Justice Department Orders DEA to Halt Airport Searches Because of ‘Significant Issues’ With Cash Seizures

Published

4 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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The Justice Department has ordered the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to suspend most searches of passengers at airports and other mass transit hubs after an independent investigation found DEA task forces weren’t documenting searches and weren’t properly trained, creating a significant risk of constitutional violations and lawsuits.

The deputy attorney general directed the DEA on November 12 to halt what are known as “consensual encounter” searches at airportsunless they’re part of an existing investigation into a criminal networkafter seeing the draft of a Justice Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) memorandum that outlined a decade’s worth of “significant concerns” about how the DEA uses paid airline informants and loose criteria to flag passengers to search for drugs and cash.

OIG Investigators found that the DEA paid one airline employee tens of thousands of dollars over the past several years in proceeds from cash seized as a result of their tips. However, the vast majority of those airport seizures aren’t accompanied by criminal prosecutions. This has led to years of complaints from civil liberties groups that the DEA is abusing civil asset forfeiturea practice that allows police to seize cash and other property suspected of being connected to criminal activity such as drug trafficking, even if the owner is never arrested or charged with a crime.

The memo , released publicly today by the OIG, found that failures to properly train agents and document searches “??creates substantial risks that DEA Special Agents (SA) and Task Force Officers (TFO) will conduct these activities improperly; impose unwarranted burdens on, and violate the legal rights of, innocent travelers; imperil the Department’s asset forfeiture and seizure activities; and waste law enforcement resources on ineffective interdiction actions.”

The OIG memo and directive is a victory for advocacy groups that oppose civil asset forfeiture, such as the Institute for Justice, a public-interest law firm that is currently litigating a class action lawsuit challenging the DEA’s airport forfeiture practices.

Dan Alban, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, says the OIG memo “confirms what we’ve been saying for years, and it confirms the allegations in our ongoing class action lawsuit against DEA over precisely these sorts of abusive practices, where they target travelers based on innocuous information about their travel plans, and then interrogate them and search their bags in what they call a ‘consensual encounter’ that is really anything but consensual in the high security environment of an airport.”

The OIG launched an investigation earlier this year following the Institute for Justice’s release of a video taken by an airline passenger who was detained and had his bags searched by the DEA at the airport. The passenger, identified only as David C., had already passed through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint and was boarding his flight when he was approached by a DEA officer who demanded to search his carry-on. When David refused to give permission, the agent declared he was detaining the carry-on bag, and David could either board his flight or consent to a search.

David missed his flight entirely and eventually consented to a search of his carry-on, which revealed no drugs or cash.

The DEA agent told David he was suspected of illicit activity because he had booked his flight shortly before it took off. “When you buy a last-minute ticket, we get alerts,” the officer explained. “We come out, and we talk to those people, which I’ve tried to do to you, but you wouldn’t allow me to do it.”

The subsequent OIG investigation found that David was one of five passengers flagged that day by an airline employee who was paid by the DEA to flag travelers’ itineraries if they met certain suspicious criteria.

According to previous OIG audits, common red flags for passengers are “traveling to or from a known source city for drug trafficking, purchasing a ticket within 24 hours of travel, purchasing a ticket for a long flight with an immediate return, purchasing a one-way ticket, and traveling without checked luggage.”

Today’s OIG memo noted that “it is hardly unusual for travelers, including business travelers and last-minute vacationers, to purchase tickets within 48 hours of a flight.”

This DEA’s practice of obtaining passenger information from transportation companies, such as Amtrak and major airlines, was first revealed in 2014, with more information coming out in a 2016 inspector general audit .

By combining a snitch network, loose criteria for searches, and the low evidentiary bar to seize property under civil asset forfeiture, DEA task forces have been able to seize an enormous amount of money from airline passengers, despite it being perfectly legal to fly domestically with large amounts of cash.

In 2016, a USA Today investigation found the DEA had seized more than $209 million from at least 5,200 travelers in 15 major airports over the previous decade.

A 2017 report by the Justice Department Office of Inspector General found that the DEA seized more than $4 billion in cash from people suspected of drug activity over the previous decade, but $3.2 billion of those seizures were never connected to any criminal charges.

That 2017 report warned that that DEA’s airport forfeiture activities were undermining its credibility: “When seizure and administrative forfeitures do not ultimately advance an investigation or prosecution, law enforcement creates the appearance, and risks the reality, that it is more interested in seizing and forfeiting cash than advancing an investigation or prosecution.”

