NYPD Chief Casts Doubt on Giuliani Expense Story

November 30, 2007 3:40 PM

Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:

New questions were raised today about Rudy Giuliani's explanation for submitting police security expenses to obscure city agencies while he was mayor of New York and carried on a secret affair with his mistress, who also was given use of a police driver and city car.

Giuliani said Thursday the unusual billing practice was not intended to hide anything but instead to speed payment of American Express credit card bills.

But the current New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today he knew of no problems with the delay of payments before Giuliani was mayor, when Kelly served under Mayor David Dinkins, or since.

"I don't recall anybody, any statements about delay," Kelly told reporters.

He said all bills for the police details for Dinkins and now for Mayor Mike Bloomberg are handled directly "through the police department."

Critics say Giuliani's practice of sending the bills to other agencies suggested he was trying to hide his extra-marital affair with Judith Nathan, who he later married after divorcing his second wife, Donna Hanover.

In South Carolina today, Giuliani declined to offer any further explanation, saying, "We've already explained it."

Giuliani's staff made "a concerted effort" to keep reporters from coming near to the candidate, according to ABC News reporter Jan Simmonds.

"At least three Giuliani press staffers loudly instructed the press to stay within their cordoned-off area and were warned not to approach the candidate," Simmonds reports.

This post has been updated.

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November 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (64)

Military Overmedicating Troops, Counselors Charge

November 30, 2007 3:40 PM

David Schneider and Mansi Mehan Report:

Instead of providing proper counseling and care for Iraq war veterans suffering from physical and psychological pain, too often the U.S. military is trying to medicate the problem away, according to drug counselors and therapists.

Andrew Pogany, who works with service members nationwide as an investigator with the veterans advocacy group Veterans for America, said overmedicating veterans is a common problem.

Read the Full Story.

November 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Deadliest Year Yet for Troops in Afghanistan

November 30, 2007 1:52 PM

Luis Martinez Reports:

It's been a bad year in Afghanistan, the deadliest for international troops in that country, as 223 U.S. and NATO soldiers have been killed so far this year, 111 of them Americans. 

Already, 13 more U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan this year than in all of last year. This is almost an even split with NATO with regards to fatalities. As the NATO mission increased over the last two years, they've begun taking heavy losses: 31 killed in 2005, 93 in 2006 and 110 so far this year.

The decreasing numbers of U.S. fatalities in Iraq are getting closer to the number of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan, 37 in Iraq this month and 11 in Afghanistan. This has been the trend for two straight months. Take into consideration that in Iraq, there are 162,000 U.S. troops, as opposed to 26,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. If the U.S. numbers continue to dip, they will more clearly reflect what's been apparent all year, Afghanistan is a very dangerous place for U.S. troops.   

The Blotter recently reported on U.S. troops stationed in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan.

U.S. fatalities in Iraq peaked at 126 in May and for two straight months have dipped below 40. Monthly U.S. fatality counts in Afghanistan have been in the low teens for most of the year. 

Here's the annual fatality breakdowns since the U.S. and NATO went into Afghanistan in 2001.
2001 --12  total  (12 U.S.)
2002 --69  total  (49 U.S.)
2003 --57  total  (48 U.S.)
2004 --58  total  (52 U.S.)
2005 --130 total  (99 U.S.)
2006 --191 total  (98 U.S.)
2007 --223 total (111 U.S.)

American deaths in Afghanistan due to hostile fire outnumber non-hostile deaths by a rate of about 2.5 to 1. Here's a monthly fatality breakdown compiled from a Department of Defense list for all fatalities since 2001.      
January -- 0 fatalities
February -- 14 total = 2 hostile and 12 non-hostile (helo accident killed 8)
March -- 5 total = 1 hostile, 4 non-hostile
April -- 8 total = 5 hostile, 3 non-hostile
May -- 11 total = 10 hostile, 1 non-hostile
June  -- 12 total = 11 hostile, 1 non-hostile
July -- 14 total = 13 hostile, 1 non-hostile
August -- 17 total = 13 hostile, 4 non-hostile
September -- 9 total = 7 hostile, 2 non-hostile
October -- 10 total = 7 hostile, 3 non-hostile
November -- 11 total

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November 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Watchdogs: China Bullies Journalists, IOC Stands Mute

November 30, 2007 11:29 AM

Anna Schecter Reports:

In advance of hosting the next Summer Olympic Games, China continues to bully journalists, and a human rights group says the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ignored its responsibility to do something about it. 

In a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogges yesterday, Reporters Without Borders (or RSF, the acronym for its French name) blamed the abuses on his inaction.

"Mr. Rogge, it is your silence that has unfortunately made all these abuses possible," said RSF secretary-general Robert Ménard in the letter, referring to the roughly 100 journalists and human rights activists who are currently detained in China.

Since Beijing adopted new rules allowing foreign journalists to work more freely in China 11 months ago, Ménard said RSF has documented more than 50 cases of harassment of journalists, demonstrating the new rules have not taken effect. The relaxed rules expire in October 2008 following the close of the Olympic Games.

On Nov. 20, Barbara Lüthi, the Beijing correspondent of the Swiss TV channel Schweizer Fernsehen, and her Chinese camerawoman were detained for seven hours and beaten by authorities in a village near Beijing where unrest led to the deaths of several residents in 2005, according to RSF. RSF said local authorities have prevented at least five foreign journalists from working in the village.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

Also on Nov. 20, Mathias Brascheler and Monika Fisher, a Swiss husband-and-wife team of photographers, were detained for three hours in Hubei province while preparing a report on villagers who had been threatened and beaten in connection with a land dispute, according to RSF.

A spokesperson for the IOC said that a great deal of effort is being made by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games (BOCOG) and the Chinese authorities to uphold Beijing's assurances that there will be no restrictions on journalists reporting on the Olympic Games.   

"There is work still to do, but the IOC believes in the good will of the Chinese to deliver the necessary environment for the 20,000 accredited media who will come for the Games. The IOC is working closely with BOCOG to encourage and guide their work so that the assurances can be delivered," a spokesperson said.

A Chinese Embassy spokesman said that China, like all countries, has some "off-limits" areas where journalists should not go, and that there has always been a gap between the requirements of journalists and the requirements of various governments of countries. He said that China has already set in place rules for reporting on the Beijing Olympic Games, and it will stick to its commitment and will try its best to provide service to create "favorable conditions for foreign and Chinese reporters."

Ménard also expressed concern that the Games' organizers said this week they were going to conduct ID checks on all accredited journalists covering the Games and that China's General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) announced it was going to compile files on the approximately 30,000 journalists coming to the Games. 

RSF Asia director Vincent Brossel said that in light of China's human rights history, such close surveillance of journalists caused RSF to fear vast censorship of the Games. 

