Did British Agents Kill Without Consequences During The Northern Ireland ‘Troubles?’

The Northern Ireland “Troubles” were primarily a political conflict from the late 1960s to the late 1990s.  The conflict also had ethnic and religious aspects.

A key issue was the status of Northern Ireland. Unionists/loyalists, who are mostly Protestants, generally want Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists/republicans, who are mostly Catholics, generally want it to leave the United Kingdom and join Ireland, according to Wikipedia.

According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Amnesty International has called for an investigation into claims that British agents inside Ulster loyalist and republican terror groups were able to kill and target victims with impunity during the Northern Ireland “Troubles.”

Did the British secret agents have a license to kill?

Lady Nuala O’Loan, a former police ombudsman in Northern Ireland, claimed that some informers who were allowed to commit crimes (including murder) while being paid by the British state were “serial killers”.

On Thursday, the BBC1 program Panorama said that in many instances, the security forces – RUC special branch, military intelligence and MI5 – helped cover up killings carried out by their agents, writes The Guardian newspaper.

O’Loan said the U.K. agents were allowed to kill. “They were running informants and they were using them.

“Their argument was that by so doing they were saving lives, but hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people died because those people were not brought to justice and weren’t stopped in their tracks,” O’Loan said. “Many of them were killers and some of them were serial killers.”

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/28/amnesty-demands-action-over-bbc-findings-on-northern-ireland-killings

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/britain-colluded-with-serial-killers-during-troubles-bbc-31262741.html

Chris Christie Waging 23 Court Battles To Keep State Documents Secret: Mother Jones

According to Mother Jones, media outlets have been forced to sue to obtain even routinely disclosed information, such as payroll data.

Rather than release documents connected to Bridge-gate, pay-to-play allegations, possible ethics violations, and the out-of-state trips Christie has made while looking at a run for president, Chris Christie’s office and several state agencies have waged costly court battles.

As the 2016 presidential primary race draws closer, and Christie considers jumping in, his administration is fighting 23 different open records requests in court.

“The track record is abysmal,” says Jennifer Borg, general counsel for the North Jersey Media Group.

Her organization, which publishes The Record, has sued the state for public documents a half-dozen times since Christie took office. When a judge determines that the state withheld records illegally—which happens frequently—her group wins legal fees. As of September 2014, Christie’s administration had paid $441,000 to North Jersey Media Group and other media outlets for records. And that doesn’t count the cost of government lawyers’ time.

The fight has become expensive for the state because when newspapers go to court for these records, they usually win. But winning doesn’t automatically produce the sought-after records.

“We can and do beat them in court. But as long as they’re appealing—I don’t want to call it a Pyrrhic victory, but we’re not going to get the records,” says Walter Luers, an attorney who helped a transparency project run by the state Libertarian Party sue for public access for Christie’s travel expenses.

“Appeals take two to three years. We’re already into the presidential elections. By the time we get these records, Christie could have a new address.”

Christie’s reluctance to let these records go is understandable. On Tuesday, for example, The New York Times published an investigation of expensive trips, sponsored by donors and foreign leaders, that the governor has taken abroad. Some of those accounts were based on public documents that local newspapers obtained through lawsuits.

Secret Service Management Shakeup

CNN

According to the Washington Post, the Secret Service is forcing out four of its most senior officials while two others are retiring following months of scandal.

It is the biggest management shake-up at the agency since its director resigned in October.

More:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/4-top-secret-service-executives-told-to-leave-their-posts-in-agency-shake-up/2015/01/14/a084b164-9c1f-11e4-96cc-e858eba91ced_story.html