Jerry Seper

Probes of Coleman payments sought

Sen. Norm Coleman is facing calls for investigations by the FBI and the Senate ethics committee into allegations that a major fundraiser and longtime friend illegally diverted thousands of dollars to the Minnesota Republican. Published November 14, 2008

FBI asked questions on Rezko land deal

A former Illinois real estate specialist says FBI agents have questioned him about a Chicago property bought by convicted felon Tony Rezko's wife and later sold to the couple's next-door neighbor, Sen. Barack Obama. Published November 4, 2008

Obama Berlin speech cost $700K

Sen. Barack Obama paid a German company nearly $700,000 for staging, sound and lighting services at the time he delivered a speech this past summer in Berlin. Published November 1, 2008

Obama spent nearly $700,000 for stage, lights in Berlin

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama paid a German company nearly $700,000 for staging, sound and lighting services at a time he delivered a speech this summer in which he declared himself a "citizen" of both the U.S. and the world. Published October 31, 2008

Bank victims blame Obama fundraiser

Billionaire hotel heiress Penny Pritzker, one of the former top officials of a failed subprime bank, leads the record-breaking fundraising machine of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. Published October 29, 2008

Two charged in plot to kill Obama, 101 others

Two suspected skinheads have been charged in Tennessee with making threats against Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama as the finale of a planned "killing spree" that targeted 102 blacks, 14 of whom were to be beheaded, according to court records made public Monday. Published October 28, 2008

Two charged in plot to kill Obama

Two suspected skinheads have been charged in Tennessee with making threats against Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama as the finale of a planned "killing spree" that targeted 102 blacks, 14 of whom were to be beheaded, according to court records made public Monday. Published October 27, 2008

Complaint hits Rezko land deal

EXCLUSIVE: A former Illinois bank official says bank officials replaced a loan reappraisal for a Chicago property bought by the wife of now-convicted felon Tony Rezko, part of which was later sold to next-door neighbor Barack Obama. Published October 18, 2008

Mexican soldiers crossed clear line

EXCLUSIVE -- The nation's border czar has concluded that Mexican soldiers who held a border patrol agent at gunpoint did so after bypassing a barbed-wire fence and other clearly visible barriers to cross into the U.S. Published October 14, 2008

Spread of gangs tied to border-control

A "dangerous side effect" of America's failure to control the Southwest border and the nation's tolerance for high levels of illegal immigration has resulted in the spread of violent transnational gangs across the United States, including Maryland, Virginia and Washington, a report says. Published October 3, 2008

Palins’ finances unusual for Alaskans

Despite Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her family's introduction to the nation as small-town common folk, a check of financial records shows they live anything but a common life when compared with their fellow residents of Wasilla. Published September 30, 2008

Plan to secure U.S. borders still ‘ambiguous’

A multiyear, multibillion-dollar Homeland Security plan to better secure the nation's borders by giving front-line agents updated surveillance systems, enhanced communications and improved intelligence technologies remains "ambiguous and in a continued state of flux," a government report said. Published September 25, 2008

Border Patrol agents lose last appeal over shot smuggler

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans denied a request Thursday for a rehearing in an appeal by two U.S. Border Patrol agents who received lengthy prison terms for shooting a drug-smuggling suspect in the buttocks as he fled Texas into Mexico. Published September 12, 2008

EXCLUSIVE: Border drug wars threaten U.S.

An escalating turf fight between warring drug cartels in Mexico is spreading into the United States with federal officials warning that deadly shootouts and ambushes along the southwestern border pose a serious threat to both U.S. law enforcement and American citizens, according to a confidential multi-agency government report. Published September 3, 2008

Palin aides welcome Alaska probe

Aides to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin say they welcome a prosecutor's probe into whether her administration improperly sought the firing of a state trooper who had divorced the governor's sister - an investigation that could distract from Mrs. Palin's bid to become vice president. Published August 30, 2008

Palin: “Nothing to hide” from prosecutor’s probe

Aides to Alaska Gov. Sara Palin say they welcome a prosecutor's probe into whether her administration improperly sought the firing of a state trooper who had divorced the governor's sister — an investigation that could distract from Mrs. Palin's bid to become vice president. Published August 29, 2008

Bush urged to block Mexican military

The U.S. Border Patrol's largest union local has asked President Bush to put an end to the scores of Mexican military incursions into the United States that have put Border Patrol agents at risk of being injured or killed. Published August 28, 2008

Longtime Biden backer linked to Rezko

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., named over the weekend by presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama as his running mate, has long-standing ties to a Chicago businessman and prominent Obama fundraiser convicted this year in a federal probe that also nabbed a top Biden political supporter. Published August 28, 2008

Medical supplier hits bribery probe

A large medical equipment supplier says the federal government is harassing it as part of an investigation into whether the corporation paid bribes or submitted false claims for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. Published August 26, 2008

Biden’s ascension to elder statesman

When Joe Biden was a junior in high school, he looked through a book listing members of Congress and he knew he wanted to grace its pages one day. Published August 25, 2008