U.S. Marshals Service wastes asset forfeiture funds: senator
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Marshals Service, the law enforcement arm of the federal judicial system, wastes money from a government asset forfeiture fund and spends it improperly, a senior U.S. senator alleged on Tuesday.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, in a memo sent to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, said: “Evidence shows that the USMS wasted and misused money it received ... The agency also provided incomplete and in some cases misleading details about some of these expenditures.”
Grassley’s investigation was released a few months after Sessions reinstated a controversial civil asset forfeiture program that had been shut down by the Obama administration. The program has been expected to generate more money for law enforcement.
Civil asset forfeiture gives police and other law enforcement agencies the power to seize cash and other assets from motorists or travelers at airports if they have “probable cause” to suspect the money is connected to a crime.
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#POLITICS SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 / 2:42 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Sarah N. Lynch
3 MIN READ
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-justice-forfeiture/u-s-marshals-service-wastes-asset-forfeiture-funds-senator-idUSKCN1BN2LS