By Allan Lengel

After 26 years, John S. Pistole is no longer an FBI agent.

Pistole , the number two person at the FBI, was sworn in Thursday as the head of the Transportation Security Administration after going through a relatively painless confirmation process. The previous two nominees for the job ran into trouble and withdrew their names.

Pistole takes over several months after the public was reminded Christmas day with the underwear bomber in Detroit just how vulnerable it is.

A press release by the TSA said “Under his leadership, TSA will continue to grow as a risk-based, intelligence-driven counterterrorism agency dedicated to protecting our transportation systems.”

A likely candidate to succeed Pistole at the FBI is Timothy Murhpy, who has been assigned to replace Pistole on an interim basis.

By Allan Lengel

Former Civil Rights Division lawyer J. Christian Adams and the Justice Department are locked in a war of words over his allegations that his bosses ignored white voters’ rights when charges were dropped against members of the New Black Panthers in a voter intimidation case, the website Main Justice reported.

Allegations were that two members of the militant black group stood outside a Philadelphia polling place in November 2008 and intimidated white voters. One had a night stick.

The Justice Department last year dropped the case, citing lack of evidence and that one of the Black Panthers was a registered Democratic poll watcher.

“You’re supposed to be able to go vote without somebody with a weapon shouting racist slurs at you,” Adams said on Fox New Wednesday. “They said, ‘You’re about to be ruled by the black man, Cracker.’ They called people ‘white devils.’ They tried to stop people from entering the polls.”“It is not uncommon for attorneys within the department to have good faith disagreements about the appropriate course of action in a particular case, although it is regrettable when a former department attorney distorts the facts and makes baseless allegations to promote his or her agenda,” Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler told Fox News in a written statement, according to Main Justice.

“It is not uncommon for attorneys within the department to have good faith disagreements about the appropriate course of action in a particular case, although it is regrettable when a former department attorney distorts the facts and makes baseless allegations to promote his or her agenda,” Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler told Fox News in a written statement.

To read more click here.

Read ex-prosecutor’s essay on pajamasmedia.com

By Allan Lengel

Violence just across the Mexican border continues in a big, scary way.

The Associated Press reports that 21 people were killed and at least six others were wounded in Mexico Thursday in a gun battle between gangs just 12 miles from the border near Arizona.

AP reported that the area  the town of Nogales is a prime area for immigrant and drug smuggling.

The Sonora state Attorney General’s Office said police captured nine people at the scene. Six had been wounded in the shootout.

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OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• Prosecutors Say NY Suspect Spilled Russia Spy Details (AP)
• Police Explain Reason for ReOpening Al Gore Case (AP)
• Mayor Daley Lays Out Strict Gun Rule for Chicago (AP)
• Texas Executes Killer of Nurse (AP)
• Ex-Gov. Blago: “Listen I’ve Got This  Thing and It’s F—- Golden” (TPM)
• NRA Official Opposes Kagan Nomination But Will it Matter (Wall Street Journal)
• Amtrak Echoes Call for Vigilance (AP)?