Happy Monday, OnPolitics readers.
Here’s something you may have missed over the weekend: Federal prosecutors said Friday that Secret Service members assigned to key missions were “compromised” by two individuals impersonating federal agents.
The intentions of Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, who allegedly gave gifts and rent-free apartments to Secret Service agents, were not immediately clear. A federal magistrate made no immediate decision on whether to jail the suspects pending trial.
Assistant US Attorney Joshua Rothstein said the investigation into the actions of the impersonators is still in its early stages.
“The scale of the compromise that they created is quite large,” Rothstein said.
Rothstein told US Magistrate G. Michael Harvey that the suspects “had firearms, they had ammunition, they had body armor, they had tactical gear, they had surveillance equipment, and they were engaged in conduct that represented a serious threat to the community, compromised the operations of a federal law enforcement agency, and created a potential risk to national security.”
Investigators are also looking into the suspects’ possible ties to Iran, Pakistan and Egypt.
It’s Chelsea with today’s top stories out of Washington.
Biden admin targets ghost guns
President Joe Biden announced federal regulations Monday targeting the use of untraceable firearms — otherwise known as “ghost guns” — that law enforcement officers are seeing more frequently at crime scenes nationwide.
The president and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco unveiled the new rules during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. Some components of privately made firearms assembled from do-it-yourself kits purchased in a store or online will qualify as firearms under federal law.
The weapons do not come with serial numbers, making it difficult to trace the owner. Serial numbers will become a requirement under the new law, and commercial sellers of the kits will have to become licensed and run background checks on potential buyers prior to sale.
Biden also called on Congress to ban the sale and distribution of ghost guns. The administration’s focus on the increased weapons amid growing concern about the rise of gun violence and increasing pressure from Democrats in Congress to crack down on gun deaths and violent crime.
Real quick: stories you should read
- Canada bans foreign home buyers: The country has suspended foreign investors from purchasing houses for two years to help cool-off its housing market.
- Biden’s sister comes to family’s defense: Valerie Biden Owens and her brother Joe have been lifelong best friends, according to her upcoming memoir, “Growing Up Biden.”
- A ‘hazing’ awaits KBJ: Newly-confirmed SCOTUS Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson will undergo time-honored traditions like holding the door, taking notes and serving as a liaison to the cafeteria committee.
- What comes next for Ukraine’s survivors?: people enduring Russia’s Assault on the Nation share harrowing accounts of survival.
Trump endorses Oz for Senate
Former President Donald Trump endorsed fellow Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz Saturday in Pennsylvania’s Senate race.
Trump said that Pennsylvania voters have “a tremendous opportunity to Save America by electing the brilliant and well-known” candidate.
The former president also praised Oz’s medical advice. “He even said that I was in extraordinary health, which made me like him even more (although he also said I should lose a couple of pounds!),” Trump said.
Oz, a cardiac surgeon and host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” was appointed to the Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition during the Trump administration. He was removed from his post this month by Biden.
Oz is one of seven Republican candidates running in the primaries to replace Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. He is nearly even with former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick with 17% support compared to 18% for Toomey, according to a new poll from The Hill and Emerson College.
Palm Sunday began yesterday. Here’s a look at how people around the world celebrated the Catholic holiday. — Chelsea
www.usatoday.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism