FBI to probe effort to impersonate top Trump advisor
The FBI is investigating an effort by one or more unknown people to access the personal phone of Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, sources told the BBC's US news partner CBS.The key Trump ally told people that her phone had been hacked after a impersonator - or impersonators - used her contacts file to message other top US officials, sources told CBS.Some recipients of the messages raised suspicions after they were asked if they could continue a conversation in another platform, such as Telegram."The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated," a White House spokesperson said.
The period of time over which the messages were received is unknown. The Wall Street Journal first reported the incident and the FBI probe launched in response.The impersonation was targeted at her personal phone, not government phone, the Wall Street Journal reported. It also reported that the recipients included US senators, governors and top business executives.Wiles is the first female White House chief of staff and was seen as a key architect of US President Donald Trump's re-election campaign.It is not the first time she has been at the centre of concerns around cybersecurity.Last year, three members of a cyber espionage unit associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards - a powerful branch of Iran's armed forces - were indicted for launching cyber attacks on the Trump campaign team, which Susie Wiles led.Responding to the latest incident, FBI director said in a statement to CBS News: "The FBI takes all threats against the President, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness; safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the President's mission is a top priority."
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The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Veterans slam Trump's ‘political' deployment of Marines and National Guard to LA: ‘Citizens are not enemy combatants'
Donald Trump 's deployment of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles is a thinly veiled 'authoritarian' and politically motivated attempt to inflame protests and crush dissent, veterans and legal experts warn. Trump is relying on federal law that allows the president to call up the National Guard to respond to domestic unrest, an action known commonly as federalizing the normally state-authorized Guard. Even then, those troops have only a limited mission in supporting federal law enforcement agents and federal buildings at the center of protests against the administration's mass deportation agenda. But now, with his National Guard deployment combined with sending some 700 Marines to L.A., veterans groups, military law experts and Democratic officials fear the president is testing the limits of his authority to send active-duty military into American streets — and violating service members' commitments to stay out of domestic politics. 'When I joined the Marine Corps, I swore an oath — not to a person, not to a party, but to the Constitution,' said Marine veteran Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of the Vet Voice Foundation, a national nonpartisan advocacy group. 'What we're seeing now is a deliberate effort to turn the military into a political prop,' she told The Independent. Trump is not deploying troops for national defense but 'domestic intimidation,' she added. 'That's not just just politicizing the military — it's crossing a dangerous line,' Goldbeck told The Independent. Trump's military threats are 'how authoritarian regimes take power' and signal the president's wider ambitions for 'the weaponization of the military for political gain,' according to veterans advocacy group Common Defense. 'The militarized response to protests in Los Angeles is a dangerous escalation that undermines civil rights and betrays the principles we swore to uphold,' Army veteran and Common Defense political director Naveed Shah said. 'The idea that Marines would be deployed to suppress the very people we're meant to protect is a disgrace. It's un-American,' Marine Corps veteran and Common Defense organizer Jojo Sweatt added. The last time a president federalized the National Guard against the will of a state governor was in 1965, when then-President Lyndon Johnson deployed troops to protect civil rights advocates marching from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery — two weeks after the violence of 'Bloody Sunday' on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Johnson did so after Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace told the president that his state 'refuses to provide for the safety and welfare' of the marchers, according to Johnson's proclamation. But 60 years later, Trump is deploying troops not to defend civil rights activists but to protect law enforcement and federal property. Activating troops against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom 'is bad for all Americans concerned about freedom of speech and states' rights,' retired Major Gen. Randy Manner said in a statement to Fox News. 'There are over a million badged and trained members of law enforcement in this country for the governor to ask for help if he needs it,' he added. 'While this is presently a legal order, it tramples the governor's rights and obligations to protect his people. This is an inappropriate use of the National Guard and is not warranted.' Trump's open-ended memo invoking military deployment does not single out Los Angeles or even California. It empowers the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 'to employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary.' Carrie A. Lee, a former associate professor at the U.S. Army War College, called Trump's actions 'massive overreach' and 'crazy broad,' seemingly paving the way for the administration 'to use military force against protestors on American soil anywhere they want.' Invoking 'protective power' authority without any geographical limits effectively creates an unprecedented and 'dangerous' nationwide order, according to Lee. Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act, though the president and administration officials have repeatedly labeled protesters 'insurrectionists' and 'seditionists' — sparking fears that the president is laying the groundwork for mass deployment of military assets across the country. Instead, Trump is currently relying on a far more limited statute that taps his 'protective power' authority, which does not allow the military to conduct law enforcement activities — unlike the Insurrection Act, which is excluded from federal statute that bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement. 'The public must be laser focused on seeing the extent to which Secretary Hegseth adheres to these historically recognized limitations,' according to University of Houston Law Center professor Chris Mirasola, a former attorney-advisor at the Department of Defense Office of General Counsel. If troops are pulled into violent confrontations, Trump could use those incidents to justify invoking the Insurrection Act, opening the door for active-duty military to face off against Americans not just in the streets of Los Angeles but across the country. 'This is an unnecessary, unprecedented and predictable misuse of military power against American citizens,' according to Army veteran Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. 'And Trump has now thrust our troops into the middle of the most explosive issue in America,' he added. 'And this is likely just the start. We could see a clash and crisis between Trump and governors and mayors across America like we've never seen.' A lawsuit from watchdog group American Oversight called the deployment 'an opening salvo in a coordinated national strategy and not simply an isolated incident.' The lawsuit is seeking records from the Trump administration regarding the use of military assets in immigration enforcement and 'potential authorities his administration would invoke to authorize federalizing law enforcement.' 'Deploying the military to quash protests over the administration's inhumane and legally dubious immigration policies — especially over the objection of elected state leaders — is a dangerous, though unfortunately predictable, escalation by the Trump administration,' according to American Oversight executive director Chioma Chukwu. 'If left unchecked, this abuse of power under thin legal pretense can be readily replicated across other states in the future,' he said in a statement. 'Americans have a right to know who authorized it, what rationale was offered, and not just whether the government crossed a line — but by how much that line has been obliterated.'
The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
People in Los Angeles: share your reaction to the protests and military mobilization
Los Angeles is reeling after a series of immigration raids led to widespread protests over the weekend and Donald Trump took the extraordinary step of ordering thousands of US military troops to descend on the city, a move that California leaders have decried as 'inflammatory'. Raids on Friday in areas of the city with large Latino populations led to mainly peaceful demonstrations, but the protests turned violent when federal immigration authorities used flashbang grenades and teargas against demonstrators. Over the weekend, fiery and chaotic scenes played out in downtown LA, Compton and Paramount, with dozens of people arrested. Donald Trump has been accused of intentionally fanning the flames with his decision on Monday to send in 700 marines and another 2,000 national guard troops to LA, adding to 2,000 already sent to the city on Saturday. While Trump has said the deployment was essential for maintaining order, the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, accused the administration of using the city as an 'experiment', while Gavin Newsom, California's governor, called the decision to send in troops without his permission 'purposefully inflammatory'. We would like to hear from people living in LA about the latest events in the city. How do you feel about the immigration raids? What is your reaction to the national guard and marines being deployed? You can send us your thoughts on recent events in LA using this form. Please share your story if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you wish. For more information, please see our terms of service and privacy policy. Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For true anonymity please use our SecureDrop service instead. If you're having trouble using the form, click here. Read terms of service here and privacy policy here.
Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
LA police shot my photographer in the head
A pepper ball round thwacks my colleague in the side of the head as we run away from police. A cloud of the irritant fills the air, coating my goggles, followed by a crackle and the glare of flash bangs. 'Go, go, go!' he shouts. Police officers are firing into the crowd protesting against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in downtown Los Angeles. Once again, reporters appear to be in the crosshairs. Jon Putman, The Telegraph's photographer, took a blow to the head, one of many journalists hit or detained since protests broke out on Friday. Jon was struck in the ear, narrowly avoiding a serious injury. 