Special counsel to look into Biden's handling of classified files - BBC

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

By Nadine Yousif

BBC News

US Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents.

Robert Hur, a former senior justice department official during the Trump presidency, will lead the investigation.

Classified files were recently found in Mr Biden's home and at an office he used after his term as vice-president.

The White House said Mr Biden will fully cooperate with the investigation.

The discovery of the documents have been called a political embarrassment for Mr Biden, as it comes during an ongoing investigation into former President Donald Trump's own alleged mishandling of classified files.

The first batch of files were found on 2 November at the Penn Biden Center, a think-tank Mr Biden launched in Washington DC. They were then handed over to the US National Archives, Mr Biden said.

Mr Garland said a second batch of files were located on 20 December at Mr Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware. He added that on Thursday morning, Mr Biden's lawyers called investigators to notify them of an additional document, also found at the president's private home.

After an initial probe by US Attorney John Lausch, Mr Garland said his office decided that a special counsel was needed to investigate Mr Biden's handling of the files due to the "extraordinary circumstances" of the matter.

"This appointment underscores for the public the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters, and to making decisions undisputedly guided only by the facts and the law," Mr Garland said.

Mr Hur said he will investigate the issue "with fair, impartial and dispassionate judgement".

Getty Images

White House lawyer Richard Sauber said Mr Biden has cooperated fully with the justice department's review, and will continue to do so.

"We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake," he said.

Sources familiar with the case told CBS, the BBC's US partner, that the review has so far included interviews with witnesses who may have knowledge of how the classified documents were handled.

• Who is the special counsel in the Biden probe?

Speaking to reporters on Thursday morning, Mr Biden reiterated again that his lawyers had notified officials of the discovery and that he take the matter seriously.

He added that the additional documents found were locked in a garage next to his 1960s Chevrolet Corvette sports car, "not sitting out in the street".

The additional search in Mr Biden's home garage uncovered "among personal and political papers a small number of additional Obama-Biden Administration records with classified markings", Mr Sauber said.

Lawyers also searched Mr Biden's home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, but found no additional files.

A timeline on the discovery of Biden's classified documents

• 2 November: Lawyers for Mr Biden found a batch of classified documents in a storage closet at the University of Pennsylvania's Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington DC while they were moving out of the space. The files were turned over to the US National Archives as soon as they were discovered, Mr Biden said. They reportedly included intelligence information about Ukraine, Iran and the UK
• 4 November: The National Archives informed the US Department of Justice that the classified documents had been found
• 9 November: The FBI conducted an assessment, per protocol, to see if the classified information had been mishandled in violation of US federal law
• 14 November: US Attorney John Lausch was assigned by the Department of Justice to conduct an initial probe into the matter
• 20 December: Mr Biden's lawyer told Mr Lausch that a second batch of documents was found at the president's private home garage in Wilmington, Delaware. The documents were from Mr Biden's time as vice-president. Those documents were then secured by the FBI
• 5 January: Mr Lausch advised US Attorney General Merrick Garland that a special counsel should be appointed to conduct a further investigation of Mr Biden's handling of the files. Mr Merrick agreed, and appointed Mr Hur to lead the investigation in the subsequent days
• 12 January: Mr Biden's lawyers notified Mr Lausch than an additional classified document was found at the president's Delaware home

Mr Biden is now facing questions about whether the newly discovered files hold sensitive information that could have jeopardised matters of US national security.

Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy also raised concerns about the timing of the discovery being made public.

"They knew this had happened to President Biden before the (US midterm) election, but they kept it a secret from the American public," Mr McCarthy said.

Mr Biden's predecessor, Mr Trump, is currently under investigation by the justice department after more than 325 classified files - including some marked with Secret and Top Secret designations - were discovered last year at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Investigators said they are looking at whether Mr Trump violated federal law by obstructing the document recovery process or destroying government materials. The former president has denied any wrongdoing.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiM2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLXVzLWNhbmFkYS02NDI1MjU3NNIBN2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLXVzLWNhbmFkYS02NDI1MjU3NC5hbXA?oc=5

2023-01-12 22:34:21Z
1724777398

Brazil Congress: Bolsonaro supporters inside palace enabled riot - Lula - BBC

Getty Images

By Matt Murphy

BBC News

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has accused ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro's allies of aiding an attack on the presidential palace on Sunday.

Lula said he was convinced supporters of Mr Bolsonaro inside the palace had been complicit by allowing rioters to enter key state buildings.

And he vowed to carry out a thorough screening of palace employees in the wake of the attempted insurrection.

Some 1,500 people have already been detained in connection with the attack.

"I am convinced that the door to the Planalto palace was opened so these people could get in because I didn't see the front door had been broken down. And that means that somebody facilitated their entry here," Lula told reporters in the capital Brasilia.

