News Story
Paul Manafort To Ask Judge to Toss Evidence Seized in FBI Search
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is battling it out in federal court. On Wednesday, he plans to ask a federal judge to suppress evidence seized by FBI agents working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, saying they violated the U.S. Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures, Reuters reports….
James Clapper Says Spy Was Helping Look Into Russian Influence During Campaign
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, appearing Tuesday on “The View,” said a spy during the 2016 campaign was there for Russian meddling purposes and President Donald Trump should be happy such a person existed, Real Clear Politics reports. “With the informant business, well, the point here is the Russians,” Clapper…
FBI Admits It Overstated Number of Encrypted Cellphones Investigators Can’t Access
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Oops. The FBI has long used the figure of 7,700 when talking about the number of encrypted cellphones that investigators are unable to access in 2017. Now, USA Today reports that the number was inflated because of a flawed internal accounting system that relied on multiple databases. The FBI issued a…
Matthew Miller: Rod Rosenstein’s Decision Shows ‘The System is Failing’
Matthew Miller was director of the Justice Department’s public affairs office from 2009 to 2011. By Matthew Miller For the Washington Post President Trump on Sunday launched his most direct attack on the Justice Department’s independence since he fired FBI Director James B. Comey, taking to Twitter to “hereby demand” that it open a counter-investigation…
Indicted FBI Agent Has Exhausted Personal Savings For Forensic Experts in Oregon Case
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Indicted FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita has exhausted his personal savings to pay for his own forensic experts and has sought some federal funds to cover additional expenses, his attorney said in court, The Oregonian newspaper reports. On Monday, Astarita sat in a U.S. District Court hearing in Portland listening to government…
Late Night Host Seth Meyers Weighs in on Trump’s Spy Allegations, Don Jr.
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Some of the late night comics have not been kind to President Donald Trump. That certainly includes Seth Meyers, who weighs in on the president’s claims about an FBI spy in the 2016 campaign, his Twitter rants and Donald Trump Jr.’s activity.
Stefan A. Halper, the FBI Source at the Center of a Controversy
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com It’s no longer a secret: Stefan A. Halper is the FBI source who assisted the Russia investigation, the Washington Post reports. He’s at the center of a standoff between congressional Republicans and the Justice Department. The Post describes him as a well-connected veteran of past GOP administrations who convened senior intelligence…
Border Patrol Agent in Montana Admits He Asked For ID Because Women Were Speaking Spanish
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Two U.S. citizens were stopped and questioned by a Border Patrol agent last week at a northern Montana gas station in the town of Havre because they were speaking Spanish, KRTV reports. Ana Suda, a native of Texas who lives in Havre, stopped with a friend at a Town Pump store…