CBS News
Grassley releases whistleblower documents, multi-agency probe into American cartel gunrunning
Internal government documents disclosed to a team of Senate investigators offer new details about a secret intelligence project that was successfully dismantling U.S. weapons smuggling networks into Mexico until it was abruptly shut down without explanation in fiscal year 2022.
Whistleblower disclosures made to Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office confirmed and expanded upon the existence and success of Project Thor, first reported by CBS News last September.
The new documents, exclusively obtained by CBS News, were sent by Grassley on Thursday to nine federal law enforcement agencies within the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, State and Postal Service. They accompanied a set of sternly-worded letters demanding that each department disclose details about Thor’s operations — the existence of which the Biden administration has yet to publicly acknowledge — as well as all current efforts to target cartel firearms trafficking networks operating in the U.S. and neighboring countries.
“The American people deserve to know more about the Biden administration’s strategy … to target cartel firearms networks in the U.S.,” wrote Grassley, questioning exactly how committed the U.S. government has been to stem the flow of American weapons into the hands of cartels.
The FBI and State Department declined to comment. The Postal Service confirmed that they were reviewing the letter and “will be providing a response directly to the Senator.” In an email, Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr also acknowledged receiving Grassley’s letter.
“The Justice Department has maintained an ongoing, high-level, and extremely productive dialogue with the Government of Mexico on cooperative efforts to stem cross-border firearms trafficking. We are focused on what we do best: investigating criminal activities, enterprises, and conspiracies, and bringing prosecutions,” Carr replied, noting they have charged more than 300 people since congress passed the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which included a new firearms trafficking statute.
Grassley’s newly released documents make public, for the first time, internal charts detailing how intricate networks of traffickers across the U.S. smuggle firearms and ammunition across the southwest border into Mexico and the hands of drug cartels, including depictions of actual narco weapons trafficking routes.
This follows a CBS News investigation that revealed that Mexican drug cartels have been smuggling a vast arsenal of military-grade weapons out of the U.S. with the help of American citizens, including belt-fed miniguns and grenade launchers. Intelligence documents and interviews with half a dozen current and former officials showed that the U.S. government has known this for years but, sources said, it’s done little to stop these weapons trafficking networks inside the United States, which move up to a million firearms across the border annually.
The latest disclosures are part of an inquiry launched by Grassley in October, which sought to uncover why the federal government canceled an interagency intelligence effort at the same time that it praised its success.
In response to three requests for oversight information, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or ATF, provided investigators with more than 700 pages of heavily redacted government documents exclusively reviewed by CBS News.
“ATF is steadfast in its commitment to identify, disrupt, and dismantle firearms trafficking networks — including but not limited to those who wish to supply illegal firearms to Mexican cartels and other transnational criminal and terrorist organizations,” Ann Vallandingham, ATF Assistant Director for Public and Government Affairs, wrote on Jan. 5. While those documents detailed some of the internal workings of Project Thor, they did not fully respond to investigators’ questions.
ATF
“Until Thor, no one was focusing on the problem,” according to a law enforcement sensitive PowerPoint presentation released by Grassley on Thursday, estimating cartels smuggled up to $503 million-worth of weapons and ammunition annually. The documents revealed that, while it was operational, Project Thor “supported 76 cartel trafficking cases from 2018-2020” and “identified most of the major CJNG weapons trafficking networks,” referring to one of Mexico’s biggest and deadliest cartels.
Justice Department officials have repeatedly declined to comment on Project Thor or its findings, claiming that they were “not familiar” with it — an admission that Grassley called “surprising” since it appeared inconsistent with internal agency correspondence provided to his team of investigators. For example, one document noted that Project Thor involved more than 16 executive branch agencies including “Main DOJ,” DEA, and FBI.
An email sent by the ATF in the summer of 2021 detailed plans to conduct a Project Thor briefing alongside DOJ representatives at the U.S. embassy in Mexico two weeks after the arrival of newly appointed Ambassador Ken Salazar.
“The briefing that week is still a go,” ATF International Affairs Chief Joshua Rusk wrote to Division Chief Ned Dixon, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Will Panoke and a redacted party. A separate email forwarded from ATF headquarters to the prior deputy mission chief and U.S. ambassador to Mexico identified Rebecca McCormack as “our DOJ Trial Attorney and DOJ lead” for Project Thor.