The IOC office said all people that are accredited for the Olympic Games will receive a background check by the local security authorities.

"This is a standard security procedure [and] is not new to the Beijing Games," a spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that at the Games all accredited media's details will be held on a database in order to facilitate the accreditation process. "This is only natural and is the same as for previous editions of the Games. For non-accredited media, inquiries should be addressed to the Chinese Foreign Ministry for more information."

The Chinese Embassy spokesman said that no such files would be kept on foreign journalists and that the Chinese Foreign Ministry had clarified such misleading reporting two weeks ago.

"Journalists need to register with the Olympic organizational committee according to standard procedure, but there is no plan to establish a database on journalists," the spokesman said.

RSF is one of several groups outraged by China's continued crackdown on free press. In August,  the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published a report to illustrate the "yawning gap" between China's poor press freedom record and the promises made in 2001 when Beijing was awarded the Olympic Games.

"We're 10 months away, and there is still not a free flow of information," said CPJ Asia program coordinator Bob Dietz.

Dietz said China has fallen short thus far in its pledge to the international community.

"Chinese journalists are in jail. Vast censorship rules are in place. Harassment, attacks and threats occur with impunity," he said.

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November 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (8)

Musharraf Rival Linked to Bin Laden

November 30, 2007 10:06 AM

Maddy Sauer Reports:

The former prime minister of Pakistan, now one of President Pervez Musharraf's chief political rivals, once received a million-dollar payoff from Osama Bin Laden as a thanks for not cracking down on the militant tribal areas in Pakistan's northwest border province, according to a former member of bin Laden's inner circle.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 coup, returned to Pakistan earlier this week after spending seven years in exile living in Saudi Arabia.

When in power, Sharif aggravated the United States by detonating Pakistan's first nuclear weapon and turning a blind eye to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Now a former member of bin Laden's inner circle is saying that Sharif was handsomely rewarded by bin Laden for his policies.

Ali Mohamed served as a special projects coordinator for bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahri in the mid-1990s. Mohamed, who is now in a U.S. prison for his role in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, has been cooperating with the FBI and providing them with a wealth of information on the inner workings of al Qaeda.

Former FBI agent and ABC News consultant Jack Cloonan has questioned Mohamed over a period of years and believes the information he has provided to U.S. authorities is accurate.

Cloonan says that back in 1999 Mohamed told the FBI he arranged for a meeting between bin Laden and Sharif's representatives. Following that meeting, Mohamed told Cloonan he delivered $1 million to Sharif's representatives. Mohamed said the payoff was a tribute to Sharif for not cracking down on the Taliban as it flourished in Afghanistan and influenced the Northwest Frontier Province in Pakistan, according to Cloonan.

This is not the first time that allegations of a connection between Sharif and bin Laden have surfaced. Khalid Khawaja, a former official of the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence agency and now a prominent human rights activist there, told the Blotter on ABCNews.com that the connection goes all the way back to the late 1980s when, he says, Sharif and bin Laden met face-to-face. Khawaja, who describes himself as a very close friend of bin Laden's, says that political candidates in Pakistan cannot talk openly if they support bin Laden because of American pressure on them.

The information secretary for Pakistan Muslim League -- Nawaz Sharif's political party -- Siddiqul Farooq has previously denied that Sharif and bin Laden had ever met. Calls and an e-mail sent to the league's headquarters regarding the latest allegations were not immediately returned.

Aside from the allegations about Sharif, Mohamed has provided the FBI with details on many other plots and tactics used by al Qaeda, said Cloonan. Mohamed was given numerous surveillance assignments over the years, including targets such as the U.S. embassies in Africa, U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, a vacation home in Marbella, Spain owned by the Saudi royal family and a TV tower in Cyprus, Cloonan said. Mohamed was also in charge of selecting bin Laden's personal security team.

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November 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (11)

Harsh Treatment for Marines Caught Using Illicit Drugs

November 30, 2007 9:53 AM

David Schneider and Mansi Mehan Report:

Editor's Note from Brian Ross: In the third year of a joint project with the nonprofit Carnegie Corporation, six leading graduate school journalism students were again selected to spend the summer working with the ABC News investigative unit.

This year's project involved an examination of whether, as happened in the wake of the Vietnam War, Iraqi war veterans were turning to drugs as a result of the trauma and pain of war.

The U.S. military maintains the percentage of soldiers abusing drugs is extremely small and has not increased as a result of Iraq.

The students' assignment was to get the unofficial side of the story from soldiers, young men of their own generation.

Today's report is the fifth in a series of five reports.

U.S. Marines caught using illegal drugs often face harsh punishment from the military, according to counselors, veterans' advocates and military defense attorneys. Marines have been kicked out of the service with loss of benefits, or even thrown in jail despite their claim that they turned to drugs to cope with their battlefield experiences in Iraq.

While the Marine Corps does provide substance abuse and counseling, experts say rehabilitation often loses out to punishment and discipline.

Read the Full Story.

November 30, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (12)

Giuliani's Mistress Used N.Y. Police as Taxi Service

November 29, 2007 3:18 PM

Richard Esposito Reports:

Well before it was publicly known he was seeing her, then-married New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani provided a police driver and city car for his mistress Judith Nathan, former senior city officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

"She used the PD as her personal taxi service," said one former city official who worked for Giuliani.

Video: Giuliani Defends His Mayoral Expenses

New York papers reported in 2000 that the city had provided a security detail for Nathan, who became Giuliani's third wife after his divorce from Donna Hanover, who also had her own police security detail at the same time.

The former city officials said Giuliani expanded the budget for his security detail at the time. Politico.com reported yesterday that many of the security expenses were initially billed to obscure city agencies, effectively hiding them from oversight.

The former officials told ABCNews.com the extra costs involved overtime and per diem costs for officers traveling with Giuliani to secret weekend rendezvous with Nathan in the fashionable Hamptons resort area on Long Island.

When the New York City comptroller began to question the accounting, Mayor Giuliani's office declined to provide details to city security, officials told ABCNews.com today.

"The Comptroller's Office made repeated requests for the information in 2001 and 2002 but was informed that due to security concerns the information could not be provided," a spokesperson for the comptroller's office said.

Appearing in public for the first time today, Giuliani told ABC News the accusations he assigned a police security detail to his mistress and helped to hide the expenses in the mammoth New York City budget "a pre-debate hit job."   

"I'm sorry, but I still don't understand why they filed these expenses the way they did," he said.   

Former officials close to Giuliani say he had "zero" to do with how the police security expenses for Judith Nathan, who he since married, were accounted in the city budget. 

The Giuliani campaign said it would also provide a former deputy mayor, Randy Mastro, to respond to the allegations later today.

This post has been updated.

