Files Disappear From the Phone of the Former Spanish Soldier Who Spied on Julian Assange for the CIA

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One of the main pieces of evidence against David Morales, the former Spanish soldier whose company spied on Julian Assange and his lawyers during his prolonged stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, has disappeared. The Spanish police did not deliver to Judge Santiago Pedraz the complete file of the Samsung S7 phone used by Morales to communicate with the alleged CIA agents to whom he provided the WikiLeaks founders’ defense strategy, according to documents of the judicial investigation to which EL PAÍS has had access. After repeated judicial requests, officers responded that “they do not know” the location of the complete file. Judge Pedraz has ordered its immediate recovery.

Prosecutor Carlos Bautista has complained about the disappearance of this file, which he describes as “essential” to the case. He has demanded it be found “because it contains more data than that made available to the parties.” The Public Prosecutor’s Office said: “It is extremely striking that the police unit has delivered the UFDR (Universal Forensic Data Report) and UFDX (Universal Forensic Data Exchange) files from the other devices and has not done so precisely from this one.” Previously, the Prosecutor’s Office also complained about the “certain paralysis” caused by “the exasperating slowness of the police force involved in the analysis of all the elements seized.”

Judge Pedraz has summoned the officers of the Cybercrime Unit to appear in court and make a copy — in his presence — of both files on the Samsung S7 in an attempt to recover the omitted information and find out who is responsible for its disappearance. Spain’s National Police declined to respond to this newspaper’s questions. . .

During the search of Morales’ home and offices in the Spanish city of Jerez de la Frontera, in September 2019, the investigators’ primary objective was precisely to seize the Samsung S7 G930F phone that protected witnesses (company workers) had configured for Morales so that he could allegedly communicate with the CIA. This detail was communicated to the officers who detained Morales before the arrest took place. But the police handed over the complete files of all the phones, computers and electronic devices seized from Morales’ home and offices, except for the files on the Samsung phone. This police action has meant that the Userdata folder — which stored Morales’s conversations on WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Proton Mail and Skype — has been removed from the case.

Morales — the owner of UC Global SL, a company that was in charge of security at the Ecuadorian embassy in London — was arrested two months after an EL PAÍS investigation released the audios and videos that its workers recorded of the Australian activist inside the embassy. This material was presented as evidence in a criminal complaint filed by Assange’s defense team, and Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, opened an investigation into the violation of attorney-client privilege, misappropriation of funds and money laundering. (Read more from “Files Disappear From the Phone of the Former Spanish Soldier Who Spied on Julian Assange for the CIA” HERE)

West Point Officer Arraigned on Charges of Drinking With Cadets, Violating No-Contact Orders for Women’s Tennis Team

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A top West Point officer is facing a series of charges related to sexual misconduct, providing and drinking alcohol with cadets, violating no-contact orders with an entire women’s sports team at the academy, and soliciting cadets and another officer to lie on his behalf amid an investigation into his conduct.

Col. William Wright, the director of the U.S. Military Academy’s geospatial information science program, was arraigned on nine allegations Tuesday, according to court records reviewed by Military.com. He was also reassigned to a role at the academy where he does not have contact with cadets, according to an academy spokesperson.

“West Point holds our staff and faculty to high standards,” Col. Terence Kelley, an academy spokesperson, said in a statement to Military.com. “Upon allegations that our cadre have not upheld our standards, we promptly investigate to determine the facts, protect, and assist potential victims, and hold alleged violators accountable.” (Read more from “West Point Officer Arraigned on Charges of Drinking With Cadets, Violating No-Contact Orders for Women’s Tennis Team” HERE)

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FBI Wants 20 Years to Produce Records on Its Involvement w/ OKC Bombing

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It’s been about nine years since Utah attorney Jesse Trentadue filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records about a CIA asset and FBI informant who helped fund the Oklahoma City bombing, as well as for records about a neo-Nazi bank-robbery gang also involved in the attack.

Tired of waiting, Trentaudue sued the FBI over the matter in February, demanding the bureau to produce the 69,375 pages of documents that it’s holding. But now, the FBI wants to take another nearly 12 years to fork over those documents to him, which means that it would take at least 20 years for the bureau to comply with his initial FOIA request.

Such a slow production rate is unacceptable, Trentadue said in a Tuesday court filing.

“The FBI proposes to process these records/documents for release to Plaintiff in monthly increments of 500 pages over a period of 11.5 years!” he said.

