As expected, the Senate gave the nod to the latest Justice Department appointees. By Mary Jacoby Main Justice WASHINGTON — After minimal debate, the Senate this evening quickly confirmed Lanny Breuer as Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division; Tony West as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, and Christine Varney as Assistant Attorney…
Some believe that prosecutors are the most powerful figures in the criminal justice system. Many of their decisions are virtually unreviewable: charging, case disposition, dismissals, plea bargains, and sentence recommendations, to name a few. Local and State prosecutors can be held accountable to the voters.. But given the power of incumbency, that checks and balance…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — It goes without saying, the media and law enforcement don’t always see eye to eye. But there are certainly plenty times when the media, like law enforcement, works for the good of the public, unearthing injustice, exposing criminal wrongdoing. The Pulitizer Prizes are one way of acknowledging some of the…
The FBI managed to implant software on the computer of an individual threatening to extort money from several major communications companies, leading them straight to his doorstep. While the exact capabilities of the CIPAV (Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier) software are unknown, it’s encouraging to see the FBI using technology in innovative ways to…
Tension between the FBI and the American-Islamic community continues to grow, damaging inroads that have been made since Sept. 11, 2001. Both sides need to do something to turn it around. Paloma Esquivel Los Angeles Times As they sipped tea and nibbled on dates, more than 100 men and women listened to a litany of…
Conversations like this, once made public, never seem very flattering. What’s the fallout from all this? Who knows. By Jeff Stein CQ SpyTalk Columnist WASHINGTON — Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — One Friday, two days after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, I was sitting at my desk at the Detroit News in downtown Detroit when I got a tip that the FBI was raiding a farmhouse in Michigan, and it had something to do with the bombing of the…