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (226)

Bin Laden to Europe: Get Out of Afghanistan

November 29, 2007 1:16 PM

Maddy Sauer and Rehab El-Buri Report:

Osama bin Laden is calling on European nations to end their support of "America's oppression" in Afghanistan in an audiotape message just released.

Video: Listen to an excerpt of Bin Laden's Message to Europe

Bin Laden says he was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and that the people and government of Afghanistan are innocent victims of America's war there.

Bin Laden said the U.S. pursued a war in Afghanistan despite the fact they had no evidence of a connection to the attacks. He said he attacked America on 9/11 because of the government's involvement in Palestine and Lebanon.

"The American tide is retreating," said bin Laden. He warned that the U.S. will soon go back home to their side of the Atlantic Ocean and added that the war in Afghanistan unfairly targets the women and children there.

The audio message was accompanied by an old still photo of bin Laden, but no new video of the terror leader was released today. In September, bin Laden appeared in a video message which was the first time he was seen on video in three years.

The latest audio message from the al Qaeda leader, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, aired this afternoon on al Jazeera TV and is expected to be widely distributed online in extreme Islamist forums. The media wing of al Qaeda, as Sahab, began advertising today's message online a few days ago.

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November 29, 2007 in Osama bin Laden | Permalink | User Comments (69)

Giuliani's Ties to Qatar Raise Questions for Mr. 9/ll

November 29, 2007 11:48 AM

Marcus Baram Reports:

Contracts awarded to Rudy Giuliani's private security firm in the Gulf state of Qatar were overseen by a government minister suspected of harboring the al Qaeda terrorist who planned the 9/ll attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, according to security consultants in the region.

New revelations about the extent of the contracts could pose a problem for a presidential contender who says he is the most qualified candidate to combat Islamic terrorism.

Since 2005, Giuliani Partners and its Giuliani Security & Safety (GS&S) unit has provided security consulting and advice in Qatar through contracts overseen by the country's Interior Ministry, which is currently run by a member of the royal family who has long been accused of supporting al Qaeda, according to security consultants familiar with the area.

The current interior minister, Sheik Abdullah Bin Khalid al-Thani, was suspected of sheltering Mohammed at his farm and tipping him off to the arrival of CIA and FBI teams coming to arrest the al Qaeda strategist back in 1996, according to the National Security Council's former chief counterterrorism adviser and ABC News consultant Richard A. Clarke, former CIA agent Robert Baer and a 2004 Congressional Research Service report.

"According to several counterterrorism experts who formerly worked for the U.S. government, Qatar's current Interior Minister and royal family member, Shaikh Abdullah bin Khalid Al-Thani briefly harbored Al Qaeda terrorists in 1996, including the suspected mastermind of the September 11th hijacking plot, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed," wrote Middle East policy analyst Jeremy M. Sharp in the CRS report.

Khalid al-Thani is also believed to have welcomed Osama bin Laden on two visits to the farm, according to an Oct. 10, 2007 CRS study.

In late 2001, Mohammed again reportedly sought shelter in Qatar with the assistance of prominent patrons and another royal family member, Abdul Karim al-Thani, who was accused of operating a safe house for Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the terrorist who later became al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Giuliani's firm has provided security consulting in terms of protecting the Queen (known as the Emir's consort) and the perimeter of the royal court, according to security consultants familiar with the area. The firm also provided advice to the royal-family-owned Qatar Foundation about securing several education facilities and consulted on security at the 2006 Asian Games held in Qatar's capital, Doha, according to two recent U.S. ambassadors.

The firm has also provided security consulting to a giant natural gas processing facility named Ras Laffan and to Qatar's state-run oil company, Qatar Petroleum, according to the Wall Street Journal and the Village Voice.

The firm's liaison with the royal family is Ali Soufan, an Arabic-speaking former FBI agent who investigated the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and is currently the international director of GS&S, security consultants with knowledge of the contracts told ABC News.

Qatar is a strong U.S. ally in the region, and the government has cooperated with anti-terrorist initiatives, allowing a major American military base to be built there in the wake of 9/11.

But the Giuliani firm's contracts put them in contact with the interior ministry, which oversees all security contracts in the country.

"Any company that does security work in Qatar, they have to get permission from the interior ministry," ministry spokesman Hassan Sidibe told the Blotter on ABCNews.com. He referred calls about GS&S contracts to the ministry's Brig. Abdul al-Ansari, who did not return repeated calls and e-mails.

"Nothing goes on without their blessings," said a British security consultant who has worked in Qatar.

The firm's work in Qatar was too close for comfort to former law enforcement agents familiar with the country.

"We have a guy who could be president who's taking money from the same accounts that harbored terrorists," said Baer, the former CIA agent. "The general consensus is that [Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalid al-Thani] protected Khalid Sheik Mohammed and that they tipped him off and he's still the interior minister."

Baer recounted being introduced to al-Thani in a hotel lobby in Dubai several years ago while he was filming the George Clooney movie, "Syriana."

"Al-Thani was told, 'Here's Bob Baer.' I shook his hand, and I might as well have plugged his finger into a light socket -- he just jumped up and ran away," he said.

Jack Cloonan, an ABC News consultant and former FBI investigator who was part of the team aiming to arrest Mohammed in 1996, felt that the issue might hurt Giuliani's security bonafides.

"He's a single-issue candidate -- national security -- and this definitely makes for a strange bedfellow," he said.

Asked about whether it was appropriate for Giuliani to pursue business in a country where his firm's contracts are overseen by interior minister Khalid al-Thani, Clarke, the former national security council counterterror adviser, responded via e-mail, "Only if he had done due diligence to clear the suspicions."

The country's former ambassador, Chase Untermeyer, defended Giuliani's role in Qatar.

"The notion that it's some kind of rogue state is just wrong," he said. "This is me pretending to be a political reporter, but I don't see how any association should be a blight unless somebody wants to demagogue and assume that any Arab country is a nest of terrorist sympathizers."

Untermeyer says that as part of a recent reshuffling in the Qatari government, the interior minister kept his title but lost some clout to Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani, the minister of state for interior affairs.

"The man who has the title is a man who has a questionable past and is frequently suspected of sympathy and overt support for jihadis," he said. "But it's not unusual that the minister of state is the one who really runs the ministry and not the minister."

Yet Giuliani's contracts apparently began in 2005, when the interior minister was still in charge. When Giuliani visited Qatar in July 2005, he met with Untermeyer who says that Giuliani's firm already had contracts in place. The former ambassador, who recalls Giuliani asking many questions about the country's security situation and political and economic ties, was impressed with Giuliani.

"It's terrific that one candidate for the presidency has some familiarity with that part of the world," he says.

Patrick N. Theros, the previous U.S. ambassador to Qatar who currently runs the U.S.-Qatar Business Council, says that Giuliani's firm helped provide security for different installations -- "rent-a-cops, guys with a glove and a whistle and a radio." He says that they were hired by Qatar Foundation at one point to provide physical security around new education facilities and crowd control at the Asian Games.

