Latest news with #falseStatements
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Daily Mail
DOJ: California woman faked ICE kidnapping
A California woman faked her own abduction by ICE agents as part of a scheme to collect donations on GoFundMe, the Department of Justice said. Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, was charged on Thursday with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers. The charges came after family of Calderon – an illegal immigrant from Mexico living in Los Angeles – claimed she was ambushed by armed men in two unmarked trucks at a Jack in the Box parking lot in the downtown LA area. Family members and attorneys held a press conference on June 30, where they said Calderon was brought to San Ysidro, a district of San Diego close to the Mexican border. Her family alleged that she was then, 'presented to [a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] staffer' and, 'presented with voluntary self–deportation paperwork,' according to officials. The family's attorney said Calderon refused to sign the paperwork, and was then 'punished' by being held in a warehouse, a report from the US Attorney's Office, Central District of California detailed. Footage of the press conference show supporters of Calderon holding signs saying, 'our mom is missing,' 'stop the abduction,' and 'where is Yuli?' Following attention from the media, the family then created a GoFundMe page – which has since been deleted – where they asked for $4,500. Now, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stepped in to vehemently deny claims that the immigrant mother was abducted. The DHS launched an investigation into the 'kidnapping,' during which they spent days looking for Calderon and even had ICE agents searching 'detention cell to detention cell,' officials said. Ultimately, agents said they found Calderon in a shopping plaza parking lot in Bakersfield on July 5. She allegedly continued to insist that she had been kidnapped and held 'with others'. Pictured: Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon. 'Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon was never arrested or kidnapped by ICE or bounty hunters — this criminal illegal alien scammed innocent Americans for money and diverted limited DHS resources from removing the worst of the worst from Los Angeles communities,' the DHS said. 'Calderon will now face justice and the media and politicians who swallowed and pushed this garbage should be embarrassed,' the agency added. US Attorney Bill Essayli also released a statement on the matter, saying: 'Dangerous rhetoric that ICE agents are "kidnapping" illegal immigrants is being recklessly peddled by politicians and echoed in the media to inflame the public and discredit our courageous federal agents.' Calderon now faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison if convicted for each charge. The DOJ indicated that additional individuals involved could also face charges. According to a statement provided by GoFundMe to KTLA , the organizers of the campaign will not have access to the $80 their page raised in donations. 'GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform, or any attempt to exploit the generosity of others, and cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing,' the statement read. 'This fundraiser was removed from the platform and the $80 raised was refunded; at no point did the organizer have access to any of the funds.' The Daily Mail has reached out to DHS and ICE, as well as Calderon's family and attorney for comment. Calderon's kidnapping claims come at a contentious time for migrants in the US, as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up his tough-on-immigration policies. Recent ICE raids have seen mass deportations, and the White House claims that Trump has deported more than 100,000 illegal migrants since returning to office in January 2025. Last Thursday, a raid of a cannabis farm in Camarillo - a city in Southern California - saw 200 migrant workers being detained.
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Distraught family claimed beloved grandma had been kidnapped by ICE...but now the sinister truth has emerged
A California woman faked her own abduction by ICE agents as part of a scheme to collect donations on GoFundMe, the Department of Justice said. Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, was charged on Thursday with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers. The charges came after family of Calderon – an illegal immigrant from Mexico living in Los Angeles – claimed she was ambushed by armed men in two unmarked trucks at a Jack in the Box parking lot in the downtown LA area. Family members and attorneys held a press conference on June 30, where they said Calderon was brought to San Ysidro, a district of San Diego close to the Mexican border. Her family alleged that she was then, 'presented to [a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] staffer' and, 'presented with voluntary self–deportation paperwork,' according to officials. The family's attorney said Calderon refused to sign the paperwork, and was then 'punished' by being held in a warehouse, a report from the US Attorney's Office, Central District of California detailed. Videos of the press conference show supporters of Calderon holding signs saying, 'our mom is missing,' 'stop the abduction,' and 'where is Yuli?' Following attention from the media, the family then created a GoFundMe page – which has since been deleted – where they asked for $4,500. Now, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stepped in to vehemently deny claims that the immigrant mother was abducted. The DHS launched an investigation into the 'kidnapping,' during which they spent days looking for Calderon and even had ICE agents searching 'detention cell to detention cell,' officials said. Ultimately, agents said they found Calderon in a shopping plaza parking lot in Bakersfield on July 5. She allegedly continued to insist that she had been kidnapped and held 'with others'. Video footage of the Jack in the Box parking lot Calderon claimed to be taken from showed her leaving the lot and getting into a sedan, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Phone records also show the abduction to be a hoax, according to officials. Calderon's family has tried to keep up the ruse even after she was discovered. They allegedly fabricated pictures of her 'rescue' to make it seem as though ICE agents abused her, according to officials. On July 6, the family planned to host another press conference and increase the donation request, but then their plan was foiled by the DHS. 'Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon was never arrested or kidnapped by ICE or bounty hunters — this criminal illegal alien scammed innocent Americans for money and diverted limited DHS resources from removing the worst of the worst from Los Angeles communities,' the DHS said. 