Crash-Faking Ex-Candidate Gets Jail, Fine

March 31, 2008 4:07 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

A former Democratic congressional candidate was sentenced to 20 days in jail and a year of home confinement for faking an auto accident as a desperate bid to revive his flagging campaign, according to WMUR-TV.

A judge also ordered Gary Dodds to repay various state and local agencies over $20,000 after they spent 27 hours searching for him during the fabricated ordeal.

In a case that drew national headlines, authorities searched for Dodds after his crashed car was discovered without its owner. At the time of the alleged accident, Dodds was trailing in the polls despite having taken out two mortgages on his home to fund his campaign.

When found, Dodds said he had left the car after the accident, wandered through the snowy woods, crossed a river, and spent the night under leaves, where he was found.

A jury convicted Dodds last month after a county prosecutor presented evidence that Dodds was in fact indoors for at least part of the time he was allegedly wandering the New Hampshire wilderness, and had soaked his feet and legs in water to give credence to his tall tale.

March 31, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Phony Check Scheme Hits Southern California

March 31, 2008 2:09 PM

From The Blotter:

Consumers in southern California have been victimized by a deluge of perfectly counterfeited checks and money orders, according to a report by ABC News affiliate KGTV in San Diego. 10 News Investigations reports that scammers are targeting consumers on Craig's List with work-at-home ads.

In the scheme, victims are sent a package of phony checks and are instructed to deposit them at their bank. They are told to keep a portion of the amount as a fee and then wire transfer the balance back to the sender. When the check is eventually discovered by the bank to be bogus, the victim is on the hook for the full amount. 

"The victim, unfortunately, is not only going to become a victim of the crime, but of their own greed as well," Special Agent Bob Heyer of the Secret Service told 10 News.   

Read KGTV's Full Report.

10 News reports that local victims have been losing between $2,000 and $4,000 each in the scheme.

As reported on the Blotter, in recent years U.S. postal investigators say they have seized more than $2 billion worth of high quality counterfeit checks originating from Nigeria, England, the Netherlands and Canada.

Blotter Photos: Phony Checks Targeting Americans

March 31, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (15)

You Gotta Fight for Your Right. . . to Robocall?

March 31, 2008 11:18 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Don't hang up on freedom, buddy.

As America runs the gauntlet of primary elections, many American voters have been grimacing at the incessant phone calls featuring pre-recorded messages from politicians, their spouses and supporters that peak in the weeks and days before the polls open.

But to a consortium of political consultants who are responsible for many millions of such calls, those messages are the sound of democracy itself. And they're trying to convince lawmakers -- better known as their clients -- not to put them out of business.

The robocalling tactic has become so popular, the last round of federal elections made 2006 the so-called "Year of the Robocall." But they are so annoying, federal and state lawmakers immediately began trying to rein them in with new laws. One bipartisan Senate bill would require political robocallers to abide by the National Do-Not-Call List, like other telemarketers.

The calling firms' reaction? You'd think the sponsors, Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Arlen Specter, R-Penn., wanted to roll up the Constitution and smoke it.

"[I]t's bad for democracy," one Democratic consultant told Politics magazine recently.  His company is a member of the American Association of Political Consultants, which is pushing to stop the Feinstein-Specter bill, and defend "our clients' First Amendment right to communicate with voters."

The group favors milder rules, such as restrictions on what time of day they can dispatch the automated calls -- which is also part of the Feinstein-Specter bill.  The group also supports a mandatory "key-press" option in all calls which would allow recipients to opt out of future calls from the campaign, the magazine reported.  AAPC has even set up a fund -- "the First Amendment Legal Defense Fund" -- to support its efforts.

Feinstein and Specter did not immediately return calls for comment.

March 31, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

HUD Chief Expected to Resign

March 31, 2008 9:17 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Amid the deepening crisis in housing markets, the Bush administration’s embattled Housing and Urban Development chief may be stepping down.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Alphonso Jackson may announce his resignation at a press conference this morning.  A call to HUD was not immediately returned.

Jackson has reportedly been the target of three probes – by Congress, by the HUD Inspector General, and by federal prosecutors – related to allegations he meddled in contract matters to aid friends or punish enemies.

