By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Widespread corruption, misconduct and abusive behavior were found in Alabama’s prison system following a six-month investigation by a nonprofit law firm. Now the firm, the Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative, is urging the Justice Department to conduct a formal investigation, the Montgomery Advertiser reports. Alleging extreme violence, security problems and a culture…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Few people in law enforcement played as key a role as John Doar in protecting civil liberties of African Americans. A top civil rights lawyer for the Justice Department in the 1960s, Doar died Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. He was 92 and had congestive heart failure in New York. Doar…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com President Obama has nominated Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, 55, to replace Eric Holder as attorney general. She would be the first black woman to head up the department. Attorney General Eric Holder released a statement Saturday: “Loretta Lynch is an extraordinarily talented attorney, a dedicated public servant, and a leader…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Three top officials in the Justice Department played a role in getting their relatives paid paid internships, the New York Daily News reports. Executive Office for Immigration Review Director Juan Osuna, Board of Immigration Appeals Chairman David Neal and Chief Immigration Judge Brian O’Leary each helped relatives get the jobs, according…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com After resisting for years, the Justice Department finally sent Congress 64,280 pages of documents involving the botched Fast and Furious investigation on Tuesday, the Washington Times reports. The disclosure prompted Republicans to assert that President Obama was acknowledging he had withheld the documents illegally by claiming executive privilege. The House of…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The next U.S. attorney general may be the deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, the New York Post reports, citing “well-placed sources.” The short list of candidates to replace Attorney General Eric Holder is Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban-American lawyer. “He’s one of the top candidates. He has all the qualifications…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI is seeking new authority to hack into computers and spy on their users, the Guardian reports. The Justice Department is requesting that an obscure regulatory advisory board change the rules of searches and seizures. The two will meet Nov. 5. Civil liberties groups claim the new rules would violate…
By David A. Schulz For Washington Post As Eric Holder reflects on his six years as attorney general, one disturbing aspect of his legacy should give him significant pause. On Holder’s watch, legal protections traditionally afforded to communications between reporters and sources have been torn down, potentially damaging for years to come the media’s ability…
