News Story
Homeland Security Remains without a Leader As Authorities Struggle to Find Nominee
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com With Janet Napolitano out, Homeland Security is without a nomination for a new chief. Maybe that’s because it’s a thankless job that can spoil a reputation, the Washington Post reports. “It’s a high-risk job,” one observer told the Post. “If something happens on your watch, you’re done.” OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST…
FBI Agents Talk About the Harmful Impact of Budget Cuts
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Budget cuts are taking a bite out of FBI operations, and harming the fight against all types of crimes, from corruption to counterterrorism to battling gangs and violence. The FBI Agents Association on Monday released a new report — Voices from the Field — that provides FBI Agents’ first-hand accounts of…
ACLU Recommends Budget Cuts Amid Imminent Government Shutdown Threats
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com New FBI Director James Comey may have to make big cuts to the bureau’s budget because of a government shutdown and last year’s sequester. The ACLU has some ideas about “programs that deserve to get the axe, because they’re ineffective, undermine innocent Americans’ privacy and civil liberties, or simply offend American values.”…
Tech Companies Urge Congress to Shed More Light on Secret Information Requests
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com More than two dozen companies and numerous trade groups are endorsing bills that would open more light on the government’s secret information requests, the Verge.com reports. The businesses and trade groups are showing their support for bills that would allow them to reveal when they receive requests for national security-related data. Among…
Federal Government Can’t Cut Most Homeland Security Employees
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A vast majority of Homeland Security employees cannot be forced off the job because of a government shutdown, the Washington Post reports. About 86% of the department’s 231,000 employees are considered “essential,” which means they must remain on the job for the “safety of human life or protection of property,” regardless of…
Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Takes Over as UC President
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano took over as the president of the University of California on Monday, but she’s already facing challenges. A group of student activists are asking for a “no-confidence” vote to express disapproval over her hiring, the Associated Press reports. The activists said Napolitano is a bad choice…
Judge Drops Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Against Former FBI Agent
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A former FBI agent who filed a $2.2 million federal lawsuit against the FBI claiming retaliation and racial discrimination lost her case, WFMJ-NBC reports. U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson dismissed the case, saying the former agent, Sheila Lawson, never made herself available for depositions. Lawson, who worked for the FBI between 2002…
Parker: Counterfeiting in the 21st Century and the Response by Michigan State University
Ross Parker was chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit for 8 years and worked as an AUSA for 28 in that office. He is the author of the book “Carving Out the Rule of Law: The History of the United States Attorney’s Office in Eastern Michigan 1815–2008″. By Ross…