'Calderon will now face justice and the media and politicians who swallowed and pushed this garbage should be embarrassed,' the agency added. US Attorney Bill Essayli also released a statement on the matter, saying: 'Dangerous rhetoric that ICE agents are "kidnapping" illegal immigrants is being recklessly peddled by politicians and echoed in the media to inflame the public and discredit our courageous federal agents.' Calderon now faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison if convicted for each charge. The DOJ indicated that additional individuals involved could also face charges. According to a statement provided by GoFundMe to KTLA, the organizers of the campaign will not have access to the $80 their page raised in donations. 'GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform, or any attempt to exploit the generosity of others, and cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing,' the statement read. 'This fundraiser was removed from the platform and the $80 raised was refunded; at no point did the organizer have access to any of the funds.' The Daily Mail has reached out to DHS and ICE, as well as Calderon's family and attorney for comment. Calderon's kidnapping claims come at a contentious time for migrants in the US, as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up his tough-on-immigration policies. Recent ICE raids have seen mass deportations, and the White House claims that Trump has deported more than 100,000 illegal migrants since returning to office in January 2025. Last Thursday, a raid of a cannabis farm in Camarillo - a city in Southern California - saw 200 migrant workers being detained. Chaos ensued at the raid, with protestors violently clashing with ice agents. Trump directed federal law enforcement officials to use 'whatever means necessary' to arrest anyone who throws rocks or other projectiles at ICE agents during immigration raids.
Fox News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
FBI launches criminal investigations of John Brennan, James Comey: DOJ sources
EXCLUSIVE: Former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump–Russia probe, including allegedly making false statements to Congress, Justice Department sources told Fox News Digital. CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred evidence of wrongdoing by Brennan to FBI Director Kash Patel for potential prosecution, DOJ sources told Fox News Digital. The sources said that the referral was received and told Fox News Digital that a criminal investigation into Brennan was opened and is underway. DOJ sources declined to provide further details. It is unclear, at this point, if the investigation spans beyond his alleged false statements to Congress. As for Comey, DOJ sources told Fox News Digital that an investigation into the former director is underway, but could not share details of what specifically is being probed. The full scope of the criminal investigations into Brennan and Comey is unclear, but two sources described the FBI's view of the duo's interactions as a "conspiracy," which could open up a wide range of potential prosecutorial options. The FBI and CIA declined to comment. Neither Brennan nor Comey immediately responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment. The Brennan investigation comes after Ratcliffe last week declassified a "lessons learned" review of the creation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA). The 2017 ICA alleged Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election to help then-candidate Donald Trump. But the review found that the process of the ICA's creation was rushed with "procedural anomalies," and that officials diverted from intelligence standards. It also determined that the "decision by agency heads to include the Steele Dossier in the ICA ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment." The dossier — an anti-Trump document filled with unverified and wholly inaccurate claims that was commissioned by Fusion GPS and paid for by Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign and the DNC — has been widely discredited. Last week's review marks the first time career CIA officials have acknowledged politicization of the process by which the ICA was written, particularly by Obama-era political appointees. Records declassified as part of that review further revealed that Brennan did, in fact, push for the dossier to be included in the 2017 ICA. Brennan testified to the House Judiciary Committee in May 2023, however, that he did not believe the dossier should be included in that intelligence product. Ratcliffe was not surprised by the review's findings, a source familiar told Fox News Digital, given the director's long history of criticizing Brennan's politicization of intelligence. But Ratcliffe was compelled to refer aspects of Brennan's involvement to the FBI for review of possible criminality, the source said. The source was unable to share the sensitive details of Ratcliffe's criminal referral to the FBI with Fox News Digital, but said that Brennan "violated the public's trust and should be held accountable for it." The false statements portion of the probe stems from a newly declassified email sent to Brennan by the former deputy CIA director in December 2016. That message said that including the dossier in the ICA in any capacity jeopardized "the credibility of the entire paper." "Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness," the new CIA review states. "When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders – one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background – he appeared more swayed by the Dossier's general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns." The review added: "Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that 'my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.'" But