Justice Department

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Bankrupt Lender's Audit Lapses 'Mind Boggling'

Bankrupt subprime lender, auditor ripped in report on business practices

(Newser) - Auditors at now-bankrupt New Century Financial—once one of the nation’s largest subprime lenders and one of the earliest to fail—were accused of “mind boggling” lapses in a Justice Department report on the debacle released yesterday. Partners at accounting firm KPMG are said to have ignored “...

Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle
 Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle 
Mar 24, 2008 3:32 PM CDT

Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle

Justice Dept. doesn't see threat to competition; FCC must still weigh in

(Newser) - The Justice Department today approved the proposed merger between satellite radio firms Sirius and XM, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FCC must still sign off, but the pair appears to have allayed antitrust concerns about the merger of the industry's two largest companies by arguing that they face competition...

Feds Defend Tough Pursuit of Spitzer

Corruption fears spurred unusually zealous hunt

(Newser) - The Justice Department's unusual pursuit of the Emperor's Club—and its most famous client—grew out of suspicions of corruption, not moral turpitude, department officials tell the New York Times. Agents tailed Eliot Spitzer, tapped his phone, and pored over his financial records, steps more costly and intrusive than prostitution...

Court Hears Gun Case Today
 Court Hears Gun Case Today 
Mar 18, 2008 9:08 AM CDT

Court Hears Gun Case Today

Nation's firearms laws in the balance as Supremes hear arguments

(Newser) - One of the oldest and most hotly debated constitutional amendments—the right to bear arms—comes under scrutiny by the Supreme Court today. The court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of Washington DC's stringent ban on handguns. The ruling, which will arrive in June, is sure to have a...

Audit Slams FBI Over Terror Watch List

Agency provides inaccurate, outdated info on suspects

(Newser) - The FBI provides inaccurate information about suspects on the nation's terror watch list, leaving innocent people on it too long and failing to provide timely updates about those who pose genuine threats, a Justice Department audit shows. The FBI says it will fix the problems within 6 months, the AP...

US Families Sue Chiquita Over FARC Murders

Claim protection cash to Colombia rebels tied to missionary slayings

(Newser) - Fruit giant Chiquita stands accused in a federal lawsuit of contributing to the deaths of five US missionaries at the hands of Colombian rebel group FARC during the 1990s, the Wall Street Journal reports today. Families of the missionaries say protection money the Cincinnati-based company admitted to secretly paying the...

Dems Slam Ashcroft for 'Backroom' $52M Contract

Ex-AG denies charges in House hearing

(Newser) - John Ashcroft angrily denied congressional Democrats' allegations today that a lucrative no-bid contract the Justice Department awarded him represents a conflict of interest, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Democrats characterized the contract as a “backroom sweetheart deal” because Ashcroft's ex-subordinates selected his firm to monitor a medical supply company...

Feds Forge National Crime Dragnet
Feds Forge National Crime Dragnet
Mar 6, 2008 11:23 AM CST

Feds Forge National Crime Dragnet

Link data of local police agencies for instantaneous search

(Newser) - Law enforcement agencies all over the country are building a new information "dragnet" that will dramatically boost data-sharing,  the Washington Post reports. This month the Justice Department will begin hooking up local and county police forces to the new federal National Data Exchange, creating a "one-stop-shop" that...

FBI Begins Clemens Probe
FBI Begins Clemens Probe
Feb 28, 2008 5:59 PM CST

FBI Begins Clemens Probe

Agency looking into allegations pitcher lied to Congress about steroids

(Newser) - The FBI today began investigating whether Roger Clemens committed perjury when he told Congress that he never used performance-enhancing drugs, Bloomberg reports. The agency opened a preliminary review one day after a House panel told the Justice Department it suspected Clemens of lying. The pitcher insists he never took steroids...

1 in 100 Americans in Prison
1 in 100 Americans in Prison
Feb 28, 2008 2:45 PM CST

1 in 100 Americans in Prison

'Tough on crime' proving expensive stance as state resources dwindle, study reports

(Newser) - One American adult out of 100 is incarcerated, a new study shows—the first time in US history such a high proportion of the population is behind bars. The Pew Center on the States reports the nationwide prison population grew by 25,000 last year, to 1.6 million, with...

