By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Justice Department’s powerful Public Integrity section, which investigates politicians and judges, has a new leader, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. U.S. Attorney Jack Smith, who has been a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, brings a wealth of background and knowledge to the position. Smith was a criminal prosecutor, for example, in…
By Ellen Glasser President, Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI Throughout its history, the FBI has accepted its responsibility to serve and protect the American people. At times, this responsibility draws intense scrutiny. As former agents, we understand and accept such scrutiny because we know the public trust is earned. Last week,…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com In an unusual move for a city, Baltimore’s mayor is asking for a full-scale civil rights investigation into alleged abuse within the police department following a riot over the police-involved death of Freddie Gray and other black suspects. “We all know that Baltimore continues to have a fractured relationship between the…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A state Justice Department employee was among three people arrested for allegedly operating an underground police force in California. Brandon Kiel, 31, of South Los Angeles, was charged with seven counts of impersonating a police officer and is on administrative leave, SignalSCV.com reports. “We cannot comment on the ongoing personnel matter…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Justice Department plans to help police departments equip officers with body cameras, The Washington Post reports. The DOJ is launching a pilot program to determine the impact of the cameras, which come at a time when protesters nationwide are accusing police of unlawful force and racism. The plan is to…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Less than two years after prosecutors discovered a pattern of racial discrimination, the nation’s largest sheriff’s department reached a sweeping agreement Tuesday with the Justice Department to restore civil rights. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the deal 4-1 after patterns of abuse were found, including unlawful stops and…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com New Attorney General Loretta Lynch received her first big test after riots broke out in Baltimore this week. Lynch, the first black female attorney general, released a statement soon after violence broke out, examining what happened and “going beyond the criminal civil right investigations” launched last week by her predecessor Eric…
By Hemp Today A 2013 Department of Justice memorandum designed to prioritize the goals of anti-marijuana legislation should shield Indian tribes who are looking at growing hemp as an industrial crop, former ND Federal Prosecutor Timothy Purdon said. The so-called “Cole memo” is a policy statement based on Deputy U.S. Attorney General James M. Cole’s…
