BRIAN ROSS REPORTS
- Troopergate Probe OK, AK Supremes Say
- Todd Palin Pushed Firing for Years, Probe Told
- Let's Get Ready to Rumble!
- Todd Speaks! (Kind of)
- Palin Aides to Testify
- Troopergate Heads to High Court
- Troopergate Suits Tossed
- Another Private Palin Email Account?
- Probe Challenges Head to Court
- Troopergate Suit "Political, Not Legal," Lawmakers Charge
TOP BLOTTER CATEGORIES
- Abramoff Lobbying Scandal
- American Al Qaeda
- Avian Flu
- Beirut Hospital Out of Gas
- CIA
- CIA Secret Prisons
- D.C. Madam Affair
- FBI
- Federal Air Marshal Service
- Homeland Security
- Hurricane Katrina
- Mark Foley Internet Scandal
- Millionaire Sex Scandal
- Nigerian E-mail Scams
- Norman Hsu, Clinton Fundraiser
- NSA: Wiretapping
- Osama bin Laden
- Payola
- Pharmacy Investigation
- Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert
- Terror
- Troopergate
- U.K. Airline Terror Plot
- U.K. Bombing Attempts
- Wen Ho Lee
- William Jefferson
- Zarqawi
Husband of Charged Academic Worries She Could Be Subject to Harsh Interrogation Techniques
May 31, 2007 2:21 PM
The Iranian authorities use interrogation techniques such as intimidation, threats and blindfolding, said the husband of a detained American academic, and he is very worried that his wife could be subjected to these tactics.
Shaul Bakhash, the husband of Haleh Esfandiari, who was charged with spying by Iranian authorities, said he has not spoken to his wife since her detention and is concerned about her mental and physical condition.
She has been allowed to make phone calls to her mother in Tehran a few times a week, said her husband. He said that nothing of substance is discussed on the calls, and that despite the brevity of the calls, her mother looks forward to them every day.
"Her mother in Tehran is ecstatic," said Bakhash. "She hangs on them so much."
The colleagues of Esfandiari pleaded today for her release.
"Haleh is innocent. She should be set free," said Lee Hamilton, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center where Esfandiari works.
Esfandiari is one of four Americans currently detained in Iran. The others are Parnaz Azima, a Radio Farda journalist, Kian Tajbakhsh, a scholar with the Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute, and Ali Shakeri, confirmed by the State Department for the first time today as being detained by Iranian authorities.
Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the string of detentions are part of a "disturbing pattern."
Esfandiari's troubles began as she drove to the airport in Tehran to catch a flight back to her home in Washington, D.C., after visiting her ailing mother. According to her family, she was robbed at knifepoint by masked men who took her bags and passport.
When she went to get a new passport, she was pulled aside at the passport office and subjected to lengthy interrogations by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence. Those interrogations continued for several weeks.
A Feb. 20 letter by Wilson Center Director Lee Hamilton to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requesting Esfandiari's release was not answered.
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May 31, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (18)
Accused Phony War Hero in Court Today in Texas
May 31, 2007 11:15 AM
The way he told it, David McClanahan, of Fort Worth, Texas, had been wounded in combat three times in Iraq, awarded three Silver Stars and even nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Today, McClanahan, a nursing student at West Texas A&M, appeared in federal court in Amarillo, Texas, on charges he made up his hero's tale. McClanahan did not enter a plea and was released on bond after being advised of the charges against him. The arraignment is now scheduled for June 13.
His lawyer, Brooks Barfield, says McClanahan will enter a plea of not guilty.
A federal grand jury indicted McClanahan last week under the newly passed Stolen Valor Act, which makes any misrepresentation of military service awards a federal crime, punishable with up to a year in prison.
"This is quite an egregious offense that he held himself out as a war hero," Assistant United States Attorney Christy Drake told the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
The grand jury indictment grew out of the work of amateur Web sleuths Chuck and Mary Schantag, who run the Web site POWNetwork.org.
They were asked by a Texas veterans group to do a service record check on McClanahan before he was named guest speaker at the group's yearly banquet.
According to Jack Barnes, who heads up America Supports You in Amarillo, Texas, McClanahan told him he had been awarded three Silver Stars, three Purple Hearts, the Legion of Merit and a nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor for combat bravery in Iraq.
"We just embraced this young man. His story was so real," recalled Barnes.
But the Web site sleuths, the Schantags, found McClanahan had served two years in the Navy and four years in the Army, from which he was discharged as a private with no medals of valor.
"His claims were too good to be true and turned out to be 100 percent false," said Mary Schantag. "Instead of his record being filled with heroism, there was no record of any of the accomplishments he had claimed."
She quickly passed along the findings to the FBI.
"We were shocked" by the Schantags' discovery, said Barnes. "We can't believe the young man would present himself as a war hero to our group when our nation is at war and we have men and women making the ultimate sacrifice for our country," Barnes, himself a Navy veteran, told ABCNews.com.
"He's gotten himself in a hell of a mess, and I'm disappointed by it," said Dan Adams, president and CEO of Cal Farley's Boys Ranch of Amarillo, Texas, where McClanahan attended.
Just last year, McClanahan was awarded a college scholarship worth $3,500 a semester by Cal Farley's, which is a home and school for troubled youth.
"He did pad himself as a war hero here and appeared before the scholarship committee in uniform and wearing medals," Adams told ABCNews.com. He added that McClanahan also showed off a letter he claimed was signed by President Bush, nominating McClanahan for the Congressional Medal of Honor.
In its indictment, the federal grand jury charged Richard "David" McClanahan with two misdemeanor counts of knowingly and intentionally falsely representing himself as having been awarded decorations or medals authorized by Congress, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. The grand jury also charged McClanahan with making a false financial statement in connection with the indictment, a felony.
This post has been updated.
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May 31, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (112)
Accused Murderer of Former Russian Spy Says The Brits Did It...Or Know Who Did
May 31, 2007 9:43 AM
The man who British authorities want to charge in the poisoning death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko robustly denied all allegations he was in any way responsible for the killing, and he offered several versions as to who may be the culprit.
Andrei Lugovoi held a press conference in Moscow today to announce he believes British authorities are covering the tracks of the crime. He also alleged Litvinenko was recruited by British secret services to deliver compromising documents on Russian President Vladimir Putin and that they had also tried to recruit Lugovoi.
Lugovoi said he believes the British secret service may be behind the murder.
"If not by the [British] intelligence services themselves, then under their control or with their connivance," he said.
Both Litvinenko and exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky were working for the British secret service, Lugovoi claimed.
A spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office told ABC News the case is a criminal matter, not an intelligence matter.
"Our position is clear. Our request for the extradition of Mr. Lugovoi to face trial in a U.K. court has been handed over. We await the formal Russian response," she said. "A British citizen was killed in London, and U.K. citizens were put at risk."
The Russians have indicated they will not extradite Lugovoi, and today's presser will likely increase the already tense diplomatic relations between the countries.
As first reported by ABC News earlier this year, police discovered a "hot" teapot at London's Millennium Hotel with an off-the-charts reading for Polonium-210, the radioactive material used in the killing.
Investigators concluded, based on forensic evidence and intelligence reports, the murder was a "state-sponsored" assassination orchestrated by Russian security services.
May 31, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (4)
A New Low in ID Theft: Targeting Military Families
May 30, 2007 5:57 PM
There is a new and extremely cruel identity theft scam targeting military families, the American Red Cross warned today.
