Justice Department Loses Another Top Official with Imminent Departure of Public Affairs Post

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Tracy Schmaler, head of the Justice Department’s public affairs office, is stepping down to join the private sector, the Washington Post reports. Schmaler, whose departure next month leaves another vacancy at the top level of the department, took a job for ASGK Public Strategies, a firm created by former senior White House…

Read More

Judge: Top FBI Agent in Seattle May Proceed with Age Discrimination, Hostile Workplace Lawsuit

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The special agent who oversaw the FBI’s Seattle office cleared a hurdle in her discrimination lawsuit against the bureau Thursday, the Seattle Times reports. U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled that Special Agent-in-Charge Laura M. Laughlin, 55, can proceed with her claims of sex discrimination and retaliation, the Seattle Times reported. Laughlin…

Read More

Savannah Police Department Under FBI Investigation Over Claims of Under-Reporting Crime

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI is investigating claims that the Savannah-Chatham Police Department is under-reporting or failing to report crimes, Savannah Now reports. Alderman Tony Thomas suggested in January that the department’s record-low crime levels are the result of officers failing to report many crimes, Savannah Now reported. Other council members said they had heard…

Read More

ACLU: FBI Is Secretly Profiling Muslims, Latinos, African-Americans and Others

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The ACLU is blasting the FBI for using an alleged secret racial and ethnic mapping program to profile Muslims in Michigan, black people in Georgia, Chinese-Americans in California and Latinos in several states, Huffington Post reports. “What we’ve uncovered through over 15,000 documents from 34 states around the country already shows, as…

Read More

Napolitano: Budget Reductions Would Put U.S. at Increased Risk of Terrorist Attack

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The nation’s security is at risk under $85 billion in budget reductions that will go into effect if Republicans and Democrats can’t agree soon on spending cuts, said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, CNN reports. “Sequestration would roll back border security, increase wait times at our nation’s land ports of entry and…

Read More