Jackson has denied wrongdoing.  In fact, his denial – "I don't touch contracts" – delivered to Congress, reportedly piqued prosecutors' interest, because misleading Congress could be a prosecutable offense.

Recently, Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn, and Patty Murray, D-Wash., called on Jackson to leave.

Jackson has reportedly been accused of attempting to retaliate against a Philadelphia city agency which did not give a contract to one of his friends; improperly awarding a $1 million contract to manage the Virgin Islands Housing Authority to a friend with no relevant experience; and steering a $485,000 contract for housing work in New Orleans to a friend. Jackson has denied wrongdoing in every case.

The HUD Inspector General concluded in late 2006 that Jackson had pressured underlings to favor contractors who supported President Bush, but said there was no evidence anyone obeyed.

Jackson originally came under scrutiny for allegedly making comments suggesting he practiced cronyism at HUD.  "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe," Jackson reportedly told a Dallas audience in 2006.

Jackson later said his comments were "anecdotal" and not meant to be taken literally. "During my tenure, no contract has ever been awarded, rejected or rescinded due to the personal or political beliefs of the recipient," he said.

March 31, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Dem, GOPer Agree: Law Says Don't Prosecute Me, Bro

March 28, 2008 11:42 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Even in the heat of a bitter election season, there appears to be growing comity between red and blue lawmakers these days. At least among those indicted on federal charges.

Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi, a Republican, is fighting 35 felony counts including fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. In a new filing, his lawyers now say his activities are insulated from Justice Department scrutiny by the U.S. Constitution.

That argument echoes one being made -– against all odds, some say -– by Rep. Bill Jefferson, D-La., who is fighting federal charges that he took bribes in exchange for official acts.

Jefferson's legal team is trying to get most of the case against its client dismissed by citing what's known as the "speech and debate" clause -– an item in the Constitution which protects lawmakers and their staff from legal action if it relates to their official duties. (The judge in the case has called their argument "wildly far-fetched and simply not plausible.")

In their filing, Renzi's lawyers indicated they will raise the speech and debate clause, also.

Who says there's no bipartisan agreement on Capitol Hill?

March 28, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (10)

Alleged Ammo Scammers Asked to Testify

March 27, 2008 2:35 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

On the heels of this morning's New York Times expose, a House committee has called a hearing to learn more about a Miami-based company accused of supplying lousy ammo to Afghan forces via a U.S. government contract.

AEY Inc. does hundreds of millions of dollars in business with the U.S. government, according to the Times, including supplying pro-U.S. Afghan forces with ammunition.  The Times determined that the company had been shipping decades-old Chinese ammo to Afghanistan, whose age and condition made some of it defective and unreliable.

This afternoon, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., announced he'd like to see AEY's executives in his hearing room April 17, along with senior Pentagon and State Department officials.

AEY president Efraim E. Diveroli defended his company to the New York Times, insisting his firm, which operates out of an unmarked office in Miami Beach, "does everything 100 percent on the up and up."

March 27, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

New Questions about FEMA's Toxic Trailers?

March 26, 2008 10:15 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The men responsible for a controversial study on a toxic, cancer-causing chemical in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers will find themselves on the hot seat before Congress next week -- and they may be confronted with some uncomfortable new details.

As head of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Dr. Howard Frumkin and his deputy, Dr. Tom Sinks, oversaw the creation of a report critics say downplayed the health risks of formaldehyde levels in trailers FEMA provided disaster victims in the Gulf Coast region, particularly long-term effects.

A January statement from the agency described the report as "focused on the acute health effects of formaldehyde exposure -- to meet the urgent needs expressed by FEMA in its original request."

Frumkin testified before the Senate last month, where he told lawmakers that while concerns about formaldehyde in the trailers were raised in 2006, they "did not rise on our priority list."

"If I could roll back the tape, I would," Frumkin said then.

In February, the government admitted that the trailers were unsafe and began moving residents to other quarters. At the time, some 100,000 people still lived in the trailers.

Both Frumkin and Sinks have confirmed they will show up for the April 1 hearing before the House Committee on Science and Technology, a Hill staffer said, noting that the committee had uncovered new information on what Frumkin and Sinks knew about their agency’s controversial report.