"Many people in the military police were complicit," the veteran leftist politician said. "There were many people in the armed forces here inside [the palace] who were complicit."

In the wake of the attack on Sunday, Lula accused local security officials - who were commanded by Mr Bolsonaro's former Justice Minister Anderson Torres - of incompetence or active involvement with the rioters.

And he doubled down on the allegations on Thursday, telling reporters that the presidential palace "was full of Bolsonaristas and military officials and we want to try to correct this so we can appoint career civil servants - preferably civilian ones".

"Nobody who is suspected of being a hardcore Bolsonarista can be allowed to remain in the palace," he went on. "How can I have someone at the door of my office who might shoot me?"

Arrest warrants have already been issued for a host of top officials accused of being "responsible for acts and omissions" that led to the riots.

Attention has been turned to the military, widely perceived as being full of supporters of Mr Bolsonaro - a former army captain during the last military dictatorship.

• The mystery buses behind Brazil Congress attack
• Despite rising fears, new round of protests flop
• Arrests ordered for top officials after capital stormed

The army was forced to deny reports that some of its officers had prevented police from detaining protesters, after footage showing angry exchanges between security forces emerged in local media.

But Lula has insisted Defence Minister Jose Mucio will remain in his post, telling reporters "I trust him".

"If I had to fire a minister every time they made a mistake the turnaround would be enormous," he added.

A member of a right-wing party, Mr Mucio was viewed as a concession to the military upon his appointment. In November, Mr Bolsonaro's vice-president Hamilton Mourao welcomed reports of the appointment and said it would be "very well seen by the armed forces".

Meanwhile, Mr Torres has denied he had anything to do with a draft decree allegedly found during a search of his house on Tuesday, which local media say was aimed at overturning October's election result.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Mr Torres - who is believed to be in Orlando, Florida - said he had a "clear conscience" regarding his role as minister and accused authorities of leaking stories out of context.

Despite the mass arrest of supporters of Mr Bolsonaro, authorities have expressed concern that more rallies could be organised by his hard-line allies.

According to a memo from federal prosecutors seen by the BBC, pro-Bolsonaro groups have been calling for "mega" demonstrations to take place across Brazilian state capitals.

The government is also asking that social media platforms take steps to suspend accounts that have been involved in planning criminal behaviour.

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiN2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWxhdGluLWFtZXJpY2EtNjQyNTUxMDnSATtodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy93b3JsZC1sYXRpbi1hbWVyaWNhLTY0MjU1MTA5LmFtcA?oc=5

2023-01-12 21:08:50Z
1728797049

President Biden speaks after second batch of classified files found in garage - BBC News - BBC News

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiK2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnlvdXR1YmUuY29tL3dhdGNoP3Y9MkZBMGlqUG02a2_SAQA?oc=5

2023-01-12 16:44:02Z
1724777398

Ukraine war: Soledar devastation revealed in satellite images - BBC

Maxar

By The Visual Journalism Team

BBC News

The destruction caused by fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces battling for control of a town in eastern Ukraine has been revealed in newly released satellite images.

Comparison with earlier images shows a school and several agricultural buildings are among the structures destroyed in Soledar, while bomb craters scar the landscape and roads around the salt-producing town in Donetsk.

Your device may not support this visualisation

Much of the damage has been caused in recent weeks with Russian forces trying to seize the town, after months in which they have failed to take a single key town or city in Ukraine.

The strategic significance of Soledar is disputed by military analysts but if Russia succeeds in establishing full control over the town it would be a symbolic victory for the Kremlin.

Russia's notoriously brutal Wagner mercenary group has been heavily involved in the battle for the town, with its head Yevgeny Prigozhin at one point claiming his fighters were in full control and that only his troops took part. However, Russia's defence ministry has insisted its forces are involved.

Ukraine's defence ministry said on Wednesday that heavy fighting continues, and Wagner forces have had no success in breaking through Ukrainian defences.

The images released by Maxar, a US-based space technology company, show how Ukrainian trenches in fields around the town have been targeted by Russian artillery.

Success in Soledar may help Russia in its assault on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, about 10km (6 miles) to the south west, providing it with a secure artillery position within range of the city.

The town also has deep salt mines, which could be used to station troops and store equipment, protected from Ukrainian missiles.

Taking Bakhmut would be a "much needed boost for Russian forces in the east who have been under real pressure since September", says Edward Arnold, from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), although he adds it would have "little strategic significance for the outcome of the war".

The city has itself been devastated by months of fierce fighting, with Russia continuing its assault there even as its forces were pushed back elsewhere in Ukraine.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiMGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWV1cm9wZS02NDI1MDIwMtIBAA?oc=5

2023-01-12 12:05:59Z
1733763175

Climate change: UAE names oil chief to lead COP28 talks - BBC

Getty Images

By Matt McGrath

Environment correspondent

The head of one of the world's biggest oil companies has been named to lead the COP28 global climate talks in Dubai, later this year.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is currently the chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

He is also the minister for industry and advanced technology for the COP28 hosts, the United Arab Emirates.

