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A curated weekday guide to major national security news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS – JAN. 6 ATTACK
Paul Lovley, a former National Security Agency employee, was sentenced yesterday to two weeks in jail over his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack. Lovley pleaded guilty in January to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Nick Robterson reports for The Hill.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS – TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said that the federal case concerning the mishandling of classified documents against former President Trump will not impact any criminal prosecution regarding the Georgia case focused on the 2020 presidential election. Justin Gray reports for WSB-TV.
Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign has raised $7 million since Trump was indicted on federal charges last week, campaigners said yesterday. The raised funds show that Trump’s message of political persecution continues to resonate with die-hard supporters. Polling suggests 81% of Republicans believe the charges are politically motivated, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday. Reuters reports.
OTHER DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Cole Bridges, a U.S. Army soldier, has pleaded guilty to attempting to help the self-styled Islamic State militant group attack and murder U.S. service members in the Middle East. The justice department also said Bridges pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. He could face up to 40 years in prison and will be sentenced on Nov. 2. Chloe Kim reports for BBC News.
At least 42 asylum seekers were bused from Texas to Los Angeles yesterday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement. Abbott said Texas had sent them across state lines because “small Texas border towns remain overrun” and President Biden “refuses to secure the border.” Jill Cowan and Shawn Hubler report for the New York Times.
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has rejected efforts by more senior Republicans to end his blockade on military promotions. Pentagon officials have stepped up their warnings that the blockade is compromising U.S. security. The blockade threatens to stall President Biden’s pick for Joint Chiefs chair, Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown, and others preparing to rotate in as senior military leaders retire. Alexander Ward, Joe Gould, and Connor O’Brien report for POLITICO.
Chance Brannon, an active-duty Marine corporal, and Tibet Ergul were arrested and charged yesterday morning with firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa, California, in March 2022, the Justice Department announced. The men could face up to 20 years in federal prison. Holmes Lybrand and Jack Forrest report for CNN.
House Republicans failed to censure Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) in a 225-196 vote. 20 Republicans voted with the majority. The resolution would have forced the House Ethics Committee to investigate Republican allegations that Schiff used his prior position as House Intelligence Committee chair to spread falsehoods about Trump and encourage abusive intelligence investigations. Siobhan Hughes reports for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. RELATIONS
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will visit Beijing tomorrow, the State Department announced yesterday. Blinken will stress “the importance of maintaining open lines of communication.” Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.
The Biden administration has resumed discussions with Iran to secure the release of American prisoners held by Tehran and curb its growing nuclear program, people close to the discussions said. In exchange for a prisoner release and limits on nuclear work, Tehran is seeking billions of dollars in Iranian energy revenue trapped abroad by U.S. sanctions. Laurence Norman and David S. Cloud report for the Wall Street Journal.
The Biden administration this week blacklisted over 30 Chinese companies, including a network of resellers that provided advanced U.S. technology to the Chinese hypersonic weapons program. The companies added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List are barred from exporting U.S. technology to designated groups without a government license. Cate Cadell reports for the Washington Post.
The Pacific island nation of Palau has asked the United States to increase patrols of its waters, President Surangel Whipps Jr. said in an interview. The request comes after several recent incursions by Chinese vessels into Palau’s exclusive economic zone. Whipps Jr. said he would also welcome a larger U.S. military presence. Sakura Murakami and John Geddie report for Reuters.
The U.S. Air Force has deployed F-22 fighter jets to the Middle East because of “increasingly unsafe and unprofessional behavior” by Russia, U.S. Central Command announced yesterday.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday threatened to order troops to take more land in Ukraine to protect Russian territory. The additional territory would create a “sanitary zone” on Ukrainian land to prevent any Ukrainian attack into Russia. Nick Robertson reports for The Hill.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on Tuesday said that Belarus had started to receive nuclear weapons from Russia. Gaya Gupta reports for the New York Times.
Large-scale emigration and the mobilization of around 300,000 men have exacerbated an already tight Russian labor market, possibly leaving Russia without sufficient workers to boost the economy and support the war effort in Ukraine. In Q1 of this year, Russian companies reported the most significant shortage of workers since data collection began in 1998. Last month, President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to develop measures to reverse the population outflow, including unspecified financial and social incentives. Georgi Kantchev reports for the Wall Street Journal.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Officials in Sudan say Khamis Abbakar, the governor of the West Darfur region, has been killed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Only hours earlier, Abbakar accused the RSF and allied militias of committing genocide against people from the Masalit ethnic group. Tracy Bircham reports for BBC News.
At least 78 people have died, and over 100 have been rescued after a boat sank off southern Greece yesterday morning. Survivors have suggested that as many as 750 migrants may have been on the boat, with reports of 100 children in the hold. Greece says it is one of its biggest migrant tragedies and has declared three days of mourning. Alarm Phone, an emergency helpline for migrants, complained that the coastguard was “aware of the ship being in distress for hours before any help was sent.” George Wright and Laura Gozzi report for BBC News.
China’s Premier Xi Jinping met with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in Beijing yesterday as China positions itself as an alternative to U.S. leadership in global diplomacy. Xi has presented a three-part proposal for a two-state solution to the conflict. The plan seems similar to Xi’s proposition in 2013, which failed to achieve any breakthroughs. Vivian Wang reports for the New York Times.
Germany’s first national security strategy focuses on a broad range of issues beyond military spending, including climate change and feminism. However, disagreements in the three-party ruling coalition meant some measures envisaged at the outset were not included in the strategy. Plans to create a National Security Council modeled on its U.S. equivalent and a capacity to strike back against cyberattacks did not make it into the strategy. Bertrand Benoit reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Turkey will not approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid unless it prevents anti-Turkey protests in Stockholm, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying yesterday. Erdogan spoke as officials from Turkey, Sweden, Finland, and NATO met in Ankara to negotiate. Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever report for Reuters.