“If the Court accepts the FBI’s proposed snail-pace processing of these materials, Plaintiff will be close to 90-years of age when he finally receives all of them,” he said.

“He has already waited almost a decade for these documents/records, with the FBI having made no effort during the interim to produce them, and should not have to wait another 11.5 years to receive them.”

Trentadue has been suing the U.S. government for OKC bomb-related records for nearly 30 years, ever since his brother was murdered in a federal penitentiary. The complex story of how the death of Trentadue’s brother relates to the OKC bombing can be read in this Mother Jones article. (Read more from “FBI Wants 20 Years to Produce Records on Its Involvement w/ OKC Bombing” HERE)

‘Undermining Families’: Teacher Fired After Taking Student to Get an Abortion

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An investigation has found that a public school teacher in New Hampshire was fired after requesting sick leave, during which the teacher actually took a student to get an abortion.

Documents released by the New Hampshire Department of Education revealed that the teacher had been “counseling” the student — both names were redacted — for several weeks about an unexpected pregnancy. The situation was originally referenced by Education Commissioner Frank Edelbut in an April op-ed, where he referenced numerous concerns expressed by teachers and parents alike. In the op-ed, he asked how the department should react “when, allegedly, an educator lies by calling in sick so they can take a student – without parental knowledge – to get an abortion. Should we turn a blind eye?”

Boston Globe reporter Steven Porter eyed the accusation with skepticism. “[Edelbut] alluded also to an eye-catching allegation about abortion, suggesting that an educator had been accused of calling in sick to take a student to terminate a pregnancy without the student’s parents knowing,” Porter said. “Was that accusation found to be true? He did not say.”

In May, documents were released confirming that the abortion scenario did, in fact, happen.

“[T]hey had been conversing with the student for 2.5 weeks regarding the medical appointment,” the investigation said. “[The teacher] told the student to determine how far along they were (and assisted them) so the student knew what options they’d have available.” Additionally, the teacher selected the facility for the student, and drove her there. (Read more from “‘Undermining Families’: Teacher Fired After Taking Student to Get an Abortion” HERE)

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Not Minimum Security: Steve Bannon Being Sent to Violent-Offender Prison

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Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon will serve his four month sentence at a prison in Danbury, Connecticut, rather than a minimum-security prison camp where many nonviolent offenders are sent, according to CNN.

Bannon, who a judge recently ordered to report to prison by July 1 after being convicted for contempt of Congress, is not eligible for the minimum-security prison due to on ongoing criminal case against him in New York, CNN reported, citing sources familiar. The Danbury facility where Bannon is expected to report has housed violent offenders, including among the male population.

One male inmate at Danbury convicted for child sex abuse and threatening to kill a federal judge was indicted again in June for sending communications threatening to injure a court employee, according to the New Haven Register.

A female inmate formerly incarcerated in Danbury for “murder with a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime” pleaded guilty in June after she assaulted another inmate with a weapon made from two razor blades and a broken pencil, according to a DOJ press release.

A total of 1065 inmates are housed at Danbury FCI, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Roughly one-third of inmates are sex offenders, while under 40 % were convicted on drug-related charges, according to the News Times. (Read more from “Not Minimum Security: Steve Bannon Being Sent to Violent-Offender Prison” HERE)

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U.S. Soldier Gordon Black Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Russia’s Penal Colony: Report

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A US soldier detained in the Russian city of Vladivostok on charges of theft and threats to kill his girlfriend was found guilty on Wednesday and sentenced to three years and nine months in a Russian penal colony, Russian agencies reported.

Gordon Black, a 34-year-old US staff sergeant who was detained on May 2 in Vladivostok in Russia’s far east, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of threatening to kill his girlfriend but admitted he was “partially” guilty of stealing from her.

Black’s defense lawyer will appeal the verdict, said RIA agency, which reported the judge handing down the sentence of “imprisonment of three years and nine months” for both charges.

The agency reported that prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of four years and eight months, while the defense asked for Black to be acquitted of all charges.

Black “partially” acknowledged his guilt on the charge of stealing 10,000 roubles ($113) from his girlfriend Alexandra Vashchuk’s purse but said that “there was no intent,” RIA reported. (Read more from “U.S. Soldier Gordon Black Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Russia’s Penal Colony: Report” HERE)

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Dem Candidate Charged for Allegedly Faking Racist Attacks Against Himself

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A Democrat running for local office in Texas was arrested and charged with a felony for allegedly creating social media accounts to post fake racist attacks against himself, local outlets reported.

