Ryan Barber

Trump Picks Pam Bondi for Attorney General After Gaetz Withdraws

Donald Trump has chosen former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to run the Justice Department, announcing his pick hours after Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration. Bondi, a 59-year-old Republican who worked for years as a prosecutor, is a more conventional pick than Gaetz. She has had a close relationship with Trump for years and served on his legal team during his first impeachment.

How a DEA Drug Bust Handed the FCC a Case Against AT&T

When federal drug agents seized nearly $3.4 million worth of drugs, cars, jewelry, gold and computers during an investigation into two Cleveland-area businesses, they uncovered evidence for an unlikely enforcement partner: the Federal Communications Commission.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration found financial documents that showed the companies Discount Directory Inc. and Enhanced Telecommunications Services were defrauding thousands of telephone customers—mostly small businesses—by charging $9 per month for a sham directory assistance service. Meanwhile, AT&T was receiving a fee from the companies for each charge placed on its customers’ bills. AT&T agreed to pay $7.75 million to resolve claims that the company included unauthorized third-party charges on its customers’ bills, a practice known as “cramming.”