In his letters, Grassley noted that records independently provided to his office supported CBS News’ findings about Project Thor and reiterated concerns about the effectiveness of America’s current efforts to stop firearms trafficking to Mexico.
“Questions have been raised about law enforcement, intelligence, and diplomatic agencies’ commitment to dismantling cartel gunrunning networks operating across the U.S and in neighboring countries,” Grassley wrote to law enforcement leadership.
Last month, Grassley privately sent a letter to the U.S. ambassador to Mexico that provided evidence that the U.S. government has been aware that even firearms belonging to American armed forces were in the hands of Mexican narcos. The letter noted his investigation’s “shocking finding … that the U.S. government had evidence of severe mishandling of U.S. resources to Mexico for some years. Yet, no corrective action appears to have been taken.” In response, a State Department representative told Grassley they shared his concerns and offered to brief him about their progress “in the coming months.”
On the opposite side of the aisle, congressional Democrats introduced two bills in late 2023 — the Stop Arming Cartels Act and Disarming Cartels Act — aimed at thwarting America’s illicit international weapons trade. Democratic Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin is preparing to hold a hearing on the issue of gun trafficking from the U.S. to drug cartels called “Damming the Iron River.”
In January, the Mexican government demanded a U.S. investigation into American military-grade weapons being trafficked to cartels, as a U.S. appeals court revived a related $10 billion lawsuit against gun manufacturers.
The Biden administration recently reaffirmed its commitment alongside Mexico and Canada to stem the flow of American weapons into the hands of drug cartels. But neither the Justice Department nor ATF have provided evidence to demonstrate that their efforts meaningfully reduced the flow of American firearms to Mexico. U.S. law enforcement seized 1,720 firearms in the first six months of fiscal year 2023, which accounted for less than 1% of all firearms being smuggled across the border, based on estimates by Project Thor and the Mexican government.
Sarah Metz contributed reporting.
CBS News
A week before Texas mom Alyssa Burkett’s murder, the killer received a text: “I hope you handle it”
After Alyssa Burkett was murdered, detectives quickly learned that the prime suspect was the father of her child, Andrew Beard. But as the investigation unfolded, they would find out that Beard wasn’t the only one involved in the murder plot.
Take a look inside the investigation.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 a.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Shortly after 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett pulled into her parking space at work in Carrollton, Texas, a man with a gun shot her in the head through her car window and fled.
Carrollton Police Department
Burkett survived the gun blast, got out of her car and tried to get help. Her bloody hand left a print on the office window.
The assailant saw Burkett running and chased after her. He stabbed and slashed Alyssa 44 times and left the scene in his black SUV.
Lizatte Bowers/Alyssa Burkett, Facebook
When Burkett’s mother, Teresa Collard, arrived at the scene, she immediately gave detectives a name: Andrew Beard. Beard was the father of Burkett’s 1-year-old child, Willow.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Hours after the murder, police officers stopped Beard in his white Ford F-150 pickup truck. His fiancée, Holly Elkins, and baby Willow were with him. Beard was told he could leave the scene, but he couldn’t return home. Officers also seized his pickup truck.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police searched Beard’s home and found a GPS tracker battery and charging stations that matched a tracking device detectives discovered under Burkett’s car earlier that day.
Carrollton Police Department
Investigators also uncovered what they believed to be an unregistered gun silencer.
Oct. 3, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
The next day, detectives searched Beard’s white F-150 pickup truck and found a backpack. Inside, they uncovered two bottles of dark brown makeup, and a pair of men’s hiking boots that had been cut into pieces and were soaking in bleach.
Oct. 3, 2020
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police located that black Ford SUV the assailant drove to the scene. It was found abandoned less than a mile from Beard’s house.
Carrolton Police Department
When detectives searched the SUV, they found a fake beard smeared with dark brown makeup.
Oct. 5, 2020
Carrolton Police Department
When Beard learned there was a warrant for his arrest, he turned himself in to the Carrollton Police Department. He was charged with murder.
Oct. 6, 2020
Beard’s fiancée, Holly Elkins, voluntarily went to speak with detectives at the Carrollton Police Department.
