News Story
New DEA Head of Houston Division Brings Plethora of Border Experience
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Joseph Arabit, the new head of the Houston Division of the DEA, arrives with a plethora of border experience that authorities hope will help crack down on drug cartel activity between the Texas-Mexico border, KHOU.com reports. Arabit previously was in charge of the DEA office in El Paso at a time of…
Seeking Tough Justice in Probes of Financial Institutions, But Settling for Empty Promises
By Jesse Eisinger ProPublica Don’t get too excited about bank indictments. The Justice Department is talking tough. In an unusually frank video statement, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. proclaimed that he was personally overseeing major financial investigations and that his department was poised to bring charges against several large institutions. The United States attorney in Manhattan,…
FBI Agent Arrested in Pakistan Faces Formal Charges Soon for Trying to Bring Ammunition, Knife on Plane
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Police are expected to file formal charges soon against the FBI agent who was arrested in Pakistan after authorities said he tried to carry ammunition and a knife onto a plane in Karachi. The Associated Press reports that a judge on Saturday urged police to file the charges by May 19, the…
Former Israeli Ambassador: FBI Never Scolded Foreign Diplomats for Widespread Spying Since 9/11
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Trying to combat published reports that the FBI has scolded Israeli diplomats dozens of times for spying on American intelligence since 9/11, the former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. said the allegations were baseless. The Jerusalem Post reported that the former ambassador, Michael Oren, insisted the relationship between the two countries has…
Justice Department Seeks Permission to Hack, Search Remote Computers
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com It used to be the bad guys who hacked computers. But now law enforcement is resorting to the same trickery to search remote computers for investigations. The IDG News Service reports that the Justice Department is seeking permission to hack computers to investigate complex criminal schemes that often utilize millions of machines…
Arizona Republic Editorial: Border Patrol Has Reckless Accountability That Should Worry Everyone
By The Arizona Republic Editorial The Border Patrol’s opaque approach to law enforcement and its reckless lack of accountability does not just affect undocumented border crossers. It’s your problem, too. The latest example of how bad things are comes from the American Immigration Council, which examined 809 complaints of abuse filed against the Border Patrol….
Prosecutors: FBI Agents Justified When They Shot, Killed Man in Idaho Wilderness
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com FBI agents used reasonable force when they fatally shot a kidnapping and murder suspect in the Idaho wilderness last year, the Associated Press reports. Federal and local prosecutors said Wednesday that the two FBI agents should not face charges because they were justified by shooting James DiMaggio, who was suspected of kidnapping…