Holder says AP probe handled by deputy after he recused himself

Published May 14, 2013

FoxNews.com

• 

  FILE - In this April 18, 2013 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Justice Department has secretly obtained two months of telephone records of journalists for The Associated Press in what AP's top executive says is an unprecedented intrusion into newsgathering. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File)

DEVELOPING: Attorney General Eric Holder is recusing himself from the investigation into leaks made to The Associated Press, Fox News has learned. 

Holder is scheduled to comment on the matter during a press conference scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

The Associated Press reported Monday evening that the Department of Justice had secretly obtained phone records involving as many as 20 reporters and editors in an effort to find out who leaked confidential information to it.

It was not known if Holder authorized or even knew about the investigation.

The White House said Tuesday that it had no knowledge of the investigation and referred all inquiries to the Justice Department.

"The president is a strong defender of the First Amendment," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said during a press conference. "He also of course recognizes the need for the Justice Department to investigate alleged criminal activity without undue influence."

"I cannot and he [President Obama] cannot comment specifically on an ongoing criminal investigation," Carney said. 

Republicans, meanwhile, are calling on Holder to resign following news of the probe.

"Freedom of the press is an essential right in a free society," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.

"The First Amendment doesn’t request the federal government to respect it; it demands it," Priebus said. "Attorney General Eric Holder, in permitting the Justice Department to issue secret subpoenas to spy on Associated Press reporters, has trampled on the First Amendment and failed in his sworn duty to uphold the Constitution."

Mike Levine contributed to this report. 

View the original article here

Department of Defense employee who called himself 'Godfather at Camp Pendleton' arrested on bribery charges

Published April 01, 2013

Associated Press

SAN DIEGO –  A Department of Defense employee who oversaw construction contracts at Camp Pendleton used his position to extort bribes from businesses seeking to work on the California Marine Corps base, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Natividad Lara Cervantes was arrested Thursday after authorities say he accepted $10,000 of a $40,000 bribe offered by a witness working with federal agents, said Daphne Hearn, the special agent in charge of the FBI's San Diego office.

Cervantes believed he was receiving the money in exchange for helping the witness secure a $4 million flooring contract, according to a federal complaint.

Prosecutors say Cervantes referred to himself as the "Godfather at Camp Pendleton," and, dating back to September 2008, he accepted thousands of dollars in cash payments and remodeling work on his condominium in exchange for helping contractors get business on the Marine Corps base north of San Diego.

Cervantes is a Department of Defense employee and a supervisor for construction and service contracts at Camp Pendleton.

Neither Cervantes nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.

According to the complaint, the witness working with the FBI met with Cervantes on March 26 and agreed to pay the $40,000 bribe. The first payment of $20,000 was to be paid Thursday, and the remainder was to be paid when the contract was awarded, prosecutors say. The meeting was monitored by federal agents.

Cervantes was arrested at a business in San Diego after the witness met him there to discuss the bribe payments and handed him an envelope containing $10,000, according to the complaint.

View the original article here