FBI Opens Probe Into 'Stolen' Jackie O Letter

5-month investigation ultimately cleared neo-con giant

(NEWSER) - During the late 1980s, the father of neoconservatism—who is also the father of Fox News commentator and Weekly Standard boss Bill Kristol—was investigated by the FBI over possible contact with a suspected Soviet agent, Gawker finds in a study of FBI documents. The much-redacted documents suggest contact information for Irving Kristol, a vehement opponent of communism, appeared in the suspected Soviet agent’s notebook. More»

PETA, Greenpeace, others unfairly targeted

(NEWSER) - The FBI investigated and monitored a variety of liberal activist groups without proper cause during the Bush Administration, the Justice Department concluded today. Though the Inspector General cleared the FBI of the most serious allegation against it—that it targeted the groups based on how they exercised their First Amendment rights—he found “troubling” practices at the Bureau. Several investigations were started for “factually weak” reasons, the Washington Post reports, and others extended “without adequate basis.” More»

Investigators hope for hints in lab garbage

(NEWSER) - The FBI began investigating today a Hartford trash facility for any clues to the disappearance of Yale student Annie Le, the Hartford Courant reports. A spokesman says the FBI is looking for evidence in garbage from a New Haven laboratory where Le was last seen. Investigators have also started reviewing surveillance tapes frame by frame in an attempt to spot Le’s exit from the building. More»

(NEWSER) - The Bush administration stonewalled human rights organizations and branches of the US government that sought an investigation into the alleged mass murder of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan in 2001, the New York Times reports. As many as 1,500 people may have died in the incident, under the command of a Northern Alliance general in league with the CIA. The general has held high posts in the Karzai government, leading some to believe the apparent reluctance to investigate was politically motivated. More»

(NEWSER) - David Carradine’s family has asked the FBI to look into his death, the New York Daily News reports. “They want an investigation,” said a lawyer for Carradine’s brother. The 72-year-old actor was found in a hotel closet in Bankok with a rope tied to his neck and genitals. Thai police first suspected suicide but now think he died while engaged in a sex act. The family wants the FBI to help sort it all out. Carradine's body, meanwhile, is being returned to the US. More»