Month: January 2023

A former American serviceman detained in Russia since April was released on Thursday. The family of Navy veteran Taylor Dudley, 35, said he safely crossed into Poland after being released by Russian authorities at the Polish border. Dudley was originally detained in April while backpacking after he crossed the border from Poland into Russia.

The Richardson Center, a non-profit organization founded by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, helped secure Dudley’s release.  According to its website, The Richardson Center promotes global peace and dialogue with countries and communities averse to formal diplomatic channels. Richardson said in a statement: “It is significant that despite the current environment between our two countries, the Russian authorities did the right thing by releasing Taylor today … The negotiations and work to secure Taylor’s safe return were done discreetly and with engagement on the ground in both Moscow and Kaliningrad and with full support from Taylor’s family back in the United States.”

Dudley was joined in Poland by a Richardson Center representative, as well as his mother for the journey home. Said Richardson: “And as we celebrate Taylor’s safe return, we remain very concerned for Paul Whelan and committed to continue to work on his safe return, as we have been for the last four years, as well as other Americans.” Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, remains in Russian custody. He has been there since he was arrested in a Moscow hotel in 2018 and later convicted of espionage charges. The United States continues to assert that he is being wrongfully detained.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Thursday the appointment of Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate the discovery of classified documents found in a private office and a garage of President Joe Biden.

Garland laid out a timeline explaining how the documents were discovered, saying that on Nov. 4, 2022 the National Archives told the Justice Department the White House had notified them that the documents were discovered at the office of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington D.C. Said Garland: “That office was not authorized for the storage of classified documents. The prosecutor was also advised that those documents had been secured in an archives facility.”

On Nov. 9, the FBI started an assessment consistent with standard protocols to determine whether the classified information had been improperly handled in possible violation of federal law. Garland said he assigned U.S. Attorney John Lausch Jr. to do an initial investigation on Nov. 14.  Biden’s lawyer informed Lausch on Dec. 20 that additional classified documents were found in the garage of Biden’s Delaware home. Lausch briefed Garland on the initial results of his investigation Jan. 5 and told him a special counsel was warranted.  Said Garland: “Based on Mr. Lausch’s initial investigation, I concluded that, under the special counsel regulations, it was in the public interest to appoint a special counsel.” Garland said Thursday that the documents in question have been secured by the FBI and National Archives.

The White House on Thursday confirmed the discovery of the second set of classified documents from Biden’s time as vice president. Special counsel to the president Richard Sauber said Thursday: “During the review, the lawyers discovered among personal and political papers a small number of additional Obama-Biden administration records with classified markings. All but one of these documents were found in storage space in the president’s Wilmington residence garage. One document consisting of one page was discovered among stored materials in an adjacent room.”

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On Wednesday, Republican officials in Nassau County, NY called for the resignation of newly sworn-in Rep. George Santos, in the wake of revelations about fabrications and lies he told during his campaign and afterward. Nassau County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Cairo said at a press conference Wednesday: “George Santos’ campaign last year was a campaign of deceit, lies and fabrication — he deceived the voters of the third congressional district, he deceived the members of the Nassau County Republican Committee, elected officials, his colleagues, candidates, his opponents and even some of the media … His fabrications went too far. Many groups were hurt, specifically, I look at those families that were touched by the horrors of the Holocaust, and feel for them. He has no place in the Nassau County Republican Committee, nor should he serve in public service nor as an elected official. He is not welcome here at republican headquarters.”

Santos claimed to have had attended NYU and graduated from Baruch college in 2010, both institutions said they couldn’t find any record of his attendance. He also claimed to have worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, but both companies say they don’t have any record of his employment. Shortly after his election to New York’s third congressional district, Santos claimed he had lost four employees at the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016, but a New York Times review of victims’ backgrounds revealed that none of them had worked for Santos. Additionally, Santos lied extensively about his family background, claiming his mother’s death from cancer was related to the 9/11 attacks; however, there is no evidence that she was at the Twin Towers or had the type of cancer that has affected rescue workers at ground zero. Santos also claimed he was Jewish and that his grandmother fled the Holocaust, but the claim also turned out to have been false.

The nonprofit government watchdog Campaign Legal Center also filed a complaint against Santos, alleging that he had concealed the source of $705,000 he claimed to have donated to his own campaign despite only having $55,000 in his 2020 financial discloser. Democratic New York representatives Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres on Tuesday delivered a written complaint against Santos to the House Ethics Committee, saying he “must be held accountable for defrauding both Congress and the public.”

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., signed a bill into law banning high-powered, assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. Most individuals under age 21 are also prohibited from buying any type of firearm in the state. The new law takes effect immediately.

The Illinois House of Representatives had passed the bill last week known as the “Protect Illinois Communities Act.” It bans high-powered, assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines, as well as the sale, manufacture, delivery and purchase of assault weapons across the entire state. The House voted 68-41 in favor, and the legislation passed through the Illinois Senate Monday with a 34-20 vote.

Pritzker tweeted after signing the bill: “No Illinoisan should have to go through life fearing their loved one could be next in an ever-growing list of mass shooting victims,” and tweeted Tuesday night: “I’m tired of living in a world where a mass shooting needs a title so you know which one we’re referring to. I just signed the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which immediately bans the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches in IL.”

The current regulations were created in the aftermath of a mass shooting north of Chicago during an Independence Day parade last year, leaving seven people dead and dozens injured. The suspect in that case, Robert Crimo III, was arrested hours later; and his parents were help responsible for their role in helping him obtain the assault-style rifle used in the attack  The suspect’s father, Robert Crimo Jr. was later arrested and charged with seven counts of felony reckless conduct. Crimo Jr.’s was charged for his role in helping his then-19-year-old son apply in 2019 for a firearm owners identification card in Illinois, which was issued in 2020 and used to acquire the assault-style rifle used in the parade shooting.

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