But DEA cash seizures based on flimsy, evidence-free suspicions continued.

The Institute for Justice launched its class action lawsuit in 2020. The suit argues the DEA has a practice or policy of seizing currency from travelers at U.S. airports without probable cause simply if the dollar amount is greater than $5,000. This practice, the suit argues, violates travelers’ Fourth Amendment rights.

One of the lead plaintiffs in the suit, Terrence Rolin, a 79-year-old retired railroad engineer, had his life savings of $82,373 seized by the DEA after his daughter tried to take it on a flight out of Pittsburgh with the intent of depositing it in a bank. After the case went public, the DEA returned the money .

The DEA seized $43,167 from Stacy Jones, another of the plaintiffs in the Institute for Justice suit, in 2019 as she was trying to fly home to Tampa, Florida, from Wilmington, North Carolina. Jones says the cash was from the sale of a used car, as well as money she and her husband intended to take to a casino. The DEA returned her money after she challenged the seizure as well.

Likewise, in 2021 the DEA returned $28,000 to Kermit Warren, a New Orleans man who said he was flying to Ohio to buy a tow truck when agents seized his life savings at the airport.

In all these cases, DEA agents originally decided that the cash was connected to drug trafficking.

Last year, Sens. Ron Wyden (DOre.) and Cynthia Lummis (RWyo.) urged the Justice Department to ban the DEA and other federal law enforcement agencies from using travel employees as sources for obtaining Americans’ travel information without a warrant or subpoena.

The Justice Department directive halts “all consensual encounters at mass transportation facilities unless they are either connected to an existing investigation or approved by the DEA Administrator based on exigent circumstances.”

Alban says the Justice Department directive will curb the majority of abusive “consensual encounter” searches, but it won’t stop TSA screeners from flagging cash at security checkpoints.

Furthermore, Alban says, only legislation can permanently stop the DEA from abusing asset forfeiture, noting a 2019 bill passed by Congress that stopped the IRS from summarily seizing small business’ bank accounts.

“It’s that sort of reform that is really needed,” Alban says, “because at any time this directive could be rescinded, and then DEA ill be back to their regular practice of preying on travelers at airports.”

The DEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Business

Cambridge college puts O2 arena lease up for sale

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2024

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Cambridge college puts O2 arena lease up for sale

Cambridge University’s wealthiest college is putting the long-term lease of London’s O2 arena up for sale.

Sky News has learnt that Trinity College has instructed property advisers to begin sounding out prospective investors about a deal.

Trinity, which ranks among Britain’s biggest landowners, acquired the site in 2009 for a reported £24m.

The O2, which shrugged off its ‘white elephant’ status in the aftermath of its disastrous debut in 2000, has since become one of the world’s leading entertainment venues.

Operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group, it has played host to a wide array of music, theatrical and sporting events over nearly a quarter of a century.

The opportunity to acquire the 999-year lease is likely to appeal to long-term income investment funds, with real estate funds saying they expected it to fetch tens of millions of pounds.

Trinity College bought the lease from Lend Lease and Quintain, the property companies which had taken control of the Millennium Dome site in 2002 for nothing.

The college was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 and has amassed a vast property portfolio.

It was unclear on Friday why it had decided to call in advisers at this point to undertake a sale process.

Trinity College Cambridge did not respond to two requests for comment.

UK

Downing Street indicates Netanyahu would be arrested in UK after ICC warrant

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1 hour ago

November 22, 2024

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Downing Street indicates Netanyahu would be arrested in UK after ICC warrant

Downing Street has indicated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he arrived on British soil following an international arrest warrant being issued for him.

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence secretary Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.

The UK government was reluctant to commit to saying Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to the UK but Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said the government would “fulfil its legal obligations” in relation to the arrest warrant.

“The UK will always comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic law, and indeed international law,” he said.

He added the domestic process linked to ICC arrest warrants has never been used to date by the UK because the country has never been visited by anyone wanted by the international court.

Earlier on Friday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said it “wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment” on the processes involved as the ICC is independent, although the UK is a member.

She told Sky News: “We’ve always respected the importance of international law, but in the majority of the cases that they pursue, they don’t become part of the British legal process.

“What I can say is that obviously, the UK government’s position remains that we believe the focus should be on getting a ceasefire in Gaza.”

However, Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee in parliament, told Sky News: “If Netanyahu comes to Britain, our obligation under the Rome Convention would be to arrest him under the warrant from the ICC.

“Not really a question of should, we are required to because we are members of the ICC.”

