Attorney General William P. Barr Announces the Findings of the Criminal Investigation into the December 2019 Shooting at Pensacola Naval Air Station

Good afternoon, and thank you for coming. We are here to discuss the results of the investigation into the shooting that occurred on Dec. 6, 2019 at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Joining me today are David Bowdich, Deputy Director of the FBI; John Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Michael Sherwin, Associate Deputy Attorney General for National Security; Rachel Rojas, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Field Office in Jacksonville, Florida; and Larry Keefe, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

I want to thank the FBI and the other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies involved in responding to and investigating the incident for their rapid and excellent work. Many people worked long hours through the holidays, and I am grateful for their diligence and commitment to seeing this through. You will be hearing from Deputy Director Bowdich shortly about the details of the FBI investigative work, which was superb. In considering this case, we have to remember that there are thousands of allied pilots and other military personnel receiving training on military bases throughout the United States. These military partnerships are critically important to the United States. The Royal Saudi Air Force, which flies American-made aircraft, is an important military partner, and has long had a training relationship with us.

On Dec. 6, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a member of the Royal Saudi Air Force, entered a building on the grounds of Pensacola Naval Air Station and killed three U.S. sailors and severely wounded eight other Americans. Alshamrani was killed during the attack. This was an act of terrorism. The evidence shows that the shooter was motivated by jihadist ideology. During the course of the investigation, we learned that the shooter posted a message on social media on Sept. 11 of last year that said: “the countdown has begun.” Over Thanksgiving weekend, he visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. He also posted other anti-American, anti-Israeli, and jihadi messages on social media, and did so two hours before his attack at the naval base. Early reports indicated that the shooter arrived at the site, accompanied by other Saudi cadets, who took video of the attack as it unfolded. These reports turned out not to be accurate. The shooter arrived by himself. Other Saudi cadets happened to be in the area and, after the attack began, they took some videos of the resulting commotion. They fully cooperated in the investigation, as did the other Saudi cadets who were interviewed by the FBI at Pensacola and at additional bases across the country. After Alshamrani entered the building and cased the facility, he proceeded to walk around shooting down his unarmed victims in cold blood.

During and after this heinous attack, there were many specific acts of courage, and I want to draw special attention to two U.S. Marines: Gunnery Sgt. Ryan Maisel and Staff Sgt. Samuel Mullins. They were outside the building when they heard gunfire and, although unarmed, they ran into the building to confront the shooter. Their only weapon was a fire extinguisher that they had pulled off the wall as they ran toward the gunfire. Who but the Marines? Although they were unable to engage the shooter, they helped save many lives by performing CPR and other medical aid on the victims. I would also like to mention the heroic acts of Navy Airman Ryan Blackwell. The shooter shot Airman Blackwell five times, yet Ryan still managed to jump on top of a fellow sailor to keep her from being shot. He further assisted other students and helped them escape, all while taking additional fire from the shooter. Airman Blackwell's heroic acts also saved countless lives that day. We are grateful as well for the bravery of the base personnel and local law enforcement responders who initially arrived at the scene and engaged the shooter.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-announces-findings-criminal-investigation-december-2019

Top FBI agent who leaked to media spent thousands of dollars to boost online reputation before name was revealed

A former top FBI official found by the Justice Department’s watchdog to have leaked secretive investigation details to journalists likely spent thousands on online reputation services just before an inspector general’s report about him was released. Bryan Paarmann, 53, former deputy assistant director of the FBI’s international operations division from 2016 to 2017, likely paid more than $5,000 to Net Reputation, the website of which says its purpose is to help customers “take control of your online reputation” by “working with the most trusted team in the reputation industry.” The former counterterrorism special agent appears to have paid the business to build him a website that praises him for his decadeslong career at the FBI and to write and promote a similarly effusive article about him. A Net Reputation sales representative told the Washington Examiner a basic website similar to Paarmann’s, with blog posts, a contact page, and a place for photos, would likely cost $3,500 to $4,500 and would take one or two months to build. Another sales representative estimated a ghost-written article and press release of the sort Paarmann appears to have paid for would likely cost an additional $1,000.

Paarmann’s identity was revealed in a 21-page report obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request last Friday. DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz determined Paarmann “improperly disclosed court-sealed and law enforcement sensitive information to the media,” in violation of FBI rules. The incident is part of what Horowitz's lengthy June 2018 report called the FBI’s “culture of unauthorized media contacts.” Although the new report is heavily redacted, the Washington Examiner was able to identify one of the journalists Paarmann allegedly leaked to — Del Wilber of the Los Angeles Times — and three articles by the reporter about Orlando Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, Dallas cop killer Micah Johnson, and Russian hacker Yevgeniy Nikulin. The DOJ decided not to prosecute Paarmann.

“I gave 35 years of faithful and devoted service to this nation, and never did I give classified or investigatively sensitive information to the press,” Paarmann told the Washington Examiner. “I never endangered a prosecution and only did what I believed my superiors had tasked me with.” After initially agreeing to talk, Paarmann then declined to answer the Washington Examiner, saying: “I do not wish to speak further. That chapter is over in my life.”

The posts, written in third person, include sentences such as, “Bryan Paarmann is protective of his country and is a proud American. In many ways, he has faithfully and honorably served his homeland,” and, “Bryan Paarmann has excellent leadership skills and a steadfast allegiance to the United States.” The post from Monday says, “Although he has more than done his part to selflessly serve his nation and people, he is committed to a lifetime of service.” Many of the blog posts were also posted on Parmann’s recently created Medium page. The photo section of his website includes pictures of Paarmann smiling with President George W. Bush and Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, as well as a photo of him as a younger, much slimmer, man in uniform, when Paarmann was a West Point graduate and U.S. Army officer. Paarmann also appears to have paid Net Reputation to write a positive article about him and to promote it on Access Wire, an online press release service.

The early November press release says it was authored by “Caroline Hunter” at Web Presence, which is one of the names Net Reputation operates under. The article contains nearly identical language as the website's posts, including, “After three decades of selfless service to the nation, Bryan Paarmann nobly retired from his FBI role as an expert counterterrorism practitioner and a leader in the effort to keep America safe.” It was picked up by several websites, including Maryland-based WBOC-TV in late November and two separate Yahoo Finance pieces, one in early November and another just days ago, which was given the headline, "Bryan Paarmann, Retired FBI Agent, Served As a Crisis Manager in Major Terrorism Events for Nearly 10 Years." By Monday evening, the third item about him on Google News was a Presswire article by "Caroline Hunter" with the headline: "Bryan Paarmann FBI Continues to Serve His Country Through Educational Engagements and Professional Networks."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/top-fbi-agent-who-leaked-to-media-spent-thousands-of-dollars-to-boost-online-reputation-before-name-was-revealed