In this shocking case, a military spouse answered the phone and was told her husband had been injured in Iraq and med-evacuated to a hospital in Germany. The caller told the woman her husband's treatment could not proceed until further paperwork was received, which included verifying his social security number and date of birth. Fortunately, the woman became suspicious and did not provide the information.
In light of this new report, the Department of Defense said it will use a number of resources to warn military families of this new scam.
"We want our military families to know that information regarding the health and welfare of their loved ones will be provided to them by someone they know within the chain of command," said Leslye Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense.
The Red Cross also said today they typically do not contact family members and urged them not to give out any personal information over the phone.
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May 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (12)
'Russian' Grenades Being Used to Kill U.S. Troops?
May 30, 2007 3:12 PM
Weapons from another generation have become another tool in the arsenal of terror groups in Iraq.
The devices are believed to be military grenades, likely Russian-made and dating back to the World War II.
"They're throwing these things like they're Fourth of July fireworks, but they are quite deadly," said Kevin Barry of the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators.
Watch Video of Attacks With Military Grenades.
A new video from the Islamic State of Iraq documents multiple attacks on convoys in which the devices, which look like small baseball bats, are lobbed at trucks.
The light-weight weapons are easy to hide under jackets and can be thrown into open windows. The main danger, according to Barry, would be if the device hit the fuel tank or passenger area.
"They're adapting this weapon for use in their local terror campaign," said Barry.
In the video, a voice warns that these weapons will be spread to wage jihad in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco and Algeria.
"This is the first time I've seen this type of weapon in one of their videos," said Laura Mansfield, an ABC News Consultant and counterterrorism analyst who monitors Arabic-language jihadi message boards on the Internet.
Mansfield said that the ISI videos typically highlight the use of standard improvised explosive devices, as opposed to military-made weapons.
Barry speculated that the ISI may have come into the possession of a great number of these devices and that they now intend to use them wherever possible.
Indeed in one scene of the video, a masked military trainer is seated in front of at least a half-dozen of the devices, and in some of the attacks seen on the video, the attackers throw multiple devices.
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May 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (34)
Despite Hopes and Promises, U.S. Hostages Remain in Captivity
May 30, 2007 1:27 PM
The five Americans being held in Nigeria remain in captivity despite assurances by their captors of their release today.
The Americans are being held in the oil-rich Niger Delta region by two different militant groups.
One American, John Stapleton (pictured), has been held for four weeks by the group MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) after being captured during a raid on a Chevron facility.
In an e-mail last week to the Blotter on ABCNews.com, the group's leader, Jomo, promised that Stapleton, along with five other foreign oil workers from Italy and Croatia, would be released May 30 in order to "spite the outgoing [Nigerian] administration," which left office yesterday.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
When asked yesterday by e-mail whether MEND still planned to release the hostages by today, Jomo answered "Definately [sic]." But as of six o'clock tonight in Nigeria, there's been no word on their release.
The four other Americans are being held by a militant Nigerian political group that calls itself the Niger Delta Freedom Fighters, also known as "Egbema One." The men, employees of Global Industries, a Nigerian-based oil servicing company that works with Chevron, were captured three weeks ago.
Egbema One has told Nigerian media they plan an imminent release for the hostages but so far have refused to do so. The hostages -- Mike Roussel, Chris Gay, Larry Plake and Kevin Faller -- are reportedly in good health, but the kidnappers are demanding more political clout for their tribe and better sharing of oil revenue before they release the men.
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May 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)
Report: Flight Scare Highlighted Homeland Data Sharing Problems
May 30, 2007 12:43 PM
The Department of Homeland Security isn't good at circulating information on suspicious incidents, according to a recently released report.
"Key Departmental components were either not notified or not notified timely" of suspicious behavior on a 2004 flight.
Roughly a dozen Middle Eastern men aroused concern among passengers and air marshals by rushing to the lavatories, arguing with flight attendants, lingering in the aisles and appearing "nervous and sweaty," concludes the report by the department's Office of Inspector General.
Agents from the FBI, the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) met Northwest Airlines flight 327 when it landed at Los Angeles International Airport on June 29, 2004. Federal agents interviewed three of the suspicious passengers as well as two other travelers who "insisted on giving statements," the report states.
The suspicious travelers were members of a band scheduled to play at a California casino two days later. Database searches revealed one man had been involved in an earlier "suspicious incident," and some of the men's visas had expired. Ultimately, the agents concluded the men did not pose a terrorist threat and released them.
Despite that determination, media accounts pushed federal counterterrorist agencies into action, according to the report, which was completed March 2006 but released in largely unredacted form last week to the Washington Times newspaper, in response to a one-year-old Freedom of Information Act request.
The incident was not reported to DHS's vaunted 24-hour "nerve center," the Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC), until it was reported in the Washington Times July 26, a month after the event occurred. White House officials brought the article to the center's attention, the report says.
What's more, the FBI did not open a separate investigation into the matter until a passenger from the flight appeared on MSNBC's Scarborough Country television show, hosted by former GOP Congressman Joe Scarborough, according to the report.
And at FAMS headquarters, officials queried more databases using the names of the suspicious passengers only after a detailed account of the suspicious behavior was published weeks after the incident in Womens Wall Street, an online publication.
The efforts yielded little, the report finds."DHS and FBI investigations failed to determine any nexus to terrorism from the event." While the report does not criticize that conclusion, it faults aviation security officials for failing to tell the HSOC of the event immediately.
TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe discounted a report by the Washington Times in which former air marshals claimed the incident was an effort by terrorists to "probe" U.S. aviation security.
The suspicious passengers "didn't pose a threat," she said. "The air marshals performed appropriately."
"It's kind of hard to believe they were reading the same report," said Howe. "It in no way concluded this was a [terrorist] probe."
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May 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (3)
New Tape, Old Threats From American al Qaeda
May 29, 2007 3:15 PM
The former California teenage surfer turned al Qaeda propaganda chief, Adam Gadahn, repeated his threats to kill Americans on a new tape posted on the Internet Tuesday afternoon.
Video: American al Qaeda Now in Widescreen
Wearing a white turban, beard and glasses, Gadahn issued what he called a set of six "legitimate demands," saying, "We don't negotiate with baby killers and war criminals like you, Bush."
Gadahn, under federal indictment for treason, is the first American to be charged with that crime in half a century.
Click Here for the Blotter's Full Coverage of American al Qaeda.
"You and your stupid allies are easy targets," Gadahn said with a smirk on his face. "You are losing on all fronts and losing big time."
Gadahn has emerged as a principal al Qaeda operative since leaving southern California for Pakistan almost 10 years ago. The tape made public today was the first since Sept. 2 of last year.
The tape was released, for the first time, in a widescreen format, an indication of the technological savvy that Gadahn has brought to al Qaeda's propaganda operation.
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May 29, 2007 in American Al Qaeda | Permalink | User Comments (409)
Send Wolfowitz to Iraq, Says GOP Lawmaker
May 29, 2007 1:12 PM
Paul Wolfowitz may have been ousted from his post at the World Bank, but a free-speaking GOP lawmaker has an idea to keep the so-called "architect" of the Iraq War from standing in the unemployment line.
"I would like to suggest...that maybe we give Paul Wolfowitz a new job and send him over [to Iraq] as mayor," said Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., "since the neocons got us in over there."
As deputy secretary of defense from 2000 to 2005, Wolfowitz helped develop the strategy and public rationale for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. He publicly stated that coalition troops would be greeted as liberators, and the nation of Iraq would be largely capable of financing its own rebuilding through oil revenues.
