Bill Essayli

Stories

Justice Department sues California over alleged noncitizen mail-in ballots

Signed the Oct. 23 letters demanding counties segregate ballots

The Supreme Court refused on Nov. 2 to make California set aside about 20,000 mail ballots until their citizenship could be checked. California held its midterm election the next day with those ballots in the count.

Updated 2 days ago

FBI arrests California woman accused of spying on Taiwan president's son

Force in Play

Leading the prosecution

Wanying Zhang pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles federal court on October 23 to charges that she surveilled the Seattle-area family of Taiwan President William Lai's son for China. The judge set a pretrial hearing for November 12 and a four-day trial starting November 30 at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana.

Updated Oct 26

U.S. takes a Ukrainian hacker to court over Russia-backed attacks on water and food systems

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Leading messaging on Dubranova prosecutions and broader Russian cyber threat crackdown

A 33-year-old Ukrainian woman now sits at the center of Washington's latest cyber drama. U.S. prosecutors say Victoria Dubranova helped two Russia-backed hacker crews hit water systems, food facilities, and other infrastructure, turning online "hacktivism" into covert state work.

Updated May 10

Notable Quotes

Ms. Zhang is charged with acting at the direction of Chinese government officials to spy on the family of a senior Taiwanese official here in the United States.

from FBI arrests California woman accused of spying on Taiwan president's son · Updated Oct 26

“Politically motivated hacktivist groups…pose a serious threat to our national security.”

from U.S. takes a Ukrainian hacker to court over Russia-backed attacks on water and food systems · Updated May 10