Giuliani, who has consistently declined to reveal the identity of his firm's clients, hasn't always been discreet about his work in Qatar. He told South Africa's Business Times in June 2006 that he'd "recently helped Qatar" to transform Doha in preparation for the Asian Games.

When contacted for comment, Giuliani Partners spokeswoman Sunny Mindel said that the list of security consulting jobs in Qatar performed by GS&S was "not accurate" but declined to clarify.

Asked whether Giuliani or GS&S employees have met with members of the Interior Ministry, Mindel responded in an e-mail, "GP & GSS personnel participate in many meetings with organizations and individuals around the world. We do not as a rule discuss with whom our personnel are meeting nor do we confirm whether such meetings take place."

This post has been updated.

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (31)

Group Takes on Feds' Cell Phone Tracking

November 29, 2007 10:58 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The American Civil Liberties Union wants to know more about the U.S. government's reported practice of tracking people using their mobile phone signal.

In a Freedom of Information Act request, the ACLU has asked the Justice Department to turn over documents that might shed light on how federal officials have reportedly used locator signals from cell phones to track people's movements.

The practice was first reported by the Washington Post last week, which called it "routine," and noted that prosecutors sometimes obtained the tracking information without demonstrating probable cause.

"Giving the government the power to track and store a person's whereabouts at any given moment without probable cause is a serious intrusion on our personal privacy," said Catherine Crump, staff attorney for the ACLU, explaining the reason for her group's request. "Carrying around a cell phone should not make a person susceptible to that kind of surveillance."

A Justice Department attorney told the Post that federal prosecutors were expected to follow the department's policy, which was to obtain a warrant based on probable cause in order to obtain the tracking information.

"Law enforcement has absolutely no interest in tracking the locations of law-abiding citizens," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd told ABC News. Last year, the practice helped win the confession of a man who kidnapped and raped a young girl, and locate the girl where the culprit had left her, he said.

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (11)

Stonewalled at Fort Bragg

November 29, 2007 9:32 AM

Angela Hill and Donnie Forti Report:

Editor's Note from Brian Ross: In the third year of a joint project with the nonprofit Carnegie Corporation, six leading graduate school journalism students were again selected to spend the summer working with the ABC News investigative unit.

This year's project involved an examination of whether, as happened in the wake of the Vietnam War, Iraqi war veterans were turning to drugs as a result of the trauma and pain of war.

The U.S. military maintains the percentage of soldiers abusing drugs is extremely small and has not increased as a result of Iraq.

The students' assignment was to get the unofficial side of the story from soldiers, young men of their own generation.

Today's report is the fourth in a series of five reports.

Growing numbers of Fort Bragg soldiers are buying illegal drugs, often from crime-ridden neighborhoods located minutes off post, according to soldiers and security guards familiar with the drug scene. 

But it's not something Army or civilian officials want to talk about. Base commanders, Army substance abuse counselors and the local police chief all refused repeated interview requests by ABC News to discuss potential drug abuse issues among Fort Bragg soldiers.

Read the Full Story.

November 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Famed Attorney Dickie Scruggs Indicted on Bribery Charges

November 29, 2007 8:54 AM

Joseph Rhee Reports:

Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, famous for winning huge settlements from the big tobacco companies, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of trying to bribe a judge. 

The indictment alleges that Scruggs and other attorneys at his firm, including his son Zach, conspired to payoff a state judge with $40,000 in cash in exchange for a favorable ruling in a civil case. Richard Scruggs is the son-in-law of Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., who announced this week he planned to step down from the Senate early. Sen. Lott is not named in the indictment.

According to the indictment, Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey cooperated with FBI agents to help document the alleged bribery scheme. Lackey was presiding over a case where Scruggs had been sued by another law firm for more than $26.5 million in attorneys fees related to Hurricane Katrina insurance claims. 

Scruggs is alleged to have used an outside attorney named Timothy Balducci to offer the bribe to Lackey in return for a ruling in favor of his firm. According to the indictment, after the payoff was made, Balducci told attorneys at the Scruggs firm that "we paid for this ruling; let's be sure it says what we want it to say." Scruggs is also charged with creating false documents to cover up the scheme.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

On Wednesday, FBI agents searched Scruggs' Oxford, Miss. law office and took away copies of computer hard drives, according to the Associated Press. The indictment charges that an e-mail was sent from the Scruggs Law Firm to Balducci containing a draft order of the ruling favorable to Scruggs.

The Scruggs Law Firm did not return the Blotter's request for comment and neither Richard nor Zach Scruggs could be reached on their cellphones.

Scruggs was featured on an ABC News "20/20" report last year that detailed his efforts to sue State Farm Insurance on behalf of policyholders who said their Hurricane Katrina-related claims were falsely denied.

This post has been updated.

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November 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (15)

Terror Roundup In Saudi Arabia

November 28, 2007 3:06 PM

Maddy Sauer and Rehab El-Buri Report:

More than 100 people have been arrested in Saudi Arabia on terrorist charges, according to the Saudi minister of the interior. A terror cell of eight people allegedly planning to attack oil installations was busted, and the cell's leader was arrested.

Officials say another terror cell of almost 20 people plotted to assassinate Muslim scholars and Saudi security forces. One cell member, according to government officials, was an expert in missiles and planned to smuggle eight rockets into Saudi Arabia.

An additional 32 people were arrested on suspicion of helping to finance the cells, according to the Interior Ministry.

Terrorist leaders, like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahri, encouraged their followers to strike targets in Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden, who is Saudi himself, has long seen the kingdom as a traitor to Islam for allowing U.S. forces on their territory.

Bin Laden encouraged jihadis to strike Saudi Arabia in an online audio statement back in 2004.

"One of the biggest reasons motivating our enemies to control our lands is to steal our oil," he said. "Spend all the effort you can to stop the biggest theft in history of the wealth of the present and future generations."

Later his No. 2 man Zawahri also encouraged his followers to strike in Saudi Arabia, also at oil facilities.

"I call on the mujahedeen to concentrate their campaigns on the stolen oil of the Muslims, of which most revenues go to the enemies of Islam," he said in an online statement.

Their followers have listened to these calls. In 2004, terrorists stormed the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, killing five consulate employees. And in 2004, suicide bombers killed 34 people, including eight Americans, at a housing compound in Riyadh. And of course, 15 of the 19 hijackers behind the 9/11 attacks were Saudis.

Saudi Arabia, however, has also been accused by officials at the U.S. Treasury Department of turning a blind eye to terrorists on its own soil, especially Saudi-based charities that have been accused of providing terrorists with cash.

