My views on how the media are treating two grieving parents

As you know I rarely interject in my blog postings, I only state FACT.

Below are experts from articles about how biased the Lame Stream Media is.  I have not decided on WHOM I will vote for, BUT based on what I’ve read of the Benghazi Papers AND the FBI’s own words it will NOT be Hillary.  Enough Said.

THIS posting is about how the media is treating these two grieving families.  All I have to say is:

1. Humayun Kahn VOLUNTEERED to join the Military and defend the United States and the Constitution, as military personnel he KNEW that he may have to pay the ULTIMATE sacrifice.
2. Ambassador Chris Stevens was an Ambassador who represents the interests of the United States in the country they are assigned.  The are NOT expected to give their LIFE for their country as it is a DIPLOMATIC post.

Can you see the difference?

There is no question that Khan, whose soldier son was killed in Iraq, provided a heartbreaking moment in Philadelphia. Trump had nothing to do with his son’s wartime death, of course, but Khan took his proposed temporary ban on Muslim immigrants and used it to question whether the candidate has even read the Constitution (which Trump says he has).

The media have given this man and his wife an enormous platform—in a way they conspicuously declined to do when Patricia Smith blamed Hillary Clinton at the Republican convention for the death of her son in Benghazi.

Khan’s speech got a writeup on the front page of the New York Times. On Sunday he was on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CNN’s “State of the Union,” calling Trump, among other things, a “black soul.” Yesterday it was the “Today” show, “Morning Joe” and “New Day.”

The New York Times is calling it “one of the biggest crises of his campaign,” saying it’s “too soon to say how severe the damage to Mr. Trump might be, but the clash has already entangled him in a self-destructive, dayslong argument with sympathetic accusers who are portraying him as a person of unredeemable callousness.”

The paper did add that “he has proved remarkably resilient, getting past controversies that might have sunk other candidates.”

The Washington Post says Trump “drew new criticism from his party” for taking on Khan. “But the Republican presidential nominee refused to back down from his attacks, and a former aide argued that the soldier would still be alive if Trump were president at the time of his service.”

New Hampshire state Rep. Al Baldasaro, who has called for Clinton to be killed, said this: “Follow the money trail on Mr Khan. Shame on him for using his Warrior son, who made the Ultimate sacrifice as a pawn.”

Patricia Smith drew little coverage for her speech attacking Clinton in Cleveland. That may be in part because she had repeatedly made the same allegations in television interviews. But Smith also drew criticism for bringing up Benghazi.

“I don’t care how many children Pat Smith lost, I would like to beat her to death,” Mr. Shoals wrote. The tweet was deleted but captured beforehand by news watchdog Media Research Center.

Ms. Smith told a nationally televised audience of roughly 10 million people that she blames Mrs. Clinton for the death of her son, an information management officer with the U.S. Foreign Service at the time of his death.

“Under no circumstances is it okay to invoke violence against women. As outraged as I was by parts of Pat Smith’s speech, to use this kind of language as a means of expressing that feeling was completely out of bounds,” the writer said on Tuesday. “I also completely understand how, regardless of my intent, it was extremely triggering for a lot of people. And for that I am genuinely sorry.”

 

Select Committee on Benghazi Releases Proposed Report

READ the actual report!

http://benghazi.house.gov/NewInfo

81 New Witnesses, 75,000 New Pages of Documents Reveal Significant New Information,

Fundamentally Changes the Public’s Understanding of the 2012 Terrorist Attacks that Killed Four Americans

Washington, D.C. – Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy (SC-04) released the following statement after the committee’s Majority released a mark of its investigative report:

“Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were heroes who gave their lives in service to our country. Their bravery and the courageous actions of so many others on the ground that night should be honored.

“When the Select Committee was formed, I promised to conduct this investigation in a manner worthy of the American people’s respect, and worthy of the memory of those who died. That is exactly what my colleagues and I have done.

“Now, I simply ask the American people to read this report for themselves, look at the evidence we have collected, and reach their own conclusions. You can read this report in less time than our fellow citizens were taking fire and fighting for their lives on the rooftops and in the streets of Benghazi.”

The committee’s proposed report is just over 800 pages long and is comprised of five primary sections and 12 appendices. It details relevant events in 2011 and 2012.

The following facts are among the many new revelations in Part I:

• Despite President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s clear orders to deploy military assets, nothing was sent to Benghazi, and nothing was en route to Libya at the time the last two Americans were killed almost 8 hours after the attacks began. [pg. 141]

• With Ambassador Stevens missing, the White House convened a roughly two-hour meeting at 7:30 PM, which resulted in action items focused on a YouTube video, and others containing the phrases “[i]f any deployment is made,” and “Libya must agree to any deployment,” and “[w]ill not deploy until order comes to go to either Tripoli or Benghazi.” [pg. 115]

• The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff typically would have participated in the White House meeting, but did not attend because he went home to host a dinner party for foreign dignitaries. [pg. 107]

• A Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) sat on a plane in Rota, Spain, for three hours, and changed in and out of their uniforms four times. [pg. 154]

• None of the relevant military forces met their required deployment timelines. [pg. 150]

• The Libyan forces that evacuated Americans from the CIA Annex to the Benghazi airport was not affiliated with any of the militias the CIA or State Department had developed a relationship with during the prior 18 months. Instead, it was comprised of former Qadhafi loyalists who the U.S. had helped remove from power during the Libyan revolution. [pg. 144]

Rep. Mike Pompeo (KS-04) released the following statement regarding these findings:

“We expect our government to make every effort to save the lives of Americans who serve in harm’s way. That did not happen in Benghazi. Politics were put ahead of the lives of Americans, and while the administration had made excuses and blamed the challenges posed by time and distance, the truth is that they did not try.”

Rep. Martha Roby (AL-02) released the following statement regarding these findings:

“Our committee’s insistence on additional information about the military’s response to the Benghazi attacks was met with strong opposition from the Defense Department, and now we know why. Instead of attempting to hide deficiencies in our posture and performance, it’s my hope our report will help ensure we fix what went wrong so that a tragedy like this never happens again.”