After winning July’s election the government said it would not oppose the ICC’s right to issue the warrants.

Ireland, France and Italy have signalled they would arrest Netanyahu if he came to their countries.

Asked if police would arrest the Israeli leader in Ireland, Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris said: “Yes, absolutely. We support international courts and we apply their warrants.”

Germany said it would make a decision if Netanyahu came to Germany but said it is one of the “biggest supporters of the ICC”, partly as a result of history.

A German government spokesman said: “At the same time, it is a consequence of German history that we share unique relations and a great responsibility with Israel.”

An ICC arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri, the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks in Israel, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel claims Al Masri was killed earlier this year but the ICC said that has not been confirmed, so it was issuing the arrest warrant.

Netanyahu’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “antisemitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.

Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden described the warrants against Israeli leaders as “outrageous”, adding: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas.”

Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the ICC’s decision sent a “terrible message”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would invite Netanyahu to visit Hungary and he would guarantee the arrest warrant would “not be observed”.

The ICC originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and on Thursday announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.

In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.

These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

It is the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.

Sports

News or noise? Orioles move in fences, Yankees protect Caleb Durbin

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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News or noise? Orioles move in fences, Yankees protect Caleb Durbin

Eric Karabell, ESPN Senior WriterNov 22, 2024, 09:27 AM ET
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- ESPN contributor on TV, radio, podcasts, blogs, Magazine
- Charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame
- Author of “The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments”

It’s November and the fantasy baseball offseason is, pardon the pun, in full swing. Right now, most sports fans are devoting the majority of their attention to the NFL, NBA and NHL, where the games (both real and fantasy) take center stage — and understandably so.

So, perhaps you’re only hearing about the latest baseball buzz in passing, if at all. That’s perfectly fine. We’re paying attention to what’s going on and are here to let you know about the top stories of the past week. Are they something you need to file away for Draft Day or are they likely to have little impact when all is said and done?

Read on and find out whether these breaking developments are truly news or if they’re just noise.

Baltimore Orioles adjust left field fences for 2025

The Orioles did their pitchers a favor entering the 2022 season when they moved the left field fences back further and higher, seeking a more balanced hitting environment. It worked, but perhaps too well. Camden Yards ceased being among the friendliest places to hit a baseball, though some wondered if the team went too far. This week, the Orioles announced the fences will be moved in — perhaps as much as 20 feet in some areas — and lowered in height.

Precise changes have not been made clear. Still, for Baltimore’s right-handed pull hitters, especially 1B Ryan Mountcastle (who has lost 11 home runs to the adjusted LF fence over the past three seasons), 3B/1B Coby Mayo and others, this should matter. Mountcastle smacked 33 homers in 2021, but he has averaged only 18 per season since then. Don’t assume he returns to hitting 30 homers and don’t make him a top-100 fantasy pick, but do consider the changes for his ilk — and Orioles pitchers — on draft day.

Fantasy impact: News

New York Yankees add 2B/3B Caleb Durbin to 40-man roster

Organizations revised their rosters this week to protect eligible minor leaguers from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Durbin, who hit .312/.427/.548 in the recently completed Arizona Fall League while compiling a record 29 stolen bases in 24 games, is a name fantasy managers need to know. Durbin, 24, was named the AFL’s MVP. The Yankees want to incorporate his speed and contact skills and, depending on whom the team adds (and loses) from their roster this offseason, Durbin may see considerable playing time.

Myriad others with statistical upside were also added to MLB 40-man rosters, including Chicago White Sox SS and top prospect Colson Montgomery, Colorado Rockies OF Zac Veen, Chicago Cubs OF Owen Caissie, Tampa Bay Rays OF Jake Mangum and Miami Marlins 1B Deyvison De Los Santos.

Fantasy impact: News

Cincinnati Reds SP Nick Martinez accepts qualifying offer

Martinez became only the 14th player to accept a team’s qualifying contract offer since baseball’s new rules adjusted in 2012. The other 13 players eligible for the offer this offseason — including Juan Soto and Alex Bregman — all declined so that they could negotiate more lucrative, long-term deals. Martinez, the only player in the group not headed to free agency, will earn the average of the league’s top 125 salaries for 2025, in this case a cool $21.05 million.

It may seem incongruent with how Martinez, 34, performed in 2024, but perhaps fantasy managers should look closer at his September, where he went 4-1 with a 0.83 ERA over five starts as a precursor to a larger breakout. The Reds clearly are invested. This is a viable late-round sleeper.

Fantasy impact: News