October 2011
Rep. Issa Suggests Homeland Chief Napolitano Moved Too Slow in Probe of Dead Border Agent Brian Terry
Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com It appeared to be Janet Napolitano’s turn to get roughed up by Rep. Darrell Issa, who has been spearheading a probe into ATF’s controversial Operation Fast and Furious, that encouraged Arizona gun dealers to sell to straw purchasers, all with the hopes of tracing guns to the Mexican cartels. Politico reports that…
Abramoff Lobbyist Kevin Ring Gets 20 Months
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The ugly era of Jack Abramoff — the evil lobbyist — resurfaced Wednesday inside the Beltway. Kevin A. Ring, 41, a former lobbyist who worked with Abramoff, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in D.C. to 20 months in prison for his role in a scheme to corrupt public officials by…
Communication Companies Less Compliant to FBI Requests
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com The FBI has not been getting the response it is used to. The Washington Post reports that, increasingly, many communications companies have not been disclosing the kind of information previously offered from FBI requests. Investigators have routinely used national security letters to get information about who sent and received e-mails and…
Devices from Minnesota Found in Iraq IEDs, Five Charged
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com Radio frequency modules from a Minnesota manufacturer, after being smuggled into Iran, ended up in improvised explosive devices used against U.S. soldiers on the battlefields of Iraq, federal authorities alleged this week. Authorities in Singapore arrested Wong Yuh Lan (Wong), Lim Yong Nam (Nam), Lim Kow Seng (Seng), and Hia Soo…
Column: How the Patriot Act Stripped Me of My Free-Speech Rights
By Nicholas Merrill Washington Post Sometime in 2012, I will begin the ninth year of my life under an FBI gag order, which began when I received what is known as a national security letter at the small Internet service provider I owned. On that day in 2004 (the exact date is redacted from court…
Baseball Legend Roger Clemens Wants the Feds to Pay His Attorney Fees
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Former Major League Baseball legend Roger Clemens is making a bid for a second victory. In July, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton declared a mistrial in his perjury case because of a prosecutorial error. Now, he wants the feds to pay for attorney fees and other costs in the trial, Business…
The Ok Bombing it Ain’t; Ex-FBI Director Asked to Investigate SAT Test Security
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com As FBI Director Louie Freeh oversaw some of the biggest investigations in the nation including the Oklahoma bombing and the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Africa. Now as a private lawyer and consultant, he’s being asked to tackle a task with a little less world import. The New York Times…