By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com President Donald Trump’s attacks on federal law enforcement and the intelligence agencies have been persistent and consistent since taking office. Natasha Bertrand of The Atlantic writes: In the 22 months since the FBI launched its counterintelligence investigation into potential coordination between members of Trump’s campaign and Russia, Trump has attacked his…
By Judge Andrew Napolitano Fox News Readers of this page are well aware of the revelations during the past six months of spying by the National Security Agency (NSA). Edward Snowden, a former employee of an NSA vendor, risked his life and liberty to inform us of a governmental conspiracy to violate our right to…
By David Corn Mother Jones WASHINGTON — The pending nomination of James Comey to become FBI chief is a poke in the eye with a very sharp stick for the Cheney crowd. Comey, deputy attorney general during the W. years, has drawn criticism from civil libertarians for being part of an administration that waterboarded (though…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com In coming weeks we’re likely to hear comments — pro and con — for the nomination of James Comey for FBI director. Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, issued a statement Friday saying that that anticipated nomination deserves some scrutiny. ‘Specifically, the publicly available evidence…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com President Obama appears to have opted for a former Justice Department official from the Bush days to head the FBI. The New York Times, citing a person with knowledge of the selection, reported that James B. Comey, a hedge fund executive and a former senior Justice Department official under President…
Kurt Eichenwald, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a former reporter for The New York Times, is the author of “500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars.” By KURT EICHENWALD New York Times IT was perhaps the most famous presidential briefing in history. On Aug. 6, 2001, President George W. Bush received…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The DEA’s commando style squads that were established during the Bush years to battle Taliban-linked drug traffickers in Afghanistan are operating in regions far beyond that war zone, field, according to the New York Times. The Times reports that the DEA now has five commando-style squads that have been “quietly deploying for…
By Carrie Johnson NPR WASHINGTON — A top political appointee in the Obama Justice Department says he made a “mistake” when he didn’t flag questionable tactics used by federal agents in a gun-trafficking case for his superiors last year. Lanny A. Breuer, assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division, told NPR he found…