March 26, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Study: $3 Billion to Lobbyists in 2007

March 24, 2008 10:40 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

How much influence gets peddled in Washington?  A lot, an insider beltway magazine recently concluded -- about $3 billion dollars' worth.

Lobbyists reported $2.9 billion in fees last year according to a new study by the National Journal, which declared that a record sum.  It's roughly double what the industry pulled down in 1998, according to the magazine's figures.

Lobbyists likely made "hundreds of millions of dollars more" in income they aren't legally required to report, the magazine said.

Last month, the Hill newspaper reported that the top 25 lobbying firms in Washington rung up about 15 percent of the total take.

"Maybe money can't buy influence in Washington, but I guess you can still rent it," cracked Keith Ashdown, of the nonpartisan D.C.-based group Taxpayers for Common Sense.

March 24, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Ex-CIA Official May Face New Charges

March 24, 2008 9:43 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Whoops!  Looks like the feds may slap an indicted former top CIA official with even more charges, as they had hinted they might.

Former Agency #3 man Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, handpicked for the senior post by former CIA director Porter Goss, already faces 30 felony counts stemming from his complicated relationship with imprisoned briber/fraudster Brent Wilkes.  Prosecutors say the two ran schemes on the CIA's funds, bilking millions of taxpayer dollars with bogus contracts for things like supplying bottled water to CIA operations in the Middle East.

In February, prosecutors said they had "recently uncovered" new evidence against Foggo.

Foggo has pleaded not guilty to the original charges,which include money laundering, conspiracy and fraud.  The new counts -- if they come at all -- should arrive in April, prosecutors reportedly said at a hearing Friday.  Foggo's trial is set to begin in November and is expected to last at least a month.

March 24, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Even More from Clinton's White House Schedules

March 20, 2008 12:03 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Even more details on the whereabouts of then-First Lady Hillary Clinton while her husband made history, from Brian Ross and Marcus Baram:

"Last week, Clinton insisted she played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace talks, saying 'I wasn't sitting at the negotiating table but the role I played was instrumental.'

"But, according to her White House schedule, while Catholic and Protestant leaders were locked into final negotiations on the terms of their power-sharing agreement in Belfast, Clinton was at the National Press Club in Washington at a 'Hats On For Bella' party in honor of late Congresswoman Bella Abzug on April 9, 1998.

"And while President Clinton was making last-minute phone calls to the major players in the peace talks that afernoon, she was meeting with Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and the Park Service Foundation.

"On the day the agreement was signed, April 10, 1998, she had a private meeting with Philippine first lady Amelita Ramos in the White House’s Yellow Oval room."

March 20, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (14)

WSJ: Schedules Don't Show Alleged Clinton Briefing

March 20, 2008 10:57 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The Wall Street Journal unearths another tidbit from Hillary Clinton's voluminous White House schedules released yesterday.

In her book, "Living History," Clinton wrote eloquently about a key speech she made in Beijing, China, the paper notes -- "an effort to show she is willing to get tough on China," the paper described it.  Prior to the speech, Clinton recounted in her book, she took a briefing from State Department officials and was even given "intelligence information."  But her schedules for the period don't show any such briefings, the Journal says.

The paper does not report any comment from Clinton.  Her campaign didn't immediately respond to our request for comment.

March 20, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (16)

A New Message From OBL Expected

March 19, 2008 4:25 PM

Rehab El-Buri Reports:

A jihadist Web site Wednesday advertised a message coming from Osama bin Laden. The Web site announced the message's title as "The Response Is What You See, Not What You Hear." 

The last time we heard from bin Laden was in November 2007 when he urged Europeans in an audio message to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Read the full report: OBL: Revenge for Republishing Offensive Cartoons Will Be Severe.

March 19, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (11)

Stars Can Come out for Campaigns, FEC Says

March 18, 2008 11:13 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The knighted British entertainer Elton John has volunteered to perform a solo show to raise funds for Hillary Clinton's cash-burning presidential campaign.

Sharp-eyed scandal hawks may wonder: is it legal for a foreigner to contribute his services to a U.S. political campaign? And since an hour of ivory-tickling by Sir Elton is worth many thousands of dollars, would his donated performance violate contribution limits?

The answers are yes and no, experts say.  The Federal Election Commission has said volunteering one's time is not a contribution, so restrictions barring foreigners do not apply. And since volunteering isn't a contribution, contribution limits also do not apply, they say.