Carrolton Police Department
During the interview, Elkins told investigators that Beard was at home with her on the morning of the murder. She also described herself as a “stage 5 clinger girlfriend,” and said she would have known if Beard left the house that morning.
Oct. 6, 2020 | 1:30 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
After her interview, investigators said Elkins made the following internet searches:
“Can I not be brought to court if I have a psychiatrist note?”
“vulnerable patients going to court”
“contact psychiatrist in Dallas”
“Can I not be subpoenaed to jail if I have a mental issue?”
Oct. 29, 2020
Beard spent two weeks behind bars before he was released on bond. Carrollton Police Det. Jeremy Chevallier said he was worried about baby Willow’s safety, so he reached out to the federal government to take the case under federal firearm laws.
Because detectives found an unregistered silencer during the search of Beard’s home, the federal government agreed to take the case.
Carrollton Police Department
Eight days after he bonded out, Beard was rearrested and ultimately charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
July 15, 2022
In June 2022, Beard pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
FBI
One month later, he spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal. And he had a lot to say about Elkins’ involvement in Burkett’s murder.
“…It was…’this is how you’re gonna do this,’ it was, ‘… you’re gonna wear this dark makeup …’ That was her plan…that’s how it’s gonna be done,” Beard told the FBI.
May 24, 2023
Beard was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.
June 21, 2023
After speaking with Beard, the FBI spent about a year building a case against Elkins.
Investigators found internet searches and a Walgreens receipt that connected her to the crime.
Carrollton Police Department
They also dug into text messages between Elkins and Beard. In a text sent to Beard one week before Burkett’s murder, Elkins wrote, “I hope you handle it I’m not coming home to b**s***”
Elkins was indicted on three charges: conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury and death and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
July 6, 2023
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Elkins was arrested at the Miami airport by federal agents after returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic.
April 9 – 16, 2024
Lizette Bowers
Elkins’ trial began at the federal courthouse in downtown Dallas. After six days, the case went to the jury.
April 17, 2024
Stephen Green
The jury deliberated for about an hour-and-a-half before they found Elkins guilty on all counts. On Aug. 15, 2024, Elkins was sentenced to two life terms.
CBS News
A week before Texas mom Alyssa Burkett’s murder, the killer received a text: “I hope you handle it”
After Alyssa Burkett was murdered, detectives quickly learned that the prime suspect was the father of her child, Andrew Beard. But as the investigation unfolded, they would find out that Beard wasn’t the only one involved in the murder plot.
Take a look inside the investigation.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 a.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Shortly after 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett pulled into her parking space at work in Carrollton, Texas, a man with a gun shot her in the head through her car window and fled.
Carrollton Police Department
Burkett survived the gun blast, got out of her car and tried to get help. Her bloody hand left a print on the office window.
The assailant saw Burkett running and chased after her. He stabbed and slashed Alyssa 44 times and left the scene in his black SUV.
Lizatte Bowers/Alyssa Burkett, Facebook
When Burkett’s mother, Teresa Collard, arrived at the scene, she immediately gave detectives a name: Andrew Beard. Beard was the father of Burkett’s 1-year-old child, Willow.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Hours after the murder, police officers stopped Beard in his white Ford F-150 pickup truck. His fiancée, Holly Elkins, and baby Willow were with him. Beard was told he could leave the scene, but he couldn’t return home. Officers also seized his pickup truck.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police searched Beard’s home and found a GPS tracker battery and charging stations that matched a tracking device detectives discovered under Burkett’s car earlier that day.
Carrollton Police Department
Investigators also uncovered what they believed to be an unregistered gun silencer.
Oct. 3, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
The next day, detectives searched Beard’s white F-150 pickup truck and found a backpack. Inside, they uncovered two bottles of dark brown makeup, and a pair of men’s hiking boots that had been cut into pieces and were soaking in bleach.
Oct. 3, 2020
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police located that black Ford SUV the assailant drove to the scene. It was found abandoned less than a mile from Beard’s house.
Carrolton Police Department
When detectives searched the SUV, they found a fake beard smeared with dark brown makeup.
