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FBI Would Rather Prosecutors Drop Cases than Disclose Stingray Details

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Photo Credit: arstechnica

Photo Credit: arstechnica

Not only is the FBI actively attempting to stop the public from knowing about stingrays, it has also forced local law enforcement agencies to stay quiet even in court and during public hearings, too.

An FBI agreement, published for the first time in unredacted form on Tuesday, clearly demonstrates the full extent of the agency’s attempt to quash public disclosure of information about stingrays. The most egregious example of this is language showing that the FBI would rather have a criminal case be dropped to protect secrecy surrounding the stingray.

Ars previously published a redacted version of this document in February 2015, which had been acquired by the Minneapolis Star Tribune in December 2014. The fact that these two near-identical documents exist from the same year (2012) provides even more evidence that this language is boilerplate and likely exists in other agreements with other law enforcement agencies nationwide.

The new document, which was released Tuesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) in response to its March 2015 victory in a lawsuit filed against the Erie County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) in Northwestern New York, includes this paragraph:

In order to ensure that such wireless collection equipment/technology continues to be available for use by the law enforcement community, the equipment/technology and any information related to its functions, operation and use shall be protected from potential compromise by precluding disclosure of this information to the public in any manner including but not limited to: press releases, in court documents, during judicial hearings, or during other public forums or proceedings.

(Read more from “FBI Would Rather Prosecutors Drop Cases than Disclose Stingray Details” HERE)

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Reporter Shayrl Attkisson Suing Feds Over Illegal Surveillance of Her Cell Phone, Computer

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Former CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson has sued the Justice Department over the hacking of her computers, officially accusing the Obama administration of illegal surveillance while she was reporting on administration scandals.

In a series of legal filings that seek $35 million in damages, Attkisson alleges that three separate computer forensic exams showed that hackers used sophisticated methods to surreptitiously monitor her work between 2011 and 2013.

“I just think it’s important to send a message that people shouldn’t be victimized and throw up their hands and think there’s nothing they can do and they’re powerless,” Attkisson said in an interview.

The department has steadfastly denied any involvement in the hacking, saying in a 2013 statement: “To our knowledge, the Justice Department has never compromised Ms. Attkisson’s computers, or otherwise sought any information from or concerning any telephone, computer, or other media device she may own or use.”

In the lawsuit and related claims against the Postal Service, filed in Washington, Attkisson says the intruders installed and periodically refreshed software to steal data and obtain passwords on her home and work computers. She also charges that the hackers monitored her audio using a Skype account. (Read more about Sharyl Attkisson suing Obama Administration HERE)

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Fmr FBI Asst Director: ‘Race Provocateurs’ Incited Violence Towards Police

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Ronald T. Hosko — a former assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and current president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund — issued a statement Sunday condemning the brutal murder of two New York Police Department officers and placing the blame for their deaths on “race provocateurs.”

“While the criminal who shot these officers down is ultimately responsible for their murders, a thoughtful society must examine the social circumstances that fostered such outrageous criminal conduct,” Hosko stated. “To those who have chosen to incite violence against law enforcement through the reckless vilification of police officers — shame on you.”

Hosko then went on to single out racial activists, the media and even government officials for fostering a hostile anti-police sentiment that led to the deaths of two officers Saturday.

“From race provocateurs looking for five minutes of fame, to those in the media who wantonly mischaracterized and sensationalized recent criminal cases, to the government officials who have repeatedly made statements designed to undermine legitimate law enforcement efforts across our nation – it’s time to reexamine your own words and actions and take your share of responsibility,” the statement continued.

Read more from this story HERE.

Gun Sales Expected to Skyrocket on Black Friday, FBI Worried (+video)

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Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

From Cabela’s to Wal-Mart guns will be on sale a everywhere on Black Friday, and what better time is there to load up on a firearm? The manic shopping frenzy lands right before Christmas and right in the midst of deer hunting season.

With the expected increase in gun sales the Federal Bureau of Investigation is gearing up for a dense wave of background check requests. There are more than 48,000 gun retailers in the U.S., according to the Associated Press. For every sale, cashiers must call in a check to the FBI or to other approved agency to insure that the customer does not have a criminal record. When the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, was implemented in 1998, the FBI oversaw around 9 million checks. Last year that number inflated to more than 21 million.

Read more from this story HERE.

Two FBI Agents Have Been Shot in St. Louis During a Siege at a Residential Home Close to Protests

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

By Ted Thornhill.

Two FBI agents have been shot in St. Louis, near riot-ravaged Ferguson, after attending a siege at someone’s home.

The agents were injured by gunfire early on Wednesday morning after racing to investigate reports of a person barricaded inside a house on the intersection of North Hanley Road and Monroe Avenue.

The shooting occurred at 3.15am but their conditions aren’t known.