Other candidates are also drawing man-hours from entertainment world luminaries.  Clinton's challenger for the Democratic nod, Sen. Barack Obama, has enjoyed spontaneous support from a bevy of young stars. Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am was inspired to produce two songs supporting the Illinois Democrat's White House bid, and videos for the tunes feature appearances by Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johannson, Ryan Phillippe and songstress Macy Gray.

And what star power has shown up to boost the GOP's presumptive candidate, Sen. John McCain?

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling stumped for the Arizona lawmaker last fall, campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said. Asked if any big-name entertainers had shown up to support McCain, Rogers said that mustachioed actor and onetime Quaker Oats pitchman Wilford Brimley had "brought some star quality" to McCain's efforts in Florida and New Hampshire.

March 18, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Bank's Collapse Could Hurt Campaign Coffers

March 17, 2008 10:14 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The sudden collapse of Bear Stearns may hit politicians where it hurts: in their campaigns' pocketbooks.

Employees of the once-feisty Wall Street firm gave over $5 million to politicians and party groups since 2000, according to Congressional Quarterly's Moneyline database.

The firm's political action committee doled out close to $500,000 during the period, tending to favor politicans of whichever party controlled Capitol Hill at the time.

Among candidates in the 2008 presidential race, Bear Stearns employees have favored Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton, N.Y. They have given their home-state contender and her various committees over $200,000 in the past five election cycles, compared to $73,800 for Republican John McCain and $38,425 for Clinton’s Democratic primary contender, Sen. Barack Obama, Ill.

Their favorite 2008 White House hopeful dropped out months ago. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., also chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, collected over $313,000 from Bear Stearns employees since the 2000 campaign season.

Update: Bear Stearns' purchaser, J.P. Morgan Chase, has been even more generous. Morgan Chase employees have contributed roughly $8 million since 2002, according to OpenSecrets.org. The firm spends millions more on lobbying, Senate records show.

March 17, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Rezko Played Bigger Role, Obama Says

March 14, 2008 6:53 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

An indicted Chicago businessman and political operator played a much bigger fundraising role in Barack Obama's political career than the White House hopeful had previously disclosed, the candidate tells the Chicago Tribune for an exclusive story late Friday afternoon.

Antoin "Tony" Rezko, on trial for corruption, raised roughly $250,000 for Obama -- more than $100,000 more than had been previously discovered by enterprising reporters.

Obama also admitted that he made repeated lapses in judgement by involving Rezko in a complex house purchase, the paper reports.

The candidate insisted that despite Rezko's efforts to help him, the politically savvy businessman expected no favors from him, the paper says.  "No, precisely because I'd known him for [many] years and he hadn't asked me for favors," it quotes Obama as saying.

Obama and his campaign have repeatedly insisted they have answered all queries regarding his relationship with Rezko, but "his campaign's piecemeal written statements have left lingering uncertainties about whether the up-and-coming senator exchanged favors with the target of a federal probe," the Tribune notes.

March 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (179)

Obama Releases Earmark Requests

March 14, 2008 12:36 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Barack Obama has released a list of spending requests he made as a U.S. senator from 2005 and 2006.

The 48-page list – available here – shows the Democratic presidential hopeful requested roughly $500 million in pet project funding during that period, from $800,000 for wireless communications for the Will County, Ill. Sheriff’s office to $2.5 million for the Chicago Botanical Gardens.

One earmark request raised an eyebrow over at the Washington Post: $8 million for a project that was being overseen by General Dynamics. One of Obama’s top fundraisers, James S. Crown, is on the General Dynamics board of directors, the Post notes.  Crown told the Post he had not discussed the company’s business with Obama and was unaware of the request.

Obama has called on his fellow senator and Democratic contender Hillary Clinton to release a list of her earmark requests; her campaign has promised to release only earmark requests from this year.

Obama released his 2007 earmark requests last July (see here).

March 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (29)

Alleged Spitzer Trystmate: Can You Handle Me?

March 12, 2008 10:20 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Here's a piece of irony too obvious not to note: the woman identified as New York governor Eliot Spitzer's favored prostitute recorded an R&B song with suggestive lyrics, including the rhetorical inquiry, "Can you handle me?"

