espionage
Attempted break in at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia by illegal immigrant and Jordanian on expired student visa
A Marine breaches through a hatch during training at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
From The Center Square
By Bethany Blankley
GOP House members demand answers about Quantico breach, terrorist threat
Multiple members of Congress are demanding answers about the federal government’s ability to prevent a terrorist attack after two Jordanian nationals attempted to break into Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
This is after concerns were raised about a Chinese national who recently breached a Marine Corps base in the El Centro CBP Sector after illegally entering the country, and after individuals identified as known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) are continuing to be apprehended at record numbers after illegally entering the country, The Center Square reported.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, led a group of 12 Republican members of Congress demanding answers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation about the Quantico breach, questioning if it constituted a terrorist attack. The letter was announced Tuesday and is dated May 23.
“A brazen attempt to infiltrate a military installation by foreign nationals from a terror-prone region rightly raises concerns as to whether this constituted a possible terrorist attack,” the House coalition said in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Yet, the federal government has not disclosed whether this breach was terror-related.”
On May 3, two Jordanian male nationals attempted to breach a Marine Corps base using a box truck. They were eventually detained and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was later revealed that one illegally crossed the border last month and was released into the interior by Border Patrol agents. The other overstayed his student visa and was in the country illegally. One was identified as a KST.
“The American people deserve to know the scope of the threat posed by potential terror suspects, and the extent to which the open border policies of this administration are facilitating it,” the coalition said.
Joining Roy are Republican Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia, Mary Miller of Illinois, Barry Moore of Alabama, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, and Randy Weber of Texas.
Last week, a coalition of 12 U.S. senators demanded answers, led by U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., of Mayorkas and Wray.
“This deeply concerning incident occurred mere weeks after a Chinese national who was in the country illegally broke into Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms on March 27,” they said.
House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and three other Republican committee chairmen also demanded answers from Mayorkas, Wray and Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The committee is investigating the incident, they said, and is concerned about previous requests that remain unanswered.
In September 2023, Green and Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, sent a letter to Mayorkas, Wray, and Austin requesting information about how the agencies were responding to possible breaches of U.S. military installations and critical infrastructure from the Chinese Communist Party. According to Wall Street Journal report, Chinese nationals attempted to access U.S. military bases and other sensitive sites roughly 100 times in recent years.
DHS and the FBI “failed to provide any substantive response” to their request, they said.
In a November 2023 hearing, Mayorkas “repeatedly refused to answer when asked by Chairman Pfluger whether DHS continuously detains those found to be on the terrorist watchlist,” they said.
The greatest number of KSTs have been apprehended by CBP and Border Patrol agents under the Biden administration, The Center Square has reported. This fiscal year, they total 277, after the greatest number in U.S. history was apprehended in fiscal 2023 of 736, The Center Square reported.
“The alarming conclusion from these numbers is every day we have individuals that are on the FBI terrorist watch list that could have an intention to harm our country and are entering every single day,” former Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan told The Center Square. “It’s not if or when the threat tries to come to our country. We already know that’s happening already. The threat is already here,” he said, referring to the at least two million foreign nationals who illegally entered the country and evaded capture, some of whom may be KSTs.
The attempted breach at MCB Quantico “reflects a possibly more dire reality for the state of U.S. national security,” Green’s coalition said.
DHS’s “relaxed vetting standards” have created “an environment ripe for exploitation by individuals aiming to undermine the United States at its most critical points. If individuals on the terrorist watchlist are so emboldened to attempt to breach a Marine Corps base, the Department of Homeland Security and the entire executive branch must act swiftly to identify, apprehend, and detain such hostile actors on American soil.”
The UK Labour government’s secret order to Apple for an iCloud encryption backdoor ignites US-UK tensions as lawmakers demand action.
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The Labour government’s reported decision to issue a secret order to Apple to build an encryption backdoor into iCloud is turning into a major political issue between the UK and the US, just as the move is criticized by more than 100 civil society groups, companies, and security experts at home.
The fact that this serious undermining of security and privacy affects users globally, including Americans, has prompted a strong reaction from two US legislators – Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat, and Congressman Andy Biggs, a Republican.
In a letter to National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, the pair slammed the order as “effectively a foreign cyber attack waged through political means.”
Wyden and Biggs – who sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, respectively – want Gabbard to act decisively to prevent any damage to US citizens and government from what they call the UK’s “dangerous, shortsighted efforts.”
The letter urges Gabbard to issue what the US legislators themselves refer to as an ultimatum to the UK: “Back down from this dangerous attack on US cybersecurity, or face serious consequences.”
Unless this happens immediately, Wyden and Biggs want Gabbard to “reevaluate US-UK cybersecurity arrangements and programs as well as US intelligence sharing with the UK.”
They add that the relationship between the two countries must be built on trust – but, if London is moving to “secretly undermine one of the foundations of US cybersecurity, that trust has been profoundly breached.”
The letter points out that the order appears to prohibit Apple from acknowledging it has even received it, under threat of criminal penalties – meaning that the UK is forcing a US company to keep the public and Congress in the dark about this serious issue.
In the UK, well-known privacy campaigner Big Brother Watch agreed with what the group’s Advocacy Manager Matthew Feeney said were “damning comments” made by Wyden and Biggs.
Feeney said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s “draconian order” to Apple was in effect a cyber attack on that company, and that the letter penned by the US legislators is “wholly justified” – and comes amid “a shameful chapter in the history of UK-US relations.”