Wolfowitz announced his resignation as president of the World Bank last week after a bank panel found he had violated the terms of his contract by setting up a lucrative pay and promotion package for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza.
Wolfowitz has defended the pay package, telling the bank's investigative committee he was trying to avoid a potential lawsuit from Riza.
Jones, a one-time Democrat who switched his party affiliation for the Republicans' 1994 takeover of Congress, is best known as the one-time staunch Iraq war supporter who called for the House of Representatives' cafeteria to rename its French fries "freedom fries" to protest France's unwillingness to join the operation.
The cafeteria assented, going so far as to rename their French toast "freedom toast."
In 2005, Jones switched his position on both the war and the fries. Earlier this month, he was one of just two House Republicans who voted in favor of a Democratic proposal to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq by September 2008.
Jones made his comment at a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing last week.
Jennifer Parker contributed to this report.
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May 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (83)
Iraq War Takes Helicopters Needed for U.S. Disaster Missions
May 25, 2007 11:06 AM
While the Defense Department has pushed extra equipment to units in hurricane-prone states in part to compensate for what has been ordered to Iraq, an ABCNews.com investigation has found some Plains and western states have few if any helicopters on hand to respond quickly to a disaster.
And a backup system of sharing helicopters between states may not be as helpful as it's billed, experts say.
"We're on the ragged edge" in Nebraska, the state's adjutant general, Roger Lempke, told a panel of concerned U.S. lawmakers Thursday, describing the absence of helicopters in his state. Nebraska's contingent of Blackhawk helicopters are deployed in Iraq, leaving few aircraft for disaster relief missions at home.
The central and western United States faces a summer of predicted above-average wildfire activity and an unusually high spate of tornado activity.
Nebraska's situation is not unique. Arkansas National Guard can't count a single helicopter of its own in-state, although it is borrowing a few from neighbors. National Guards in Kansas, Texas and Montana report the vast majority of their helicopters are deployed out of state, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Colorado's National Guard has deployed 17 of its 20 helicopters to Iraq, leaving three to help domestic missions like fighting wildfires.
In Iraq, the rise in ground attacks on U.S. troops has created a demand for helicopters to provide basic transportation. Fast, versatile and highly mobile -- those same qualities make them vital tools for disaster response. Helicopters can often reach disaster zones more quickly than ground transport and can go many places a truck or a humvee cannot reach. They can be outfitted to fight fires, evacuate casualties or move cargo or personnel.
When contacted by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, most state National Guard spokespeople said their equipment shortages would not hamper response to a disaster because they have agreements with neighboring states to borrow equipment.
But some disagree.
Such sharing agreements "are practically nullified" when multiple neighboring states lack the same vehicles or tools, said New Mexico adjutant general Melvyn Montano recently. "Where are they going to tap their equipment from if they've all been deployed?"
"In cases of natural disaster, an hour or two, or the 24 hours that it takes to fly a helicopter from New Jersey or Ohio or New York to Pennsylvania" could be the difference "between life and death," said Rep. Jay Carney, D-Pa., at yesterday's congressional hearing on National Guard readiness.
Not all state National Guard headquarters in the region contacted by ABCNews.com had bleak numbers. The Wyoming National Guard has eight Blackhawk helicopters on hand and more than 70 percent of its other authorized equipment, a spokeswoman told ABCNews.com. That is much higher than the national average, which currently hovers near 40 percent.
The Texas National Guard is also neatly outfitted, its lack of helicopters aside, from trucks to generators to night-vision goggles, its equipment levels were "comparable to redeployment," typically near 70 percent, according to a spokeswoman.
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May 25, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (32)
FBI on the Lookout for Phony Heroes This Memorial Day Weekend
May 25, 2007 10:24 AM
FBI agents and veterans will be on the lookout this Memorial Day weekend for phony military heroes, a disquieting trend that officials say has grown substantially in the years of the war with Iraq.
"I probably get three to five calls a day about someone spotted with suspicious decorations," said Doug Sterner, who passes along the tips to veterans groups and the FBI.
Sterner operates the Web site Home of Heroes, which is dedicated to honoring true military heroes.
Photos: Phony Military Heroes: Medals of Dishonor
"I'll be damned if I sit idly by while some wannabe phony wears awards that real heroes gave their lives for," Sterner said.
Among the most recent examples is Louis Lowell McGuinn of New York City.
He claimed to be a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, often appearing at military events wearing an impressive array of decorations, including a Purple Heart, Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross.
But law enforcement officials say it was a ruse and that McGuinn was discharged from the Army in 1968 as a private, with none of the decorations he claimed.
Last month, FBI agents arrested McGuinn and charged him with wearing unearned medals and badges in violation of federal law. They say he posed as a highly decorated military officer in order to get a job with an underwater marine security company.
McGuinn pleaded not guilty and was released on $5,000 bail with his travel restricted. When contacted by ABC News, he declined to comment on the case.
The FBI and veterans groups say there are more and more decorated phonies turning up every day, and when they are caught, the punishment varies.
In one recent case in St. Louis, businessman Gerald Weilbacher received only two years probation and a $3,000 fine after pleading guilty to federal charges of wearing Marine Corps medals he did not earn, including the Navy Cross, the Corps' second highest medal.
The 400-pound Weilbacher never served in the Marines and was spotted at one Marine Corps veterans event as a phony because "he was too fat to be a Marine," according to one veteran.
In contrast, Michael Bramlett of Springfield, Mo., was sentenced to six months in federal prison without parole for claiming to be a Marine Captain and wearing unauthorized medals that included a Silver Star, Navy Cross and a Purple Heart for combat in Iraq.
At his sentencing on April 3, U.S. Attorney Bradley Schlozman said, "This impostor received the maximum penalty for his dishonorable conduct. Such disrespect for the brave men and women serving in our nation's forces won't be tolerated."
FBI Agent Michael Sandborn works to track down and expose phony military heroes.
"In cemeteries overseas, there are 124,913 Americans who paid for their Purple Hearts with their lives, and these impostors purchase theirs over the Internet and at surplus stores," he told ABC News.
Recent passage of the Stolen Valor Act now makes any misrepresentation of military decorations punishable by up to a year in jail.
Watchdogs like Doug Sterner think that even with the tougher law, military phonies will still be out there tarnishing the image of the true military heroes.
Sterner says, "It's so prevalent that you're never going to catch and prosecute all of them."
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May 25, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (138)
New Questions Dog Sallie Mae Exec's Stock Sale
May 24, 2007 5:50 PM
A top executive at one of the nation's largest student loan organizations is facing new questions about whether he benefited from inside information from the White House in an $18 million stock transaction earlier this year.
Albert L. Lord, chairman of the major educational lender Sallie Mae, has been under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as House and Senate committees for his February sale of 400,000 shares of company stock just days before the White House released a new budget that spelled bad news for his company and other student lenders.
The House Education and Labor Committee today released a strategy document showing Sallie Mae lobbyists intended to meet with White House budget officials in December 2006 while they were drafting their new budget plan.
The document "raises the question of what information Mr. Lord had," said House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., "when he had it, and what he did with it."
Sallie Mae spokesman Tom Joyce confirmed to the Blotter on ABCNews.com the meeting took place, but said it was "not uncommon at all."
"We did not get any inkling whatsoever" of the White House's budget plans at the meeting, he said. "Hence the timing of Mr. Lord's stock sale was completely coincidental."