Spitzer's answer, it would seem, is no.

The 22-year-old New Jersey native whose attentions led the governor of New York to forsake his political career is an aspiring pop songstress, it turns out, with an ear for unvarnished sexual suggestiveness.

"I know what you want/You got what I want," croons Ashley Alexandra Dupre, a.k.a. "Kristen" of the now-defunct Emperor Club VIP prostitution ring, on her online single, "What We Want."  "I know what you need/Can you handle me?"

The single is available for 78 cents from music site amiestreet.com.  That's a small price to pay for three and a half minutes of Dupre, whose legal name is Ashley DiPietro. Just ask the governor, who announced today he is resigning effective March 17 over the scandal.

March 12, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

Did 'Kristen' Post Pics on Modeling Site?

March 12, 2008 7:33 PM

From The Blotter:

The 22-year-old Manhattan woman at the center of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal may have marketed herself on a modeling and acting Web site.

"Kristen," as the petite brown-eyed brunette named in a court filing, is legally Ashley Rae Maika DiPietro, according to a New York Times story this evening. Sources confirmed to the Times she was a prostitute who met with the disgraced New York governor, although she declined comment to the paper.

The Web site ExploreTalent.com features a profile of a 5-foot-3-inch 22-year-old Ashley DiPietro from New York City, with brown hair and brown eyes. The profile included two pictures but no resume or other information.

Calls to DiPietro's lawyer were not immediately returned.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

March 12, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (8)

Another Emperor's Club Client: Wealthy British Duke?

March 12, 2008 2:05 PM

From The Blotter:

Another Emperor's Club VIP client may be known: England's Duke of Westminster.

According to Britain’s News of the World tabloid, a Lithuanian-born prostitute says the Duke booked her through Emperor's Club VIP and paid her 2,000 pounds for sex at a mews house he owns in Mayfair, West London in December.

The Duke, who is married and has four children, is reportedly Britain's third richest man and heads his country's Territorial Army, the Telegraph reports.

When contacted, the Duke's estate declined to comment on the reports and hung up.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

March 12, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Alleged "Emperor" Kingpin Had IRS Creds

March 11, 2008 5:37 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

The alleged leader of the prostitution ring that tripped up Eliot Spitzer is credentialed to represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service, an IRS spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

According to prosecutors, Mark "Michael" Brener, 62, had "ultimate decision-making authority" over the Emperor’s Club VIP prostitution service.  They say he recruited "prospective prostitutes," handled the group’s marketing, and settled disputes between prostitutes and their clients.

He is also a licensed "enrolled agent" of the IRS, spokesman Rob Marvin confirmed.  That means Brener was allowed to prepare and submit other people's taxes, represent others in tax court and in negotiations with the IRS, and receive information directly from the IRS on behalf of others.

According to the IRS Web site, you can become an enrolled agent by passing a written examination, or by having previously worked for the IRS.

Marvin said he could not confirm whether or not Brener had ever worked for the IRS.

The requirements for being an enrolled agent are stringent: an applicant must pass a background check to ensure that he or she has "not engaged in any conduct that would justify" their suspension or disbarment, says IRS.gov.

Failing to file your tax returns on time could be enough to ruin your chances, the Web site says.

Brener reportedly had $600,000 in cash and an Israeli passport when he was arrested last week. He was charged with conspiracy to launder over $1 million in proceeds from the prostitution ring.  His lawyer reportedly said he had been a U.S. citizen for two decades.

A government affidavit filed in the case portrays Brener had an eye for details. At one point he complained that one of the prostitutes had ignored him when he tried to instruct her how to properly fill out a credit card slip.

Perhaps coincidentally, IRS investigators were responsible for opening the investigation into the ring, although they were joined by FBI agents and public corruption prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office.

Update: Authorities searching Brener's apartment found three passports -- two Israeli and one U.S. -- the New York Post reported.

March 11, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (7)

Rezko Trial: Obama Consulted on Board Picks

March 10, 2008 1:27 PM

Justin Rood and Melissa Murphy Report:

As an Illinois lawmaker, Barack Obama was one of eight state officials consulted on appointments to a state board which later became involved in what prosecutors describe as a fraud scheme, the Associated Press reports today.