'If it hit me right in the head it would have knocked me down and I would have been out of commission,' he said. Los Angeles is being heavily militarised. Mr Trump sent in 1,700 of National Guard over the weekend, and a further 700 marines on Monday. There are now more US soldiers here than in Syria. We weren't the only journalists to come under fire amidst the protests on Monday night, which appear to be shrinking in scale but not intensity. There have been more than two dozen attacks on reporters covering the Los Angeles riots in the past few days, with clearly identified members of the press having been shot at point-blank range by police officers. An Australian broadcaster was shot in the leg, a New York Post photographer in the head and a CNN reporter was briefly detained live on air. British photojournalist Nick Stern required emergency surgery after being shot by an explosive round on Saturday. Sergio Olmos, an investigative reporter for the nonprofit news outlet CalMatters, told the Washington Post that he had never seen more non-lethal rounds used at a protest. On Monday evening, the smell of paint lingered in the air in Los Angeles as teenagers spray painted the pavements, walls and bus stops with slogans such as 'fight hate with hate' and 'I'll be here till I decide not to be'. Snipers stationed on the roof of the Federal Building watched through binoculars as protesters climbed traffic lights and revved their motorcycles. A black Cybertruck graffitied with 'f--- ICE' [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was filmed driving around the protest with a Mexican flag attached to the back. On Sunday, demonstrators torched self-driving cars, threw Molotov cocktails, fireworks and scooters at police officers. Officers have fired non-lethal rounds into crowds, and in at least one instance were filmed firing pepper ball rounds (small plastic bullets filled with irritant) point blank at a protester before hitting him with batons. In another, ICE officers swept in on a man in a yellow jacket before tackling him to the ground and arresting him, while other protesters were detained, their hands zip-tied behind their backs, and put into police vans. The protests erupted in the city on Friday in response to ICE officers conducting a string of raids as part of Mr Trump's aggressive immigration policies. More than 40 people – said to be day labourers – were targeted at a Home Depot car park and Ambiance Apparel, a clothing manufacturer, in LA's fashion district. The crackdown is the Trump administration's latest test to the limits to his presidential authority to force Democrat-run states to adhere to federal decree, while also attempting to show its might by ordering troops onto the streets. US Marines have been deployed domestically for major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the September 11 attacks in 2001, but it is extremely rare for the military to be used for domestic policing. When all the deployed officers arrive, it will mean there are more than 4,000 troops in Los Angeles, more than double the number of US troops in Syria. The news of yet more reinforcements further inflamed tensions between Gavin Newsom, the California governor, and Mr Trump, who continued to publicly attack each other on Monday. Mr Newsom, who has sued the administration to try and block the deployment of marines and troops, accused the Trump administration of mistreating those already in the city, of which only 300 have so far have been deployed. Sharing a picture of troops dressed in fatigues sleeping on the floor, Mr Newsom wrote: 'If anyone is treating our troops disrespectfully, it is you.' He urged the US president to 'grow up' and urged him 'get it over with, arrest me, move on, if you need some head to scalp do it with me'. Justifying the decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles, Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security, claimed ICE agents were targeting the 'worst of the worst' – criminal illegal immigrants hiding among law-abiding communities. But advocates for immigrants' rights have argued that day labourers being detained outside Home Depot stores suggests otherwise. Julie Flores, 21, wrapped herself in a Mexican flag as she stood on the bonnet of a black car sprayed with the words 'f--- ICE'. The student told The Telegraph the protests 'hit close to home' because her father Jerry Flores, 39, who is originally from Guerrero in Mexico was detained by agents when she was at middle school. 'My grandma would probably not like me being out here... we're out here showing our support, doing the best we can do,' she said. On Monday, Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, condemned the ICE raids, claiming they had brought 'fear and terror' to the streets of Los Angeles and were to blame for the unrest. Yurien, 20, found out ICE agents were targeting her father Mario's work at Ambiance Apparel when he messaged her to tell her he was hiding. 'I said 'OK dad, I love you, don't make any noise… I told him I loved him again. He said 'me too, I love you guys…' and since then, I haven't had communication with him,' she told The Telegraph. Yurien, who did not want to give her last name, said she raced to the workplace in downtown Los Angeles and saw her father, who is from Mexico and has lived in the US for decades, being escorted to a van and driven away. 'I felt devastated, mad, angry... because there was nothing I could do to stop it,' she said, clutching a poster which read 'dad, come back home'. University student Montserrat Arrazola, 22, also saw her father being detained by ICE agents on Friday after she rushed to Ambiance Apparel when she saw the raid was happening on TikTok. Speaking to The Telegraph after a press conference outside the clothing manufacturer on Monday morning, she said: 'I felt powerless. I felt like I had my hands tied because I couldn't do anything.' She has managed to speak to her father, Jorge, who moved to the US from Mexico 'many years ago' on the phone once since then. He said he was okay. 'I have a lot of emotions running through me. I can't really explain,' she said, adding that she had not been to any of the protests that have broken out in response. Joanna Lopez, 17, discovered three of her uncles, who had all moved to the US from Mexico as teenagers, had been detained on Friday after she also saw it unfold on social media. 'I just feel for everybody whose families are being taken away right now,' she said. Ms Lopez, who attended the protest later that day, said she was 'very disappointed' in the people who had turned to violence and vandalism, adding that it portrays the scores of peaceful protesters in a bad light.
