Lawmakers to Open an Inquiry on Undercover Drug Operation

From The New York Times:

Congressional Republicans said Monday that they would open an investigation into undercover operations by the Drug Enforcement Administration in which agents have laundered and smuggled millions of dollars in drug money as part of an effort to help Mexico fight organized crime.

The operations, which drug officials said had the support and cooperation of the Mexican government, have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars across borders and moved millions more through shell accounts to help American agents identify how criminal organizations move their money, where they keep their assets and who their leaders are.

Critics said the operations blur the line between surveillance and facilitating crime, raising questions similar to those around a gun-smuggling operation known as Fast and Furious that involves agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The gun operation has been under investigation for months by Representative Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In a letter on Monday to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., Mr. Issa said he would expand that investigation to include the drug agency, describing its money-laundering investigations as “dangerous schemes” and adding that “the consequences have been disastrous.”

Mr. Issa, Republican of California, asked Mr. Holder to provide a briefing on the undercover operations to his staff on Wednesday. He wrote, “It is almost unfathomable to contemplate the degree to which the United States government has made itself an accomplice to the drug trade, which has thus far left more than 40,000 people dead in Mexico.”

2009 National Institute of Justice Report to Congress

With some remarkably honest statistical analysis, DOJ's National Institute of Justice 2009 Annual Report to Congress has a wealth of information for the criminal investigator and practitioner. With study results from Sex Offender Registration (studies show doesn't curb recidivism and researchers question cost of implementation (!)); forensic science in the U.S. (could be better); using DNA to clear the wrongly convicted (200 + freed and counting); improving reentry programs; and improving law enforcement technology. The report is worth a perusal as it gives a sense of what has been and will be funded for law enforcement as well as some helpful information that can be used in sentencing issues with information on courts and recidivism.

Congressional Bill Watch Tool

Here is a handy tool for keeping track of legislation as it happens. GovTrack.us brings information together in one site on the status of pending US legislation, voting records, and information on members of both houses of Congress. GovTrack.us can be used as a research tool for bills and pending legislation, but even more cool is its customizable tracking feature. You can set up to track topics of interest or can track specific legislation. Your tracked events can be delivered by email as updates occur. So you too can be aware of each move Congress does (and doesn't) make!