the texts in question.

Jones was a central player on January 6. He was on restricted US Capitol grounds that day, riling up protesters, though he did not enter the building itself. He has rejected any suggestion that he was involved in the planning of violence, and claims he tried to prevent people at the Capitol from breaking the law.

Jones testified before the January 6 committee earlier this year, but he later said on his show that he repeatedly asserted his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent during the closed-door deposition.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who sits on the committee, said Sunday on CNN that the committee was still waiting to see the texts and was interested to learn more about Jones’ role in the events at the Capitol.

“Well, we know that his behavior did incentivize some of the January 6 conduct and we want to know more about that,” Lofgren said. “We don’t know what we’ll find in the texts because we haven’t seen them. But we’ll look at it and learn more, I’m sure.”

It is unclear if the Justice Department has received the texts as of Monday afternoon. A Justice Department spokesman did not comment to CNN about Jones’ texts.

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US

Dan Newhouse, Republican congressman who voted to impeach Trump, wins primary, CNN projects

Dan Newhouse, Republican congressman who voted to impeach Trump, wins primary, CNN projects


Washington
CNN
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Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse and Democrat Doug White will advance to the general election out of the top-two primary in Washington’s 4th Congressional District, CNN projects.

Newhouse is one of the 10 Republican House members who voted for then-President Donald Trump’s impeachment in January 2021 following the attack on the US Capitol. Trump had endorsed Republican challenger Loren Culp in the district.

Washington holds open primaries in which all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the same ballot, with the top two finishers advancing to the November general election.

Despite facing anger from his own party over his impeachment vote, Newhouse had a number of factors going his way this week: The incumbent handily outspent his challengers, the field was large and fractured, and Washington state’s open primary system allowed people to vote for any candidate, regardless of affiliation.

Newhouse’s victory is a loss for Trump, who made defeating the 10 House Republicans who joined Democrats to impeach him a central goal to his post-presidency. By moving on from the primary, Newhouse is likely to keep his congressional seat from him. His district of him, which stretches from Washington’s borders with Oregon and Canada, overwhelmingly leans toward Republicans.

Aside from White and Culp, the field also included former NASCAR driver Jerrod Sessler and state Rep. Brad Klippert.

Local Republican operatives, many of whom censored and criticized Newhouse after his impeachment vote, worried that many people had moved on from impeachment and caused Republicans to focus on other issues as they went to the polls on Tuesday. Newhouse also seized on his agriculture expertise, using it to appeal in the largely rural district and draw some of the focus away from impeachment.

This story has been updated with additional background information.

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Biden admin approves potential multibillion-dollar arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE

Biden admin approves potential multibillion-dollar arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE



CNN
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The Biden administration on Tuesday approved and notified Congress of possible multibillion-dollar weapons sales to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The notice of the approval comes just weeks after President Joe Biden met with the leaders of each nation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as he sought to improve relations between the US and the Saudis.

The approval was also notified on the same day that the United Nations announced a two-month extension of the truth in Yemen, where the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebel group had, until recent months, been engaged in a years-long bloody conflict that has killed thousands of civilians.

According to a news release from the US State Department, the agency approved a possible sale of PATRIOT MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical Ballistic Missiles (GEM-T) and related equipment to Saudi Araba for an estimated $3.05 billion.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region,” the State Department said of the sale.

“The proposed sale will improve the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats by replenishing its dwindling stock of PATRIOT GEM-T missiles,” it said. “These missiles are used to defend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s borders against persistent Houthi cross-border unmanned aerial system and ballistic missile attacks on civilian sites and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.”

“These attacks threaten the well-being of Saudi, International, and US citizens (approximately 70,000) residing in the Kingdom. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing these missiles into its armed forces,” it added.

Separately, the State Department approved the possible sale of “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) System Missiles, THAAD Fire Control and Communication Stations, and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.245 billion” to the UAE.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of an important regional partner. The UAE is a vital US partner for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” the State Department said. “The proposed sale will improve the UAE’s ability to meet current and future ballistic missile threats in the region, and reduce dependence on US forces.”

Shortly after taking office, Biden announced the US would end its support for Saudi’s offensive operations in Yemen, “including relevant arms sales.” However, the administration has continued to sell arms to the kingdom for what it says are defensive purposes.

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Fake federal agent who duped Secret Service pleads guilty

Fake federal agent who duped Secret Service pleads guilty

One of two men accused of impersonating federal law enforcement officials in a scheme that duped Secret Service agents and others pleaded guilty Monday to multiple charges in Washington, DC

Arian Taherzadeh’s plea came nearly four months after his arrest with a second man, Haider Ali, exposed allegations that they compromised Secret Service agents with access to the White House — including at least one assigned to protect first lady Jill Biden.

It also revealed a cache of weapons and police equipment at apartments the two Washington men maintained.

In addition to federal conspiracy, Taherzadeh, 40, as part of his plea, also admitted guilt to two District of Columbia offenses: unlawful possession of a large-capacity ammunition-feeding device and voyeurism.

The latter charge relates to his unauthorized videotaping of women having sex in apartments he leased and rigged with surveillance cameras.

Taherzadeh’s sentencing date has not been scheduled. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, but federal sentencing guidelines stipulated in his plea agreement suggest he receive a prison term of between 37 months and 46 months.

As part of his plea agreement, Taherzadeh agreed to cooperate with federal authorities in their ongoing investigation. He remains free, but cannot leave his home, with few exceptions, as a condition of his court-ordered release of him after his arrest of him.

Prosecutors said he concocted his elaborate series of fake claims of being a federal agent to obtain multiple apartments for which he failed to pay rent, to promote his own security company and to ingratiate himself with current federal officers.

Ali, 36, has pleaded not guilty to charges of false impersonation of a federal officer, and to unlawful possession of a large-capacity ammunition-feeding device in the case, which is pending in US District Court in Washington. Ali is also under effective house arrest.

Prosecutors said that a third person, who was not identified in court filings, participated in the scheme.

Taherzadeh in 2018 created a purported private investigative agency called the United States Special Police, which despite its name was not associated in any way with the US government, prosecutors said.

From late 2018 through April, Taherzadeh falsely claimed to be a special agent with the Homeland Security Department, a member of a federal task force, a former US Air Marshal, and an ex-Army Ranger, according to court filings.

He used those claims to cozy up to Secret Service agents, some of whom he gave gifts, which included a generator and a “doomsday” backpack to one agent, and the use of two rent-free apartments for about a year to two other agents , prosecutors said.

In all, the gifts to members of the Secret Service were worth more than $90,000, prosecutors said.

Taherzadeh’s company obtained leases for multiple apartments in three residential complexes in Washington, but did not pay rent, parking fees and other costs, leading to more than $800,000 in losses to the complexes’ owners, filings say.

And “Taherzadeh installed surveillance cameras outside and inside his apartment in one of the complexes,” the US Justice Department said in a press release.

“Among other places, he installed, maintained, and utilized cameras in his bedroom. He used these cameras to record women engaged in sexual activity. Taherzadeh then showed these explicit videos to third parties,” according to the release.

Four members of the Secret Service were placed on administrative leave pending further investigation after the arrest of Taherzadeh and Ali.

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