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Washington Post
Reporter covering federal agencies and government accountability for the Washington Post
PROFILE
Carol Leonnig
Guest
FROM Carol Leonnig
To the Point
DEA Agents Busted for Sex Party After revelations of misconduct, Secret Service agents have been fired or forced to retire. They claim Drug Enforcement Agency operatives are being slapped on the wrist for much more serious infractions. This after the Justice Department reported that Drug Enforcement agents assigned overseas took part in "sex parties" with prostitutes — provided by local drug cartels. Carol Leonnig is reporting the story for the Washington Post .
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Another Secret Service Scandal The Secret Service is in hot water, again. Two senior secret service agents ran a government car into White House security barricades, last week. It appears they’d been out drinking, and one of them is second-in-command on the President’s security detail. Suffice to say, he’s probably not with the President today in Los Angeles. These aren’t the only recent missteps by the agency. What’s going on inside the Secret Service?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Secret Service Falls Down on the Job Earlier this month, a man carrying a knife jumped the White House fence and made it through the front door before he was stopped. But that security lapse wasn’t the first or even the most alarming for President Obama’s Secret Service detail. In a new story, the Washington Post details how three years ago, the Secret Service didn’t realize that a gunman in the street had shot at and hit the White House seven times until four days after the incident.
To the Point
Personal Privacy and National Security: Is There a Trade-off? When Edward Snowden revealed the extent of electronic spying, President Obama assured Americans their privacy was being carefully guarded. But the chief judge of the secret court responsible now says it can't do the job , admitting that only the government knows who's being spied on and why. Now the President has joined the political Left and Right-leaning libertarians who want a special advocate to argue the public's interest before the secret court. But others warn that could impede and delay the surveillance needed to safeguard the nation. We hear a debate.
To the Point
House Ethics Committee Is Very Busy, Post Reveals Congress is supposed to enforce ethical standards on its own members, but ethics committee proceedings are highly secretive, and watchdog groups claim that not much really goes on. Now it's been accidentally revealed that more than 30 members and senior aides are being probed, including half of a subcommittee that controls Pentagon spending. This after the Washington Post was given a weekly report that a low-level staffer mistakenly placed on an accessible network.
To the Point
The Story behind the Acorn Videos Conservative Republicans scored a political victory this week when Congress voted to defund ACORN , the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Last year, the activist group that works with poor blacks and Hispanics was accused of voter fraud . Now it's been hit with a sting operation, for attempting to buy homes to run as houses of prostitution. On videotapes running on Fox News, YouTube and other Internet sites, ACORN workers appear to be counseling them in a helpful way. Carol Leonnig reports for the Washington Post .
To the Point
Scientist Facing Anthrax Indictment an Apparent Suicide Shortly after 9/11, anthrax showed up in mailings that killed five people, crippled the Post Office, shut down a Senate office building and spread fear that terrorists were striking again. Tuesday, the FBI's prime suspect died from apparent suicide. He was 62-year old Bruce Ivins, for 18 years a research scientist at the Army's bio-defense research lab at Ft. Detrick, Maryland. Reporter Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post has more.
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To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.