Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly defended President Trump’s immigration restrictions but said he regrets how quickly the executive order was rolled out.

Despite Kelly’s misgivings, he insisted the immigration order was “lawful and constitutional” and “will prevail” in court, ABC News reports.

“The thinking was to get it out quick so that potentially people that might be coming here to harm us would not take advantage of some period of time that they could jump on an airplane and get here,” Kelly said.

Kelly also claimed the order is not a Muslim ban, saying it’s just a “pause” to ensure the country is safe.

“So I’m at a total loss to understand how we can vet people from various countries when in at least four of those countries we don’t even have an embassies,” he said.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The FBI is helping investigate who sent racist emails to students using what appeared to be a university account.

The emails, sent out Tuesday from an email account that looked like it belonged to a professor of computer science and engineering, attacked black and Jewish students, MLive reports. Professor J. Alex Halderman said he did not sent the emails.

A university spokesman said the message involves spoofing, which means someone created an email that looked like it came from another account.

M President Mark Schlissel tweeted, “I condemn the hateful messages sent tonight. DPSS & ITS are investigating as spoofing/hacking.”

Ricin

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The FBI is trying to determine how a Georgia man was exposed to the deadly toxin, ricin.

William Christopher Gibbs, 27, went to the hospital and said he had been exposed to ricin, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. 

On Feb. 2, Gibbs was arrested on suspicion on reckless conduct and citation of probation. According to a police report, Gibbs’ mother said her son has mental health issues, including schizophrenia.

“We have identified no evidence that any poisonous or toxic substances have been dispersed or that the public is at risk, and we are coordinating with the 4th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team of the Army National Guard and the Cherokee County Fire Department to ensure that the area is safe,” US Attorney John Horn said in a statement. 

Fannin County Sheriff Dane Kirby said Gibbs’ ricin was found in Gibbs’ car.

It’s unlikely that the exposure was accidental, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people,” the CDC website states. “Unintentional exposure to ricin is highly unlikely, except through the ingestion of castor beans.” 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The Senate narrowly confirmed Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mass., as attorney general, but Democrats are not done fighting.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., pledged to fight the appointment, saying “this is just the beginning” of opposition from Democrats, the Washington Post reports. 

Warren, a potential 2020 presidential candidate, said she fears Sessions will bring “his racism, sexism & bigotry” to the Justice Department.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A former DEA agent who was convicted last year of lying about operating a New Jersey strip club was spared jail time on Wednesday and given probation.

David Polos, an ex-assistant special agent-in-charge with the DEA, lied about his stake in the Twins Plus Go-Go Lounge strip club in South Hackensack, New Jersey during a national security background check.

Sentencing guidelines called for Polos, 52, to be sentenced up to six months in prison, Reuters reports. 

“I stand before you today as a disgraced husband, an outcast in my own profession, and ashamed to be in my own skin,” Polos told District Judge Paul Gardephe in court.

Reuters wrote:

Polos, of West Nyack, New York, was found guilty in June along with Glen Glover, a former DEA telecommunications specialist, on conspiracy and false statement charges in connection with the club, where prosecutors said they were part-owners and worked.

Jurors also convicted Polos for lying about having a relationship with any foreign nationals for not disclosing he was having an extramarital affair with a Brazilian dancer who prosecutors said entered the United States illegally.

Prosecutors said that during background checks in 2011 used to spot any outside employment that could put them near criminal activity or create risks of being blackmailed, Polos and Glover failed to disclose that they were running the club.

The club featured scantily clad and sometimes topless female dancers, including some who engaged in sexual acts with patrons and staff, and many who are illegal, undocumented immigrants, prosecutors have said.

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