That information was contained in a June 2003 memo from a national Democratic official introduced this morning as evidence at the trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Chicago-area developer and political operative facing corruption charges.

The memo does not say how much influence Obama had over the process of picking members for the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, AP said.

And it did not indicate Obama was involved in the alleged corruption that later tainted the board.

March 10, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (168)

WSJ: U.S. Domestic Spying Grows

March 10, 2008 9:34 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The U.S. intelligence community's domestic spying efforts have expanded faster than most people realize, the Wall Street Journal's Siobhan Gorman reports this morning.

Despite attempts by Congress to kill rapacious data-gathering programs on U.S. citizens like Total Information Awareness or the FBI's Carnivore, components of those efforts have lived on, the Journal found.

Now, a network of data-gathering efforts drags in not only phone conversations and emails among U.S. persons, but travel information, credit card activity, bank transfers and more, according to the article.

The National Security Agency has a hand in gathering much of the information, Gorman says. But when its efforts confront stringent legal prohibitions, it can turn elsewhere: the FBI uses its legal authority to obtain the contents of emails from communications companies if the NSA is prohibited from doing so itself.

Indeed, the FBI emerges as a key partner in the effort, acting as a go-between for the NSA to get information from U.S. telecommunications and internet companies, the article relates.  Such cooperation, one FBI source told the Journal, has "expanded exponentially."

The NSA operates as something as a clearinghouse, Gorman found.  It takes data gathered on people by the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Treasury and others, then analyzes it for clues of what it believes could be terrorist activity.

"When [Total Information Awareness] got taken apart, it didn't get thrown away," one top government official told the paper.

March 10, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (8)

Intel Adviser Breaks with Obama over FISA, Telecoms

March 07, 2008 12:22 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

In a new interview with National Journal magazine, an intelligence adviser to Barack Obama's presidential campaign broke with his candidate’s position opposing retroactive legal protection for telecommunications companies being sued for cooperating with a dubious U.S. government domestic surveillance program.

"I do believe strongly that [telecoms] should be granted that immunity," former CIA official John Brennan told National Journal reporter Shane Harris in the interview.  "They were told to [cooperate] by the appropriate authorities that were operating in a legal context."

"I know people are concerned about that, but I do believe that's the right thing to do," added Brennan, who is an intelligence and foreign policy adviser to Obama.

That wasn't just a personal opinion, Brennan made clear to Harris. "My advice, to whoever is coming in [to the White House], is they need to spend some time learning, understanding what's out there, identifying those key issues," including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, he said -- the law at the heart of the immunity debate.

"They need to make sure they do their homework, and it's not just going to be knee-jerk responses," Brennan said of the presidential hopefuls.

Last month, Obama voted to strip language in an intelligence bill that would have granted to Verizon, AT&T and other companies the immunity Brennan favored.  The firms have been identified in lawsuits as having cooperated with a National Security Agency program to intercept phone calls and other communications data within the United States.

What does Obama think? "Sen. Obama welcomes a variety of views, but his position on FISA is clear. He and Brennan differ," said campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor.

Before leaving government to join the private sector, Brennan was the head of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), a joint office operated by the CIA, FBI and other government agencies.

March 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (31)

Obama's Name Surfaces in Rezko Trial

March 06, 2008 3:13 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

That didn’t take long.

Barack Obama’s name just surfaced in today's opening arguments of the federal corruption trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, according to our ace reporter Melissa Murphy, who's at the trial.

Joe Duffy, a lawyer for Rezko, told jurors that his client met Obama when the presidential aspirant was a Harvard Law student, and that he tried to hire him to be general counsel for his construction company, an offer Obama apparently turned down.

Rezko supported many politicians, Duffy explained, as he laid out his argument against the government's laundry list of corruption charges.

Obama has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the Rezko case, but his ties to the man facing a laundry list of corruption charges have caused turbulence for his campaign.

Obama has returned nearly $150,000 in political contributions from Rezko and his associates, and has tried to minimize the impact of an questionable real estate purchase he completed with the assistance of Rezko. Obama has called the deal, in which Rezko purchased an adjoining lot that helped Obama buy his current Chicago-area home, "boneheaded."

Melissa Murphy contributed to this report.