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November 28, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Saudis Release 1,500 Suspected Extremists

November 28, 2007 1:48 PM

Brian Ross and Rehab El-Buri Report:

Saudi Arabia has released 1,500 prisoners suspected of belonging to a radical Islamic group after the prisoners underwent what was described as a five-week counseling program, according to Middle Eastern newspapers. 

Critics of the prisoner reform program worry it does nothing to seriously combat Islamic radicalism and releases dangerous extremists back into society.

"This is the sort of failure to recognize the threat and deal with it seriously that has characterized the Saudis for years," said former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke, an ABC News consultant.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

The released prisoners are described as followers of the rigid Takfir ideology and considered by many U.S. intelligence officials to be prime recruiting material for al Qaeda groups.

According to a Saudi newspaper, the Takfir group calls for establishing an Islamic state, kicking non-Muslims out of the Arabian Peninsula and considers other Muslim leaders, scholars and the general Muslim public disbelievers.

The Saudi newspaper, Al-Watan, publicized the massive prisoner release on Sunday, saying the Saudi Ministry of Interior spearheaded the effort in 2005 by holding 5,000 meetings with about 3,200 suspected Takfir members. The New York Sun first reported the development in the United States. 

The Saudi Embassy and Ministry of Interior did not respond to repeated attempts for comment.      

The committee charged with reforming Takfir suspects told Al-Watan it uses 100 Islamic law specialists and 30 social and psychological experts to counsel the prisoners. After the suspects met in groups of 20 for five weeks and completed an exam, the committee awarded the prisoners certificates -- and their freedom.

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November 28, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (7)

Hidden Wounds Lead to Drugs

November 28, 2007 9:17 AM

Robert Lewis and Kate McCarthy Report:

Editor's Note from Brian Ross: In the third year of a joint project with the nonprofit Carnegie Corporation, six leading graduate school journalism students were again selected to spend the summer working with the ABC News investigative unit.

This year's project involved an examination of whether, as happened in the wake of the Vietnam War, Iraqi war veterans were turning to drugs as a result of the trauma and pain of war.

The U.S. military maintains the percentage of soldiers abusing drugs is extremely small and has not increased as a result of Iraq.

The students' assignment was to get the unofficial side of the story from soldiers, young men of their own generation.

Today's report is the third in a series of five reports.

As more U.S. service members return home from Iraq and Afghanistan after witnessing the horrors of war, more will turn to drugs and alcohol to cope.

That's according to mental health experts who say there is a strong correlation between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, and substance abuse. PTSD is an anxiety disorder that afflicts people who have been through a traumatic event.

Read the Full Story.

November 28, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Wyatt Sentenced in Oil-for-Food Scandal

November 27, 2007 4:45 PM

Aaron Katersky Reports:

Oscar Wyatt, a brash Houston oilman who founded what has since become El Paso Corporation, has been sentenced to one year in prison for his role in the scandal-ridden U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq. He must also pay more than $11 million restitution. 

Wyatt was accused of funneling millions of dollars in kickbacks to the regime of Saddam Hussein. Earlier this year, El Paso agreed to pay nearly $8 million to settle civil claims that it helped the former Iraqi regime receive kickbacks.

In a prepared statement Wyatt said, "On or about December of 2001, I agreed with others to cause a surcharge payment of 220,000 euros, approximately 200,000 U.S. dollars, to be deposited in a bank account controlled by Iraqi SOMO officials at the Jordanian National Bank. This payment was in violation of the United Nations Oil-for-Food program, because it required that all payments be made directly to the United States escrow account in New York, and no money was to be paid directly to the Iraqi government."

Read the U.S. attorney's release.

November 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Blackwater Grand Jury Convenes Today in D.C.

November 27, 2007 3:12 PM

Jason Ryan and Brian Ross Report:

Two Blackwater security guards arrived at a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., today as federal prosecutors took the next step in their investigation of a Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad that left at least 17 civilians dead.

An initial finding by the FBI reportedly concluded that at least 14 of the deaths violated U.S. rules of engagement.

The two guards who were subpoenaed to appear today were not among the five Blackwater guards who did most of the shooting, according to sources familiar with the case.

The sources said the two were considered to be witnesses, not targets of the grand jury.

An ABC News reporter at the federal courthouse saw the two men enter the grand jury area with a lawyer. Lead Department of Justice prosecutor Ken Kohl was also seen in the area.

The two guards were identified to ABCNews.com by their first names only, as Adam and Mark.

Mark, in a sworn statement given to State Department investigators shortly after the shooting, gave a version of events that contradicted other descriptions of insurgents firing on the convoy being guarded.

"At no time while pulling security in my sector did I observe any enemy combatants or observe any hostile activity which threatened our motorcade," he said in the statement, obtained by ABCNews.com.

Statements by other Blackwater guards included references to possible enemy fire. 

It was not known if both men testified before the grand jury which had to break at 5 p.m. to let the jurors go home.

This post has been updated.

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November 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

Army Will Spend Millions Fixing New Billion-Dollar Chopper

November 27, 2007 1:24 PM

Asa Eslocker Reports:

The Army plans to spend an extra $10 million to reconfigure more than 100 new choppers purchased in a $2.6 billion contract, following a highly critical independent Pentagon review of the aircraft's ability to perform key operations, first reported on the Blotter on ABCNews.com. 

"No aircraft is perfect," Army spokesman Maj. Thomas McCuin told ABCNews.com. "This one met our requirements at a good price. It's the best value for the American taxpayer's dollar."

The Army's purchase of 322 Lakota helicopters, made by EADS Eurocopter for homeland defense and national disaster relief, has been under fire since field tests this summer uncovered at least three serious deficiencies.

According to the Army's Operational Test and Evaluation Report, the Lakota chopper was found to be "not operationally effective for MEDEVAC missions," "not effective for use in hot environments" and "cannot meet its prescribed performance criteria to lift an external load of 2,200 pounds."

Congressman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., questioned whether the helicopter could lift buckets of water for fighting California forest fires given its limited lifting ability.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

The Army defends its purchase and says such retrofitting is standard operating procedure.

"Despite the bluster to the effect that these tests revealed a helicopter with tragic flaws, the system is functioning exactly as it is intended to work," says Maj. McCuin.

Maj. McCuin says the report is intended to assist in the improvement of newly purchased equipment.

"The purpose of [the report] is to place a limited number of aircraft in their intended roles under mission conditions and uncover areas that need improvement.  That is exactly what happened here," he said.

As part of the post-testing process, Maj. McCuin says the Army plans to reconfigure the Lakota with air conditioning units and internal fixtures to help the MEDEVAC teams.

"The improved configuration will provide better equipment storage, enhance the flight medic's ability to care for patients during transport and is part of the approved Army Cost Position for...MEDEVAC aircraft," he said.

Regarding the underperforming lift capacity, McCuin says, "There has never been a 'requirement' for the Light Utility Helicopter to lift a 2,200-pound external load." 