The following facts are among the many new revelations in Part II:

• Five of the 10 action items from the 7:30 PM White House meeting referenced the video, but no direct link or solid evidence existed connecting the attacks in Benghazi and the video at the time the meeting took place. The State Department senior officials at the meeting had access to eyewitness accounts to the attack in real time. The Diplomatic Security Command Center was in direct contact with the Diplomatic Security Agents on the ground in Benghazi and sent out multiple updates about the situation, including a “Terrorism Event Notification.” The State Department Watch Center had also notified Jake Sullivan and Cheryl Mills that it had set up a direct telephone line to Tripoli. There was no mention of the video from the agents on the ground. Greg Hicks—one of the last people to talk to Chris Stevens before he died—said there was virtually no discussion about the video in Libya leading up to the attacks. [pg. 28]

• The morning after the attacks, the National Security Council’s Deputy Spokesperson sent an email to nearly two dozen people from the White House, Defense Department, State Department, and intelligence community, stating: “Both the President and Secretary Clinton released statements this morning. … Please refer to those for any comments for the time being. To ensure we are all in sync on messaging for the rest of the day, Ben Rhodes will host a conference call for USG communicators on this chain at 9:15 ET today.” [pg. 39]

• Minutes before the President delivered his speech in the Rose Garden, Jake Sullivan wrote in an email to Ben Rhodes and others: “There was not really much violence in Egypt. And we are not saying that the violence in Libya erupted ‘over inflammatory videos.’” [pg. 44]

• According to Susan Rice, both Ben Rhodes and David Plouffe prepared her for her appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows following the attacks. Nobody from the FBI, Department of Defense, or CIA participated in her prep call. While Rhodes testified Plouffe would “normally” appear on the Sunday show prep calls, Rice testified she did not recall Plouffe being on prior calls and did not understand why he was on the call in this instance. [pg.98]

• On the Sunday shows, Susan Rice stated the FBI had “already begun looking at all sorts of evidence” and “FBI has a lead in this investigation.” But on Monday, the Deputy Director, Office of Maghreb Affairs sent an email stating: “McDonough apparently told the SVTS [Secure Video Teleconference] group today that everyone was required to ‘shut their pieholes’ about the Benghazi attack in light of the FBI investigation, due to start tomorrow.” [pg. 135]

• After Susan Rice’s Sunday show appearances, Jake Sullivan assured the Secretary of the State that Rice “wasn’t asked about whether we had any intel. But she did make clear our view that this started spontaneously and then evolved.” [pg. 128]

• Susan Rice’s comments on the Sunday talk shows were met with shock and disbelief by State Department employees in Washington. The Senior Libya Desk Officer, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, State Department, wrote: “I think Rice was off the reservation on this one.” The Deputy Director, Office of Press and Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, State Department, responded: “Off the reservation on five networks!” The Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications, Bureau of Near East Affairs, State Department, wrote: “WH [White House] very worried about the politics. This was all their doing.” [pg. 132]

• The CIA’s September 13, 2012, intelligence assessment was rife with errors. On the first page, there is a single mention of “the early stages of the protest” buried in one of the bullet points. The article cited to support the mention of a protest in this instance was actually from September 4. In other words, the analysts used an article from a full week before the attacks to support the premise that a protest had occurred just prior to the attack on September 11. [pg. 47]

• A headline on the following page of the CIA’s September 13 intelligence assessment stated “Extremists Capitalized on Benghazi Protests,” but nothing in the actual text box supports that title. As it turns out, the title of the text box was supposed to be “Extremists Capitalized on Cairo Protests.” That small but vital difference—from Cairo to Benghazi—had major implications in how people in the administration were able to message the attacks. [pg. 52]

Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-04) released the following statement regarding these findings:

“Obama Administration officials, including the Secretary of State, learned almost in real time that the attack in Benghazi was a terrorist attack. Rather than tell the American people the truth, the administration told one story privately and a different story publicly.”

Rep. Peter Roskam (IL-06) released the following statement regarding these findings:

“In the days and weeks after the attacks, the White House worked to pin all of the blame for their misleading and incorrect statements on officials within the intelligence community, but in reality, political operatives like Ben Rhodes and David Plouffe were spinning the false narrative and prepping Susan Rice for her interviews.”

The following facts are among the many new revelations in Part III:

• During deliberations within the State Department about whether and how to intervene in Libya in March 2011, Jake Sullivan listed the first goal as “avoid[ing] a failed state, particularly one in which al-Qaeda and other extremists might take safe haven.” [pg. 9]

• The administration’s policy of no boots on the ground shaped the type of military assistance provided to State Department personnel in Libya. The Executive Secretariats for both the Defense Department and State Department exchanged communications outlining the diplomatic capacity in which the Defense Department SST security team members would serve, which included wearing civilian clothes so as not to offend the Libyans. [pg. 60]

• When the State Department’s presence in Benghazi was extended in December 2012, senior officials from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security were excluded from the discussion. [pg. 74]

• In February 2012, the lead Diplomatic Security Agent at Embassy Tripoli informed his counterpart in Benghazi that more DS agents would not be provided by decision makers, because “substantive reporting” was not Benghazi’s purpose. [pg. 77]

• Emails indicate senior State Department officials, including Cheryl Mills, Jake Sullivan, and Huma Abedin were preparing for a trip by the Secretary of State to Libya in October 2012. According to testimony, Chris Stevens wanted to have a “deliverable” for the Secretary for her trip to Libya, and that “deliverable” would be making the Mission in Benghazi a permanent Consulate. [pg. 96]

• In August 2012—roughly a month before the Benghazi attacks—security on the ground worsened significantly. Ambassador Stevens initially planned to travel to Benghazi in early August, but cancelled the trip “primarily for Ramadan/security reasons.” [pg. 99]

• Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta bluntly told the committee “an intelligence failure” occurred with respect to Benghazi. Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell also acknowledged multiple times an intelligence failure did in fact occur prior to the Benghazi attacks. [pg. 129]

Rep. Susan Brooks (IN-05) released the following statement regarding these findings:

“President Obama has said his worst mistake was ‘failing to plan for the day after … intervening in Libya.’ As a result of this ‘lead from behind’ foreign policy, the Libyan people were forced to make the dismal trade of the tyranny of Qadhafi for the terror of ISIS, Al-Qaeda and others. Although the State Department considered Libya a grave risk to American diplomats in 2011 and 2012, our people remained in a largely unprotected, unofficial facility that one diplomatic security agent the committee interviewed characterized as ‘a suicide mission.’”

