Rood From Washington

We’re sorry Justin Rood is leaving journalism to become an investigator on the Hill in the Senate, but his colleagues here  want to wish him well in his new career. Readers – if you have any tips or leads on investigative stories in Washington DC for the Brian Ross unit please feel free to contact the Brian Ross tip line.

The Obama administration will not immediately turn over a less-redacted version of a classified 2004 report on the CIA’s controversial interrogation and detention program, as it had earlier indicated.

The administration had reportedly said it would release the new version today to the American Civil Liberties Union, in response to a lawsuit by the group. But the CIA today informed the ACLU it was holding off the release “to make a final determination as to what additional information, if any, may be disclosed from the report.”

A top banking regulator caught up in a fraud scandal has retired, the Treasury Department announced today.

Scott M. Polakoff had been acting director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, which oversees thousands of banks and savings and loans.

Here’s an awkward question: Does the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee have any comment on reports his wife is likely to face criminal bribery charges?

The answer, said a spokesman, is no.

Newspapers in Detroit have for some time identified Monica Conyers, wife of Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), as the alleged bribe-taking “Council Member A” in court documents.  (From his chairman’s seat Conyers oversees the Justice Department, including the FBI agents and U.S. attorney’s offices.)

Yesterday, the Detroit News reported that federal prosecutors had offered a plea deal to Conyers, the controversial president pro tempore of the Detroit City Council: plead to a single felony charge and face up to five years behind bars. They’ve got wiretapped conversations, the paper says.

Conyers was reluctant to take the deal, the paper reported; she was hoping to find a way to avoid jail time altogether, it said.

Conyers, like her husband, had no comment on the matter when I called. The Detroit News today reports she told reporters, “I’m doing good. . . I work every day. Don’t you all see me smiling?”

 The backstory: in 2007, Conyers switched her vote on awarding a billion-dollar city project, handing the deal to Synagro Technologies Inc. (who, like the Conyers, had nothing to say to me). Two men involved in the deal, including a former Synagro official, have pled guilty to bribing “Council Member A.” A third man, who allegedly couriered bribes to “Council Member A,” is reportedly cooperating with authorities.

Jake Tapper reports:

The good-government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, filed a lawsuit today to force the President Obama to share White House visitors logs with the public.

“We’re suing because the Obama Administration has made it clear that they are continuing the policies and practices of the Bush administration and claiming that White House visitors’ records are off limits to the public,” said Anne Weismann, chief counsel for CREW.

Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN) may use his campaign funds to pay his legal bills stemming from the federal investigation into his activities.

Unwind that just a bit: Visclosky is reportedly under investigation for his ties to the PMA Group. Federal investigators reportedly suspect the PMA Group is involved in campaign finance fraud.  Visclosky – who has taken over $140,000 from PMA employees since 2001, and about a million total from the firm and its clients – may use his campaign funds to defend himself against questions about his involvement with PMA.

Visclosky has shed $16,000 in contributions from individuals who said they were PMA employees but, according to press reports, appear not to have been.

Visclosky had asked the Federal Election Commission for a thumbs-up on his legal spending plan; the FEC issued a draft opinion granting its okay on Friday. The panel is expected to vote on the issue this week.

As we’ve reported, Obama’s pick for Army Secretary, Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), has pushed for millions in defense earmarks during his time in Congress. He also took thousands of dollars from lobbyists and defense firms, including the troubled PMA Group lobbying outfit, which represented a long list of Pentagon contractors.

The Washington Times reports today that McHugh recently pushed for an earmark to go to one of PMA’s former clients (the firm is now defunct, following news of an FBI raid on its offices).

A spokesperson for the nominee said that he " has never let a contribution influence any vote or action as an elected official, and he stands ready to respond to any questions the Senate may put before him.”

The House ethics committee confirmed Thursday evening it has opened an investigation into ties between the now-defunct PMA Group lobbying firm and several members of Congress.

The panel acted in response to recently introduced legislation that would direct it to disclose the probe, which would otherwise stay under wraps.

The firm gave millions to lawmakers, including prominent Democratic appropriators like Reps. Jack Murtha (PA) and Pete Visclosky (IN). Visclosky is reportedly also the subject of a federal investigation, as is the PMA Group.

Former defense lobbyist Bill Lynn made waves a few months ago when President Obama crossed his lobbyist ban by tapping him to be Deputy Defense Secretary. He’s doing it again.

Back in January, several groups opposed Lynn’s nomination because of the inherent conflicts of interest they said he would face trying not to involve himself in matters that could involve his old employer, Raytheon, which does a reported $10 billion in Defense business annually.

Splish, splash!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband took a bath on some investments last year, notably on his AIG stock, which lost between $100,000 and $1 million in value from 2007, according to financial disclosure reports cited by both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal this morning.