Campaigners say he must stand down from his oil business role while president as it is a clear conflict of interest.

They believe someone steeped in the oil industry may not push countries to rapidly reduce their production and use of fossil fuel, which scientists say is critical to avoiding dangerous climate change.

• Europe and polar regions hit hardest by warming
• Ozone layer may be restored in decades, UN says
• Wind generated a record amount of power in 2022

Running the global climate talks process is not an easy job - for months before, and especially during the conference, every word and action of the president is heavily scrutinised.

COP28 is already mired in some controversy as the hosts, the United Arab Emirates, are one of the world's biggest producers of oil and gas.

Getty Images

The appointment of a key figure in the energy industry as the president-designate of COP28 will likely increase the concerns that the global climate talks process is facing significant influence from fossil fuel interests.

The recent COP27 gathering in Egypt was described by some attendees as a "glorified fossil fuel trade show".

Analysis of those who registered for the event showed a significant increase in those who were connected to the oil and gas industry compared to previous meetings.

Among the large delegation from the UAE at the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, there were 70 people closely connected to fossil fuels.

Mr Al Jaber is the chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said to be the world's 12th biggest oil company.

Over the past decade he has become the face of the UAE's energy industry but he will be the first serving oil executive to assume the role of COP president.

As well as being a minister and his country's climate envoy, he is also chairman of Masdar, the government-owned renewable energy company that he helped set up.

Getty Images

He has certainly long warned of the dangers of climate change but campaigners are concerned about his appointment, and are calling for him to step aside from his industry roles.

"It is imperative for the world to be reassured that he will step down from his role as the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company," said Tasneem Essop, from Climate Action International.

"He cannot preside over a process that is tasked to address the climate crisis with such a conflict of interest, heading an industry that is responsible for the crisis itself."

What will concern campaigners is that major oil and gas producers are among those opposed to a more rapid phase out of all fossil fuels.

At COP27, there was a strong push from more than 80 countries for the conference to declare support for a phase down of oil and gas as well as coal.

This attempt came to nothing in the face of strong opposition from countries the rely of fossil fuel exports.

Getty Images

While Mr Al Jaber's appointment has been met with criticism from activists, others involved in climate diplomacy have welcomed the move.

"The UAE has adopted a sound green growth strategy and is a major investor in renewable energy both at home and abroad," said Yvo de Boer, who was UN climate chief between 2006 and 2010.

"The COP president-designate has been instrumental on many of these issues. This equips him with the understanding, experience and responsibility to make COP28 ambitious, innovative and future focussed."

Certainly those skills will be tested at the gathering in Dubai in early December this year.

COP28 will hold the first formal assessment of progress on cutting carbon since the Paris agreement was signed.

The "global stocktake" as it is called will be a key moment in clarifying just how much further countries will need to go in restricting their emissions.

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiNWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9zY2llbmNlLWVudmlyb25tZW50LTY0MjQwMjA20gE5aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvbS9uZXdzL3NjaWVuY2UtZW52aXJvbm1lbnQtNjQyNDAyMDYuYW1w?oc=5

2023-01-12 07:14:00Z
1737177263

Second batch of classified Biden documents found - BBC

Getty Images

US President Joe Biden's aides have found a fresh batch of classified government records at a second location, in a growing political embarrassment for the White House.

The first cache was found at a private office in Washington DC that Mr Biden used after his vice-presidency.

The matter is under review by the US Department of Justice.

Former President Donald Trump is facing a criminal investigation for allegedly mishandling classified files.

It was not yet clear on Wednesday when or where the additional tranche of files was found by Biden aides.

The original batch of about 10 documents was discovered in November at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank near the White House, but only came to light this week.

Those papers reportedly include US intelligence memos and briefing materials related to Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom.

The White House has not yet commented on the newly discovered batch. However, the find has been confirmed by the BBC's US partner CBS and other US media.

During her daily press briefing on Wednesday, Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to answer questions about the first cache of files.

"This is under review by the Department of Justice," she said. "I'm not going to go beyond what the president shared yesterday."

Mr Biden said on Tuesday he was "surprised" by the discovery of the records and was "co-operating" with the justice department's review.

The controversy comes as the Democratic president faces scrutiny from a new Republican majority in the US House of Representatives.

"Now that Democrats no longer have one-party rule in Washington, oversight and accountability are coming," James Comer, the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said on Wednesday.

The committee is launching inquiries into the president and his family, including a request for the White House to turn over documents and communications related to the classified files.