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03) released the following statement regarding these findings:

“One of the most concerning parts of the State Department’s policy in Libya was its reliance upon the militias of an unstable nation to protect our men and women in Benghazi. These were by no means forces that could adequately protect Americans on the ground, and the State Department knew it. But the appearance of no boots on the ground was more important to the administration.”

Part IV of the report reveals new information about the Select Committee’s requests and subpoenas seeking documents and witnesses regarding Benghazi and Libya, and details what the Obama administration provided to Congress, what it is still withholding, and how its serial delays hindered the committee’s efforts to uncover the truth.

Part V proposes 25 recommendations for the Pentagon, State Department, Intelligence Community and Congress aimed at strengthening security for American personnel serving abroad and doing everything possible to ensure something like Benghazi never happens again, and if it does, that we are better prepared to respond, the majority make a series of recommendations.

The Select Committee intends to convene a bipartisan markup to discuss and vote on the proposed report on July 8, 2016. All members of the committee will have the opportunity to offer changes in a manner consistent with the rules of the House.

Letter from Chairman Trey Gowdy to Speaker Paul Ryan

The Benghazi Committee’s Investigation – By the Numbers

Below is the full report with links to PDF files of each section.

Report of the Select Committee on
the Events Surrounding the 2012
Terrorist Attack in Benghazi

 

Illustrations

 

1. Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi

 

1. Internal and Public Government Communications about the Terrorist

Attacks in Benghazi

 

III. Events Leading to the Terrorist Attacks in Benghazi

 

1. Compliance with Congressional Investigations

 

1. Recommendations

 

Appendix A: Resolution Establishing the Select Committee on the

Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi

 

Appendix B: Significant Persons and Organizations

 

Appendix C: Questions for the President

 

Appendix D: Significant Events in Libya Prior to the Attacks

 

Appendix E: Security Incidents in Libya

 

Appendix F: Deterioration of Benghazi Mission Compound Security

 

Appendix G: Timelines of the Attacks

 

Appendix H: The September 12 Situation Report and the President’s

Daily Brief

 

Appendix I: Witness Interview Summaries

 

Appendix J: Requests and Subpoenas for Documents

 

Appendix K: Analysis of Accountability Review Board, House Armed

Services Committee and House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee

Reports

 

Appendix L: Glen A. Doherty, Sean P. Smith, J. Christopher Stevens,

and Tyrone S. Woods

 

Additional Views by Rep. Jordan and Rep. Pompeo

Probe into gifts to McDonnells finds new undisclosed items valued at tens of thousands

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/probe-of-gifts-to-mcdonnell-widens/2013/06/21/6fa41132-d6c0-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_story.html?tid=d_pulse

Federal authorities are asking Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s associates about previously undisclosed gifts given by a campaign donor to McDonnell’s wife that total tens of thousands of dollars and include money and expensive designer clothing, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

The questions are part of broad federal and state investigations into gifts to the governor and his family and whether McDonnell (R) took official action on behalf of anyone who gave gifts, people with knowledge of the investigation have said.

The probe already involves a $15,000 gift from wealthy businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr., chief executive of a major McDonnell campaign donor, for catering at the 2011 wedding of one of McDonnell’s daughters.

But the people with knowledge of the inquiry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation, say the scope is wider than just the wedding gift. The value and nature of additional gifts from Williams, including money provided in several checks, suggest that authorities are exploring a more extensive relationship between Williams and the McDonnells than previously revealed.

McDonnell has said that Williams’s company, Star Scientific Inc., the maker of a dietary supplement, received no special benefits. But the gifts came as the McDonnells showcased the company and its new product.

Additionally, famed Virginia socialite Patricia Kluge, who was one of the state’s wealthiest women before a dramatic and public crash during the recession, has been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury to answer questions related to the McDonnells, according to people who are familiar with her summons.

It is not clear what testimony authorities will seek from Kluge, who owned a winery and vast estate near Charlottesville before losing both in the economic downturn.

They were ultimately bought by Donald Trump. When the estate reopened as the Trump Winery in 2011, the McDonnells were in attendance, along with Trump and his son Eric.

Kluge’s attorney, Edward B. MacMahon Jr., said his client has done nothing wrong. “Patricia Kluge is a close friend of Mrs. McDonnell’s,” MacMahon said. “The government is apparently looking into lots of Mrs. McDonnell’s friends, but any insinuation that Kluge has any knowledge of anything illegal or improper done by either the governor or the First Lady is entirely wrong.’’

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.

Tucker Martin, a spokesman for the governor, said “we will not address personal matters that are not relevant or germane to Virginia state government functions.”

But in a written statement, Martin also said that the governor has been “diligent in following Virginia’s existing laws regarding the reporting of gifts to state officeholders.”

He added that neither Williams nor Star Scientific have received any targeted tax incentives, economic-development grants, government contracts or board appointments during McDonnell’s time in office.

Jerry Kilgore, an attorney for Williams, declined to comment on the federal investigation.

Virginia law allows elected officials to accept gifts of any value, provided that they annually disclose those worth more than $50.

Since taking office in 2010, McDonnell has disclosed receiving $9,650 in personal gifts — including private plane rides and a summer lake-house vacation — from Williams and Star Scientific.

Star Scientific also contributed $108,452 to McDonnell’s campaign and his political-action committee.

State law does not require officials to disclose gifts that have been given to members of their immediate family. McDonnell has said that is why he did not disclose the $15,000 check for his daughter’s wedding, which he said was a gift to his daughter.

