SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of the coronavirus, via Wikipedia.

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

The coronavirus outbreak that is rapidly sweeping across America, claiming lives and wrecking the economy, should have been no surprise to the Trump administration because of warnings about the contagion as far back as November.

The U.S. military’s National Center for Medical Intelligence issued a report in November that warned about an out-of-control virus spreading across China’s Wuhan region, ABC News reports, citing officials familiar with the document.

The report, which relied on wire and computer intercepts and satellite images, warned that U.S. forces in Asia were at risk.

“Analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event,” one of the sources said of the NCMI’s report. “It was then briefed multiple times to” the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff and the White House.

But on Jan. 22, Trump’s first comments about the virus were dismissive of its threat to the U.S. In a CNBC interview, Trump was asked, “Are there worries about a pandemic at this point?”

The president responded, “No. Not at all. And we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”

Jennifer Wilson.

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

A retired FBI agent will lead a new agency within West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.

Military Affairs Secretary Jeff Sandy appointed Jennifer Wilson in late December to serve as director of the agency’s Division of Administrative Services, which consolidated the state’s prison, jail and juvenile services systems.

The state agency was established in 2018 to provide services that range from human resources and recruiting to contracts and payroll.

Wilson joined the FBI in 1997 and worked for the bureau in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Pittsburgh. She retired last year before working for the legal team of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.

“I am honored to be named the director of DAS,” Wilson said in a news release. “Over the last 60 days, as the acting director, I have been impressed with the leadership team here and the employees’ dedication and commitment to the success of the newest division of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. I plan to focus the next year on completing the staffing and developing more efficient systems to serve the DMAPS agencies.”

Michael Alexander Brown

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

A Marine accused of murdering his mother’s boyfriend in Virginia less than a month after deserting his military post has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted List of fugitives.

Michael Alexander Brown, 22, is believed to be “armed with a high-powered rifle and may have access to other weapons,” according to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia.

Sheriff’s officials believe he may be hiding in the woods because he frequents national parks and forests.

Authorities said Brown fled after fatally shooting his mother’s boyfriend on Nov. 9 in the man’s home in Hardy, about 10 miles east of Roanoke, Va.

Less than a month earlier, Brown deserted his post at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Brown’s arrest.

Earlier this month, Brown was charged with second-degree murder.

An existing wall at border of Mexico. Photo via Congress.

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

The Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s administration can use billions of dollars in Pentagon funds to help build a border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The five-to-four ruling gives the administration permission to begin using $2.5 billion in Defense Department money to move ahead with wall construction. Lower courts delayed the project pending a Supreme Court decision.

Another $3.6 billion comes from military construction funds.

“Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall,” Trump tweeted. “The United States Supreme Court overturns lower court injunction, allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law!”

Border marker, via Border Patrol.

By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com

President Trump threatened Thursday to deploy the military and close the southern border if Mexico fails to stop thousands of immigrants heading toward the United States.

“I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught – and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!,” the president tweeted Thursday.

In another tweet, Trump continued to castigate Democrats for being weak on immigrations.

“I am watching the Democrat Party led (because they want Open Borders and existing weak laws) assault on our country by Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, whose leaders are doing little to stop this large flow of people, INCLUDING MANY CRIMINALS, from entering Mexico to U.S,” Trump said.

In a third tweet, Trump said trade is less important to him than stopping migrants from entering the country.

“The assault on our country at our Southern Border, including the Criminal elements and DRUGS pouring in, is far more important to me, as President, than Trade or the USMCA. Hopefully Mexico will stop this onslaught at their Northern Border,” he wrote. “All Democrats fault for weak laws!”

A caravan of more than 4,000 migrants fled Central American countries a week ago because of violence and poverty.

They appeared to be undeterred by Trump’s threats.

“We are going to continue,” 32-year-old Luis Navarreto told the Associated Press. “It is God who decides here. We have no other option but to move ahead.”

The FBI’s current headquarters in Washington D.C., named after J. Edgar Hoover.

By Editorial Board
Dallas Morning News

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The military’s failure to notify the FBI about Devin Kelley’s history of violence and mental illness, which enabled him to buy guns used to kill 26 people at a Texas church, is a familiar pattern.

Military service branches and the Pentagon reported just a handful of “adjudicated mental health” reports and one felony to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, according to an FBI report from December 2016, MySanAntonio.com reports. 

In 2016, the Department of Defense did not flag a single soldier, sailor, airmen or Marine because of domestic violence restraining orders.

The FBI and ATF said Kelley would have been prevented from buying a gun had the Air Force reported that he assaulted his wife and son, threatened to kill his superiors and escaped from a mental hospital.

Several investigations are underway to determine why Kelley’s name was not added to the NICS.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A Border Patrol agent out of Tucson was charged with lying to a grand jury in San Diego following a military housing voucher scheme.

Agent David Wayne Skinner testified about two Marines who were accused of fraud by claiming to be renting each other’s homes, the San Diego Union Tribune reports. 

The Marines collected a total of more than $200,000 in travel expense vouchers that were supposed to be for their lease payments.

Skinner claimed to be one of the Marine’s landlords.