By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The Justice Department whacked BP Exploration and Production Inc. The company agreed to plead guilty to felony manslaughter, environmental crimes and obstruction of Congress and pay a record $4.5 billion in criminal fines and penalties for its roll in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 people and caused the…
By Jeff Stein Spy Talk WASHINGTON –– Is John Kiriakou a leaker or a patriotic whistleblower? Some rare, public name-calling among lawyers close to the case has broken out over the question. Some of the ex-CIA man’s most fervent supporters claim the government is persecuting a patriot who helped expose CIA water boarding and the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A nearly 20-year decline in violence has come to an end, according to a federal survey on crimes, the USA Today reports. The violent crime rate rose 17% last year, while the rate of property crimes increased 11%, according to the Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey. Whether the rise was anomalous…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Three members of Congress are increasingly putting pressure on Attorney General Eric Holder to explain the U.S. Attorney’s dysfunctional relationship with the Reno-based ATF office, Main Justice reports. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada has refused to prosecute ATF cases in the Reno office, leaving as many as a dozen cases untouched…..
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The North Carolina sheriff accused of targeting Latinos in illegal arrests won’t reach a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, his attorney said, the Associated Press reports. Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson did nothing wrong and his deputies never discriminated against Latinos, his attorney S.C. Kitchen told government officials Wednesday, according to…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI and DEA have stepped in to help investigate weapons cases after federal prosecutors in Nevada stopped working with the ATF, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports. But the newspaper said neither agency is probing firearm sales or trafficking cases, leaving the state with little protection. Gun data obtained by the Gazette-Journal shows…
By Allan Lengel For Deadline Detroit DETROIT — More than two years after he was indicted by the feds, and four years after he resigned in disgrace as mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick steps into the legal ring in federal court Friday, ready to do battle as he tries to stay free and remain with his wife…
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…