As public scrutiny of his relationship with Williams has mounted, McDonnell has declined to provide a full accounting of other gifts Williams provided to members of the McDonnell family.

A local prosecutor in Richmond is conducting a parallel investigation to the federal probe to determine whether McDonnell complied with state law in his annual financial filings.

That investigation could explore whether the governor received enough benefit from gifts given to his wife — particularly loans or gifts of money — that he should have considered them gifts to himself as well.

Federal authorities are exploring whether McDonnell performed official acts to boost the company in exchange for gifts from Williams, people familiar with the inquiry have said.

Three days before the 2011 wedding, Maureen McDonnell flew to Florida, where she touted the promise of a dietary supplement that Star Scientific was introducing to doctors and investors.

Three months later, the McDonnells allowed Star Scientific to use the 200-year-old Executive Mansion for an event to mark the launch of Anatabloc, which is an anti-inflammatory, non-FDA approved pill.

The first lady organized the event, but the governor also attended. His spokesman has said he stopped in to recognize the company for making grants to public universities.

The federal probe appears not to be limited to the McDonnells’ interactions with Williams.

State Del. David I. Ramadan (R-Loudoun), who confirmed this month that he has been subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury next month, has said he has no connection to Williams or his company.

Ramadan, who is a jeweler, has declined to say whether he gave gifts to Maureen McDonnell.

Kluge, too, has no obvious connection to Star Scientific.

She has been active politically in Virginia but has given largely to Democrats, including more than $125,000 to Sen. Timothy M. Kaine’s gubernatorial campaign and inauguration. In 2010, however, she gave a $10,000 campaign contribution to McDonnell’s Inaugural Committee.

Friendly with the McDonnells, she served for 18 months in 2010 and 2011 as chairwoman of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Furnishing and Interpreting the Executive Mansion, a panel appointed by the governor and whose honorary head is the first lady.

For two decades, Kluge reigned as a particular kind of Virginia royalty, entertaining high society at her 45-room, 23,000-square-foot estate not far from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, outside of Charlottesville.

She had built the mansion with billionaire husband John Kluge, who was the nation’s wealthiest person during their marriage. Patricia Kluge kept the home after they divorced in 1990.

She later built a winery on 900 acres that was the crown jewel of the burgeoning Virginia wine industry. But her debts mounted amid the financial crash, and she declared bankruptcy in 2011.

Trump, a longtime friend, purchased Kluge’s holdings from trusts and banks, buying the winery in 2011 and her famed Albemarle House a year later.

Martin, the governor’s spokesman, said that before the sale at public auction, Secretary of Agriculture Todd Haymore had worked to identify potential buyers.

Martin said all efforts to save the enterprise were coordinated by Haymore, who had also worked with Kluge during the Kaine administration. He said it was in the best interest of the state to find a buyer.

“While Mrs. Kluge is a friend of the McDonnells, the Kluge Vineyard was Virginia’s largest and thus had a direct impact on the growing Virginia wine industry,” Martin said.

Eric Trump, who oversaw the purchase of the winery for the Trump Organization, said in an interview that while the McDonnells were supportive of the Trump takeover, they had no personal role in the deal.

“The governor, obviously, I think he’s probably a big proponent of ours — as would be any governor,” Trump said. But, he added, “the governor didn’t have a role in the sale.”

Trump said he has not been subpoenaed to appear at the grand jury or been interviewed by the FBI.

List of Gifts

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/local/virginia-gifts/

Laura Vozzella and Alice Crites contributed to this report.

Actress charged in ricin letters sent to Obama, Bloomberg

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/06/07/texas-woman-reported-arrested-in-connection-with-ricin-laced-letters-sent-to-president/2400989/

A TV actress was arrested and charged Friday in connection with ricin-laced letters sent to President Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The arrest of Shannon Rogers Guess Richardson, 35, comes two weeks after Richardson contacted the FBI claiming that her husband, Nathan Richardson, had sent the letters last month to Obama, Bloomberg and Mark Glaze, head of a gun-control organization co-founded by Bloomberg.

Richardson, according to a federal criminal complaint, is charged with mailing a threatening communication to the the president. An arrest affidavit says Richardson mailed the letters on May 20. She made an initial court appearance in Texas Friday afternoon. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison.

Nathan Richardson, a 33-year-old Army veteran, was questioned by the FBI last week. He’s been married to Ms. Richardson, a former Dallas beauty queen, since 2011. She has had minor roles in cable TV series The Walking Dead and The Vampire Diaries.

Richardson contacted agents after she said she found a suspicious substance in her refrigerator and ricin-related Internet searches on the couple’s computer. But investigators said she had sent the letters.

Attorney John Delk, who represents Nathan Richardson, said his client is divorcing his wife and claimed she was trying to set him up when she contacted authorities about the letters. “There are a lot of factors I’m aware of that indicate (he) was set up in this deal by her,” Delk said.

Delk said Nathan Richardson came to him to discuss a potential divorce a year ago and finally hired him on May 6, weeks before the ricin incident came to light. The couple is expecting their first child in October. Shannon Richardson has five children ranging in age from 4 to 19 from other relationships, Delk said.

FBI agents in hazardous material suits were seen at her home earlier this week in New Boston, Texas, a small community near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border.

Search of California senator’s office involves water measures

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/05/search-california-senator-office-involves-water-measures/

The FBI investigation of state Sen. Ron Calderon involves legislation he introduced for a Los Angeles-area water district that uses his brother as a consultant.

The FBI raided the Democrat’s Sacramento offices Tuesday but hasn’t said why.

On Wednesday, two people told The Associated Press they were questioned by the FBI about Calderon and his brother, Tom.

Michael Franchek, former vice president of EcoGreen Services, says agents contacted him twice to discuss Tom Calderon’s work for the Central Basin Municipal Water District.

And a Los Angeles-area elected official says agents asked him about legislation written by Ron Calderon for Central Basin. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Former Arkansas state treasurer indicted on extortion charges

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/05/former-arkansas-treasurer-indicted-on-extortion-charges/

A federal grand jury indicted a former Arkansas state treasurer on extortion and other charges Wednesday after prosecutors allege she accepted more than $36,000 cash from a bond broker to whom she steered state investments.