The law requires that all White House records, including classified ones, be turned over to the US National Archives after an administration's time in office.

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

The White House has said Mr Biden's lawyers alerted the archives as soon as they recovered the classified materials at the think tank, and the agency retrieved them the next morning.

Last August, FBI agents searched the Florida home of Mr Biden's predecessor and seized more than 10,000 files that Mr Trump had not turned over to the National Archives.

The justice department had issued a subpoena for the return of the sensitive files before the FBI showed up at Mar-a-Lago.

More than 300 documents with classified markings, including 18 marked top secret, were recovered by federal agents from the golf club in Palm Beach.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiMWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC11cy1jYW5hZGEtNjQyNDQwMDfSATVodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY29tL25ld3Mvd29ybGQtdXMtY2FuYWRhLTY0MjQ0MDA3LmFtcA?oc=5

2023-01-12 04:38:37Z
1724777398

FAA outage: Further delays to US flights expected after technical glitch - BBC

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

By Antoinette Radford & Nadine Yousif

BBC News

Normal air traffic operations are slowly resuming in the US after flights were halted on Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

The disruption was due to a "damaged database file", the FAA said, adding that "at this time, there is no evidence of a cyber attack".

Flights began taking off again around 09:00 ET (14:00 GMT), though airlines have warned of further delays.

Airports nationwide were affected, from Denver to Atlanta to New York City.

As of Wednesday night east coast time, nearly 10,000 flights in and out of the US had been delayed and more than 1,300 were cancelled.

The technical issues marked the first time in nearly two decades that flights across the US were grounded.

Operations have since resumed - but delays are expected to continue through at least Thursday and possibly longer, as airlines try to get planes in and out of crowded gates. Limits on how long staff can work may also have an impact.

Captain Chris Torres, vice-president of the Allied Pilots Association, told Reuters delays could last into Friday: "This thing was lifted at 9am Eastern. That doesn't mean the problem stops at 9am This is going to cause ripple effects."

President Joe Biden had called for a "full investigation", the White House press secretary said.

US Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with CNN that the FAA had grounded flights out of "an abundance of caution" after it noticed irregularities with its Notice to Air Missions System.

"My primary interest, now that we've gotten through the immediate disruptions of the morning, is understanding exactly how this was possible and what steps are needed to make sure it doesn't happen again," Mr Buttigieg said.

The system provides real-time safety information to pilots "about closed runways, equipment outages, and other potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight", according to the FAA.

Officials said they are still working to determine the root cause of the issue.

Major US airlines said they were closely monitoring the situation. American Airlines, which carries the most passengers annually in North America, said it was working with the FAA to minimise customer disruption.

• What are airlines doing for stranded customers?
• Why did FAA ground flights across the US?

United Airlines said it would waive change fees and any difference in fare for customers rescheduling flights departing on or before 16 January 2023.

Delta said it was "safely focused on managing our operation during this morning's FAA ground stop for all carriers", adding it would provide updates as soon as possible.

For international passengers, Air Canada - the foreign carrier with the most flights into the US - said the outage would impact on cross-border operations on Wednesday, but it couldn't initially say to what degree. The carrier said it would put in place a "goodwill policy" so affected passengers can change their travel plans.

Meanwhile, airports in Paris - Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly - said they expected delays to US flights. Air France said it was monitoring the situation.

For UK passengers, British Airways said its flights to and from the US would operate as planned, and Virgin Atlantic said it was continuing to operate its schedule of US flights departing from the UK. However, some US departures, the airline said, might be affected by delays.

Germany's Lufthansa and Spain's Iberia said they were still operating flights to and from the US as normal for now.

Passengers have posted on social media that they were experiencing delays.

"This wasn't the best day to fly. The FAA grounded flights this morning causing our first flight to be delayed, then cancelled," wrote Brittney Gobble on Facebook. She added that American Airlines said they were not able to reschedule her flight until Thursday.

"Just another reminder of why I prefer to drive," Ms Gobble wrote.

Javan Gonzales, who lives in Wichita, Kansas, said his Wednesday evening connecting flight to Portland via Denver had already been delayed three times. "I'm trying not to let this disrupt my vacation," Mr Gonzalez told the BBC.

Michael Remy arrived at an airport in Virginia at 06:00 ET planning to head to North Carolina for vacation, but his flight was delayed right before boarding.

"It is what is, so, you can only get so upset," he told the BBC. "I may have seen it differently if I was headed to a wedding or a funeral, though."

Has your journey been impacted by the FAA glitch? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

• WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
• Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
• Upload pictures or video
• Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiM2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLXVzLWNhbmFkYS02NDIzNjA0N9IBN2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLXVzLWNhbmFkYS02NDIzNjA0Ny5hbXA?oc=5

2023-01-12 01:45:51Z
1735945389