NEWS OF THE DAY
Whistle-blower protection: President Trump signed an executive order Thursday creating an accountability and whistleblower protection office at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The order will create a new Office of Accountability and Whistle-blower Protection in the department. The eventual head of the office will report directly to VA Secretary David Shulkin, who said the purpose is to help identify “barriers” that make it difficult to fire or reassign employees deemed unfit to work at the department and serve veterans.
Clinton emails: A congressional committee on Thursday asked the Justice Department to consider criminally prosecuting the head of a technology services company that was involved in maintaining a private email server for Hillary Clinton. The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee accused Colorado’s Platte River Networks and its chief executive, Treve Suazo, of withholding documents demanded under subpoena and obstructing the committee’s investigation “at every turn.” The allegations were made in a referral to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. A referral for prosecution from Congress has no practical impact on the Justice Department, which decides on its own whether evidence exists to investigate a matter or to pursue criminal charges.
Terror arrest: Federal prosecutors accused a Jordanian citizen living in Ohio of attempting to travel to Syria and fight with the Islamic State against the Syrian government. The U.S. Justice Department said Laith Waleed Alebbini, 26, was arrested Wednesday at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Ky. Prosecutors say that he is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. and that he was attempting to fly to Turkey or Jordan before joining up with Islamic State fighters.
Life sentence: A man who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting an Indianapolis police officer has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. A Marion County courtroom was filled with police officers and relatives of Officer Perry Renn during Thursday’s sentencing of 27year-old Major Davis II. Davis pleaded guilty last week to murder in Renn’s 2014 killing. His plea spared him the death penalty. Removed from flight: A Wisconsin man was removed from a Delta Air Lines flight after using the bathroom against crew instructions shortly before takeoff. Kima Hamilton says he urgently needed to use the bathroom April 18 while on a Milwaukee-bound plane in Atlanta. He says takeoff was delayed and the flight wasn’t moving, so he decided to go. Cell phone video shows Delta agents asked Hamilton to deboard after he got back to his seat, but he refused. The crew emptied the aircraft and allowed everyone but Hamilton back on. Hamilton says FBI agents met him at the gate but didn’t arrest him. He got a partial refund but says it wasn’t enough to cover another ticket.