The indictment comes less than a week after a judge rejected Martha Shoffner’s attempt to plead guilty to accepting the money. She is charged with six extortion counts, one attempted extortion count and seven bribe-related charges.

An FBI affidavit filed last month in federal court alleges that the broker — unidentified in court documents — would roll up cash in $6,000 increments and have it delivered to Shoffner’s office every six months. At least two of the payments were delivered in a pie box with a pie. The broker “recognized his/her bond business with the state grew because of the payments,” the affidavit said.

“We certainly anticipate at trial that we will be able to prove that her actions in steering business to (the broker) were directly related to her receipt of $6,000 payments,” U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer told reporters.

Chuck Banks, Shoffner’s attorney, did not immediately return a call Wednesday afternoon.

Shoffner was arrested at her Newport home May 18 after the FBI said it caught her on tape accepting a $6,000 payment from the broker, who hasn’t been identified.

Shoffner, 68, had initially been charged with one count of attempt and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right under the Hobbs Act, a federal law often used to prosecute public officials for accepting bribes. Wednesday’s indictment expands those to include one count for each of the payments the FBI says Shoffner accepted. Those charges carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

The seven bribery charges cover all of the payments Shoffner received, plus the $6,000 payment the FBI said she accepted in May. The bribery charges carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

She was set to plead guilty Friday to a similar bribery charge until she told U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes the payments didn’t affect her decisions as treasurer and that she didn’t intentionally steer business to the broker.

When Holmes asked Shoffner last week if she accepted payments from the broker, she responded: “Yes, but it was offered. I didn’t demand it.“

Holmes rejected the plea since she wasn’t admitting guilt to all of the elements of the charge.

Thyer said he believed Shoffner’s admission in court could be used against her in the trial. Thyer said he expected Shoffner to make her first court appearance in the coming days.

“We do not consider Miss Shoffner a flight risk or a risk to the community, so I doubt very seriously we will seek detention for Miss Shoffner at that hearing,” he said.

The payments were made after Shoffner asked the broker for $1,000 a month to pay her rent in Little Rock, according to the affidavit. The document said the broker was granted immunity in exchange for his or her cooperation. Thyer said he expected the broker to testify against Shoffner at her trial.

Legislative auditors last year questioned Shoffner’s selling of bonds before they matured, a practice that they said cost the state more than $434,000 worth of earnings.

Shoffner was arrested at her home in Newport after the broker agreed to record the meeting and bring $6,000 in a pie box, according to the affidavit. FBI agents executed a search warrant and found the cash inside a cigarette package in Shoffner’s kitchen. Shoffner admitted that she accepted the payments from the broker, the FBI said in its affidavit.

Shoffner, a Democrat, was first elected treasurer in 2006 and won a second term in 2010. Facing pressure from fellow Democrats as well as Republicans who threatened impeachment proceedings if she didn’t resign, Shoffner stepped down last month.

Gov. Mike Beebe last week appointed former Legislative Auditor Charles Robinson to serve the remainder of Shoffner’s term, which ends in January 2015. Robinson is barred from running for the post next year since he was appointed to it.

Sleeping on Job & $1500 per month food bill; Fat Cat Union Prez voted out

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/fat_all_folks_for_union_big_shot_OFs38NoaYKuoy5iAw1QK2L

The Fat Cat union president exposed by The Post last week for sleeping on the job and scarfing down thousands of dollars in food on the rank-and-file’s dime was pushed from his cushy perch last night in a landslide vote.

Mark Rosenthal — a 400-pound labor heavyweight who had run municipal-workers union Local 983 for 15 years — was trounced by his challenger, Joseph Puleo, in a 371-165 vote.

Rosenthal seemed confident before the ballots were tallied, but was left stunned by the result.

“No, I’m sorry,” he said by phone, after sneaking quietly away from the polling place when it became clear the election was going against him. “I don’t have anything to say.”

FED UP: Union boss Mark Rosenthal yesterday before being voted out after a Post exposé about his sleeping on the job.

His challenger, meanwhile, trumpeted his victory as a new era for the union.

“Local 983 now has democracy and we have a lot of work ahead,” said Puleo, who had formerly been a vice president at the 3,000-member union.

Many union members told The Post they voted for Rosenthal’s challenger because they were fed up with the way the sleepy president was running the shop.

“We’ve got to get Rosenthal out of there. No more fat cat,” said a Parks Department worker who arrived at the West Side polling place with The Post’s May 28 front-page story taped to her car window.

“Mark’s been sleeping for too long,” said Charles St. Louis, 49, a city Parks peace officer. “We want him out. The fat cat has been sleeping, and we’re going to wake him up today.”

Rosenthal routinely fell asleep at his desk in the union office after downing a huge meal.

He slumbered — with a soda sitting on his desk — even as he collected $156,000 a year in salary from dues paid by some of the city’s lowest-paid workers.

He also was accused of running up bills as high as $1,400 a month on food — all on the union’s tab.

The vote ended a heated race for the union’s top job.

“I’m surprised how dirty it got. I’ve known Mark for years and didn’t think it would get that bad,” Puleo said before the results were tallied.

Both sides had filed lawsuits over various disagreements.

In addition to his heavy eating and napping habits, NYPD tow- truck drivers last month blasted Rosenthal for being AWOL during Hurricane Sandy as their private cars were flooded.

He also made news when he inspired a City Council bill for oversized ambulances after he suffered a stroke at City Hall.

And he claimed ignorance when The Post confronted him over the fact that the FBI raided his house and slapped his roommate with drug charges for allegedly cooking meth right under his nose.

Virginia governor’s wife was paid $36,000 as consultant to coal philanthropy

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/virginia-governors-wife-was-paid-36000-as-consultant-to-coal-philanthropy/2013/06/02/c8d6ff50-c868-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_story.html

Maureen McDonnell, the wife of Virginia’s governor, was paid $36,000 last year to attend a handful of meetings as a consultant to the philanthropic arm of one of the state’s major coal companies, a top coal company official said.