Miller appears unconvinced. In a letter to Lord dated May 23, he asked the company chairman to provide all letters, e-mails and other communication from the "development and implementation" of the lobbying strategy document.
The Sallie Mae strategy memo released by Miller Thursday lists the Democratic takeover of Congress as a "challenge" for the company. On another page, under the title, "Critical Things to Get Done by Christmas," the first action item states, "Hire...Democratic lobbyist."
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May 24, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1)
IRS Private Debt Collection Program Under Fire
May 24, 2007 5:22 PM
The IRS plans to expand a controversial program that uses private debt collectors to collect back taxes, despite criticism from Congress and its own tax advocate.
Congressional investigators say there have been hundreds of complaints about repeated and abusive phone calls from debt collectors participating in the IRS program. Among those who have filed complaints are people in nursing homes, wives of servicemen in Iraq and low-income taxpayers facing economic hardship.
"It's bad enough having to owe the Internal Revenue Service, but to be harassed by private collectors is just not fair," said Congressman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which held hearings on the program this week. Rangel has threatened to enact legislation to close the program if the IRS fails to do so on its own.
World News Video IRS Tactic to Alleviate Tax Debt
Critics also charge the IRS program has led to widespread confusion and frustration among taxpayers.
Under the rules of the program, collectors cannot say they are working for the IRS and are calling about a tax matter without first receiving proof of a taxpayer's identity. This has led to complaints from consumers saying they have received calls that sound like scams from collectors who have pressed them to provide social security numbers without identifying the purpose of the call.
Audio Click Here to Hear One of the Calls Yourself.
Nina Olson, the National Tax Advocate of the IRS, is helping to lead the campaign to repeal the program, which she says has cost $50 million more in administrative costs than it has collected in back taxes.
"As I saw the business case just evaporate, it was my decision and my determination that this program was a waste of taxpayers' dollars," Olson told the Blotter on ABCNews.com
The debt collection industry says its own surveys show taxpayers who have been contacted are happy with the program.
"The overall customer satisfaction rate is exemplary. In fact, in terms of professionalism, consumers are rating the private collection agencies at 100 percent satisfaction," said Rozanne Andersen of ACA International, the trade group for the collection industry.
Currently, two companies have been authorized to participate in the IRS program, CBE Group, Inc., of Waterloo, Iowa, and Pioneer Credit Recovery Inc. in Arcade, N.Y. The companies are entitled to keep 25 percent of what they collect. The IRS plans to add another eight debt collection firms to the program by next year.
In the hearings, the president of CBE defended his company's performance and said its workers are committed to acting in an ethical manner.
Congressman Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., whose district is home to Pioneer Credit Recovery, was one of the main proponents of the program when it was enacted two years ago. Campaign finance records show that Reynolds has received at least $4,000 in direct campaign contributions from the owners of Pioneer, who have given more than $85,000 to Republican candidates, PACs and committees since 2000.
A spokesperson for Rep. Reynolds told ABCNews.com, "Looking at this program, Congressman Reynolds' No. 1 concern is looking at the over 1000 jobs it provides in our district. Additionally Congressman Reynolds is concerned that taxpayer privacy is protected by the IRS and any other parties that have access to tax payer info."
Pioneer Credit was not available for immediate response.
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May 24, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (9)
Another American Detained in Iran?
May 24, 2007 3:55 PM
Yet another American citizen has disappeared in Iran and is feared to be in detention, according to Human Rights Watch, a nongovernmental organization based in New York.
Ali Shakeri, an Iranian-American dual citizen, was scheduled to leave Iran on May 13, but "he disappeared from the radar," Human Rights Watch's Hadi Ghaemi told ABC News.
Ghaemi has been in touch with Shakeri's associates who say the political activist and writer from Irvine, Calif., was in Iran to visit his mother who died while he was there.
According to a statement released by Human Rights Watch, those associates believe Shakeri is "being detained by Iranian authorities."
"The Iranian government has not provided any public information about his whereabouts," the statement continued.
If Shakeri is detained, he would be the third Iranian-American to be detained by Iran in recent weeks in addition to others who have been prevented from leaving the country.
The U.S. State Department could not confirm that Shakeri was missing or detained, but deputy spokesman Tom Casey said, "We are concerned by the fact that there appears to be a pattern here of harassment against private citizens and against private Iranian-Americans, and that's something that I guess the Iranians will have to offer an explanation for."
Casey said the U.S. does not plan to raise the subject of the detained Americans during an historic meeting with Iran planned for next Monday. For the first time in decades, the United States and Iran will hold high-level talks in Baghdad between U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Iranian officials.
Casey said that meeting would focus exclusively on issues related to Iraq. The United States accuses Iran of fomenting sectarian violence in Iraq by providing munitions and training to armed groups in an effort to destabilize the country and attack U.S. troops.
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May 24, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (12)
Scam With Jesus Statue Busted in Brazil's 'Operation Judas'
May 24, 2007 3:39 PM
Police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have broken up an alleged multi-million-dollar scam involving the famed Christ the Redeemer monument, a towering statue of Jesus with extended arms that is one of the world's most visited tourist locations.
At least 20 people were arrested in a bust the police called "Operation Iscariot," for Judas Iscariot, who in the New Testament of the Bible betrayed Jesus.
According to Brazilian officials, the scam allegedly involved ticket agents, tour guides, security guards and other employees of Tijuca National Park, who ripped off $9 million in fees paid by tourists.
Police say the employees turned in tourist fees for only one of every 15 official tour trams visiting the monument, keeping the rest of the money for themselves.
The cost to visit the Christ the Redeemer statue is about $10, and the monument has millions of visitors each year. Police estimate the suspects were allegedly pocketing some $50,000 to $250,000 a month.
Christ the Redeemer is located at the top of Rio's famed Mount Corcovado. Legend has it that "Christ" always looks over Rio and its citizens. Trains to see the statue, particularly during high-tourist season, are packed.
The bust comes as police in Rio are cracking down on crimes against tourists in the seaside city.
"It's a quality of life issue," said a spokesman for the Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"Operation Judas" is part of a larger effort by Brazilian authorities to change Rio's image as a beautiful but crime-ridden city. Rio is slated to host the Pan-American games this summer, and the Christ the Redeemer statue is under consideration to be named one of the new seven wonders of the world.
Rio's tourism industry sees the arrest as a good thing, says the spokesman.
"We're focused on corruption from the bottom up, and these are steps to improve the quality of life in the city for the citizens and for the visitors," he said.
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May 24, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (23)
Crime Soars in New Orleans as National Guard Pullout Nears
May 24, 2007 11:48 AM
Murders in the city of New Orleans jumped 182 percent in the first three months of the year, and police fear it could go even higher with the scheduled withdrawal of National Guard troops from the city next month.
A new report by the New Orleans Police Department also found dramatic increases in armed robberies, up 160 percent, and in assaults, up 103 percent, compared to the first three months of 2006.
"The problem is that while the city's population has been increasing, the department's officers have decreased in numbers," New Orleans Deputy Police Chief of Operations Tony Cannatella tells ABC News.
According to New Orleans urban planning firm GCR & Associates, the city's population has grown from 185,000 in January 2006 to 255,000 by March 2007 -- still a far cry from the 454,000 people who called New Orleans home before Hurricane Katrina.
The New Orleans Police Department recently requested Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco keep the 300 National Guard troops currently aiding its law enforcement efforts until it can beef up its ranks, Blanco's office told ABC News. A spokesperson said she has not yet decided what to do.
NOPD's Cannatella said since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans police have lost some 400 officers to other cities and states, and remaining officers are still forced to work out of poorly equipped trailers provided by FEMA.
