White House Ousts Top Official Accused of Political Favoritism

April 30, 2008 10:13 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Embattled administration official Lurita Doan resigned Tuesday evening,  acknowledging that her move came at the request of the White House.

"Early this evening I was asked to submit my resignation, and I have just done so," Doan wrote in an email to her staff which was obtained by several outlets, including Federal Computer week, which was the first to report Doan's ouster.

The White House, which reportedly summoned Doan to a meeting Tuesday afternoon, is said to be planning an announcement of Doan’s departure Wednesday.

Around Washington, heads are scratching over the timing of Doan’s apparent dismissal from the top spot of the Government Services Administration – a massive agency which contracts for billions in goods and services for other agencies, from paper clips to office space and auto leases.

"The President is grateful for her service and wishes her and her family the best," said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore in an e-mailed statement Wednesday, responding to an inquiry about the timing of Doan's departure and whether it had been prompted by the White House.

Doan had appeared to weather investigations by both Congress and the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), a Justice Department division charged with probing allegations of improper political activity by government employees. 

Last May, OSC confirmed Doan asked other GSA employees to think how their agency could help "our candidates," following a 2006 PowerPoint presentation by the White House political office on Republicans in tight congressional races.

In an email to reporters at Government Executive early Wednesday morning, Doan appeared to defend her actions. "I would rather get fired for something I believe in, and a cause I was willing to fight for, rather than to believe in nothing worth being fired for," Doan wrote, according to the magazine.

April 30, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (12)

Second Trial for Boeing Whistleblower

April 29, 2008 2:28 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Prosecutors will try for a second time to convict a former Boeing Co. employee who shared with reporters internal company documents reportedly showing quality control and inspection problems.

King County, Wash. prosecutors have charged Eastman with 16 counts of computer trespass, and could face up to three years if convicted.  The first trial for Gerald Eastman ended in a mistrial earlier this month.

Eastman inspected airplanes for the Washington-based aviation giant, and assisted newspapers with stories about air safety.  He has admitted to sharing documents with reporters over a period of three years. But he said he did so to expose what he said was corruption at Boeing.

Eastman also reportedly shared his concerns with Boeing management, the Federal Aviation Administration and his U.S. senators.

The prosecutors' office did not respond to a request for comment.  Whistleblower advocates in Washington, D.C. decried the decision to retry Eastman.

"The charges against Eastman are a message to all potential whistle-blowers at Boeing," said Nick Schwellenbach of the group Project on Government Oversight: "We'll try to send you to jail if you disclose information to the press."

Photo courtesy of Andy Rogers, Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

April 29, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (11)

Undercover Investigation: One-Stop Shopping for Steroids

April 29, 2008 10:27 AM

From The Blotter:

A four-month undercover investigation by ABC News affiliate KNXV in Phoenix, Ariz., reveals that local medical clinics are all too willing to improperly prescribe steroids. 

Even though steroids can only be prescribed to treat legitimate medical conditions, the ABC15 investigation found that doctors at the Revolution Medical Centers were quick to give the drugs to an undercover patient who said he was only looking to increase his size and strength.

According to the report, the patient not only received a prescription for steroids from clinic doctors, he also was shown how to inject the drugs for maximum effect. The undercover patient was able to buy a bag of steroids and supplies for about $2,000 at a clinic pharmacy, where a representative told him refills could be shipped overnight "wherever you're at."

Read and Watch KNVX's Full Report.

In a letter to KNXV, Revolution Medical Centers denied engaging in any illegal conduct.

April 29, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Report: U.S. Anti-Corruption Efforts Looking Good (in Iraq)

April 24, 2008 4:31 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Some incremental good news out of Iraq: The top U.S. watchdog there says the State Department is making progress with anti-corruption efforts in the country.

For the first time in three years' worth of efforts.

"Progress to this point is encouraging," Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen said in a report released today.