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) indicated on his annual financial disclosure forms for 2011 and 2012 that his wife served as a paid trustee of a family charity, the Frances G. and James W. McGlothlin Foundation.

But in an interview, James McGlothlin said the $21 million family foundation never named McDonnell to its board.

Instead, McGlothlin said, the family asked Maureen McDonnell to become an adviser to the charitable efforts of both the family foundation and the United Co., a natural resources and real estate company in Bristol, Va., that has made the McGlothlins one of the wealthiest families in the state.

McGlothlin, who founded the company in 1970 and is its chairman and chief executive, said the first lady is paid by the company and not the foundation.

By reporting that his wife was on the board, the governor never had to say on his financial disclosure form how much she was paid. McGlothlin confirmed the salary.

A spokesman for McDonnell declined to comment about the arrangement, saying that all questions about it should be directed to McGlothlin.

Elected officials in Virginia are legally required to disclose any employer that pays their spouses at least $10,000 annually. Separately, they also are required to disclose whether they or their spouses are paid directors or officers of any company.

If the governor had indicated that Maureen McDonnell’s position with the United Co. was a job that provided her with an annual salary, the public would have been able to conclude that her paycheck exceeded the $10,000 reporting threshold.

By listing it as a paid trusteeship instead, he did not have to provide any information about the size of her compensation.

News of the relationship comes as the FBI and Virginia State Police are exploring the McDonnells’ finances as part of an inquiry into the couple’s dealings with Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the chief executive of a dietary supplement manufacturer who paid $15,000 for the catering at the 2011 wedding of the McDonnells’ daughter.

Michael Herring, commonwealth’s attorney in Richmond, has confirmed that he has been conducting a review of McDonnell’s financial disclosures since November.

 ‘Really ideal’

For a few days of work, Maureen McDonnell picked up a salary nearly equivalent to the average starting pay of a Virginia teacher. As governor, Robert McDonnell is paid $175,000 a year.

McGlothlin said that Maureen McDonnell never asked to be paid but that the company decided to compensate her for her advice. He said the arrangement was born over a dinner at which he, his wife the governor and first lady got to talking about how the McGlothlins’ charitable interests in education and health care aligned with those Maureen McDonnell has pursued as first lady.

He said she attended two or three meetings with company and foundation officials in Bristol as part of the arrangement.

Judge orders Google to turn over data to FBI

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/05/31/judge-google-fbi/2378799/

• It is unclear what type of information the government sought to obtain
• ‘National Security Letters’ are warrantless and secret
• The same judge found the letters unconstitutional in a separate case

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Google Inc. to comply with FBI warrantless demands for customer data.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston on Tuesday rejected Google’s argument that the so-called National Security Letters the company received from the FBI were unconstitutional and unnecessary. Illston ordered Google to comply with the secret demands even though she found the letters unconstitutional in March in a separate case filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

She acknowledged as much in her four-page order in the Google case made on May 20 and obtained by the Associated Press on Friday.

Illston put the Google ruling on hold until the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could decide the matter. Until then, she said the Mountain View, Calif.-based company would have to comply with the letters unless it showed the FBI didn’t follow proper procedures in making its demands for customer data in the 19 letters Google is challenging.

After receiving sworn statements from two top-ranking FBI officials, Illston said she was satisfied that 17 of the 19 letters were issued properly. She wanted more information on two other letters.

Google could appeal Illston’s decision. The company declined comment Friday.

Kurt Opsah, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said it could be many more months before the appeals court rules on the constitutionality of the letters, which the FBI sends to telecommunication companies, Internet service providers, banks and others amid terror investigations. The letters are used to collect unlimited kinds of sensitive, private information, such as financial and phone records.

It was unclear from the judge’s ruling what type of information the government sought to obtain with the letters. It was also unclear who the government was targeting.

In March, Illston found that the FBI’s demand that recipients refrain from telling anyone — including customers — that they had received the letters was a violation of free speech rights.

“We are disappointed that the same judge who declared these letters unconstitutional is now requiring compliance with them,” Opsah said on Friday.

Illston’s order omits any mention of Google or that the proceedings have been closed to the public.

But the judge said “the petitioner” was involved in a similar case filed on April 22 in New York federal court.

Public records show that on that same day, the federal government filed a “petition to enforce National Security Letter” against Google after the company declined to cooperate with government demands.

The letters, along with the recent seizure of reporters’ phone records by President Barack Obama’s administration, have prompted complaints of government privacy violations in the name of national security.

In 2007, the Justice Department’s inspector general found widespread violations in the FBI’s use of the letters, including demands without proper authorization and information obtained in non-emergency circumstances. The FBI has tightened oversight of the system.

The FBI made 16,511 national security letter requests for information regarding 7,201 people in 2011, the latest data available.

Man linked to Boston bomb suspect fatally shot by FBI

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/22/fbi-boston-bombing-killed-orlando/2350065/

WESH-TV says the victim and a friend were questioned about bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

An FBI agent shot and killed an Orlando man early Wednesday who had been questioned for several hours about his alleged ties to Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the victim’s friend told local media.

NBC News, quoting unidentified sources, said the FBI agent shot and killed 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev when the victim allegedly started to attack him while he was being questioned in a Florida condominium.

ABC News quoted an unidentified law enforcement officer as saying that the FBI agent had felt threatened.

“There was some sort of aggressive movement that led the FBI agent to believe he was under threat and he opened fire,” the law enforcement official told ABC News.

FBI officials confirmed that a man died while one of its agents was “conducting official duties,” the Orlando Sentinel reports, but they would not elaborate.

The Sentinel and WESH-TV also identified the victim as Todashev, who was arrested May 4 on charges of aggravated battery in connection with a fight in a parking lot.

The television station quotes Khusn Taramiv, a friend of the victim, as saying both of them had been questioned for almost three hours Tuesday about the Boston bombing case.

Taramiv said his friend knew Boston bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev because they were both mixed martial-arts fighters, WESH and The Sentinel report.