The Army's report says the Lakota "does not meet the 2,200-pound external lift requirement," but it "successfully delivered external loads weighing 1,190 pounds."

According to McCuin, the 2,200-pound amount is a "'tradable attribute,' a desired capability that is not a requirement and can be traded for another attribute. In this case, the capability to lift 2,200 pounds was determined not to be as important as another attribute."

Another official U.S. Army document, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, says the Lakota helicopter was chosen "because the price was more important" than the technical requirements.

Many in Congress, including Congressman Hunter, however, believe that lift capacity should be one of the more important attributes, especially in the wake of the recent wildfires in his state.

"The Lakota is unable to handle the 300-gallon 'buckets' which other helicopters utilize," Hunter recently wrote to the Army.

In the letter to Army Secretary Pete Geren, Hunter went as far to recommend the termination of the Lakota contract.

"We would be well-advised to terminate the planned buy of 322 Lakota helicopters," he wrote.

Though there is a smaller water bucket to fight fires for these choppers, McCuin says that "those fires were much too large for a utility helicopter to have much of an effect on."  Further, he says, those choppers were in MEDEVAC configuration and not equipped at that time to fight the fires.

The Army purchased for the Lakota UH-72A Light Utility Helicopter from EADS Eurocopter, a European defense contractor that builds the non-combat choppers in Columbus, Miss.

"Procurement is a complicated business," Maj. McCuin said.

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November 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (19)

Out of Spotlight, Giuliani Embraces Convicted Moneyman

November 27, 2007 12:49 PM

Avni Patel and Richard Esposito Report:

A Pennsylvania man convicted in a notorious corruption case played host to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at a fundraiser last night, despite the Giuliani campaign's public efforts to distance itself from the man.

Bob Asher, a major Pennsylvania Republican player as a national party committeeman, was one of four hosts for the $2,300-a-person event. Asher was convicted in 1986 on charges stemming from a bribery scheme intended to win a $300,000 state government contract. The case gained national attention when his co-defendant in the case, Pennsylvania state treasurer R. Budd Dwyer, committed suicide at a televised news conference. Asher was sentenced to serve one year in prison.

At that time, Giuliani was a federal prosecutor in New York, building a reputation by locking up criminals for similar corruption-related misdeeds.

Giuliani came and went from last night's fundraiser without comment, ducking down in his car as ABC News cameras attempted to photograph him arriving.

Asher made himself more available than the candidate.

"That's 21 years ago, so we'll let that go. I did what I did, and I've paid my dues for it," Asher told ABC News outside the event last night. The event was closed to the press. "I've worked for [former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom] Ridge, [Sen. Arlen] Specter [R-Penn.] and all of the rest of the Republicans," Asher noted.

Asher was also the Pennsylvania state finance chair for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in 2004. He is chair of one of the largest political fundraising groups in the state, the Pennsylvania Future Fund Political Action Committee.

Video: Convicted Moneyman and Rudy Giuliani Carpool to the Fundraiser

Video: Hear What Moneyman Asher Has to Say About His Record

Asher announced earlier this year he had agreed to be Giuliani's Pennsylvania political chairman, according to the New York Times, although the Giuliani campaign disputed that.

When asked about his role in the campaign last night, Asher said, "There's been no one named in Pennsylvania to any post here at all."

Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for the Giuliani campaign, said that Asher has assisted with fundraising efforts in the state, including several fundraisers yesterday, but does not hold an official title. She would not disclose how much Asher had raised. 

The intimate dinner, attended by local GOP officials, was held at the home of Valerie and Alvin Clemens in Philadelphia's exclusive western suburbs. Asher, whose name was listed first among co-hosts on invitations for the event, tried to downplay his role in the affair.

"I'm just one of the people here," he told ABC News.

Asher is one of the heirs to popular Asher's Chocolates and now serves as co-chairman of the company. After he left prison, Asher became the Pennsylvania committeeman for the Republican National Committee, a position he holds today.

See the evite to the Giuliani fundraiser hosted by Bob Asher.

Justin Rood contributed to this report.

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November 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (33)

Tale of Three Medics

November 27, 2007 9:00 AM

Robert Lewis and Kate McCarthy Report:

Editor's Note from Brian Ross: In the third year of a joint project with the nonprofit Carnegie Corporation, six leading graduate school journalism students were again selected to spend the summer working with the ABC News investigative unit.

This year's project involved an examination of whether, as happened in the wake of the Vietnam War, Iraqi war veterans were turning to drugs as a result of the trauma and pain of war.

The U.S. military maintains the percentage of soldiers abusing drugs is extremely small and has not increased as a result of Iraq.

The students' assignment was to get the unofficial side of the story from soldiers, young men of their own generation.

Today's report is the second in a series of five reports.

When Spc. Matthew McKane listens to questions, he tilts his head to one side. When he answers, his speech is plain and matter-of-fact. A boyish grin occasionally creeps across his doughy cheeks and plays at the edges of his mouth, like a kid who got caught sneaking a cookie.

If only it were that simple. As a medic in Iraq, the 22-year-old McKane saw the ravages of war firsthand and found he couldn't deal with it.

Read the Full Story.

November 27, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Web Site: New Bin Laden Tape Will Address Europe

November 26, 2007 3:15 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

An Islamist Web site often used by al Qaeda says Osama bin Laden will address Europe in a new audiotape to be released soon.

A banner headline on the site says "the Lion Sheikh who defeated the American tyrants" will address the European people.

Bin Laden and his followers have repeatedly threatened massive attacks on European cities although none have been carried out.

November 26, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (17)

NBC's Myers, Others Face Leak Probe

November 26, 2007 11:15 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

A man convicted of bribing former U.S. Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham hopes to force reporters to reveal how they obtained secret information relating to the federal investigation and prosecution which targeted him.

The lawyer for former defense contractor Brent Wilkes asked a federal judge late last week to approve subpoenas for NBC investigative correspondent Lisa Myers, former Associated Press reporter Seth Hettena, the Wall Street Journal's Scot Paltrow and Associated Press reporter Allison Hoffman, all of whom reported on the Wilkes case.

A jury convicted Wilkes of bribery, conspiracy and fraud earlier this month. Cunningham, now in prison, told investigators Wilkes had bribed him with gifts and cash worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Wilkes has steadfastly maintained his innocence.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

Geragos has said news stories based on the alleged grand jury leaks prejudiced the jury against his client, and he plans to appeal Wilkes' conviction.

In his Nov. 21 filing, Wilkes' lawyer, Mark Geragos, also asked the judge to force testimony by two FBI agents involved in the Wilkes investigation, two former defense attorneys for Wilkes and current and former members of the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego, including former U.S. attorney Carol Lam, who worked on his client's prosecution.