Over the past three years, Bowen has repeatedly examined U.S. anti-corruption efforts and barely found a pulse.  Or, as he noted dryly, "prior efforts to revitalize and coordinate U.S. anti-corruption efforts have been largely ineffective and suffered from a lack of management follow-through."

Underscoring the relative youth of this effort, Bowen said the progress he found heartening includes hiring new personnel, drawing up plans and appointing a new senior official to coordinate anticorruption initiatives.

The State Department and U.S. embassy seemed to agree with Bowen: he gave both organizations draft copies of his report, and neither submitted comments on his findings, the document stated.

April 24, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

CIA Tape Probes, Still Chugging Along

April 23, 2008 11:08 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

A House intelligence committee investigation into the destruction of CIA recordings reportedly showing waterboarding of Guantanamo Bay prisoners is on track to finish by June, according to a report in Congressional Quarterly.

That would in all likelihood make it the first of three investigations to report findings.  The Justice Department and the Senate intelligence committee have both said they intend to investigate the tapes' destruction, and neither have said when they intend to complete their work.

News of the tapes' destruction rocked the intelligence world in December. The existence of the tapes had not been disclosed to U.S. lawmakers or to the 9/11 Commission, which investigated the interrogations of certain terror suspects.

At the time they were reportedly destroyed, the CIA was under a court order to preserve information about torture and mistreatment of detainees at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay facility. CIA chief Michael Hayden said at the time the tapes were destroyed to protect the identities of the interrogators.

The Senate panel has agreed to postpone its probe until the Justice Department finishes looking into the matter.  A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Connecticut, which is leading the DoJ probe, told CQ reporter Tim Starks that it had no set date for conclusion.

April 23, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Ex-KBR Workers to Testify on Contract Fraud

April 22, 2008 2:49 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Less than two weeks after the Army picked KBR as one of a handful of contractors to provide billions in services in Iraq over the next decade, Senate Democrats will hear testimony from whistleblowers alleging the company has overcharged for services it has already been providing there.

Two former KBR employees, Frank Cassaday and Linda Warren, are slated to testify before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee next Monday, according to the panel.

The two reportedly sued their former employer on behalf of the U.S. government, claiming KBR fraudulently boosted the number of soldiers using KBR-managed recreation facilities in an effort to inflate the fees it was paid.

Warren was reportedly fired for refusing to go along with the alleged scheme.

KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne said the company could not comment on the allegations, and noted that the Justice Department had declined to join the suit.

Under a massive new Army logistics contract, KBR will be one of three firms to compete for as much as $150 billion in contracts to provide housing, laundry and other basic services in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world, the Army announced April 17.

This post has been updated.

April 22, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

McCain Aided Arizona Businessman

April 22, 2008 10:06 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Known for his avowed stance against favors for special interests, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced legislation sought by a major campaign donor, the New York Times reports this morning.

McCain also wrote a personal letter of introduction for the donor, Arizona developer Don Diamond, which Diamond used to win business, according to the paper.  McCain's office also arranged for Diamond, who has developed land once belonging to the military, to meet an Army official, the Times said, helping him close a deal which cleared him a $20 million profit.

The McCain presidential campaign told the paper the candidate "had done nothing for Mr. Diamond that he would not do for any other Arizona citizen." The legislation he introduced which benefited Diamond had broad support from local governments, it said.

It called the introduction to the Army official a "constituent matter," and said the letter was "a character reference," noting that other lawmakers had written similar letters for Diamond.

Diamond, who has reportedly raised over $250,000 for McCain's White House bid, defended his candidate to the Times. "I think that is what Congress people are supposed to do for constituents. . . When you have a big, significant businessman like myself, why wouldn't you want to help move things along?"

Noting that McCain sometimes expressed reservations about helping Arizona businessmen, Diamond told the Times he encouraged the senator to "loosen up."

The Times notes Diamond and his family has given over $55,000 to McCain's various campaigns, and over $600,000 to other candidates -- and expects a return on that. "I want my money back, for Christ's sake," the paper quoted Diamond as saying. "Do you know how many cocktail parties I have to go to?"

