Sam Sacks - page 15

The Department of Justice received 37 allegations of illegal leaks within the federal government last year, almost double the number reported in 2015. Despite several measures put in place by former President Obama to prevent illegal disclosures, the latest figures track closely with a leak trend dating back to 2009. Since that year, the DOJ has received 39.7 leak crime reports on average every year. The 2016 figures were released on Monday in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from investigative journalists Steven… Keep Reading

A prisoner’s bid to end a fifteen-year stint at Guantanamo Bay, by arguing that the war in Afghanistan was over, had his hopes dashed in a federal court this week. Moath al-Alwi, captured in 2001, argued that statements made by the previous administration, suggesting hostilities in Afghanistan had ceased, meant that prisoners of war from that conflict should be freed, in accordance with long-established law of war principles. Alwi’s legal team specifically cited statements made by former President Obama in 2015. One was made during his annual State… Keep Reading

Another Department of Justice informant program is under scrutiny following a New York Times report disclosing the existence of an undercover financing operation–this one involving illegal cigarette sales. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) enlisted the help of a Virginia tobacco distributor in 2011, to swindle a farmers’ cooperative out of $24 million. Some of the money was then used to finance ATF undercover activities, including $1 million payments each to two owners of the distribution company. The Times expose was… Keep Reading

Homeland Security chief John Kelly issued a memo to department leadership Monday, outlining how agencies will implement anti-immigration executive orders given last month by President Trump. The guidance broadens the criteria of individuals eligible for removal from the country. It also loosens restrictions on immediate deportations, and orders Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offices to reallocate funding away from immigration advocacy programs. The move also allows for the hiring of 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and for the dismantling of safeguards erected for undocumented immigrants during… Keep Reading

A report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Tuesday revealed that federal agencies are dragging their feet establishing necessary safeguards against cyber attacks. The government watchdog noted that it has over recent years made about 2,500 recommendations to agencies to bolster their cyber defenses. “As of February 2017,” the report went on to state, “about 1,000 of our information security-related recommendations had not been implemented.” Federal information security, protecting critical infrastructure, and defending the government’s store of personally identifiable information are all listed as “high… Keep Reading

The fledgling Trump administration is already dealing with a high-profile resignation. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn stepped down on Monday night, amid reporting that he broke the law during a December phone call with a Russian ambassador, and then lied about it. In his resignation letter, Flynn admitted only that he “inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information.” As late as Monday afternoon, it had appeared Flynn’s job might be safe. White House advisor Kelly Ann Conway claimed on MSNBC that… Keep Reading

Violent crime rates are at a near 20-year low, but the President of the United States tasked his newly sworn-in Attorney General to get a hold of the “gang members and drug dealers terrorizing” the nation. Former Sen. Jeff Session (R-Ala.) was sworn in during a ceremony in the Oval Office on Thursday. Afterward, President Trump signed three executive orders that he described as “designed to restore safety in America.” One measure directs the Department of Justice to create a task force on reducing violent… Keep Reading

Appearing before a congressional panel on Tuesday, the Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly proposed requiring foreign travelers to the US to provide immigration officers with social media account log-ins. Kelly faced questioning on the issue from Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), who urged the department to “increase its efforts to dig into” social media activity of visa applicants. The DHS chief concurred, stating that he was looking into “enhanced” screening, regardless of the current order blocking implantation of President Trump’s Muslim ban. “If someone wants to… Keep Reading