Oct. 5, 2020
Carrolton Police Department
When Beard learned there was a warrant for his arrest, he turned himself in to the Carrollton Police Department. He was charged with murder.
Oct. 6, 2020
Beard’s fiancée, Holly Elkins, voluntarily went to speak with detectives at the Carrollton Police Department.
Carrolton Police Department
During the interview, Elkins told investigators that Beard was at home with her on the morning of the murder. She also described herself as a “stage 5 clinger girlfriend,” and said she would have known if Beard left the house that morning.
Oct. 6, 2020 | 1:30 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
After her interview, investigators said Elkins made the following internet searches:
“Can I not be brought to court if I have a psychiatrist note?”
“vulnerable patients going to court”
“contact psychiatrist in Dallas”
“Can I not be subpoenaed to jail if I have a mental issue?”
Oct. 29, 2020
Beard spent two weeks behind bars before he was released on bond. Carrollton Police Det. Jeremy Chevallier said he was worried about baby Willow’s safety, so he reached out to the federal government to take the case under federal firearm laws.
Because detectives found an unregistered silencer during the search of Beard’s home, the federal government agreed to take the case.
Carrollton Police Department
Eight days after he bonded out, Beard was rearrested and ultimately charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
July 15, 2022
In June 2022, Beard pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
FBI
One month later, he spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal. And he had a lot to say about Elkins’ involvement in Burkett’s murder.
“…It was…’this is how you’re gonna do this,’ it was, ‘… you’re gonna wear this dark makeup …’ That was her plan…that’s how it’s gonna be done,” Beard told the FBI.
May 24, 2023
Beard was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.
June 21, 2023
After speaking with Beard, the FBI spent about a year building a case against Elkins.
Investigators found internet searches and a Walgreens receipt that connected her to the crime.
Carrollton Police Department
They also dug into text messages between Elkins and Beard. In a text sent to Beard one week before Burkett’s murder, Elkins wrote, “I hope you handle it I’m not coming home to b**s***”
Elkins was indicted on three charges: conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury and death and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
July 6, 2023
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Elkins was arrested at the Miami airport by federal agents after returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic.
April 9 – 16, 2024
Lizette Bowers
Elkins’ trial began at the federal courthouse in downtown Dallas. After six days, the case went to the jury.
April 17, 2024
Stephen Green
The jury deliberated for about an hour-and-a-half before they found Elkins guilty on all counts. On Aug. 15, 2024, Elkins was sentenced to two life terms.
President-elect Trump on Friday named Karoline Leavitt, his campaign press secretary, to serve as his White House press secretary.
Leavitt, 27, currently a spokesperson for Trump’s transition, would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. Previously that distinction went to Ronald Ziegler, who was 29 when he took the position in 1969 in Richard Nixon’s administration.
“Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,” Trump said in a statement. “Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we Make America Great Again.”
Leavitt replied in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “Thank you, President Trump, for believing in me. I am humbled and honored. Let’s MAGA,” the acronym for “Make America Great Again.”
The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps.
MEGA
Trump disrupted those norms in his first term, preferring to serve as his own chief spokesperson. While he was president from 2017 to 2021, Trump had four press secretaries but frequently preferred to engage directly with the public, from his rallies, social media posts and his own briefings.
At a news conference this past August, Trump was asked if he’d have regular press briefings in his new administration. He told reporters, “I will give you total access and you’ll have a lot of press briefings and you’ll have, uh, from me.”
When it came to a press secretary, he said: “Probably they’ll do something. If it’s not daily, it’s going to be a lot. You’ll have more than you want.”
Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, is seen as a staunch and camera-ready advocate for Trump who is quick on her feet and delivers aggressive defenses of the Republican in television interviews.
She worked as a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.
During Trump’s first term in office, Leavitt worked in the White House press office. She then became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, whom Trump has tapped to serve as his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Trump’s first press secretaries, Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, were known for quarreling with reporters. Another, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing. Her successor, Kayleigh McEnany, often lectured the news media during her appearances in the White House press briefing room.
In their final meeting, Xi tells Biden that China is ready to work with a new US administration
Springfield, Minneota football teams to meet in Class 1A Prep Bowl
Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary
In their final meeting, Xi tells Biden that China is ready to work with a new US administration