New Orleans FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Jim Bernazzani calls their working conditions "alarming."
He said FBI agents are now assisting the New Orleans Police Department's homicide squad. "These are agents with special training in solving homicide cases," said Bernazzani.
New Orleans police are trying to fill their ranks by conducting a heavy recruitment drive using cash incentives, with the hope of putting many more officers on the troubled streets in time for the long, hot summer ahead.
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May 24, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (65)
I Destroyed Records, NASA Official to Admit
May 24, 2007 10:05 AM
A senior NASA official is expected to express his regret over destroying recordings sought by lawmakers before a congressional panel today.
According to a copy of his prepared remarks obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, Michael C. Wholley (pictured on the left), general counsel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will tell members of a House panel this morning he "wishes" NASA had preserved at least one of several video recordings of a controversial April 10 meeting, in which NASA administrator Michael Griffin allegedly spoke in support of the agency's embattled inspector general, Robert W. "Moose" Cobb (pictured on the right).
But according to his remarks, Wholley will defend the legality of his decision to destroy several DVD recordings of the meeting, telling the House Committee on Science and Technology that he destroyed the recordings on the day of the meeting or the following day after checking two laws which govern the preservation of government records.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
"This was a closed meeting," his remarks state, "specifically directed to not be recorded, and these DVDs were not Agency records at the time."
Cobb, the NASA inspector general, has been the subject of an exhaustive investigation by a federal review panel, which concluded in January he had abused his authority and lacked independence. The panel recommended he be disciplined or dismissed.
Cobb has made no public comment on the investigation or its conclusions.
Wholley has reportedly made similar admissions in private meetings with congressional staffers investigating the incident. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a one-time crew member of the space shuttle Columbia, has called for Wholley's resignation over the matter. Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., chair of the House science committee, has called it "nothing less than the destruction of evidence."
Wholley is expected to say he first heard of a congressional request to produce a recording of the meeting a week after he says he destroyed the DVDs, and that he regrets his decision to destroy them.
"I do not think that anybody wishes more than I do that a recording of that meeting could be provided to this body," his testimony reads.
In a statement earlier this month, NASA administrator Griffin admitted the action was "a mistake."
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May 24, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (11)
A New Low: Baby Blankets Used to Smuggle Heroin
May 23, 2007 5:49 PM
A large-scale heroin trafficking organization has been dismantled in what officials call a "major blow" to one of the primary source regions for heroin in the United States.
Drug smugglers lined suitcases, blue jeans and other items of clothing and even baby blankets to get past security and law enforcement officials, according to a DEA agent on the case.
A U.S. Attorney unsealed 10 indictments today charging 44 people with various drug trafficking, money laundering and counterfeiting offenses, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The charges stem from "Operation Jacket Racket," a DEA-coordinated narcotics investigation targeting a large-scale Colombian heroin drug trafficking organization with distribution cells in San Diego, New York City and Newark, N.J. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service participated in the investigation.
The investigation also targeted multiple Mexico-based heroin transportation cells involved in the importation of large quantities of heroin into the United States from three sources of supply in Colombia over an extended period of time, according to DEA.
"This is a significant blow to a giant source of heroin in the U.S.," said DEA Headquarters' spokesman Steven Robertson.
According to the indictments, upon arriving in the United States, the heroin was shipped to either New York or New Jersey via airports in San Diego, Phoenix or Las Vegas. Couriers were typically given a transportation fee, which was deposited into bank accounts in New York and New Jersey and then immediately withdrawn in southern California.
DEA worked with the Colombian National Police to seize 350 kilograms of heroin, a street value of $22 million. Two hundred twenty kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of methamphetamine, 150 pounds of marijuana, $200,000 in United States currency and $1,000,000 in counterfeit United States currency were also seized.
DEA agents said they were first tipped off to a heroin carrier from San Diego to New York last year.
"When we expanded the investigation, we uncovered the ring with its source in Colombia and the route through Mexico to the U.S.," said Special Agent Erin Mulvey.
Law enforcement agents in the U.S., Mexico and Colombia made more than 100 arrests over the course of the investigation, including the engineer who manufactured the drugs. Four people were arrested in New York City last week, three of whom were U.S. citizens.
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May 23, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (19)
Test of Controversial Artificial Blood Product a Failure
May 23, 2007 5:29 PM
Results released today show a controversial experimental artificial blood product given to accident victims without their consent resulted in higher rates of mortality and side effects than among control patients who received standard treatment.
According to the results released by Northfield Labs, the maker of Polyheme, 11.1 percent of patients given Polyheme died, compared to 9.1 percent of patients who received the standard treatment of saline solution in the field and real blood in the hospital. In addition, 40 percent of Polyheme patients suffered serious adverse events, including shock, pneumonia, and respiratory failure, versus 35 percent in the control group.
The Northfield trial had been highly criticized by doctors and medical ethicists because Polyheme was given to seriously injured accident victims in 27 cities across the U.S. without their knowledge. The only way out of the experiment was to wear a blue bracelet provided by the company.
Pastor Paul Burleson of a Denver church alliance said the experiment turned test subjects into human guinea pigs.
"If I'm in an accident and I just don't happen to have this particular wristband, that I'd be a guinea pig is unconscionable," he said.
Northfield has maintained the unusual trial design was the only way to test such a product and that a viable blood substitute product would have revolutionary benefits for emergency medical care.
Northfield CEO Steven Gould said, "We continue to believe there is a potential benefit to using Polyheme in patients with delayed access to blood."
Past efforts to develop a viable blood substitute have met with failure because such products have been shown to cause a greater incidence of heart attacks. The Northfield results released today showed that seven percent of Polyheme patients suffered cardiac serious adverse events versus four percent of control patients.
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May 23, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (9)
GOP Candidates Criticize ABC News Report on CIA-Iran Plan
May 23, 2007 1:52 PM
Two Republican presidential candidates today criticized the ABC News report Tuesday about the CIA's covert plan to destabilize the Iranian regime.
"I was shocked to see the ABC News report regarding covert action in Iran," Mitt Romney said as he opened a session with reporters in Tulsa, Okla.
Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., called for an investigation into who leaked the information and "condemned" ABC News for "running the story which could jeopardize American lives."
The ABC News story reported that President Bush had given the CIA authorization to conduct a nonlethal covert action against Iran involving propaganda, disinformation and the manipulation of Iran's international banking transactions.
"The reporting has the potential of jeopardizing our national security. To put it quite plainly, it has the potential of affecting human life, we may never know," Romney said.
Romney said he had called ABC News president David Westin to register his concerns.
In a statement ABC News said, "In the six days since we first contacted the CIA and the White House, at no time did they indicate that broadcasting this report would jeopardize lives or operations on the ground. ABC News management gave them the repeated opportunity to make whatever objection they wanted to regarding our report. They chose not to."
ABC News said, "This piece was very carefully reported, and it puts solid facts on the table concerning a crucial foreign policy challenge facing the United States and the world."
May 23, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (251)
Bush Official Broke the Law, Investigators Say
May 23, 2007 12:42 PM
A government investigation has found a top Bush administration official broke the law by encouraging subordinates to use their power to support Republican candidates for office, sources tell ABC News.
In a draft report, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) determined Lurita Doan, head of the $56 billion General Services Administration, violated the Hatch Act, which bars certain partisan political activity by government officials and employees, according to sources familiar with the document.
