GOLDEN IWO JIMA: We’ve never heard anyone suggest that the Iwo Jima Memorial needs a little more bling. But that didn’t stop President Trump from posting an image on Truth Social this week showing the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington coated in gold and surrounded by construction equipment. There was no explanation accompanying the image and no announcement that the actual memorial is about to get the gold treatment as some statues around DC have recently. So, if the image was just designed to get a reaction – it worked. A lot of Marines and other veterans started vehemently objecting. The memorial depicts the famous 1945 flag-raising on Iwo Jima - but it’s actually dedicated to all Marines who have given their lives in defense of the United States since 1775. The National Park Service says the sculpture was paid for entirely with donations from Marines, friends of the Corps and members of the Naval Service. So, golden Iwo Jima? Probably just a joke. But if somebody shows up with a paint roller, they may be likely to encounter some very pissed off Marines.
HOW NOT TO BE A SPY: The Justice Department is taking time to remind the public that espionage is against the law. (It’s OK if you need to read that again.) DOJ’s National Security Division warned in a press release this week that there is "Liability for Unregistered Foreign Agents," and that Americans are barred from acting as an undisclosed agents of a foreign government. The release also warned that there are civil and criminal penalties under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and 18 U.S.C. § 951. A reminder, perhaps, that espionage-adjacent moonlighting is frowned upon. Outside counsel read it as a tell. Attorneys at Covington & Burling called the release "unusual," noting it landed weeks after Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation and a DOJ pledge to finally finish rewriting FARA's long-stalled regulations. The subtext: enforcement is about to get busier, and this was the warning shot fired before anyone got hit. FARA has had an uneven run since a 2016 inspector general report called its enforcement too lax. It came roaring back once Robert Mueller's team used it against Paul Manafort, then went quiet under a 2025 memo limiting criminal charges to conduct resembling "traditional espionage." A press release naming no target but plenty of statute numbers suggests the pendulum may have just swung again.
GOLD FIN(GER): China has unveiled an underwater robot disguised as a fish. The BG-5 is modeled on the golden arowana, a large, long-bodied aquarium fish prized in China for its resemblance to a dragon and its supposed good luck. But instead of a propeller, the roughly 25-inch robot uses a segmented tail to swim through the water, detect obstacles and change course on its own. Chinese media reports say it is designed for underwater inspection and observation, and the company behind it has also worked on biomimetic (yep, that’s spelled right) underwater robots for military applications. A more advanced version can reportedly plan routes, coordinate tasks and operate with other robots. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.
COLONEL YURI’S GIG ECONOMY: Good help is hard to find these days…and apparently so is bad guy help. The Justice Department says it disrupted a Kremlin-run "global assassination network" this week, unsealing an indictment against five people allegedly tied to Russian intelligence. Leading the group: Yuri Khrameev, 63, a former Russian intelligence colonel, and his son Kirill, 27, an FSB officer. Rounding out the roster are three men from Cuba and Venezuela. Prosecutors say the network has paid, or tried to pay, people in the U.S. and abroad since 2024 to surveil and potentially kill Russian dissidents, and to carry out sabotage in countries seen as friendly to Ukraine. In one case, Prosecutors say that recruiters found a Venezuelan man living in Brooklyn and offered him $1,000 to $1,500 to photograph the home of a prominent dissident who was living in Washington. They say the Venezuelan took the surveillance part of the deal but when the offer came back at $40,000 to finish the job, he turned it down. A second recruit was allegedly offered $25,000 to kill a target in Lithuania, but prosecutors say he also refused. Khrameev allegedly countered with a "simpler job": burning down a warehouse instead. The FBI says the plot was disrupted before anyone was killed. All five defendants remain at large. Russia has rejected the allegations.
ANCHORS AWEIGH, TOW TRUCKS ARE HERE: The USS Kearsarge was only at sea for about 10 days. Still, when the Norfolk-based amphibious assault ship returned to Naval Station Norfolk earlier this month, about 90 sailors (including the ship’s captain) found their cars were missing. Not stolen, or vandalized, but towed from a fenced lot near Pier 14. The reason? In order to clear space for an Aug. 29 Morale Welfare and Recreation concert featuring Teddy Swims and Miranda Lambert. We’re not really sure what the morale of the sailors was like after having to be bussed to an impound lot where some of them reportedly waited for up to three hours to get their vehicles back. According to WHRO's American Homefront Project, the base says it coordinated with the Kearsarge's own security team in advance to give a heads up about upcoming parking restrictions but apparently that word never reached many of them – including the skipper. Commanding officers have clout – but apparently not so much when Teddy Swims comes to town.
THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE CHATBOT: Russia, China and Iran-linked operators are increasingly using commercial AI chatbots for intelligence and military work, according to Anthropic's new threat report. Anthropic says Russian operators used its Claude chatbot in a cyber-espionage campaign targeting military and diplomatic organizations, while Iran-linked operators used Claude to compile targeting handbooks on U.S. Navy forces in the Middle East, pulling together ship positions, military photos, transponder data and satellite imagery. Other users turned to the chatbot for drone and missile development. While it’s good that Anthropic is monitoring how state actors might be using the technology, it’s also alarming that the tech is able to do this kind of espionage work. It feels like the newest member of the intelligence team may have a password but no security clearance.
ONE THAT SLIPPED AWAY: As previously mentioned in the Dead Drop, U.S. and German officials pinned the explosive-laden drone found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August on Russia's GRU. Now, there's a suspect to go with the theory. According to Euronews, investigators have identified a man going by the name of Oleg Le as the operations logistics coordinator who is reportedly responsible for sourcing the drone and explosives and then scouting storage sites near the airport. Officials believe that Le entered Germany via Turkey, exited through Berlin-Brandenburg for a Serbian layover, and is now, unsurprisingly, back in Russia. German authorities reportedly already suspected his GRU ties when he crossed the border in the first place, which raises the question, why did they let him in?
THE COURT THAT SAT IDLE FOR THIRTY YEARS: Congress built the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in 1996 to fast-track the deportation of foreign nationals who were deemed terrorists, using classified evidence that a normal immigration judge couldn't see. Then, well, nobody used it. Six administrations and three decades later, the Justice Department finally announced that the court's first-ever defendant was an Afghan national and mother whose son and son-in-law were convicted of plotting an ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day in 2024. The mom was accused of supporting the plot, and according to the Feds, conceded she was an "alien terrorist," waived her appeal, and was deported back to Afghanistan. Attorney General Todd Blanche called it a "win for national security and the rule of law." Apparently, it just took a while.
Got news to share? Drop us a note: Editor@thecipherbrief.com
Read more expert-driven national security insights exclusively in www.thecipherbrief.com.
