By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A Secret Service agent is claiming that the journalist who was allegedly assaulted by Donald Trump’s campaign manager first made unwanted contact with the Republican frontrunner.

The agent, who is a member of Trump’s security detail, told DailyMail.com that Breitbart journalist Michelle Fields twice made physical contact with Trump and was even warned by agents to distance herself before the campaign manager grabbed her arm.

‘She crossed in between agents and our protectee after being told not to,’ said the agent, who was present that night in Jupiter. 

Trump defended his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.

“The easiest thing” to do, he said, would be to say: “Corey, you’re fired. I can’t do that. Can’t do it.”

“He’s got a beautiful wife and children,’ Trump said of Lewandowski, “and I’m not gonna destroy a man for that.”

Lewandowski was charged with simple battery.

Hillary Clinton

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The FBI has nowhere near 147 agents investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server, sources told NBC News. 

The Washington Post first reported that 147 agents were on the case but has since revised that figure.

“The FBI will not provide an exact figure,” but there are “fewer than 50” FBI personnel involved, the Post reported.

But a former federal official with direct knowledge of the case told MNSBC that even 50 agents is an exaggeration.

“There are currently about 12 FBI agents working full-time on the case,” says the source, who would only speak anonymously about an open investigation.

The former FBU official added: “147 was such a ridiculous number,” said the source, adding that 50 also sounded unrealistic for this kind of inquiry. “You need an act of terrorism to get 50 agents working on something.”

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The FBI is helping prosecutors open an iPhone 6 and an iPod linked to a murder case in Arkansas after successfully hacking an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters.

The FBI’s Little Rock field office has agreed to help gain access to the locked devices, which belong to suspects in the slayings of Robert and Patricia Cordell, the Los Angeles Times reports. 

It’s not yet clear how the FBI plans to open the phone or if its plans to use the same method it used to unlock Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone.

The Arkansas case involves four suspects, ages 14 to 18, who have been charged in the killings.

“The iPod had just come into our possession a couple of weeks ago,” Cody Hiland, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas’ 20th Judicial District, said Wednesday. “Obviously when we heard that [the FBI] had been able to crack that phone we wanted to at least ask and see if they wanted to help.”

Honolulu International Airport

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

An airplane bound for Japan was forced to return to Hawaii after a violent passenger insisted on doing Yoga instead of sitting on his seat, the FBI said.

Hyongtae Pae is accused of yelling at crew members and shoving his wife, the USA Today reports. 

During meal time, Pae allegedly insisted on doing Yoga and meditating at the back of the plane and became enraged when he was told to return to his seat.

“Pae pushed his wife because she was trying to make him stop,” the complaint said. “He felt that she was siding with the flight crew.”

Pae also is accused of trying to assault Marines who were on the flight and tried to coax him back to his seat.

The complaint alleges he also threatened to kill passengers, saying there is no god.

Other Stories of Interest

• Justice Department and Newark Reach Agreement on Police Reforms
• FBI, Justice Department Investigating International Bribery Scandal
• Ted Cruz Accuses Justice Department of Favoring Abortion Clinics Over Churches
• FBI Diffing in Rhode Island Lot for Nightclub Owner’s Body
• FBI: Texas Hospice Boss Texted Execution Orders for Patients

Donald Trump

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The largest union representing Border Patrol agents has endorsed Donald Trump for the Republican nomination because of his position on stronger border protections.

“Mr. Trump will take on special interests and embrace the ideas of rank-and-file Border Patrol agents rather than listening to the management yes-men who say whatever they are programmed to say. This is a refreshing change that we have not seen before — and may never see again,” the National Border Patrol Council said in a statement posted Wednesday on its website.

The endorsement – the first by the council in a presidential primary – comes after Trump has pledged to build a wall, which experts said would cost billions of dollars more than he has projected. Trump also has taken a hard line against undocumented immigrants.

“We think it is that important: if we do not secure our borders, American communities will continue to suffer at the hands of gangs, cartels and violent criminals preying on the innocent,” the statement read. “The lives and security of the American people are at stake, and the National Border Patrol Council will not sit on the sidelines.”