OSC confirmed Doan asked other GSA employees to think how their agency could help "our candidates," following a 2006 PowerPoint presentation by the White House political office on Republicans in tight congressional races, sources told ABC News.
The agency contracts for services, supplies and real estate on behalf of the entire federal government.
Special Counsel Scott Bloch sent a copy of the draft report to Doan's office for comment last week, confirmed OSC spokesman Jim Mitchell, who declined to discuss the report's findings. She has two weeks to respond, after which Bloch will forward the final report to President Bush along with his recommendations for action. Bloch could advise the president to suspend or fire Doan for the infraction.
The report may place the White House in the awkward position of disciplining a senior official for taking political action in response to a White House political presentation. Despite Bloch's advice, experts say President Bush is not likely to fire Doan.
"You've had presidential appointees do worse and not generate presidential action," said Paul Light, an expert on the executive branch and professor at New York University. "I think he'll accept her protestation that she did nothing wrong, and he'll let her stand. That's just been his habit."
Neither GSA nor the White House responded to requests for comment.
Doan is currently facing a separate investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee into charges she improperly intervened in contracting issues. The panel, which first revealed allegations of Doan's comments at the White House political office briefing, is also probing whether other agencies hosted White House presentations similar to the one at which the OSC reportedly concluded Doan broke the law.
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May 23, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (38)
U.N. Report Says Iran Undeterred on Nuke Course
May 23, 2007 11:13 AM
Iran is undeterred from its current course of gaining the ability to enrich large quantities of uranium, according to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
The strongly worded report says Iran has failed to comply with the U.N. Security Council resolution calling on them to demonstrate their nuclear program is strictly peaceful.
According to the IAEA report, Iran now has 2,132 centrifuges either enriching uranium or in the process of installation.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
The U.N. inspectors found Iran is making rapid progress toward the goal of having 3,000 centrifuges up and running sometime this summer.
Nuclear experts say that once Iran has the 3,000 centrifuges operating, they will have the technical capacity to produce enough enriched uranium for one bomb a year.
The reports says as of May 13, eight 154-machine cascades were operating simultaneously and being fed with uranium hexafluoride, the gas needed to produce enriched uranium.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
The IAEA report says Iran has reached enrichment levels of 4.8 percent U-235, consistent with the levels needed for reactor fuel. Weapons-grade uranium would require enrichment of 90 percent or more.
The report also says Iran has continued to refuse to answer longstanding requests from the IAEA about a long list of issues, including possible weaponization of uranium and studies of missile warhead design.
"The agency remains unable to make further progress in its efforts to verify certain aspects relevant to the scope and nature of Iran's nuclear programme," the report concluded.
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May 23, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (8)
Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran
May 22, 2007 6:29 PM
The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a "nonlethal presidential finding" that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions.
"I can't confirm or deny whether such a program exists or whether the president signed it, but it would be consistent with an overall American approach trying to find ways to put pressure on the regime," said Bruce Riedel, a recently retired CIA senior official who dealt with Iran and other countries in the region.
A National Security Council spokesperson, Gordon Johndroe, said, "The White House does not comment on intelligence matters." A CIA spokesperson said, "As a matter of course, we do not comment on allegations of covert activity."
The sources say the CIA developed the covert plan over the last year and received approval from White House officials and other officials in the intelligence community.
Officials say the covert plan is designed to pressure Iran to stop its nuclear enrichment program and end aid to insurgents in Iraq.
"There are some channels where the United States government may want to do things without its hand showing, and legally, therefore, the administration would, if it's doing that, need an intelligence finding and would need to tell the Congress," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, a former White House counterterrorism official.
Current and former intelligence officials say the approval of the covert action means the Bush administration, for the time being, has decided not to pursue a military option against Iran.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
"Vice President Cheney helped to lead the side favoring a military strike," said former CIA official Riedel, "but I think they have come to the conclusion that a military strike has more downsides than upsides."
The covert action plan comes as U.S. officials have confirmed Iran had dramatically increased its ability to produce nuclear weapons material, at a pace that experts said would give them the ability to build a nuclear bomb in two years.
Riedel says economic pressure on Iran may be the most effective tool available to the CIA, particularly in going after secret accounts used to fund the nuclear program.
"The kind of dealings that the Iranian Revolution Guards are going to do, in terms of purchasing nuclear and missile components, are likely to be extremely secret, and you're going to have to work very, very hard to find them, and that's exactly the kind of thing the CIA's nonproliferation center and others would be expert at trying to look into," Riedel said.
Under the law, the CIA needs an official presidential finding to carry out such covert actions. The CIA is permitted to mount covert "collection" operations without a presidential finding.
"Presidential findings" are kept secret but reported to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and other key congressional leaders.
Check out the Brian Ross Webcast: More on CIA's 'Black' Operation in Iran
The "nonlethal" aspect of the presidential finding means CIA officers may not use deadly force in carrying out the secret operations against Iran.
Still, some fear that even a nonlethal covert CIA program carries great risks.
"I think everybody in the region knows that there is a proxy war already afoot with the United States supporting anti-Iranian elements in the region as well as opposition groups within Iran," said Vali Nasr, adjunct senior fellow for Mideast studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"And this covert action is now being escalated by the new U.S. directive, and that can very quickly lead to Iranian retaliation and a cycle of escalation can follow," Nasr said.
Other "lethal" findings have authorized CIA covert actions against al Qaeda, terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
Also briefed on the CIA proposal, according to intelligence sources, were National Security Advisor Steve Hadley and Deputy National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams.
"The entire plan has been blessed by Abrams, in particular," said one intelligence source familiar with the plan. "And Hadley had to put his chop on it."
Abrams' last involvement with attempting to destabilize a foreign government led to criminal charges.
He pleaded guilty in October 1991 to two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress about the Reagan administration's ill-fated efforts to destabilize the Nicaraguan Sandinista government in Central America, known as the Iran-Contra affair. Abrams was later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush in December 1992.
In June 2001, Abrams was named by then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to head the National Security Council's office for democracy, human rights and international operations. On Feb. 2, 2005, National Security Advisor Hadley appointed Abrams deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for global democracy strategy, one of the nation's most senior national security positions.
As earlier reported on the Blotter on ABCNews.com, the United States has supported and encouraged an Iranian militant group, Jundullah, that has conducted deadly raids inside Iran from bases on the rugged Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan "tri-border region."
U.S. officials deny any "direct funding" of Jundullah groups but say the leader of Jundullah was in regular contact with U.S. officials.
American intelligence sources say Jundullah has received money and weapons through the Afghanistan and Pakistan military and Pakistan's intelligence service. Pakistan has officially denied any connection.
A report broadcast on Iranian TV last Sunday said Iranian authorities had captured 10 men crossing the border with $500,000 in cash along with "maps of sensitive areas" and "modern spy equipment."
A senior Pakistani official told ABCNews.com the 10 men were members of Jundullah.
The leader of the Jundullah group, according to the Pakistani official, has been recruiting and training "hundreds of men" for "unspecified missions" across the border in Iran.
May 22, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1641)
New U.N. Report on Iran Nuke Program Due Tomorrow
May 22, 2007 4:49 PM
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to confirm Iran's rapid progress in advancing its uranium enrichment program in a report due tomorrow.
Iran has a stated goal of installing 3,000 nuclear enrichment centrifuges by early this summer, an important milestone, according to U.S. and European intelligence officials who fear the country could achieve the ability to produce a nuclear weapon within two years.
