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….
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The state and justice departments have no intention of investigating complaints of human rights violations and other misconduct by DEA agents in Honduras, the Washington Times reports. At issue is the May 2012 deaths of four Honduran villagers during an anti-drug operation along the Carribean coast. Some lawmakers and human-rights groups have…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Jimmy Fox III, head of the DEA in New Orleans, is the subject of an internal investigation, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The paper reports he may have violated some ethics laws when he put in a bid to oversee sweeping reforms in the police department that had been ordered under…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Washington state residents who smoke pot today in celebration of the first day of marijuana decriminalization better be on the watch for federal authorities, the Justice Department said Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. “Regardless of any changes in state law, including the change that will go into effect on Dec. 6 in…
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…..