The North County (Calif.) Times, which first reported the news, said none of Geragos' desired subpoena recipients were available for comment. Judge Larry Burns is slated to hear arguments on the alleged grand jury leaks on Dec. 11, the paper reported.

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November 26, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

High at the Mountain Post

November 26, 2007 10:15 AM

Robert Lewis and Kate McCarthy Report:

Editor's Note from Brian Ross: In the third year of a joint project with the nonprofit Carnegie Corporation, six leading graduate school journalism students were again selected to spend the summer working with the ABC News investigative unit.

This year's project involved an examination of whether, as happened in the wake of the Vietnam War, Iraqi war veterans were turning to drugs as a result of the trauma and pain of war.

The U.S. military maintains the percentage of soldiers abusing drugs is extremely small and has not increased as a result of Iraq.

The students' assignment was to get the unofficial side of the story from soldiers, young men of their own generation.

Today's report is the first in a series of five reports.

They were prepared for war. They were prepared to die for their country. But Fort Carson soldiers say they weren't prepared to come home and fight a different battle -- addiction to illegal drugs.

Many of this country's bravest men and women who volunteered to defend America in a time of war have come home wounded -- physically and mentally -- and are turning to illicit drugs as they adjust to normal life, according to soldiers, health experts and advocates.

Read the Full Story.

November 26, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

The Mysterious Case of the AP Photographer

November 23, 2007 9:30 AM

Terry McCarthy Reports:

A talented Iraqi war photographer detained by the U.S. military because his photos portrayed the war too accurately? Or an insurgent spy who infiltrated the Associated Press to better gather information for Sunni militants who were targeting U.S. troops in Fallujah and Ramadi? 

The truth, as ever in this complicated war, may lie somewhere in the middle.

Bilal Hussein was part of an AP team that won a Pulitzer Prize for photography in 2005. In April 2006, he was detained in Ramadi after the U.S. military says it found bomb-making components and documents linking him to the insurgency in his apartment. Bilal has been held since then without charge in a detention center at Baghdad Airport. His lawyer says the U.S. charges have not been substantiated.

But two Iraqis in Fallujah who know Bilal have been interviewed by ABC News and have provided a more complicated picture of the 36-year-old photographer. Neither wanted to be identified for fear of retaliation by insurgents.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

One man from Fallujah told ABC News that one of Bilal's brothers is known locally to belong to one of the main Sunni insurgent movements and now lives outside Iraq because he is wanted by the U.S. military. He says that when Bilal was arrested, there were also some gunmen in his apartment, and that he had taken pictures of insurgents executing a foreign hostage, suggesting a relatively close relationship with the insurgency.

Another man who had been detained in the same facility as Bilal and spent several months in the same holding pen as him before being released, however, told ABC News that the photographer does not appear to be a militant and does not express any support for the insurgency in the prison camp.

What was Bilal Hussein's relationship, if any, with the Sunni insurgency in Fallujah and Anbar, which until recently were two of the most dangerous cities in Iraq?

An Iraqi journalist known to ABC News who works in Ramadi and Fallujah says that to operate as a journalist in those cities required at least some level of contact with the insurgents. Otherwise the journalist risked his or her life trying to report. But he says that there is a big difference between those who simply told the insurgents who they were and whom they worked for, and those other journalists who went out with the insurgents on operations.

It is no secret that a number of Iraqi journalists working for foreign news organizations had developed relationships with the insurgents by late 2003 and early 2004, for two reasons:  their own safety in accessing zones of conflict and the knowledge that some Western news organizations paid handsomely for footage of car bombs and other attacks that could only be obtained with some degree of foreknowledge. 

Some news organizations chose to turn a blind eye to the practice, but the U.S military had a list of cameramen and photographers who uncannily happened to always turn up just before a major attack or car bomb. The Iraqi government accused the Arab television channel al Jazeera of relying on insurgent contacts to get some of their more dramatic video -- something the network denied -- and subsequently expelled al Jazeera from the country.   

The extent of Bilal's links with insurgents, if any, remains unclear. The U.S. says that after 19 months of detention, Bilal is due to be handed over to an Iraqi court, at which point concrete evidence will have to be produced or he will simply be released.

Whether he's innocent or guilty, the story of Bilal Hussein and journalists like him show how entangled ordinary life has become with the insurgency in many parts of Iraq -- an entanglement the U.S. is only now beginning to undo.

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November 23, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (26)

Feds May Fund Terror, Report Says

November 23, 2007 8:30 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The U.S. government can't be sure taxpayer money isn't winding up in terrorists' pockets, it admitted recently.

According to a recent government audit stamped "Sensitive but Unclassified" obtained by the Chicago Tribune, the U.S. Agency for International Development can't be sure that some of the billions in aid it distributes annually doesn't go to individuals or groups with terrorist ties, the paper reported.

"Although it conducts programs in countries where terrorism is a major concern, USAID has not developed or instituted a worldwide anti-terrorism program," the Tribune quoted from the audit prepared by the USAID inspector general. "USAID risks providing funding or other material support and resources to terrorists or terrorist organizations."

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

The Tribune notes that federal law bans the practice of giving money to groups considered terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.

Rep. Mark Kirk, D-Ill., requested the audit after learning that USAID, the nation's largest distributor of foreign aid, had on occasion approved money for questionable recipients, including the Palestinian group Hamas, labeled a terrorist group by the U.S. government, and a Bosnian group whose president was barred from entering the United States.

Inspector General Donald A. Gambatesa concluded that both grants "could have been avoided if USAID had comprehensive vetting policies and procedures."

A USAID spokesman told the Tribune the agency was "taking [the report] very seriously."

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November 23, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (9)

Drunken Hookup Barbie Demands Bush Official's Resignation

November 21, 2007 8:53 AM

From The Blotter:

Using simple filmmaking techniques -- and employing a crude parallel between lead poisoning and sexually transmitted diseases -- a consumer advocacy group is pushing for the nation's top product safety official to step down.

In a short, made-for-Internet video released by the Campaign for America's Future, a Barbie doll calls a Ken doll to complain she has contracted lead poisoning from a late-night, alcohol-induced, post-breakup (and off-camera) rendezvous with her dashing plastic boy-toy.

"It's hard to talk about, Ken," Barbie says into a cell phone glued to her head.  "But I've contracted something."

Video: Barbie and Ken Take on Toy Safety

"Oh, no!" Ken replies into his phone. "Barbie, I'm so sorry.  What is it?"

"It's -- it's lead poisoning!" Barbie says.

"Barbie accessories containing toxic levels of lead were some of the 25 million products recalled this year," the group explains in a press release announcing its campaign.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

The Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan watchdog is using the video to call for the resignation of Nancy Nord, acting director of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, for declining to push for better funding of her agency despite recent problems with unsafe products being imported to the United States.

