Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Hoping to quell criticism of the National Security Agency’s widespread telephone data surveillance programs, federal officials plan to announce Monday the number of terror plot foiled by monitoring, Reuters reports. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced the agency’s plans after NSA Chief General Keith Alexander said dozens of…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI is intensifying the hunt. Director Robert Mueller said the agency is stepping up efforts to arrest the defense contractor responsible for leaking information about the federal government’s sweeping surveillance programs, Reuters reports. Mueller, who confirmed an investigation is underway, said the leak damaged U.S. national security. “We are taking all…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Federal law enforcement officials intentionally misled state and local authorities who were investigating mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger, a former senior Massachusetts state police officer testified during the second day of Bulger’s criminal trial, The Hartford Courant reports. Retired State Police Col. Thomas Foley said some FBI agents sabotaged the investigation…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A federal group is selling collector’s coins of Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry, who was killed in a shootout while on duty, to raise money for a foundation created to honor Terry. Called the “Challenge Coin,” the Border Narcotics Intelligence is selling the coins online for $15. Terry’s death grabbed national…
By GINGER GIBSON Politico WASHINGTON — FBI Director Robert Mueller defended the amassing of widespread phone records, before a House Committee, saying had it been in place before the Sept. 11 attacks, the attacks could have been “derailed” and that it was used to track a friend of the Boston Marathon bombers. Monitoring calls between…
Steve Neavling ticklthewire.com FBI Director Robert Mueller is expected to undergo tough questions today as he nears the end of his 12 years at the helm, the Associated Press reports. In what likely will be his final appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Mueller likely will be grilled about the Boston Marathon bombings investigation, the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The director of the National Security Agency forcefully defended the surveillance programs Wednesday that kept tabs on Internet activity and collected millions of telephone records, the Associated Press reports. The once-secret programs, which was disclosed this month to an incensed public, were invaluable tools in the fight against terrorism, said NSA Director…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com If a judge declares that the New York City’s stop-and-frisk practices are unconstitutional, the U.S. Justice Department says it would strongly support a federal monitor to oversee reforms to change that practice, the New York Times reports. The so-called statement of interest was filed Wednesday in Federal District Court. “The experience of…
