By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com

The mass shooting in Las Vegas has once again triggered cries for action to deal with rogue gun owners, particularly those who purchase an enormous amount of weapons and ammo in a short time.

A friend and retired FBI agent forwarded me an email the other day suggesting the government set up a threat analysis program for gun purchasers.

Here’s what he had to say:

There should be a risk management program that uses data bases with information about gun purchases. The program would identify key criteria that is a common thread in violent events: Number of weapons purchased by a single individual or by address or within a specified time period.

When those red flags are raised in the data base, the names of the purchasers would be turned over to the group that would conduct traces/searches and links to Federal cases and local incidents (not just reported crimes).

The group would develop a threshold to decide if the probe goes further. They would use social media searches, mental health agencies and interviews.

The arguments against creating such a group are overwhelming, cost being major.

Sure, it’s a needle in a haystack approach, but I am sure there are smarter folks than me who can scope the search to increase its worth.

The public relations sell would undoubtedly bump up against privacy concerns (Mental health & Constitutional rights) and the belief that we may miss some of the real culprits; criminals who don’t report gun purchases.

I understand that, but if current gun laws had the priority enforcement it deserves, straw purchasers and crooked gun dealers would start to dissipate, and maybe, just maybe,  you could identify some old fart with a screw loose and force him to rethink his plan to be remembered as an evil footnote in history.

Stephen Paddock

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The girlfriend of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock told investigators that she had no idea the 64-year-old was “planning violence against anyone.”

Marilou Danley, who was in the Philippines during the massacre in Las Vegas, said Paddock showed “mental health symptoms,” such as screaming in bed, two former FBI officials told the New York Daily News. 

Danley was interviewed for about four hours Wednesday. Her attorney, Matt Lombard, said Paddock wired her a large amount of money, which she thought was to buy a home, CBS News reports. She also thought he was about to break up with her. 

So far, investigators don’t know the motive behind the mass shooting, which killed 58 people at a country music festival.

Robert Mueller

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The former British spy who wrote the salacious dossier on Russia’s role in the presidential election met with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators over the summer, CNN reports. 

The dossier by Christopher Steele, a former MI-6 officer, helped spawn the investigation into Russia’s involvement in the presidential election.

While investigators have said in the past that they cannot confirm the validity of the dossier’s contents, they took it more seriously than they let on publicly.

CNN reported:

The intelligence agencies, particularly the CIA, and the FBI took Steele’s research seriously enough that they kept it out of a publicly-released January report on Russian meddling in the election in order to not divulge which parts of the dossier they had corroborated and how.

This contrasts with attempts by President Donald Trump and some lawmakers to discredit Steele and the memos he produced.

Ever since the dossier came to light in January, Trump and his allies have repeatedly insisted that it is a complete work of fiction. He told The New York Times this summer that the dossier “was totally made-up stuff.” In a series of tweets earlier this year, Trump said the memos were written by a “failed spy” who had relied on “totally made-up facts by sleazebag political operatives.”

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

President Trump’s frequent visits to his private golf clubs in New Jersey and Florida has cost the Secret Service at least $137,505 on golf cart rental so far this year.

The USA Today reports that the agency spent $61,960 to rent golf carts at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida. 

The news comes three months after it was revealed that the Secret Service can no longer pay overtime to hundreds of agents because of the large amount of resources needed to protect Trump’s large family.

“There’s a question about how fast Trump is racking up bills that the taxpayers have to pay, which are largely trips to his hotels and his golf courses,” said Harrell Kirstein, American Bridge communications director. 

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Two Border Patrol agents accused of stealing $100,000 worth of gun parts and equipment from the agency had their day in court – and the outcome was different for each one.

One of the agents, Jesus Manuel Franco, was convicted one one count of theft of government property and two counts of unlawful possession and transfer of a machine gun, the Arizona Daily Star reports. 

The other agent, Edgardo Jose Munoz Cruz, was acquitted.

Both were accused of conspiring to steal gun barrels, scopes, magazines and other equipment.

Franco faces up to 10 years in prison.

Other Stories of Interest

• Justice Department Is Investigating Harvard’s Admissions Practices
• Top House Democrat Asks to Review Kushner, Ivanka Trump Emails
• Homeland Security Agents Join Relief Efforts in Puerto Rico
• Justice Department Rolls Out New Initiative to Fight Violent Crime
• Bond Reduced for Man Charged in Fatal Stabbing of Border Patrol Agent