April 22, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Duke Briber Hasn't Made Bail, Judge Says

April 21, 2008 1:42 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

A man appealing his conviction for bribing former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham is reportedly struggling to make his bail, set at $1.4 million.

A federal public defender has been representing Brent Wilkes, who has claimed he was too poor to afford to hire counsel.  Wilkes reaped millions from fraudulent defense and intelligence contracts thanks to Cunningham's interventions, making it difficult for many observers to believe his claims of poverty.

But Wilkes' frustrated efforts to make bail may bolster his argument.  Friday, a federal judge reportedly said that Wilkes had managed to rustle up roughly $400,000 in relatives' retirement accounts to secure his freedom. 

A federal appeals court granted Wilkes the possibility of freedom in a ruling last month.

Judge Larry Alan Burns reportedly declined to accept those funds as collateral, noting that the government may not legally be able to take those funds if Wilkes skipped bail.

In February, Wilkes began serving his 12-year term in federal prison for his involvement in the Cunningham scandal, the largest bribery scandal in the history of Congress. According to federal prosecutors, Wilkes treated Cunningham to lavish meals and Hawaiian vacations, and procured prostitutes for himself and the former lawmaker, in exchange for federal business.

April 21, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Rezko out on Bail

April 18, 2008 3:50 PM

Justin Rood and Melissa Murphy Report:

After nearly three months of incarceration, Antoin "Tony" Rezko is out on bail -- with a lot of help from his loved ones.

Over a dozen friends and relatives of the Chicago businessman posted an $8.6 million bond, secured by roughly 30 properties, including personal homes. Rezko, a longtime Chicago political operative, is on trial for federal corruption charges.

Federal prosecutors say Rezko funneled massive amounts of money into politicians' coffers in an effort to win seats for his friends on important but obscure government panels.  He has been held since January at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago. Rezko has denied all wrongdoing.

Judge Amy St. Eve set strict limitations on Rezko's freedom. She required him to wear an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor his movements, and restricted him to his house except to travel directly to and from her courtroom.

Furthermore, Judge St. Eve ordered Rezko to notify the court if he is involved in any loans, gifts or payments totaling $5,000 or more.

Despite that, Rezko's lawyer struck an appreciative tone. "We are extremely grateful to Judge Amy St. Eve for reconsidering our motion for bond today," said Joseph Duffy, "and we are happy Mr. Rezko will be able to spend this night with his wife and children."

This post has been updated.

April 18, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (18)

Despite Admission, Latest Hill Scandal "Still a Whodunit"

April 17, 2008 11:58 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Even as more information leaks out about the latest Congressional scandal, Congress is struggling to decide how – or whether – to investigate itself.

The crux of the scandal, known as "Coconut Road," is simple: When Congress passes a law, its wording is not supposed to change before it goes to the president for his signature.

But in 2005, a rogue entry popped up in a spending bill after the House and Senate had already voted on it, but before it landed on President Bush's desk.

The entry directed $10 million to Florida authorities to build a highway interchange they didn't want, but which would open up thousands of acres to be developed. That land was owned by a major contributor to Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska.

Pursued by bloggers and a watchdog group, the source of the tiny provision – known as "Coconut Road" – has mushroomed into a full-blown scandal. The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the matter, while Congress is debating how (and whether) to investigate how anyone could manage to pull such a fast one.

For months, no one has come forward to take credit.  But this morning, unnamed members of Young's staff are quoted in the Washington Post saying that yes, unnamed committee aides for Young "corrected" the law after it had been passed by Congress.  Young's office insisted that campaign donations were not the motive to make the change.

The earmarked money was always supposed to be for the interchange, but had been written as generic highway improvements, Young's spokeswoman said.  So they changed it.

Mystery solved? Hardly, says Keith Ashdown, a spending watchdog whose group, Taxpayers for Common Sense, first investigated the Coconut Road earmark and took the rare step of asking the House Ethics Committee for an investigation – six months ago.