“Cooper’s draconian order is not only a disaster for civil liberties, it is also a globally humiliating move that threatens one of the UK’s most important relationships,” he warned, calling on the home secretary to rescind it.
The same is being asked of Cooper by over 100 civil society organizations, companies, and cybersecurity experts – an initiative led by the Global Encryption Coalition (GEC).
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SPEECH CONTROL
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UK Refuses to Weaken Online Censorship Laws Despite US Pressure |
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The UK government has firmly stated that its online censorship laws will not be softened to appease US President Donald Trump or to facilitate trade negotiations with the United States. Technology Minister Peter Kyle repeated Britain’s stance on maintaining strict digital speech regulations, shutting down any speculation of a shift in policy toward American AI firms.
During the Paris AI summit, Kyle dismissed claims that Downing Street was considering relaxing sections of the Online Safety Act in discussions with the US. Refuting a report from The Daily Telegraph, he asserted: “Safety is not up for negotiation. There are no plans to weaken any of our online safety legislation.”
The Online Safety Act, one of the strictest online speech crackdowns in a democratic nation, which is set to come into force this year.
Industry moguls such as Elon Musk have voiced hopes that a Trump-led administration might resist global regulatory pressures on US-based tech companies.
Despite these concerns, Kyle expressed confidence that Trump would not obstruct Labour’s forthcoming AI legislation, which mandates that leading AI firms undergo “safety” evaluations before rolling out new software. He confirmed that voluntary safety pledges would now be replaced with enforceable mandates, ensuring strict compliance.
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From LifeSiteNews
By Frank Wright
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, head of the new House Oversight Task Force on Declassification, called the official narrative of the JFK assassination ‘faulty’ and said she believes ‘there were two shooters.’
On January 23 President Donald Trump signed an executive order to declassify and release all records of the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King.
Fulfilling a promise initially made in his first presidential term and repeated ahead of his second, Donald Trump has issued an order “providing Americans the truth after six decades of secrecy.”
Trump’s interim Director of National Intelligence Lora Shiao was ordered to “present a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of all John F. Kennedy assassination records…”
Following this directive, the FBI has revealed the existence of thousands more “previously unknown” files relating to the JFK assassination. As Fox News reported on February 10:
“The FBI conducted a new records search pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order issued on January 23, 2025, regarding the declassification of the assassination files of JFK, RFK, and MLK. The search resulted in approximately 2400 newly inventoried and digitized records that were previously unrecognized as related to the JFK assassination case file…”
Trump’s nominees on a ‘glide path’
In a Wednesday Senate vote Tulsi Gabbard is expected to be confirmed as permanent National Intelligence chief – described as the principal advisor to the president. She will oversee this process when confirmed.
Trump also seeks to install Kash Patel as the new head of the FBI. Patel has promised to publish the client list of notorious Mossad-linked sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on the first day of his tenure.
In addition, he intends to publish documents detailing “Russiagate” and all information relating to the origins of COVID-19.
Democrats have alleged Patel is “secretly overseeing a purge of the FBI” before his appointment has been confirmed. Senator Adam Schiff is now charging Patel with perjury.
Could this be related to what Patel says about Adam Schiff here?
“Adam Schiff is the single most responsible person for spreading disinformation on Russiagate: saying he had evidence Donald Trump colluded with Russia.”
Patel is also expected to be approved by the Republican-majority senate, with the process leading to his Thursday confirmation hearing described as a “glide path” by the scandal-hit outlet Politico. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also expects to be appointed Health and Human Services chief following his nomination vote.
New 9/11, assassination, COVID investgations
In an additional move, the Trump administration has seen the creation of the House Oversight Task Force on Declassification.
Announced by its new leader, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, the task force will not be restricted to the oversight of publishing formerly classified files.
Luna said it would be conducting new investigations into 9/11, the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, as well as the “origins of COVID-19,” the Jeffrey Epstein case, and unidentified aerial and subsea objects known as “UAPs” and “USOs.”
As independent journalist Michael Shellenberger pointed out in the tweet above, “For decades, presidents said they told us everything they could about Covid, JFK, Epstein, UAPs and more. They lied.”
The first hearing is “set for March,” Luna announced, describing her task force as a “beacon of bipartisanship” with the participation of both Republicans and Democrats.
A break with the past
Luna stressed that this was a complete break with the past, saying this will not be “a task force that makes bold promises only to fade into irrelevance or send strongly worded letters.”
“This will be a relentless pursuit of truth and transparency and will not stop until the American people have the answers they deserve.”
Luna presented a complete shift in how the U.S. government sees its relation to governed.
“We have been treated like children for too long and kept in the dark by those we elected to serve us.”
Luna’s remarks may serve as a statement of the Trump administration’s vision for restoring America. She argued, “If we are to endure as a nation, we must restore trust – trust through transparency.”
Marking a shift from the manufacture of public opinion by the state sponsorship of news and mass culture, Luna continued, “The American people must be trusted to think for themselves, to form their own judgments from the truth they are entitled to know.”
Official verdict on JFK ‘faulty’: ‘I believe there were two shooters’
Luna also announced Tuesday night that “based on what I have seen so far” of the unreleased JFK files, “I believe there were two shooters” involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. Luna described the official verdict of a “single bullet theory” as “faulty.”
The revelations from the new JFK files have already begun. What they and the other disclosures contain will be released to inform a new vision of the national interest. The Trump administration is not only saying it is keeping its promises to Americans, but also announcing it wishes to govern in the open and will trust the public to make its own mind up, in place of manufacturing public opinion for political ends.
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