Drunken hookup Barbie is not alone: several Democratic politicians, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. have called on Nord to step down.

Asked to comment on the video, CPSC director of information and public affairs said, "We're just not going to dignify anything like that."

Nord said last month she had no intention of resigning and rejected criticism she was too cozy with manufacturers.

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November 21, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (33)

Nuke Protection Put Off for Another Year

November 20, 2007 2:56 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

For more than six years now, U.S. officials have claimed or promised they could stop terrorists from smuggling nuclear material into the country through American ports. 

ABC News has twice exposed how easy it is to move radioactive material into the country without detection, and now The Washington Post reports the latest proposed detection machines are also a disaster, needing at least another year to perfect.

November 20, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (13)

Major Democratic Donor Faces Charges in Texas

November 20, 2007 1:18 PM

From The Blotter:

A major Democratic contributor turned himself to authorities yesterday, after he was indicted in Texas on charges of impersonating a police officer and lawyer, the Associated Press reports.

Mauricio Celis has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and organizations, including a recent donation to the presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

Read the full report.

November 20, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (7)

Bridges Burned in U.S., Political King Maker Hits Africa

November 20, 2007 11:34 AM

Dana Hughes Reports:

Political consultant Dick Morris, who rose to prominence as a key adviser for President Bill Clinton and then fell from grace after a scandal involving a prostitute, has surfaced as a political consultant in an unlikely place -- Kenya. 

Leading presidential candidate Raila Odinga has brought Morris on as a consultant to help him beat incumbent President Mwai Kibaki in next month's elections. Last week Morris arrived in Kenya on a tourist visa and held a press conference saying he believed Odinga was poised to win the election.

"I think the reason is he has a clear reputation for courage and for integrity and for change," Morris said. "I am delighted to be here in Kenya and to help you get rid of the corrupt government."

But news of Morris' own scandals soon spread throughout Kenyan media. Letters to the editor and op-ed articles have severely criticized Odinga's choice of consultant. One op-ed in Kenya's The Nation newspaper laid out Morris' past indiscretions, including his affair and leaking of sensitive information to a prostitute, and that the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services has Morris as one of the top 10 tax evaders in the state. As of Oct. 1, 2007 he still owed almost $300,000 in back taxes.

"Either Mr. Odinga is unaware -- which is difficult to believe -- of the man's background or he chose to ignore it, which is a political mistake," the op-ed states.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

Kibisu Kabatesi is part of Odinga's strategy team and says that any past problems Morris may have had do not deter from his political experience. 

"I'm sure if you scratch the surface on anyone you will find something," Kabatesi told ABC News. "Those are his personal problems and have nothing to do with politics. He has the expertise that we need."

Morris does not have a history in Kenya or with Kenyan politics. According to Kabatesi, it was through mutual contacts that Morris approached Odinga with an offer to help with the campaign, and Odinga, who is locked in a highly competitive race, took him up on it. 

"He doesn't have to be a political scientist who understands Kenya's political background," said Kabatesi. "He just has to understand politics and elections, and he does."

But Morris' political career in Kenya may be over before it even really begins. The Kenyan government has questioned whether Morris has the right paperwork to work in the country. He entered on a tourist visa last Tuesday, only to announce in a press conference the following day that he was part of Odinga's campaign. By Thursday, he was gone.

Contrary to the political rumors floating around, Morris was not kicked out of the country, Kabatesi says, but had business to tend to in the United States.

"He's supposed to be back sometime this week," he said.

Odinga's party ODM maintains that Morris did not break any laws by coming in as a tourist because he is volunteering his services and therefore doesn't need a work permit or business visa. But government spokesman Dr. Alfred Mutua says Morris broke the law.

"Anybody can work in Kenya, but they need to work under proper rules," Dr. Mutua told ABC News. "If he comes in on a tourist visa, he's supposed to be taking pictures of monkeys, not working for a political party, whether he's being paid or not."

Dr. Mutua says that if Morris comes back without the proper paperwork, Kenyan immigration officials will arrest him.

"If he comes back and breaks our laws with impunity, we are going to treat him like we do all illegal immigrants," he said. "We will lock him up, take him to court and deport him in handcuffs."

Obtaining visas and work permits in Kenya often takes several months, and the election, which is scheduled for Dec. 27, could be over before Morris is accepted back; a fact not lost on Odinga supporters who say the government will make sure Morris' paperwork is not cleared in time.

Dr. Mutua says the issue is not about politics, but Kenya's immigration laws.

"For us, what we care about are procedures. These elections are not a surprise; people have known about them for months," he said. "We are not going to bend our rules for somebody's inefficiencies."

But ODM is running on a platform of ridding the current government of its own inefficiencies and corrupt policies. The nonprofit group Transparency International rated Kenya as one of the 20 most corrupt countries in the world, with bribery of police and government offices an endemic problem.

The saga of Dick Morris and whether he will be in Kenya helping the opposition party has added more fuel to an increasingly nasty election.

Dr. Mutua, who is the spokesman for President Kibaki's government, also commented on Morris' background. 

"From a political perspective, we are not surprised that they (ODM) picked Dick Morris because they are very dirty people," said Dr. Mutua. "Birds of a feather flock together."

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November 20, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (18)

Report: KBR Dominates Iraq, Afghan Contracting

November 20, 2007 10:44 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Former Halliburton subsidiary KBR, Inc. has won more contract work in recent years with the U.S. government than any other firm operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new report.

The Bush administration has awarded the company, once known as Kellogg, Brown and Root, more than $16 billion for work in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2004 and 2006, the Center for Public Integrity found.

That figure dwarfs the total contracting dollars won by other corporations working on behalf of the United States in the two occupied countries. DynCorp International, the security firm which ranked second in CPI's report, brought in less than $2 billion in federal dollars, mostly for the State Department, the group found.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

The report, "Windfalls of War II," follows up on the nonpartisan watchdog's October 2003 study, "Windfalls of War." That study and its updates found that KBR dominated contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2002 to 2004 as well. Overall, the firm has obtained more than $27 billion for contract work in the region.

Houston, Tex.-based KBR was a subsidiary of Halliburton, Inc. until the parent spun it off in April through the sale of public stock. Halliburton, once run by now-Vice President Dick Cheney, moved its corporate headquarters to Dubai in March, although it remains incorporated in the United States.

CPI said it based its study on contractor data available through the General Services Administration. It cautioned that there are holes in the information. For instance, the government has contracted nearly $20 billion in work to unnamed businesses located outside the United States -- "a nebulous collection of companies identified by the U.S. government only as 'foreign contractors,'" CPI reported.

As well, one U.S. contracting agency in Baghdad does not report complete information to GSA, the group said. It said it has filed Freedom of Information Act requests to fill in these holes.

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November 20, 2007 | Permalink |