House Panel May Go After Clemens on Perjury

Panel drafts letter asking Justice Dept. to investigate

(Newser) - The congressional panel that questioned Roger Clemens about steroids has drafted a letter asking the Justice Department to investigate whether he committed perjury, the New York Times reports. The letter doesn't name his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who testified the same day and insisted Clemens is lying, but that could...

Blogger Wins Award, Vindication
Blogger Wins Award, Vindication
Feb 25, 2008 1:00 PM CST

Blogger Wins Award, Vindication

Talking Points Memo founder captures Polk Award

(Newser) - The blogosphere is rejoicing in the news that “local boy” Joshua Micah Marshall garnered a George Polk Award for legal reporting. Marshall's Talking Points Memo blog is the first Internet-only operation to win the award, and many bloggers see that as validation, reports the New York Times. Marshall won...

Wiretaps Continue Under Lapsed Law
Wiretaps Continue Under Lapsed Law
Feb 24, 2008 11:31 AM CST

Wiretaps Continue Under Lapsed Law

Nervous phone firms agree to cooperate with government

(Newser) - US spy agencies are continuing wiretap surveillance despite the fact that a law re-authorizing the administration's controversial program failed to pass a divided legislature last weekend. Telecommunications companies are cooperating with the government despite concerns, Reuters reports. Wiretaps will resume under the current law "at least for now,"...

Police Seek Broader DNA Database
Police Seek Broader DNA Database
Feb 23, 2008 3:02 PM CST

Police Seek Broader DNA Database

US wants to follow UK's lead and track down suspects' relatives

(Newser) - US law enforcement currently catalogs 5.6 million DNA profiles, about 2% of Americans, but hopes to expand that and the scope of their searches, the Wall Street Journal reports. A bigger database would allow "familial searches"—looking for near matches of a suspect's brother or sister, for...

DOJ Probes Itself Over Torture Memos

Ethics chief reveals inquiry into advice that OK'd waterboarding

(Newser) - The Department of Justice is probing its own legal approval of waterboarding for the CIA, the New York Times reports. DOJ ethics chief H. Marshall Jarrett confirmed today that his office is conducting the first public inquiry of the 5-year-old advice and may issue a non-classified report when it is...

Blackwater Probers Return to Baghdad

Feds investigate massacre that killed 17, seek trial in US

(Newser) - Federal authorities investigating the Blackwater shootings that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead will revisit the scene of the massacre this week. Prosecutors from the Justice Department have already arrived in Baghdad, to be joined by inspectors from the FBI. But the inquiry has been hamstrung by the American government's promise...

Waterboarding Is Illegal: Justice Dept.

Legal expert to tell House committee it's no longer acceptable

(Newser) - A top Justice Department official will declare to a House subcommittee today that waterboarding is no longer legal—a day after Congress defied President Bush's veto threat to explicitly outlaw the controversial interrogation tactic. "The set of interrogation methods authorized for current use is narrower than before, and it...

Bush: 'No Place in America' For Lynching Jokes

President says noose displays aren't harmless pranks

(Newser) - President Bush said today that Americans should agree that noose displays and lynching jokes are “deeply offensive.” “They are wrong and they have no place in America today,” Bush said at a Black History Month event at the White House. The Justice Department is investigating noose...

Senate Grills Mukasey Today on Waterboarding

Mukasey warns he'll stonewall on questions about legality

(Newser) - A high-noon face off is looming today between Attorney General Michael Mukasey and the Senate Judiciary Committee over waterboarding, the simulated drowning interrogation technique that many consider torture. Committee chair Patrick Leahy said Mukasey faces "serious questions" on the issue at today's hearing. But Mukasey has warned Leahy in...

Blackwater Probe Hits Roadblocks
Blackwater Probe Hits Roadblocks
Jan 16, 2008 11:33 AM CST

Blackwater Probe Hits Roadblocks

DOJ runs up against immunity deal, possible gaps in US law

(Newser) - The Justice Department warned Congress last month that major legal obstacles stand in the way of any prosecution of private security firm Blackwater for a September shooting in Iraq, the New York Times reports. Immunity granted by the State Department to Blackwater employees represents a possible roadblock; Justice also has...

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