For one thing, the role of another Florida congressman, Republican Connie Mack, is unclear. Mack "disavowed any association with the earmark request," the Post reported Wednesday - yet he authored a letter at the time expressing support for the controversial interchange. He has since pushed to reverse the earmark.

"This is still a case of whodunit," said Ashdown.  The identities of those involved are still unknown, he said, as well as those of anyone who may have directed the change – nor is it public knowledge what other staffers may have known about the illicit tweak.

"Other staff were involved," Ashdown said Wednesday. "We believe they didn’t intend to do wrong, but at best they were asleep at the switch. . . [but] they let this happen."

This post has been updated.

April 17, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (19)

Radical Ties an Issue as Dems Debate

April 17, 2008 10:37 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The Democratic candidates' ties to violent domestic radicals came up in last night's presidential debate, as ABC News' Nitya Venkataraman reported, highlighting a Clinton pardon I had omitted while first reporting on this story in February.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., hit Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for having served on the board of a Chicago nonprofit with Bill Ayers, a former member of the 1960s-era left-wing radical group the Weather Underground. "What they did was set bombs, and in some cases people died. I know Sen Obama is a good man and I respect him greatly but this is certainly something the Republicans will be raising."

Obama hit back, pointing out -- as I did in February -- that Clinton had her own ties to the group.

"President Clinton pardoned two members of the Weather Underground," Obama said, "which is a bigger deal than serving on a board with someone."

As I reported in February when the Clinton camp first raised the issue, in 2001 then-president Bill Clinton pardoned Susan Rosenberg, a Weather Underground member arrested in 1984 while unloading 740 pounds of dynamite from the back of her car.

But Clinton indeed pardoned a second -- Linda Evans, who had been convicted of several charges stemming from a series of bombings in the 1980s.

April 17, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (116)

Repaid, Guam Drops Charges Against Abramoff Firm

April 14, 2008 2:28 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

The government of Guam is dropping its indictment of Jack Abramoff's old law firm just one month after it was issued – after the firm agreed to repay over $300,000 Abramoff collected from the territory.

The Greenberg Traurig firm will repay Guam $324,000 in fees the convicted lobbyist took from the government of Guam in fees allegedly funneled out of Guam Superior Court funds for illicit lobbying efforts, the company confirmed today.

In exchange, Guam's attorney general has dropped the charges he filed against the firm March 10.  The indictment charged Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff and a former Guam government official on nine felony counts of theft, conspiracy and misconduct.

"We are grateful that the Attorney General's office recognizes our cooperation with this investigation," said firm spokeswoman Jill Perry.

April 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

D.C. Madam Trial: Powerful Men Won't Have to Testify?

April 14, 2008 12:54 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

At least three powerful men, including Sen. David Vitter, D-La., may not have to testify about their involvement with a Washington, D.C. escort service.

The attorney for accused "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey said he would rest his case today without calling any further witnesses, the Associated Press reported. The prosecution is also expected to rest its case today, Preston Burton told the news service.

Earlier in the case, Burton had indicated he might call to the stand Vitter, former senior State Department official Randall Tobias, and military strategist Harlan Ullman -- all men whose numbers appeared on phone records of Palfrey's business. None have been called.

While the trio will apparently be saved the embarrassment of publicly describing their encounters with Palfrey and her women, many lesser-known figures have not been so lucky.

Three lesser-known men who were former clients were called by prosecutors to testify they had sex with women dispatched by Palfrey. Several women who worked for Palfrey were also compelled to testify, in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

The witness' responses under oath have comprised a litany of unhappiness and pain, making coverage of the trial less titillating than traumatic. "More Winces Than Thrills" was the headline of a Washington Post story this morning, which called the lengthy testimony from the former escorts "just a long, sad parade."

Palfrey maintains she ran a "sexual fantasy" escort service and prohibited her employees from engaging in any illegal activity, including intercourse with clients for money.

