Weekend Series on Crime History: J. Edgar Hoover Testifies on the Hill About Gambling
httpv://youtu.be/PpYwX7cHk2c
Congress
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Justice Department Faces Serious Cuts If Sequestration Isn’t Avoided Today
Steve Neavling ticklethewire The Justice Department faces $1.6 billion in cuts – nearly 10% of it budget – if Congress and the White House can’t reach an agreement on the nation’s spending plan by later today, NPR reports. Obama earlier warned of big cuts to federal law enforcement. “FBI Agents will be furloughed,” Obama warned….
ATF Revitalization Plans Face Opposition
By Sari Horwitz and Peter Finn Washington Post WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s plans to energize the embattled agency that regulates the firearms industry and investigates gun violence are already running into trouble on Capitol Hill, foreshadowing the difficulties facing the president as he moves to advance his gun-control agenda. President Obama announced his…
Editorial: ATF Left Without Teeth to Enforce Gun Laws
San Francisco Chronicle Editorial One of the gun lobby’s favorite mantras is that the nation doesn’t need any more laws to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals; it needs to start by enforcing those that are on the books. But that argument evaporates upon closer inspection of the federal government’s systems for tracking and…
Former FBI Cybersecurity Official Steven Chabinsky Thinks FBI is Doing Great Job, But Government Could Do Better
The FBI’s former top attorney for cybersecurity, Steven Chabinsky, who stepped down this month, thinks the FBI is doing a great job battling the problem, but told the Washington Post that the “federal government” has taken a “failed approach” by focusing on reducing vulnerabilities rather than actively deterring attackers. Ticklethewire.com, in summing up the Washington…
Attorney: Congressman Buchanan No Longer Investigated for Improper Donations
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The U.S. Justice Department does not plan to pursue charges against U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan following an 11-month investigation, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. Buchanan’s attorneys said Tuesday that the Justice Department notified him that it’s ending the investigation into the whether Buchanan pressured a former business partner to sign a false affidavit…
Some Congress Members Question Whether Homeland Security Overstepped Its Authority
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Some members of Congress are questioning the legality of Homeland Security seizing domains and taking down URLs accused of copyright infringement, CNET reports. Among the concerns are that Homeland Security is “seizing the domain names of websites whose actions and content are presumed to be lawful, protected speech,” some Congress members…
Fewer FBI Agents, Border Patrol Officers Under Budget Cuts
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Washington’s funding crisis likely will mean fewer FBI agents and border patrol officers as Congress tries to cut $55 billion from domestic programs, the Associated Press reports. The across-the-board, 8%-12% cuts are set to go into effect Jan. 2. It’s unclear, however, whether those cuts would remain as Republicans and Democrats try to…