General Motors' legal department is the focus of an internal inquiry into how the company handled a vehicle safety defect linked to 13 deaths...The U.S. government hit the automaker with a $35 million fine on Friday for its delayed response to an ignition switch defect in millions of vehicles. Regulators accused company officials of concealing the problem...The largest U.S. automaker originally noticed the defect more than a decade ago but issued the first recalls only in February of this year despite years of consumer complaints...U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said GM had broken the law and failed to meet its obligations to public safety...