Jerry Seper

Holder tells Cornyn in faceoff on gunrunning he won’t quit

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday came under a withering attack from Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee over his handling of the botched "Fast and Furious" gunrunning investigation, including a call by one senior committee member for his resignation. Published June 12, 2012

Puerto Rico-based cartel indicted for cocaine smuggling

Members and associates of a Puerto Rico-based drug cartel have been indicted by a federal grand jury in an international scheme to smuggle cocaine into the United States and transport illicit drug profits back to Puerto Rico, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said Wednesday. Published June 6, 2012

Papers show Justice was told about tactics in gunrunning

Court-sealed wiretap applications obtained by a House committee show that senior Justice Department officials in Washington, contrary to previous denials, were given specific information about the "reckless tactics" in the botched Fast and Furious gunrunning investigation, the panel's chairman said Tuesday. Published June 5, 2012

Issa: Officials had information about ‘reckless tactics’ in ‘Fast and Furious’

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday said new documents show that senior Justice Department officials in Washington, despite their previous denials, were given "specific information about reckless tactics" in the botched "Fast and Furious" gunrunning investigation. Published June 5, 2012

Bias charge costs SunTrust $21M

SunTrust Mortgage Inc., a subsidiary of the nation's 11th-largest commercial bank, agreed Thursday to pay $21 million to resolve a Justice Department lawsuit accusing the company of a pattern or practice of discrimination that increased loan prices for qualified black and Hispanic borrowers. Published May 31, 2012

Government steps up its mortgage fraud probe

The Justice Department has expanded its ongoing effort to uncover the mortgage fraud and abuse that helped precipitate the 2008 financial crisis, offering "substantial financial help" to corporate insiders willing to serve as whistleblowers. Published May 24, 2012

ICE deports Bosnian-Serb police officer charged in genocide

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deported a former Bosnian-Serb police commander wanted in his native country for genocide and atrocities against thousands of Bosnian Muslims, capping what ICE officials called a successful effort to investigate the case and remove him from the United States. Published May 24, 2012

Justice honors five for efforts to rescue missing children

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole paid tribute Wednesday to five persons during a National Missing Children's Day ceremony at the Justice Department, presenting awards to a special agent, a detective, a 30-year veteran of the Postal Service, a prosecutor and a fifth-grader for their efforts in recovering and rescuing missing children. Published May 23, 2012

Four GOP lawmakers hit Holder on guns operation

Four senior House Republicans say Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has not fully cooperated with a congressional subpoena seeking information on the botched "Fast and Furious" gunrunning operation and suggested the nation's top prosecutor comply with a 7-month-old subpoena or face the consequences. Published May 20, 2012

FBI probes bomb plot leaks

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told a Senate committee Wednesday the bureau is investigating the source of leaks about a plot by al Qaeda terrorists to place a sophisticated explosive device aboard a U.S.-bound airliner. Published May 16, 2012

Leahy wants investigation into Arizona sheriff’s tactics

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to find out if taxpayer dollars received by Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office through a federal grant program were used by his deputies to illegally detain Hispanics whom the government alleges were the victims of racial profiling. Published May 15, 2012

Feds pick legal fight with Sheriff Arpaio

The Justice Department, which first targeted Sheriff Joe Arpaio four years ago over his handling of illegal immigrants arrested in the Phoenix area, filed a civil lawsuit in federal court Thursday accusing the sheriff and his office of "unconstitutional and unlawful actions" against Hispanics. Published May 10, 2012

Justice Dept. accuses Ariz. Sheriff Arpaio of racial profiling

The Justice Department, which first targeted Sheriff Joe Arpaio four years ago in his suspected mishandling of illegal immigrants arrested in the Phoenix area, filed a civil lawsuit in federal court Thursday accusing the sheriff and his office using "unconstitutional and unlawful actions" in their handling of Hispanics. Published May 10, 2012

FBI chief urges restoration of searches without warrants

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III on Wednesday urged the reauthorization of an act passed by Congress in 2008 — but slated to expire at the end of this year — that gives federal authorities the ability to conduct warrantless searches. Published May 9, 2012

Border Patrol adapting to new threats

Just eight months after Defense Department officials complained in a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that there was "no comprehensive Southwest border security strategy" in place, the U.S. Border Patrol unveiled a new strategy Tuesday that relies on helicopters and unmanned aerial drones and targets repeat offenders. Published May 8, 2012

Administration making ‘progress’ in fighting sex trafficking

Sex trafficking is a big moneymaker for criminals and a scourge to society, a top Justice Department official said Thursday, adding that traffickers callously seek to furnish their market with "women, girls and boys who have been cast out by society and whose options are few." Published May 3, 2012

Contempt resolution drafted on Holder

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee gave panel members a draft of a contempt of Congress resolution against Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., citing the "refusal" of the nation's top prosecutor to cooperate in an investigation of the botched Fast and Furious gunrunning operation. Published May 3, 2012

Issa issues draft of resolution of contempt against Holder over ‘Fast and Furious’

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has circulated to committee members a draft of a contempt of Congress resolution against Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., citing the "refusal" of the nation's top prosecutor to cooperate in an investigation of the botched "Fast and Furious" gunrunning operation. Published May 3, 2012

Medical professionals charged with fraud involving Medicare

A strike force of federal, state and local agents and investigators, led by the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, has charged 107 persons in seven cities with Medicare fraud involving more than $452 million in false billings, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Wednesday. Published May 2, 2012

ATF will investigate plant fire in Illinois

A special team of arson and explosives experts has been dispatched by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to East Joliet, Ill., to determine the cause of a fire Sunday at a galvanizing plant — the largest in the U.S. and the second largest in the world — that caused more than $20 million in damage. Published May 1, 2012