FBI Director Christopher Wray uses Trump assassination attempt to attack encryption

FBI Director Christopher Wray has used a congressional hearing organized after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump to launch another attack against encryption and use that as justification for the state of the investigation.

Appearing before the House Judiciary Committee last week, Wray was supposed to speak about the FBI’s investigation into this extremely serious incident, as well as about what the committee said is “the ongoing politicization” of the agency under his and Attorney General Merrick Garland’s direction.

But Wray turned it into blaming encrypted apps and services for the pace of the investigation. Quite extraordinarily for a person who is supposed to be highly knowledgeable about security, the FBI chief came across as oblivious to how essential encryption is for people’s online security – from their bank transactions to their communications.

Instead, he complained that it is difficult to break into accounts on encrypted platforms, that is, to break encryption – a situation that the FBI head said has “unfortunately become very commonplace.”

READ: Everything you need to know about the failed assassination attempt of Donald Trump

He went on to claim that law enforcement at all levels, federal, state, and local finds it “a real challenge.”

Reports say that the FBI had “early success” in breaking into the phone of the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, using tools provided by Cellebrite. This is an Israeli company that oddly advertises its wares as “accelerating justice.”

Wray did not reveal which platforms host the accounts belonging to Crooks that the FBI says it has trouble accessing but noted that “legal process returns” are awaited to accomplish that goal.

And in the meanwhile, he told the Committee, U.S. law enforcement still doesn’t know why Crooks did what he did, implying that investigators are hampered by their inability to break encryption on apps, even though they have access to the shooter’s phone and laptop.

But, the “motive or ideology” that drove Crooks to attempt to assassinate Trump remains unclear, according to Wray. And he is strongly suggesting – always referencing encryption as the culprit – that this may remain so for good.

“Some places we’ve been able to look, some places we will be able to look, some places we may never be able to see, no matter how good our legal process is,” the FBI director told the committee.

Reprinted with permission from Reclaim The Net.

Related Topics:#DidiRankovic #LifeSiteNews FBIDirectorChristopherWray TrumpAssassinationAttempt

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Global Military Industrial Complex Has Never Had It So Good, New Report Finds

Published on December 1, 2025

Todayville

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Wallace White

The global war business scored record revenues in 2024 amid multiple protracted proxy conflicts across the world, according to a new industry analysis released on Monday.

The top 100 arms manufacturers in the world raked in $679 billion in revenue in 2024, up 5.9% from the year prior, according to a new Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) study. The figure marks the highest ever revenue for manufacturers recorded by SIPRI as the group credits major conflicts for supplying the large appetite for arms around the world.

“The rise in the total arms revenues of the Top 100 in 2024 was mostly due to overall increases in the arms revenues of companies based in Europe and the United States,” SIPRI said in their report. “There were year-on-year increases in all the geographical areas covered by the ranking apart from Asia and Oceania, which saw a slight decrease, largely as a result of a notable drop in the total arms revenues of Chinese companies.”

Notably, Chinese arms manufacturers saw a large drop in reported revenues, declining 10% from 2023 to 2024, according to SIPRI. Just off China’s shores, Japan’s arms industry saw the largest single year-over-year increase in revenue of all regions measured, jumping 40% from 2023 to 2024.

American companies dominate the top of the list, which measures individual companies’ revenue, with Lockheed Martin taking the top spot with $64,650,000,000 of arms revenue in 2024, according to the report. Raytheon Technologies, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems follow shortly after in revenue,

The Czechoslovak Group recorded the single largest jump in year-on-year revenue from 2023 to 2024, increasing its haul by 193%, according to SIPRI. The increase is largely driven by their crucial role in supplying arms and ammunition to Ukraine.

The Pentagon contracted one of the group’s subsidiaries in August to build a new ammo plant in the U.S. to replenish artillery shell stockpiles drained by U.S. aid to Ukraine.

“In 2024 the growing demand for military equipment around the world, primarily linked to rising geopolitical tensions, accelerated the increase in total Top 100 arms revenues seen in 2023,” the report reads. “More than three quarters of companies in the Top 100 (77 companies) increased their arms revenues in 2024, with 42 reporting at least double-digit percentage growth.”

International

Atlantic hurricane season is 8th this century with no landfalls

Published on December 1, 2025

Todayville

From The Center Square

By Alan Wooten

Nothing like Helene, and nothing like three hurricanes making landfall in 66 days.

Sunday’s end to the hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin was welcomed from the Gulf states to the Atlantic seaboard, with gratitude not a single one made landfall in the United States. A year ago, Hurricane Helene was among the three in just over two months that arrived in Florida, and its destruction was most heavily felt in North Carolina with 108 deaths and an estimated $60 billion to $80 billion in damages.

This is the 62nd week of recovery from Helene.

“That was a much-needed break,” said Dr, Neil Jacobs, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration administrator. “Still, a tropical storm caused damage and casualties in the Carolinas, distant hurricanes created rough ocean waters that caused property damage along the East Coast, and neighboring countries experienced direct hits from hurricanes.”

This is the eighth year this century with no hurricane landfalls in the Atlantic season. The previous years were 2000, 2001, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2015.

Thirteen storms reached a level to be named, five escalated to Category 1 (sustained winds of 74 mph or greater) and four of those eclipsed Category 3 (sustained winds 111 mph or greater).

Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda on Sept. 30 drew as close as 450 to 600 miles apart in the Atlantic Ocean, churning up the surf along much of the East Coast and drawing a warning for storm surge between Florida and South Carolina. Imelda ultimately was drawn toward and followed Humberto out to sea, enabling the Carolinas to avert catastrophe.

Erin, however, was a different story. Once a Category 5 (sustained winds 157 mph or greater) in the ocean, the storm temporarily shuttered four ferries in North Carolina and closed the 148-mile famed N.C. 12.

Tropical Storm Barry in June was the closest threat to Gulf Coast states. Imelda was the closest threat to Florida.

In Florida in 2024, Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Steinhatchee on Aug. 5, Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach on Sept. 26, and Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key on Oct. 9.

The 2024 season had 18 named storms, 11 reaching at least Category 1 hurricane level, and five of those accorded major hurricane level (Category 3 or worse).