IAEA inspectors say Iran has begun to feed many of the installed centrifuges with uranium hexafluoride -- the gas that is used to produce enriched uranium.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
Iran's actions are in direct defiance of the U.N. Security Council, which two months ago unanimously adopted sanctions against a series of Iranian entities, including freezing the assets of one of its largest banks, Bank Sepah.
The U.N. has called on U.N. member states to exercise "vigilance and restraint" in the export of conventional arms to Iran. The resolution also expressly prohibits Iran from exporting arms to other countries.
May 22, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2)
New al Qaeda Tapes Feature U.S. Capitol Under 'Attack'
May 22, 2007 2:01 PM
Al Qaeda has a new opening graphic for its propaganda tapes: the U.S. Capitol under "attack."
"The Islamic State of Iraq...March Toward Washington" reads the headline in English superimposed over a digitally created scene of the U.S. Capitol under attack in the introductory sequence of one tape released on the Internet this week.
Another from al Qaeda's "as Sahab" production arm announces "Holocaust of the Americans in the Land of Khorasan" and shows an image of the U.S. Capitol to introduce a short clip of al Qaeda fighters.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
"This is a disturbing new trend," says Laura Mansfield, an Arabic expert who monitors jihadi videos on the Internet.
"Recall that in January 2006, Osama Bin Laden said that plans for attacks in the U.S. were in progress," Mansfield told the Blotter on ABCNews.com. "It may be that this new imagery is designed to motivate terrorist activity in the U.S., but it is certainly intended as a recruiting tool and perhaps intended to reassure al Qaeda's jihadi followers they haven't forgotten their goal of an al Qaeda attack on Washington, D.C.," she said.
May 22, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (289)
Fred Thompson Ends Fund That Paid $178,000 to Son
May 22, 2007 11:11 AM
Former Tennessee Senator and potential Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has shut down a political action committee that paid out more money to his son than it did in political donations.
Federal Election Commission records analyzed by the Blotter on ABCNews.com show Thompson's committee paid $178,000 to his son's political consulting firm, Daniel Thompson Associates, since 2003.
In contrast, the committee made only $66,700 in contributions to other campaigns and political committees in the four years since Thompson retired from the Senate.
The payments to Thompson's son were described as for management and consulting services.
While it is not unusual for members of Congress to hire family members to work on their campaigns, the high payments to Thompson's son's consulting business deserve close scrutiny, according to Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.
"It raises eyebrows and calls into question whether this is self-dealing," says Krumholz .
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
Contacted at his Nashville, Tenn., political consulting business, Daniel Thompson told ABC News he couldn't talk because he was "about to leave for a business trip" and referred all questions to a spokesman for his father, who did not return calls from ABC News.
When Thompson left the Senate in 2002, he converted more than $370,000 in leftover campaign funds into a "leadership PAC," which allowed him to contribute to other politicians at a $5,000 limit and pay for a variety of other expenses, including travel and consulting services.
Krumholz says retired lawmakers, like Thompson, often keep leadership PACs as a "slush fund" to help them set the stage for a run for higher office.
"Often it is simply a way to keep their foot in the door and keep them in the spotlight," says Krumholz.
May 22, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (56)
U.S. Government Gave Airtime to Terrorists, Official Admits
May 22, 2007 10:47 AM
Al Hurra television, the U.S. government's $63 million-a-year effort at public diplomacy broadcasting in the Middle East, is run by executives and officials who cannot speak Arabic, according to a senior official who oversees the program.
That might explain why critics say the service has recently been caught broadcasting terrorist messages, including an hour-long tirade on the importance of anti-Jewish violence, among other questionable pieces.
Facing tough questions before a congressional panel last week, Broadcasting Board of Governors member Joaquin Blaya admitted none of the senior news managers at the network spoke Arabic when the terrorist messages made it onto the air courtesy of U.S. taxpayer funds. Nor did Blaya himself or any of the other officials at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the network.
"How does it happen that the terrorists take over?" asked Rep. Gary L. Ackerman, D-N.Y., at a hearing last Wednesday of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee he chairs. "Is there no adult supervision?"
Blaya conceded that the top officials in the network's chain of command could not understand what was being said on al Hurra broadcasts.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
Also, the network's news division also had no assignment desk, he said. That left decisions over al Hurra's content in the hands of its reporters and producers, who are, according to Blaya, hastily-hired Arabic-speaking journalists with insufficient understanding of Western journalistic practices or the network's pro-Western mission.
Blaya's comments were first reported by Congressional Quarterly.
It has never been al Hurra's policy to "provide an open, live microphone to terrorists," Blaya assured lawmakers. "It should not have happened."
The station's gaffes have included broadcasting in December 2006 a 68-minute call to arms against Israelis by a senior figure of the terrorist group Hezbollah; deferential coverage of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial conference; and a factually flawed piece on a splinter group of Orthodox Jews who oppose the state of Israel, according to the Wall Street Journal, which has reported the network's travails for months.
At the hearing, Blaya and other officials assured lawmakers that some of the staffers involved in the controversial broadcasts had been fired. They also said the network now has an assignment desk, staffed by Arabic-speaking editors. And the network's vice president of news has hired an Arabic speaker to help monitor its broadcasts and ensure the material is consistent with al Hurra's mission.
May 22, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (58)
U.K. to Seek Extradition of Russian Suspect
May 22, 2007 8:54 AM
The United Kingdom will seek to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, the former Russian security service bodyguard whom they want to charge with the murder of former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko.
The Crown Prosecution Service followed the recommendation of the Metropolitan Police and agree the evidence is sufficient to charge Lugovoi with murdering Litvinenko, who died of acute radiation poisoning in November.
"I have instructed CPS lawyers to take immediate steps to seek the early extradition of Andrei Lugovoi from Russia to the United Kingdom, so that he may be charged with murder and be brought swiftly before a court in London to be prosecuted for this extraordinarily grave crime," said Sir Ken Macdonald, the director of public prosecutions.
A major diplomatic struggle may be in the works as the Russians again today said they will not extradite Lugovoi to stand trial.
"In accordance with Russian law, citizens of Russia cannot be turned over to foreign states," spokeswoman Marina Gridneva said on the NTV television channel. "A citizen of Russia, committing a crime on the territory of a foreign state, can, upon presentation of material by this state, can be brought to criminal responsibility but only in Russia."
But today the CPS said that prosecution of the case is in the public interest so the extradition request will be made.
Some 128 people were discovered to have had "probable contact" with Polonium-210, the radioactive substance used to kill Litvinenko, according to British health officials.
During the course of their investigation, police found that multiple locations in London had been contaminated in what many see as a botched assassination.
Early this year, the Metropolitan Police handed the results of their investigation to the Crown Prosecution Service, which under British law, makes the actual decision to bring charges.
Lugovoi had tea with Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the day police believe the lethal dose of poison was administered through a hotel teapot.
Lugovoi has steadfastly denied any involvement in the murder. Today from Russia, he said he believed the charges are politically motivated.
"I did not kill Litvinenko, have nothing to do with his death and can prove with facts my distrust of the so-called evidence collected by Britain's justice system," he told state-owned Itar-Tass news.
As first reported by ABC News earlier this year, police discovered a "hot" teapot at London's Millennium Hotel with an off-the-charts reading for Polonium-210, the radioactive material used in the killing.
A senior official told ABC News that the "hot" teapot remained in use at the hotel for several weeks after Litvinenko's death before being tested in the second week of December. The official said investigators were embarrassed at the oversight.
Investigators concluded, based on forensic evidence and intelligence reports, that the murder was a "state-sponsored" assassination orchestrated by Russian security services.