“Back when (Todashev) used to live in Boston, they used to hang out — not hang out — he knew him. They met a few times because (Todashev) was a MMA fighter and (Tsarnaev) was a boxer. They just knew each other. That’s it,” said Taramiv.

He added that Todashev last spoke with Tsarnaev via phone or Skype a week or perhaps a month before the April 15 bombings, but that the call only lasted about five minutes and had nothing to do with the marathon attack.

Taramiv also said FBI agents had been following him and Todashev for several days.

Tsarnaev, 26, died in a shootout with police three days after the Boston bombings at the finish line that killed three people. His 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar, has been charged in connection with the bombings and is being held at a prison medical center outside Boston.

WESH-TV quotes Taramiv as saying that the FBI, after a long interview with him and Todashev on Tuesday, said they needed his friend for a couple of more hours.

“They told me they’re going to bring him back,” Taramiv told WESH-TV. “They never brought him back. He felt inside he was going to get shot.”

The shooting occurred at a condominium in Orlando, but details were not immediately available.

Sources challenge White House claim of all-hands-on-deck pursuit of Benghazi suspects

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/21/sources-challenge-white-house-over-claim-all-hands-on-deck/

U.S. military sources serving in North Africa are challenging the latest White House claim that the administration is applying “all the resources” at its disposal to bring the Benghazi attackers to justice, charging instead that the Obama administration knows who is responsible but is not acting. 

“They have let it slip by because of politics, and now we’ve taken all the correlation we had and dropped the ball because of risk (aversion) — and now the security in Libya is more fragile than ever,” one U.S. special operator told Fox News. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirms that U.S. forces have tracked the alleged attackers since October but have since lost the trail of some of them, as no one up the chain of command would authorize them to capture or kill the targeted militia members. 

Sources who have worked in and around Benghazi since last October spoke out after White House Press Secretary Jay Carney repeatedly said at a briefing more than a week ago that the administration was going after the suspects in the Sept. 11 terror attack. “From the beginning, the president has committed all the resources of this administration, of this government, to finding out who was responsible and to bringing them to justice,” Carney said, as he faced a barrage of critical questions from the press on the heels of reports that challenged the administration’s Benghazi narrative. 

“Carney just said they want to bring those responsible to justice — that’s a big ole negative,” said one special operator who watched the press conference with part of his team and disputed Carney’s characterization of the administration’s efforts in the wake of the attack. 

According to well-placed sources, the administration has known where some of the perpetrators are, based on information given to the Pentagon back in January, but no action has been taken to capture or kill them. 

Further, sources said they are being restricted from any reconnaissance or advanced force operations to go after those responsible in the eastern part of Libya. 

“We know exactly where the mastermind lives,” one U.S. official said. 

U.S. intelligence sources claim the “mastermind” and other suspects are on video that night at the U.S. compound, and that investigators have other evidence. Fox News reported last fall that investigators have visually identified several attackers at the compound, including one who was caught in Turkey, deported to Tunisia and eventually released by the Tunisian government due to a “lack of evidence.” 

The information on potential targets, sources said, went to the military’s AFRICOM command and the Defense Secretary’s office in January, after more evidence had been collected. 

Representatives from the Pentagon did not return requests for comment. 

The State Department would need to be on board for any operation to take place inside Libya. 

The Justice Department referred FoxNews.com to Attorney General Eric Holder’s testimony on Capitol Hill May 15. 

Asked at the time for an update on the FBI investigation on the attack, Holder said: “I can’t be definitive other than to say the investigation is ongoing, that we are at a point where we have taken steps that I would say are definitive, concrete, and we will be prepared shortly I think to reveal all that we have done.” 

Sources who spoke to Fox News, who also fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the consequences of inaction in tracking the Libya suspects are very dangerous. 

“The place is becoming a safe haven for Al Qaeda, and terrorists are being indoctrinated and trained. There are also known foreigners who are now traveling to Libya in the eastern mountainous regions, that are training to conduct attacks in Europe and throughout the region,” one source said. “If nothing is done you will see fallout of terrorist attacks on westerners on a scale unlike we’ve never seen.” 

Sources said a strike on the suspect or suspects does not have to be unilateral, but could be carried out with other partner nations. 

As part of its investigation, the FBI recently posted images of three people wanted for questioning regarding the Benghazi terror attack. The FBI released the grainy images on its website, claiming the individuals pictured were at the U.S. compound when it was attacked on Sept. 11. 

“We are seeking information about three individuals who were on the grounds of the U.S. Special Mission when it was attacked,” the FBI said in a statement. “These individuals may be able to provide information to help in the investigation.” 

The Associated Press also reported Tuesday that, according to unnamed officials, the U.S. has identified five men who might be behind the attack. The AP reported that the U.S. has enough evidence to justify using military force to seize them as suspected terrorists – but there is not enough proof to try them in civilian court. 

The men are still at large, though. Sources told Fox News that any operation now to go after those responsible is much more dangerous because they have lost track of some of the targets due to the fact they’ve been held back. 

The FBI is encouraging anyone with information to text or email BenghaziTips@ic.fbi.gov or submit information confidentially by going to https://forms.fbi.gov/benghazi. 

Carney was asked about the FBI photos at the May 10 press briefing, questioned on why the FBI “just got around” to releasing the images.
Carney argued that that “is probably not a characterization that reflects the very hard work that the FBI is engaged in.” 

The White House has repeatedly asked the American people for patience in bringing the perpetrators to justice, invoking the successful mission to kill Usama bin Laden.    

Carney said: “You can believe — and I think this president has a record to prove it –– that he will keep focused on this until those who are responsible are brought to justice. And again, I think this president has a record that backs that up.” 

The concern of some who have been on the ground in Benghazi in recent months is that some of the information obtained after the Sept. 11 attack was time-sensitive and may have expired.

Ft Hood shooter has drawn $278G in salary since massacre

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/21/fort-hood-shooter-has-drawn-278g-in-salary-since-massacre/?intcmp=trending

The Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others during a shooting at Fort Hood has reportedly been paid more than $278,000 since the 2009 incident.