The suspect is a 33-year-old man, according to Fox TV’s John Pertzborn, but it’s not known if the incident is connected to the protests happening a few miles away.

News of the shooting comes after a second night of rioting in St Louis.

Read more from this story HERE.

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VIDEO: Will The Real Black Americans Please Stand Up

FBI Created Fake Seattle Times Web Page to Nab Bomb-Threat Suspect

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Photo Credit: GOP USAThe FBI in Seattle created a fake news story on a bogus Seattle Times web page to plant software in the computer of a suspect in a series of bomb threats to Lacey’s Timberline High School in 2007, according to documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in San Francisco.

The deception was publicized Monday when Christopher Soghoian, the principal technologist for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, D.C., revealed it on Twitter.

In an interview, Soghoian called the incident “outrageous” and said the practice could result in “significant collateral damage to the public trust” if law enforcement begins co-opting the media for its purposes.

The EFF documents reveal that the FBI dummied up a story with an Associated Press byline about the Thurston County bomb threats with an email link “in the style of The Seattle Times,” including details about subscriber and advertiser information.

The link was sent to the suspect’s MySpace account. When the suspect clicked on the link, the hidden FBI software sent his location and Internet Protocol information to the agents. A juvenile suspect was identified and arrested June 14.

Read more from this story HERE.

Former Counterterror Official: 'We Don't Have Enough Muslim FBI Agents'

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Photo Credit: TwitterFormer Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Michael Leiter told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that the FBI does not have enough Muslim agents or agents who understand Islam.

“We don’t have enough Muslim FBI agents. We don’t have enough FBI agents who understand Islam, and we don’t have enough people in government who are doing counterterrorism, who understand 15-to-29-year olds. They’re disengaged, and this is also the group which is likely to be most violent. It can’t just be Nancy Reagan with, ‘Say no to drugs.’ You have to do engagement with that demographic,” said Leiter.

Leiter acknowledged that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is using social media more so than al Qaeda did. He said ISIS tries to recruit “Jihadi Cool,” a new form of militant Jihadism designed to appeal to young people as something fashionable or cool.

Read more from this story HERE.

FBI Chief: Citizens Should Be 'Deeply Skeptical' of Government

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photo credit: fonstokAmericans should be “deeply skeptical” of government power and law enforcement only should be able to access anyone’s telephone with a court order, FBI Director James Comey said on Friday.

“I believe that Americans should be deeply skeptical of government power,” Comey told CBS News’ Scott Pelley in an interview for “60 Minutes” that will air on Sunday. “You cannot trust people in power.

“The Founders knew that,” he said. “That’s why they divided power among three branches, to set interest against interest.”

Comey, 53, who became FBI chief in September 2013, cautioned that courts must grant law-enforcement agencies permission to telephones if the information is deemed to be critical to a criminal case or national security.

Read more from this story HERE.

FBI: Militants May Be Working on Plan to Strike US

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An al-Qaida cell in Syria that was targeted in American military airstrikes last month could still be working on a plan to attack the United States or its allies and is “looking to do it very, very soon,” the head of the FBI says.

“Given our visibility we know they’re serious people, bent on destruction,” FBI Director James Comey said.

The Khorasan Group, a small but battle-hardened band of al-Qaida veterans from Afghanistan and Pakistan, was the target of U.S. strikes near Aleppo, Syria.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Comey said the militants were “working and, you know, may still be working on an effort to attack the United States or our allies, and looking to do it very, very soon.”

Senior U.S. officials have not said whether the group’s plots have been disrupted.

Read more from this story HERE.

FBI Director Whines That Feds Can't Snoop on New Apple and Android Operating Systems

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Photo Credit: ReutersFBI Director James B. Comey sharply criticized Apple and Google on Thursday for developing forms of smartphone encryption so secure that law enforcement officials cannot easily gain access to information stored on the devices — even when they have valid search warrants.

His comments were the most forceful yet from a top government official but echo a chorus of denunciation from law enforcement officials nationwide. Police have said that the ability to search photos, messages and Web histories on smartphones is essential to solving a range of serious crimes, including murder, child pornography and attempted terrorist attacks.

“There will come a day when it will matter a great deal to the lives of people . . . that we will be able to gain access” to such devices, Comey told reporters in a briefing. “I want to have that conversation [with companies responsible] before that day comes.”

Comey added that FBI officials already have made initial contact with the two companies, which announced their new smartphone encryption initiatives last week. He said he could not understand why companies would “market something expressly to allow people to place themselves beyond the law.”

Comey’s remarks followed news last week that Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 8, is so thoroughly encrypted that the company is unable to unlock iPhones or iPads for police. Google, meanwhile, is moving to an automatic form of encryption for its newest version of Android operating system that the company also will not be able to unlock, though it will take longer for that new feature to reach most consumers.

Read more from this story HERE.