March 6, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (100)

Al Qaeda Leader: Jihad is an Obligation not a Choice

March 06, 2008 1:58 PM

Rehab El-Buri Reports:

Al Qaeda's leader in Afghanistan, Mustafa al-Yazid, tried to rally new recruits in a message posted to the Internet Thursday. In his audio address, al Yazid told Muslims fighting against the "occupiers" is an obligation, not a choice.

Al Yazid spent much of his more than 45-minute audio message pouring over the historical importance of jihad. He called Muslims not participating in the battle against disbelievers "deprived losers."

In his message, al Yazid asks Muslims, "How can jihad not be a compulsory obligation when our situation is like this?" Al Yazid calls Muslims from across the world to arms saying, "The disbelievers have traveled from afar to kill you."

As Sahab, al Qaeda's media arm, produced the audio message with a picture of al Yazid superimposed over a graphic of an arrow.

The Egyptian appeared in a video last year proclaiming himself the leader of al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
In his first video message, al Yazid promised more attacks against American forces in Afghanistan.    

The last time al-Yazid appeared in a video was in February when he issued a message commemorating the death of Abu Laith al-Libi.

This post has been updated.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

March 6, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (7)

Big Biz Moves into Blogosphere

March 05, 2008 11:12 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Blogging: It's not just for the little guy anymore.

Big business has officially moved into the blogosphere, a territory once claimed by radicals, grassroots organizers and armchair political philosophers. 

Bizcentral.org is a new group blog authored by lobbyists for some of the biggest industries in America.  The petroleum industry is represented, as well as nuclear power, chain drug stores, the American Trucking Association – even the Salt Institute, "the world's foremost source of authoritative information about salt (sodium chloride) and its more than 14,000 known uses."

Bizcentral isn't the first big-biz blog out there: the American Manufacturing Association has published its blog, shopfloor.org (actual post title: "Carpe Tort Reform") since 2004. But Bizcentral says it aims to be the first blog for business associations.

The site is the brainchild of Pat Cleary, a senior vice president at PR giant Fleischman Hilliard. Cleary, who helped set up shopfloor.org four years ago, told the Politico newspaper the site has only two rules for its contributors: first, you can't cricitize other members.  Second, you have to post at least once a week.

Welcome to blogging.

The three-day-old blog features business-friendly posts pointing out news that puts industry in a positive light.  One post highlights an article naming Wal-Mart one of "America's most eco-savvy corporations." Another uses a Tony Soprano-like argument to boost the image of a proposed Colombian free trade agreement ("Free trade works. . . capiche?")

And, not to be outdone, the Salt Institute contributed a flashy expose entitled "Workplace productivity demands effective winter roadway maintenance."  DailyKos, watch out.

March 5, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Hillary's WH Schedules to be Released Soon

March 04, 2008 5:37 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

The National Archives will release thousands of pages of former First Lady Hillary Clinton's daily schedules within the next two weeks, according to a new court filing.

The controversial documents have been the subject of a legal battle between the nonprofit right-leaning watchdog group Judicial Watch and the National Archives, which is the custodian of the records.

The documents are of heightened interest as now-Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., pursues her presidential ambitions.

In a filing dated March 1, the Archives says it is preparing to release 10,000 of roughly 30,000 pages which comprise Clinton's daily schedules, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. It is asking for more time to process the remaining 20,000 pages for release. The Archives blame their slow pace on a lack of resources.

The documents are held by the Clinton Presidential Library, a component of the National Archives and Records Administration, which is staffed by career NARA archivists.

The library's apparent slowness to release documents has come under fire during Hillary Clinton's presidential run, because many believe that its documents would be the "mother lode" for researchers working for Clinton's opponents, as one Republican consultant told the Los Angeles Times last August.

While the FOIA process is managed by Archives personnel, it includes a step whereby a designee of former President Clinton's – former White House aide Bruce Lindsey – reviews each page before it can be released.

According to the National Archives, Lindsey has not missed a deadline to complete his review.  In most cases, Lindsey is given by law between 30 and 45 days to check and approve documents for public release.

In a statement, Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton blasted the Clintons and the National Archives. "We are pleased we are finally getting Hillary’s daily schedules despite the Clintons' delaying tactics," he said, adding that "the Archives needs to get its act together and comply with the law, which requires the timely release of these records."

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