Several Trump administration picks targeted with bomb threats and ‘swatting’, FBI confirms – live updates

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Keith Kellogg tapped as Ukraine-Russia envoy

Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he chose Keith Kellogg to serve as a special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, a newly created role as the two countries remain at war and the US’s support for Ukraine will be a key decision for Trump’s incoming administration.

Kellogg previously served as a national security adviser to Trump and to former vice president Mike Pence in Trump’s first term.

“I am very pleased to nominate General Keith Kellogg to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Keith has led a distinguished Military and Business career, including serving in highly sensitive National Security roles in my first Administration. He was with me right from the beginning! Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!”

The choice comes after reports last week that Trump was considering Richard Grenell for the role. Grenell served as intelligence chief during Trump’s first term.

Who is Trump's team has been targeted?

More members of Trump’s cabinet have emerged as subjects of bomb threats today. So far, those known to have had their residences targeted are:

• Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary and part of his transition team, whose home was threatened, Bronx outlet News 12 reported.

• Lee Zeldin, the environmental protection agency pick, who saw his Long Island home threatened, News 12 in Long Island reported.

• Matt Gaetz, the initial nominee for attorney general who has since withdrawn, had his Florida home targeted, various news reports said.

• Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Trump’s UN ambassador choice, confirmed her home in New York was targeted.

• Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary pick, whose home was targeted.

Those targeted appear to be physically safe, and law enforcement has responded to check their homes for any devices or threats, several outlets have reported.

FBI confirms bombs threats and swatting incidents

The FBI has confirmed bomb threats and swatting incidents against Trump cabinet picks.

In a statement, the agency said it is “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees” and working with other law enforcement agencies to respond.

“We take all potential threats seriously and, as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement,” the statement said.

Fox News has welcomed the dismissal of a defamation case brought by Ray Epps, a Donald Trump supporter who became the subject of a rightwing conspiracy theory about the January 6 attack.

A Fox News Media statement referred to other dismissed lawsuits when it said: “Following the dismissals of the Jankowicz, Bobulinski, and now Epps cases, Fox News is pleased with these back-to-back decisions from federal courts preserving the press freedoms of the first amendment.”

Epps, now 63, is a former US marine and ex-member of the Oath Keepers militia who traveled from Arizona to Washington on 6 January 2021, as Trump sought to overturn his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden. Epps was eventually sentenced to probation for his role in the attack on Congress that ensued, a riot linked to nine deaths and over which Trump was impeached but acquitted.

After becoming subject to claims he was a covert government agent who stirred Trump supporters to cause trouble, Epps was forced into hiding.

At his own sentencing, Epps said: “I have learned that truth is not always found in the places that I used to trust.”

He filed suit against Fox in July last year. The suit said: “In the aftermath of the events of January 6, Fox News searched for a scapegoat to blame other than Donald Trump or the Republican party. Eventually, they turned on one of their own.”

The suit cited Fox News hosts including Laura Ingraham and Will Cain but most prominently Tucker Carlson, who it said “was bluntly telling his viewers that it was a fact that Epps was a government informant. And they believed him.”

Carlson was not a target of the suit – a lawyer for Epps said he “was an employee of Fox when he lied about Ray, and Fox broadcast those defamatory falsehoods. Fox is therefore fully liable for Mr Carlson’s statements.”

Carlson was fired by Fox in April 2023, shortly after it settled (for $787.5m) a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over the advancement of Trump’s electoral fraud lie.

Carlson has since flourished as an independent voice in far-right media, retaining influence with Trump as the president-elect prepares to return to power in January.

Trump's Pentagon pick among several people targeted with bomb threats

Pete Hegseth, nominated to be Donald Trump’s defense secretary, was among several cabinet nominees and appointees of the president-elect who were targeted with bomb threats and so-called swatting on Wednesday, the Guardian has learned.

A report also emerged that former congressman Matt Gaetz, who was briefly Trump’s first choice for US attorney general but stood aside after eight days amid a sexual misconduct scandal, was also targeted.

A spokesperson for Trump confirmed threats against some of his cabinet picks but did not initially give any names or say how many people had received threats.

But Hegseth, the military veteran steeped in controversy over his conservative views after being selected, was understood to be among the number, according to two people familiar with the developments.

Reports by the Trump transition team that multiple Trump appointees and nominees were targeted by bomb threats and swatting comes amid a season of heightened concerns about political violence – and following two assassination attempts against Trump himself.

On 13 July, a shooter fired into the crowd during an open-air Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring two attendees and killing one. Trump was grazed by the gunfire but emerged almost entirely uninjured.

Two months later, on 15 September, a suspect was caught while pointing a gun toward Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf course, where Trump was golfing. He was apprehended the same day.

Both incidents prompted the Trump and Harris campaigns to adopt heightened security for the duration of the race. After the Pennsylvania shooting, Trump frequently appeared at rallies behind bulletproof glass.

Donald Trump is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, 13 July, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

Elise Stefanik, Trump's new UN envoy, says she was among targets

Elise Stefanik, the congresswoman and Trump’s appointee for ambassador to the United Nations, confirmed on X that there was a bomb threat at her home.

“This morning, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, her husband, and their three year old son were driving home to Saratoga County from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence,” her X post says.

Law enforcement responded immediately, she noted, “with the highest levels of professionalism.”

Leavitt wrote that the threats transpired Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, and included bomb threats and swatting, which refers to false reports of a crime to prompt police raids on a person’s home.

