Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The NSA’s deputy director has expressed skepticism about giving the FBI, DEA and other law enforcement access to the agency’s troves of data, the Guardian reports. NSA’s top civilian, John C. Inglis, said he was unaware of a Senate bill that would allow some law enforcement to search directly through the NSA’s…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Few people know al Qaeda and its former leader Osama Bin Laden quite like Jack Cloonan. Radio host Steve Leser interviewed Cloonan, the senior case agent in the FBI Bin Laden Squad, on Blog Talk Radio. Five years before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Cloonan was working on intelligence about the terrorist…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Jeh Johnson is about to be in the crosshairs of combative Republican senators. President Obama’s pick for Homeland Security secretary will soon face a confirmation hearing in which he’ll likely be grilled over his role in drone strikes, the National Journal reports. Johnson also faces tough questions about immigration, terrorism and Guantanamo…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI officially named Andrew McCabe to its top national security post. The long-time terrorism investigator was promoted to assistant director of the National Security Branch, which oversees terrorism-related intelligence, the FBI announced. McCabe, who began his career in 1996 with the bureau’s organized crime squad in New York, was the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Speaking for the first time publicly about the budget challenges, new FBI Director James Comey said it will become increasingly difficult to fight crime because of the spending cuts, CBS Philly reports. Congressional spending cuts may have catastrophic consequences for the FBI as it faces more pressure to fight violent crime and…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A few days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Anas al Libi was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list. The reward – $25 million, the same amount offered for the capture of Osama bin Laden. On Saturday, authorities finally captured al Libi in Libya, accusing him of being one of the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Lawmakers are trying to expand the surveillance powers of intelligence agencies to make spying more seamless when a terror suspect enters the U.S., the Associated Press reports. The idea is to close the gap between NSA and FBI electronic surveillance, which occurs because of different legal standards between the two agencies. That…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The stream of young Somali Americans joining terrorists in Somalia continues to flow despite an attempt by authorities to cut off money to support terrorism, the Associated Press reports. The population is concentrated in Minnesota, where Somali Americans have been leaving to join al-Shabab in Somalia for six years. At least 22…