May 22, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (10)
Charges Expected in Litvinenko Case
May 21, 2007 8:16 PM
Great Britain's Crown Prosecution Service is expected to announce charges in the case of poisoned Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko tomorrow, according to a source close to the investigation.
That source says that, as recommended by the police, the service is expected to charge Andrei Lugovoi, and possibly also Dimitri Kovtun, in the poisoning of the former Russian spy.
Early this year, the Metropolitan Police handed the results of their investigation to the Crown Prosecution Service, which under British law makes the actual decision to bring charges.
Check Out Photos of the Litvinenko Investigation.
The Russians have already indicated they will not extradite Lugovoi to stand trial.
Lugovoi, a former Russian security service bodyguard, had tea with Litvinenko on Nov. 1, the day police believe the lethal dose of poison was administered through a hotel teapot. Lugovoi has steadfastly denied any involvement in the murder.
As first reported by ABC News earlier this year, police discovered a "hot" teapot at London's Millennium Hotel with an off-the-charts reading for Polonium-210, the radioactive material used in the killing.
A senior official told ABC News that the "hot" teapot remained in use at the hotel for several weeks after Litvinenko's death before being tested in the second week of December. The official said investigators were embarrassed at the oversight.
Investigators concluded, based on forensic evidence and intelligence reports, that the murder was a "state-sponsored" assassination orchestrated by Russian security services.
May 21, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (9)
U.S. Requests Access to Scholar Held in Iran
May 21, 2007 7:12 PM
The U.S. is requesting access to the Iranian-American scholar being held in Iran, according to a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The U.S. has requested consular access to Haleh Esfandiari through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, said the official, the usual channel of communications between the United States and Iran since the two countries severed diplomatic ties after the Iranian revolution decades ago. Iran has not yet responded to the U.S. request.
The official also tells ABC News the U.S. has reached out to other countries for support. The official says the overall response has been favorable, with at least Japan saying they would try to help.
Esfandiari's status as a dual Iranian and American citizen complicates U.S. requests for consular access. The Vienna Convention, which governs consular access, does not cover dual nationals so international law in that regard remains unclear.
Esfandiari has been charged with conspiracy to topple the government of Iran, according to Iranian State TV reports today. Her friends and family say the accusations are baseless.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
Esfandiari's employer, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, says they do not believe Esfandiari has been formally charged.
"We do not believe that any formal charges have been made," the Wilson Center said today.
On May 15, Iran's judiciary spokesman, Ali Reza Jamshidi, said Esfandiari was being investigated for crimes against national security.
The U.S. State Department says it is looking into the reports that Esfandiari has been formally charged.
State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey tells ABC News, "We've seen those reports. We assume that they are true, but have no independent confirmation."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called for Esfandiari's immediate release. In response to Secretary Rice's comments, her Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, said, "The Americans had better comment only within their own responsibilities and duties and avoid meddling with other countries' affairs."
Esfandiari was incarcerated on May 8 and sent to Iran's harsh Evin Prison. Since then, according to the Wilson Center, she has only been afforded 10 to 11 brief phone calls to her 93-year-old mother in Iran to say that she is OK.
According to the Wilson Center, which has spoken to her family, Esfandiari's troubles began as she drove to the airport in Tehran to catch a flight back to her home in Washington, D.C., after visiting her ailing mother. She was robbed at knifepoint by masked men who took her bags and passport.
When she went to get a new passport, she was pulled aside at the passport office and subjected to lengthy interrogations by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence. Those interrogations continued for several weeks. A Feb. 20 letter by Wilson Center Director Lee Hamilton to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requesting Esfandiari's release was not answered.
Picture of Esfandiari is courtesy of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
May 21, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)
Missing: 27 U.S. Citizens; Hopes Dim for Many, Some Held for Years
May 21, 2007 4:00 PM
At least 27 American citizens, including five U.S. servicemen and 22 private businessmen and contractors, are being held hostage by militant groups worldwide, an ABCNews.com analysis has found. And the fate of many of them has received little attention since their kidnappings.
The U.S. State Department does not officially report the number of missing Americans civilians.
Nineteen of the Americans held hostage are in Iraq, including the three soldiers who are believed to have been captured last week. Five other Americans have been reported kidnapped by militant groups in Nigeria, and three more have been held by the Colombia terror group FARC for the last four years.
"It's a growth industry," says Jack Cloonan, an ABC News consultant and former FBI agent who now runs a firm specializing in negotiating the release of hostages. "If you're a large multinational company or doing business in iffy places, you are at risk."
Photos: See the Faces of America's Missing
The three American contractors held in Colombia were flying a drug surveillance plane for the U.S. military when it crashed in February 2003. FARC has posted photos of Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes. A Colombian police officer, who escaped last week after being held hostage by FARC for eight years, says the three Americans are alive but are suffering from malnutrition. One hostage has hepatitis.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
In a statement released to the Blotter on ABC News.com, Northrop Grumman, the contracting firm for which the men work, says the company is "pleased to learn last week of this new indication of proof-of-life for our three coworkers who have been held captive by the FARC for more than four years in Colombia. However, we are deeply concerned about news reports of a possible health issue involving one of our employees. We hope and request proper and adequate medical care be provided to Marc Gonsalves as well as Tom Howes, Keith Stansell and all the other hostages. Northrop Grumman continues to work with various agencies and departments of the U.S. government and others on efforts to secure the safe, timely release of all three employees."
Negotiations to free the men have been stalled as it is U.S. policy not to negotiate with groups labeled as terrorists.
In Nigeria, five Americans are being held in the oil-rich Niger Delta region by two different militant groups. One American, John Stapleton, has been held for three weeks by the group MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) after being captured during a raid on a Chevron facility. In an e-mail to the Blotter on ABCNews.com, the group's leader, Jomo, says Stapleton is in good health but won't be released until May 30 to "spite the outgoing [Nigerian] administration which will be leaving office on the 29th of May."
The four other Americans in Nigeria are being held by a militant group that calls itself the Niger Delta Freedom Fighers (Egbema One). The men are employees of Global Industries, a Nigerian-based oil servicing company that works with Chevron. According to Nigerian media reports, the hostages, Mike Roussel, Chris Gay, Larry Plake and Kevin Faller, who have been in captivity for almost two weeks are in good health, but the kidnappers are demanding more political clout for their tribe and better sharing of oil revenue before the men will be released.
Cloonan says it's harder to negotiate for hostages when the kidnapping is politically motivated rather than financially motivated.
"At the end of the day, it's still a business," he says. "It's not just paying a ransom. You really have to know how to negotiate, and you have to know how the time line is going to work."
The 19 missing Americans in Iraq include five servicemen and 14 government contractors and civilians. Little has been heard about any of them since their capture, leading to fears about their prospects for release.
Jeffrey Ake, an Indiana businessman has been a hostage in Iraq for more than two years. He was captured in 2005 outside a bottling plant his water-distribution company was building. A tape appeared on the al Jazeera network two days after his disappearance, but he has not been heard from since. FBI officials have said they still classify him as missing and have no reason to believe he is dead.
Also among the missing are four American contractors, John Young, Jonathon Cote, Paul Reuben and Josh Munz, who were kidnapped in an ambush in southern Iraq last November. In January 2007, their captors released a videotape of the men where they are heard pleading for the United States to get out of Iraq. Nothing has been heard since.
Cloonan says Iraq presents a special and unique problem for hostage negotiators. "Contractors who are worki