Several Trump picks targeted with bomb threats and ‘swatting’, president-elect’s campaign says

In a statement, Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt wrote that “several” of Trump’s cabinet appointments had been targeted with bomb threats and swatting.

“In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted,” wrote Leavitt.

In case you missed it, Donald Trump’s transition team is planning for appointees to receive immediate security clearances, bypassing FBI background checks when Trump takes office, per a Guardian exclusive.

Hugo Lowell reports:

Donald Trump’s transition team is planning for all political appointees to receive sweeping security clearances on the first day and only face FBI background checks after the incoming administration takes over the bureau and its own officials are installed in key positions, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move appears to mean that Trump’s team will continue to skirt FBI vetting and may not receive classified briefings until Trump is sworn in on 20 January and unilaterally grant sweeping security clearances across the administration.

Trump’s team has regarded the FBI background check process with contempt for months, a product of their deep distrust of the bureau ever since officials turned over transition records to the Russia investigation during the first Trump presidency, the people said.

Federal employees fear doxxing and retaliation after Elon Musk posted on social media the names and titles of multiple people who hold climate-related positions but who are not public figures, CNN has reported. Musk, who will co-lead an unofficial government body seeking to reduce spending – the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) – with Vivek Ramaswamy, posted the names of the employees on X, prompting at least one of them to delete her accounts in fear of retaliation by Musk’s followers.

In a post, Hadas Gold, the author of the CNN story noted that she “was stunned when multiple experts in this field declined to speak to me on the record for fear of themselves becoming a target of Elon Musk.”

Elon Musk greets U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as he arrives to attend a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas, 19 November. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Reuters

Also in Trump transition news: last night Trump announced he had nominated John Phelan, an investor and GOP megadonor who contributed to the Trump 2024 campaign, to be secretary of the Navy.

“John will be a tremendous force for our Naval Servicemembers, and a steadfast leader in advancing my America First vision,” Trump wrote in a statement. “He will put the business of the U.S. Navy above all else.”

Phelan has not served in the military. His nomination follows Trump’s decision to pick Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality and rightwing ideologue who was investigated by police for an alleged sexual assault, to serve as the secretary of defense.

Three Americans released in US-China prisoner swap

The US has negotiated the release of three Americans from Chinese custody in a prisoner swap. It’s a diplomatic win for the Biden administration, which has brought home more than 70 formerly imprisoned Americans abroad in the last four years, according to Politico, which first reported the exchange.

The Americans, Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, will be transferred to a medical facility for health screening.

The negotiations follow the high-profile release of numerous Americans from Russian custody, including the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Trump also named several high level health officials to serve in his next cabinet.

Jim O’Neill was nominated to serve as Health and Human Services (HHS) deputy under Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was picked to lead the department. O’Neill previously served in the HHS department under George W Bush, before working in Silicon valley, where he invested in several business ventures with PayPal chief executive Peter Thiel.

“[O’Neill] will oversee all operations and improve Management, Transparency, and Accountability to, Make America Healthy Again,” said Trump in a statement. '

Jay Bhattacharya, a physician and Stanford professor, was picked to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a major critic of the US government’s response to Covid-19, including lockdowns during the virus’s peak. He later published a paper in October 2020 arguing that those who are less vulnerable to the virus should resume normal life.

Trump has continued to build out his cabinet as concerns about his transition intensify.

Late Tuesday, Trump tapped Jamieson Greer, a lawyer who worked under Trump’s previous trade representative Robert Lighthizer, to serve as the next trade representative.

If confirmed, Greer would oversee the trade deficit and work to expand “export markets everywhere”, Trump said in a statement. Greer would likely oversee the implementation of Trump’s plans to levy tariffs on Mexica, China and Canada.

On Greer, Trump said: “Jamieson played a key role during my First Term in imposing Tariffs on China and others to combat unfair Trade practices, and replacing the failed NAFTA deal with USMCA, therefore making it much better for American Workers.”

The MOU was supposed to be signed weeks ago, before the election. Trump has already indicated he will sidestep standard transition processes, including, The Guardian has reported, by issuing security clearances to appointees without requiring FBI background checks.

In refusing to sign a transition agreement with the DOJ regarding FBI background checks, the incoming Trump administration stands to forgo access to classified information from Biden administration officials. Lawmakers have already raised concerns about key Trump appointees avoiding the standard security clearance process – which will likely arise during senate confirmation hearings early next year.

Concerns raised over possible 'corruption' in Trump transition process

Good morning, US politics blog readers. US senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, blasted an agreement announced between Donald Trump’s transition team and the Joe Biden White House last night as failing “to answer key questions about national security threats and FBI vetting of nominees”, thereby increasing “concerns about corruption”.

We’ll have more details and also cover all the other politics news today, as it happens. Here’s what’s afoot:

• The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the incoming Trump and outgoing Biden administrations outlining some terms of the transfer of power departs from the norm in a few key ways, which is raising eyebrows on Washington.

• The Trump team said the transition will be privately funded and will not utilize “government buildings or technology [...] and will operate as a self-sufficient organization.”

• Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff said the transition team “has an existing ethics plan”, which she said would be uploaded to the General Services Administration website.

• Warren called Trump’s use of private funds “nothing more than a ploy for well-connected Trump insiders to line their pockets while pretending to save taxpayers money.” She expressed “concerns of corruption”.

• There is a fresh flurry of Trump appointments. Among those announced last night were John Phelan, an investor and Trump campaign donor, as his pick for secretary of the Navy, and Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University health researcher who opposed Covid-19 lockdowns, to head the National Institutes of Health.