News Story
Justice Department Public Integrity Section Gets New Leader
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Justice Department’s powerful Public Integrity section, which investigates politicians and judges, has a new leader, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. U.S. Attorney Jack Smith, who has been a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, brings a wealth of background and knowledge to the position. Smith was a criminal prosecutor, for example, in…
Secret Service Adds Sharp Spikes to White House Fence to Stop Jumpers
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com After several embarrassing failures to protect the White House from jumpers, the Secret Service has added sharp metal spikes to the fence, NBC News reports. “The temporary design solution for the White House complex fence is meant to improve security, while minimizing visual impacts and respecting the significance of the White…
President of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI Addresses Controversy Over FBI Labs and Hair Analysis
By Ellen Glasser President, Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI Throughout its history, the FBI has accepted its responsibility to serve and protect the American people. At times, this responsibility draws intense scrutiny. As former agents, we understand and accept such scrutiny because we know the public trust is earned. Last week,…
Boston Marathon Bomber May Be Sentenced to Most Isolated Prison in U.S.
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces two likely, grim possibility – the death sentence or life in one of the most destructive prisons in America, “a place so isolating that it has been called a clean version of hell,” NBC News reports. The United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Colorado, also…
ACLU Raises Concerns About FBI Secretly Using Aircraft to Keep Eye on Baltimore Riots
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI has acknowledged that it sent aircraft into the sky to watch over rioting in Baltimore. The news comes after numerous sightings of aircraft over the city. The FBI told the Baltimore Sun that the aircraft was intended to monitor criminal activity. “The aircraft were specifically used to assist in…
Baltimore Mayor Asks for Full-Scale Civil Rights Investigation of Police Department
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com In an unusual move for a city, Baltimore’s mayor is asking for a full-scale civil rights investigation into alleged abuse within the police department following a riot over the police-involved death of Freddie Gray and other black suspects. “We all know that Baltimore continues to have a fractured relationship between the…
State Justice Department Employee Accused of Helping Run ‘Fictitious’ Police Department
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A state Justice Department employee was among three people arrested for allegedly operating an underground police force in California. Brandon Kiel, 31, of South Los Angeles, was charged with seven counts of impersonating a police officer and is on administrative leave, SignalSCV.com reports. “We cannot comment on the ongoing personnel matter…
Secret Service Tough Guys? Agents Show Soft Side in Kenya Ahead of Clinton Visit
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Secret Service agents have come under heavy criticism over the past few years for reports of wild sex parties, drunken driving and other seedy behavior. But that media attention often misses the positive side of the Secret Service. While preparing for former president Bill Clinton’s visit to Nairobi, Kenya, several agents…