AG rolls back asset seizure policy

Attorney General Eric Holder(Photo: Susan Walsh, AP)WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder issued a sweeping order Friday that puts strict limits on a controversial practice that has allowed the federal government to share assets seized by state and local police in criminal investigations.Holder's order prohibits the federal "adoption'' of property seized under state law, except when the material -- firearms, explosives, child pornography -- could threaten public safety.The policy change addresses concerns about abuses related to the questionable seizures, including vehicles and large amounts of cash."With this new policy, effective immediately, the Justice Department is taking an important step to prohibit federal agency adoptions of state and local seizures, except for public safety reasons," Holder said. "This is the first step in a comprehensive review that we have launched of the federal asset forfeiture program ... This new policy will ensure that these authorities can continue to be used to take the profit out of crime and return assets to victims, while safeguarding civil liberties."The new policy applies only to adoptions, not to seizures resulting from joint operations involving both federal and state authorities, or to seizures involving warrants issued by federal courts, according to the order.Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he was "thankful'' for the Justice action."The rule of law ought to be about protecting innocent people,'' Grassley said. "Too often, we've seen just the opposite with civil asset forfeiture laws. The practice up to this point had perverse incentives and violated some state laws.''Europe anti-terrorism raids lead to dozens of arrestsJan 16, 2015