Taral Patel, the Democratic nominee for Fort Bend County Precinct 3 commissioner, in September 2023 made a post to his Facebook account claiming that his “Republican opponents supporters’ decide[d] to hurl #racist, #anti-immigrant, #Hinduphobic, or otherwise disgusting insults,” attaching screenshots allegedly showing prejudiced statements made by residents of the county. The racist messages were eventually traced back to Patel following an investigation conducted by the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s office and the Texas Rangers, the Houston Chronicle reported.

“We don’t need more sand negroid subhumans who smell like curry and filth in our country,” one comment flagged by Patel reads. “If I see you wearing that dot on your head, I’ll wipe it off myself,” another reads.

Patel’s campaign has garnered endorsements from high-profile elected Democrats like Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, according to his campaign website. The website also states that President Joe Biden appointed Patel to serve in the Office of White House Liaison during which time he says he was “a key member” of the White House Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Committee.

Republican Commissioner Andy Meyers, who Patel is running against, initially suspected foul play when Patel made his post alleging the racist attacks, according to Houston Public Media. Meyers recognized one of the accounts as having attacked him before and, suspicious of its motivations, hired a private investigator to figure out who was behind it.

When his private investigator came up short, Meyers asked the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s office to look into the accounts posting the messages, Houston Public Media reported. The district attorney’s office issued a subpoena to Facebook and Google and obtained account data that matched Patel’s address, phone number, Texas driver’s license number and bank card number, according to ABC 13.

(Read more from “Dem Candidate Charged for Allegedly Faking Racist Attacks Against Himself” HERE)

‘We Have An Emergency’: White House Briefing Abruptly Grinds To A Halt

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The White House briefing came to a sudden pause Tuesday after a reporter passed out in the back of the room.

One person alerted White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre of an emergency as a reporter in the back of the room fell unconscious. Jean-Pierre then left the podium to assist, followed by the entrance of medical personnel.

“We have an emergency!” the individual said.

“Oh, hold on. Did somebody pass out?” Jean-Pierre asked, followed by her walking to the back of the room.

The briefing remained postponed for over a minute until the reporter regained consciousness. Jean-Pierre then returned to the podium and confirmed there was a massive heat wave in the room, indicating the temperature caused the incident. (Read more from “‘We Have An Emergency’: White House Briefing Abruptly Grinds To A Halt” HERE)

‘This Can’t Be Normal, Can It?’ Top Brains on Biden’s Head-to-Head With Pope

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“Look at the Pope – He’s freaking out! This can’t be normal, can it?”

That was President Trump’s reaction to a Reuters photograph of Joe Biden touching heads with Pope Francis on Friday.

Both figures were present at the G7 Summit in Italy when they had their “head-to-head.”

It was also caught on video, capturing the world’s imagination and being shared numerous times on social media with a variety of comments.

(Read more from “‘This Can’t Be Normal, Can It?’ Top Brains on Biden’s Head-to-Head With Pope” HERE)

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Remember That ‘Trans Woman’ Who Went Topless at the Biden White House? Well…

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A so-called “trans woman” who flashed his prosthetic breasts during a White House “Pride” event last year has been accused of sexually assaulting at least five people. . .

This week, Reduxx reported that Montoya was accused of sexual assault by another transgender person, his ex-girlfriend Jesse Diamond, who is a female who reportedly identifies as a man (via Reduxx):

On June 13, Diamond posted a thread to X accusing Montoya of sexually assaulting her while she was recovering from “phallo surgeries,” the surgeries that attempts to make female genitalia resemble male genitalia.

[…]

In a video posted to TikTok, Diamond provides screenshots purported to be from Montoya admitting to the sexual assault.

[…]

Diamond explained on her TikTok that the method of phalloplasty she received was the “semi-ridged rod” which is “broken at the base.” She also described the recovery process as “hell” and stated she was bed ridden and had to learn how to walk again.

It was during this time when Diamond was particularly vulnerable post surgery that she alleges the abuse by Montoya occurred.

“I was physically incapable of walking the first 10+ times that [he] r*ped me. I couldn’t run away if I tried & I couldn’t afford to stay anywhere else,” Diamond wrote in her Thread on X.

(Read more from “Remember That ‘Trans Woman’ Who Went Topless at the Biden White House? Well…” HERE)