U.S. Department of Defense officials confirmed to NBCDFW.com that Maj. Nidal Hasan’s salary cannot be suspended unless he is proven guilty in the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting in Texas, citing the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Jury selection in his trial is scheduled to begin May 30.

If Hasan, 42, had been a civilian Defense Department employee, Army officials could have suspended his pay after just seven days, NBCDFW.com reports.

A military judge refused to delay Hasan’s trial earlier this month after his attorneys sought to postpone the court-martial to Sept. 1. Hasan’s attorneys claimed military jurors may be influenced by national media coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings that compared the two Muslim suspects — Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev – to Hasan.

Prosecutors countered that the delay was unnecessary because Hasan was mentioned only briefly in some news reports about the April 15 attacks in Boston.
Hasan faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

The White House and Pentagon have refused to characterize Hasan’s attack as terrorism, instead terming it “workplace violence.” The victims have been denied Purple Hearts and are suing the military because they claim the “workplace violence” designation gives them diminished access to medical care and financial benefits normally available to those whose wounds are designated as “combat related.”

http://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/Accused-Fort-Hood-Shooter-Paid-278000-While-Awaiting-Trial-208230691.html

Injured soldier outraged suspected shooter receives salary while his family financially struggles in recovery

The Department of Defense confirms to NBC 5 Investigates that accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has now been paid more than $278,000 since the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting that left 13 dead and 32 injured. The Army said under the Military Code of Justice, Hasan’s salary cannot be suspended unless he is proven guilty.

If Hasan had been a civilian defense department employee, NBC 5 Investigates has learned, the Army could have suspended his pay after just seven days.

Personnel rules for most civilian government workers allow for “indefinite suspensions” in cases “when the agency has reasonable cause to believe that the employee has committed a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment may be imposed.”

Meanwhile, more than three years later soldiers wounded in the mass shooting are fighting to receive the same pay and medical benefits given to those wounded in combat.

Retired Army Spc. Logan Burnett, a reservist who, in 2009, was soon to be deployed to Iraq, was shot three times when a gunman opened fire inside the Army Deployment Center.

“I honestly thought I was going to die in that building,” said Burnett. “Just blood everywhere and then the thought of — that’s my blood everywhere.”

Burnett nearly died. He’s had more than a dozen surgeries since the shooting, and says post-traumatic stress still keeps him up at night.

Burnett is now fighting a new battle; only this one is against the U.S. Army.

The Army has not classified the wounds of the Ft. Hood victims as “combat related” and declines to label the shooting a “terrorist attack”,

The “combat related” designation is an important one, for without it Burnett and other shooting victims are not given combat-related pay, they are not eligible for Purple Heart retirement or medical benefits given to other soldiers wounded either at war or during the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon.

As a result, Burnett, his wife Torey, and the families of other Fort Hood victims miss out on thousands of dollars of potential benefits and pay every year.

To Burnett the shooting felt like combat.

“You take three rounds and lose five good friends and watch seven other people get killed in front of you. Do you have another term that we can classify that as?” asked Burnett.

The Army has categorized the shooting as a case of “workplace violence.”

“Sickens me. Absolutely sickens me. Workplace violence? I don’t even know if I have the words to say,” said Burnett.

“They don’t need to be treated like this. They don’t need to sit and fight every day for this benefit or that,” said Torey Burnett.

As that fight continues, Burnett was stunned to see a letter detailing the more $278,000 Hasan has been paid since his arrest. NBC 5 Investigates received the letter from the Department of Defense in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

“There have been times when my wife and I cannot afford groceries. We cannot afford gas in our car,” Burnett said. “Literally, times where we ate Ramen noodles for weeks on end. This [that Hasan is still earning a paycheck] makes me sick to my stomach,” said Burnett.

Burnett isn’t alone in his outrage.

“We’re giving the defendant in this case every benefit of the doubt. But yet we’re not giving the benefits to the victims,” said Rep. Thomas Rooney (R) Florida

Rooney, a former prosecutor at Fort Hood, recently signed a bi-partisan letter urging defense secretary Chuck Hagel to “…reclassify the victims’ deaths and injuries as ‘combat related’…”

The letter said the current situation has “…resulted in an embarrassing lack of care and treatment for the victims and their families.”

“What happened here is not a case of workplace violence. What happened here was an attack on our military by a terrorist element specifically targeting our military, which just so happened to be in the United States of America,” said Rooney.

Reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed Hasan was communicating with a member of Al Qaida prior to the shooting. Additionally, the government’s National Counterterrorism Center lists the shooting at Fort Hood as a “high fatality terrorist attack.”

Rooney said he’s also willing to consider whether Congress should change the rules, so the Army could suspend the pay of soldiers arrested for crimes against fellow soldiers.

NBC 5 Investigates wanted to ask Pentagon officials about Hasan’s pay and the decision to classify the shooting as workplace violence, but the Army turned down requests for an interview. However, the Army’s Chief of Media Relations told NBC 5 Investigates: “The Department of Defense is committed to the integrity of the ongoing court martial proceedings of Major Nidal Hasan and for that reason will not further characterize, at this time, the incident that occurred at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009.”

Burnett, who recently retired from the Army and moved to Arkansas to live with family and save some money, has joined dozens of other Fort Hood victims in a lawsuit against the Army demanding the benefits they believe they’ve been unfairly denied.

“I refuse to continue letting Nidal Hasan win. And I leave the “Major” part out, because even though, unfortunately, he’s still being paid better than I am, he doesn’t deserve that rank,” said Burnett.

A lawyer who once represented Hasan previously claimed his client couldn’t find a bank that would deposit his Army paychecks, but a spokesman at Fort Hood told NBC 5 Investigates that that issue has since been resolved; meaning Hasan or his family can access the money.

The Army could get some money back from Hasan by demanding re-payment for the cost of treating the wounds he sustained when a police officer shot him during the incident. However, military officials would not tell NBC 5 Investigates if they plan to do that.

With the trial expected to begin this summer, Hasan’s lawyer declined to comment on this story.