By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The FBI has named two new special agents in charge: David J. Johnson for Utah and Gregory A. Fowler for Portland, Ore. Since 2009, Johnson, who has a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh, has been the chief of the Violent Crimes Section in the Criminal Investigative Division at headquarters….
By The New York Times Editorial Page Republicans and Democrats are championing bills to further militarize the prosecution of terrorists, beyond anything even President George W. Bush proposed. They want Americans to believe the legislation will keep the country safer. In fact, these bills could end up tying the hands of F.B.I. agents and other…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III began the process on Wednesday of getting a two- year extension when he appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Committee is considering a bill that would extend his stay two years beyond the 10-year term, which expires in September. Currently legislation limits the term…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Portland prosecutors in the 2010 attempted bombing of a Christmas tree lighting ceremony to hand over a faulty FBI battery and recording device used in the case, The Oregonian newspaper reported. The prosecution said it already had turned over 6,000 pages of documents. The defense…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com A Yemen native who tried twice ramming open the cockpit door of American Airlines Flight 1561 bound for San Francisco Sunday night, and yelled “God is great” in Arabic, remained behind bars, the Associated Press reported. A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday ordered Rageh Al-Murisi, 28, of California, detained….
By The Portland Tribune Editorial PORTLAND, Ore. — In 2005 the Portland City Council voted to pull out of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force – leaving not only Portland, but also the region, with a void of local engagement in investigating and preventing acts of terrorism. That absence should end this week as the…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Goodbye Code Orange, Code Yellow. We’ll hardly miss ya. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is set Wednesday to announce the new terrorism advisory warnings that will replace the color coded ones many citizens became numb to. Authorities said they will include a clear statement on the nature of the threat,…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Sixteen years ago today, America was served up one horrific surprise: The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City: 168 people died. It was shocker. At the time — April 19, 1995 – as a reporter at the Detroit News, I called around to federal law enforcement people,…