Brennan testified the opposite in front of Congress in May 2023. "The CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment," Brennan testified before the House committee, according to the transcript of his deposition reviewed by Fox News Digital. "And so they sent over a copy of the dossier to say that this was going to be separate from the rest of that assessment." CIA officials at the time of its creation pushed back against the FBI, which sought to include the dossier, arguing that the dossier should not be included in the assessment, and casting it as simply "internet rumor." Ultimately, Steele's reporting was not included in the body of the final ICA prepared for then-President Barack Obama, but instead detailed in this footnote, "largely at the insistence of FBI's senior leadership," according to a review by the Justice Department inspector general, and later, the Senate Intelligence Committee. But back in June 2020, Ratcliffe, while serving as director of national intelligence, declassified a footnote of the 2017 ICA, which revealed that the reporting of Trump dossier author Christopher Steele had only "limited corroboration" regarding whether then-President-elect Trump "knowingly worked with Russian officials to bolster his chances of beating" Hillary Clinton and other claims. The footnote, also known as "Annex A" of the 2017 ICA, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in June 2020, spanned less than two pages and detailed reporting by Steele, the former British spy who authored the unverified anti-Trump dossier — a document that helped serve as the basis for controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants obtained against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Steele's reporting, at the time, was commissioned by opposition research firm Fusion GPS and funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) through law firm Perkins Coie. The footnote made clear the internal concerns officials had over that document. "An FBI source (Steele) using both identified and unidentified subsources, volunteered highly politically sensitive information from the summer to the fall of 2016 on Russian influence efforts aimed at the US presidential election," the annex read. "We have only limited corroboration of the source's reporting in this case and did not use it to reach the analytic conclusions of the CIA/FBI/NSA assessment." "The source collected this information on behalf of private clients and was not compensated for it by the FBI," it continued. But the annex notes that Steele's reporting was "not developed by the layered subsource network." "The FBI source caveated that, although similar to previously provided reporting in terms of content, the source was unable to vouch for the additional information's sourcing and accuracy," the annex states. "Hence this information is not included in this product." Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz also reviewed the inclusion of Steele's reporting in the ICA during his review of alleged misconduct related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. His report, released in late 2019, found that there were "significant inaccuracies and omissions" in FISA warrants for former Trump campaign aide Page. Those warrants relied heavily on Steele's reporting, despite the FBI not having had specific information corroborating allegations against Page that were included in Steele's reporting. Meanwhile, Fox News Digital exclusively reported in October 2020 that Brennan briefed former President Obama and administration officials on intelligence that then-Democrat nominee former Secretary of State Clinton was stirring up a plan to tie Trump to Russia. Ratcliffe, as director of national intelligence, declassified Brennan's handwritten notes memorializing that meeting, which were exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in October 2020. On July 28, 2016, Brennan briefed Obama on a plan from one of Clinton's campaign foreign policy advisors "to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service." Comey, then-Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were in the Brennan-Obama briefing. After that briefing, the CIA properly forwarded that information through a Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL) to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok, with the subject line: "Crossfire Hurricane." Fox News Digital exclusively obtained and reported on the CIOL in October 2020, which stated: "The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate." "Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date," the memo continued. "An exchange (REDACTED) discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server." The FBI on July 31, 2016, opened a counterintelligence investigation into whether candidate Trump and members of his campaign were colluding or coordinating with Russia to influence the 2016 campaign. That investigation was referred to inside the bureau as "Crossfire Hurricane." Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to take over the FBI's original "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation. After nearly two years, Mueller's investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election. Shortly after, John Durham was appointed as special counsel to investigate the origins of the "Crossfire Hurricane" probe. Durham found that the FBI "failed to act" on a "clear warning sign" that the bureau was the "target" of a Clinton-led effort to "manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes" ahead of the 2016 presidential election. "The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI's investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation," Durham's report states. "Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye," the report continued. Durham, in his report, said the FBI "failed to act on what should have been—when combined with other incontrovertible facts— a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election." Meanwhile, the White House wants the Obama-era intelligence officials to be held accountable. "President Trump was right — again," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Those who engaged in this political scandal must be held accountable for the fraud they committed against President Trump and the lies they told to the American people."
