The government has continued to strengthen its case against Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam (RAHJ rah-juh-RUHT'-nuhm) after one of his former employees pleaded guilty to insider trading charges.

Former Galleon portfolio manager Adam Smith entered the federal plea in Manhattan on Wednesday to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud. The charges carry a potential penalty of up to 25 years in prison.

Smith is among more than 15 people who have pleaded guilty in connection with what prosecutors have called the biggest hedge fund insider trading case ever.

Authorities said when they brought the case late in 2009 that those who traded securities based on inside information in the case earned more than $50 million in illegal profits.

A company asked by Visa to investigate WikiLeaks' finances found no proof the group's fundraising arm is breaking the law in its home base of Iceland. But Visa Europe Ltd. said Wednesday it would continue blocking donations to the secret-spilling site until it completes its own investigation. Company spokeswoman Amanda Kamin said she couldn't say when Visa's inquiry, now stretching into its eighth week, would be finished.

Visa was one of several American companies that cut its ties with WikiLeaks after it began publishing a massive trove of secret U.S. diplomatic memos late last year. U.S. officials have accused the site of putting its national security at risk -- a claim WikiLeaks says is an attempt to distract from the memos' embarrassing content.

When it announced its decision to suspend WikiLeaks donations on Dec. 8, Visa said it was awaiting an investigation into "the nature of its business and whether it contravenes Visa operating rules" -- though it did not go into details.

The Norway-based financial services company Teller AS, which Visa ordered to look into WikiLeaks and its fundraising body, the Sunshine Press, found no proof of any wrongdoing.

Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer - Eric Roper served over nine years on active duty in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps and currently serves as a Commander in the Reserve Component of the JAGC. 

His active service included tours as a criminal defense lawyer, Staff Judge Advocate, Officer in Charge, and command services attorney.  He was appointed to two terms as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.  After leaving active duty, Mr. Roper prosecuted civil violations of Federal law as a trial attorney with the Bureau of Enforcement at the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission in Washington, D.C.  He opened his own firm in 2010 where his practice is focused on Federal, state and military criminal defense and maritime transportation law. 

www.ericroperlaw.com

The suspect in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords smiled and nodded but didn't speak as he appeared in court Monday and his lawyer provided the 22-year-old's first response to the charges: a plea of not guilty.

In the two weeks since the deadly attack that killed six outside a Tucson grocery store, Jared Loughner's hair — shaved in the mug shot that's become an enduring image of the tragedy — has grown out slightly. The Tucson resident wore an orange prison jumpsuit and glasses, and his wrists were cuffed to a chain around his waist as eight U.S. Marshals kept watch in the packed Phoenix courtroom and gallery above.

Loughner faces federal charges of trying to assassinate Giffords and kill two of her aides. More charges are expected.

Investigators have said Loughner was mentally disturbed and acting increasingly erratic in the weeks leading up to the attack on Jan. 8 that wounded 13. If Loughner's attorney uses mental competency questions as a defense and is successful, Loughner could be sent to a mental health facility instead of being sentenced to prison or death.

But his attorney, Judy Clarke, said she wasn't raising issues of competency "at this time" after U.S. District Judge Larry Burns of San Diego asked whether there was any question about her client's ability to understand the case against him.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel asked Illinois' highest court Tuesday to overturn a ruling that knocked him off the ballot for Chicago mayor, calling the decision "squarely inconsistent" with previous rulings about the state's election law.

Emanuel's lawyers filed the request a day after an appeals court booted him off the Feb. 22 ballot because he did not live in Chicago for a year before the election.

In the appeal, Emanuel's attorneys called Monday's decision "one of the most far-reaching election law rulings ever" issued in Illinois. They said the ruling imposes "a new, significant limitation" on ballot access.

There was no immediate word on whether the high court would hear the case, or when the justices would decide whether to accept it.

Time was running short because the Chicago Board of Elections said it needed to begin printing ballots Tuesday to be prepared for early voting, which starts Monday.

Officials said they would start printing the ballots without Emanuel's name among the choices.

Just hours after Monday's ruling, the campaign to replace retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley began to look like an actual race.

For months, three of the main candidates struggled for attention while Emanuel outpolled and outraised them, blanketed the airwaves with television ads and gained the endorsement of former President Bill Clinton, who came to town to campaign for Emanuel.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says members of Congress need to get themselves a copy of the Federalist Papers — and make sure they read it.

According to attendees, Scalia adopted a professorial, occasionally playful tone on Monday while addressing members of Congress and staff behind closed doors at an event organized by GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party Caucus.

Scalia drew criticism ahead of the event for attending what was perceived as a partisan gathering. However, members of both parties say the event had more in common with a law school seminar than a pep rally.

Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, who attended, says Scalia implored lawmakers to study their role. She says he also said he does not view the Constitution as a living document.