Vitter has previously acknowledged his involvement with the service; Tobias told ABC News a year ago he had used Palfrey's agency "to have gals come over to the condo to give me a massage" but did not have sex with them.

Ullman, whom Palfrey described as "a disagreeable character," told reporters last year that the appearance of his number in Palfrey's business phone records was "beneath the dignity of comment."

April 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (17)

Russia Upset Over Arms Dealer's Arrest?

April 11, 2008 4:06 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Russia has summoned Thailand's ambassador over his country's arrest of a Russian believed to be one of the world's most notorious black-market arms dealers, according to Reuters.

In a joint U.S.-Thai sting, Thai authorities nabbed Bout in Bangkok last month on drug charges. The United States is seeking Bout's extradition. It has accused Bout of agreeing to supply millions of dollars worth of weaponry to Columbian rebels.

"The ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand...was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry and handed a note in connection with violations of the rights of Russian citizen V.A. Bout who is under arrest in Thailand at the request of the United States," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, the news agency reported.

April 11, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

What's Reflected in Cheney's Glasses?

April 11, 2008 12:07 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Just what is the Vice President looking at?

A photograph of Dick Cheney from the White House Web site has quickly made the rounds on the Internet, fueled by speculation about what is being reflected in his sunglasses.

Cthulu? A woman in her birthday suit? A naked alien? Osama bin Laden?

The picture has been posted, linked, enlarged, enhanced on dozens of Web sites in the last 48 hours.  While popular on left-wing sites, its sheer curiosity value appeared to have drawn interest from around the blogosphere.

The photo was popular on the news-sharing site reddit.com yesterday, drawing hundreds of comments from readers.  An item on the picture appeared Tuesday on a blog for the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post newspaper; that was in turn picked up by the megatraffic site FARK.com, where it quickly became one of the site’s most popular recent posts.

Many guessers have said it could be an alien life form, though the most popular pick appears to be some version of a barely-clad lass. Opinions differ about how many arms, legs and heads she may have.

Commenters at some sites have noted that what one sees reflected in Cheney’s glasses may actually be a reflection of the viewer’s own psyche – a kind of cyber-political Rorschach test.

What does the vice president’s office say?

“He’s casting a reel,” said a (very terse) LeeAnn McBride, spokeswoman for Cheney. McBride said she did not know if the arm – and it is an arm reflected in the vice president’s sunglasses, she confirmed – belonged to Cheney or his fishing guide. 

An enlarged version of the picture - here - appears to support McBride's contention. And an investigative photo editor for McClatchy/Tribune Information Services said that's his conclusion.

"In one lens of his sunglasses you can clearly tell it is a sleeved arm of Cheney or a fishing companion," editor George Bridges said for an article by his wire service. "The other lens has an extreme distortion that, without looking at it closely, could be misconstrued."

Why?  What did you think it was?

April 11, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (104)

Ex-Prez Clinton: Million Dollar Bill?

April 11, 2008 10:25 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Since leaving office, former President Bill Clinton has received an average $1 million a year from the U.S. government in pension, staff salaries, office rent and other presidential retirement perks -- nearly what former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush received combined, the Politico newspaper reports.

Since 2001, Clinton has spent $420,000 of federal dollars on phone service, $3.2 million on office rent, and $751,000 for "other services," according to the paper.  His taxpayer-funded health insurance was $10,000 this year, said the Politico, which found the figures in Congressional reports and executive branch budget documents.

The figures do not include the cost of Secret Service protection, which is not disclosed, the paper said.

The news that Clinton is "taking full advantage" of his post-presidential retirement benefits comes one week after his wife's presidential campaign released the couple's tax records, showing the two have earned over $109 million since leaving office, much of it from book royalties, speaking fees and consulting payments.

"Since leaving office, President Clinton has represented the American people at home and abroad, at state funerals, through his work with former President Bush on the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, and through his vigorous charitable foundation work to fight AIDS, climate change and childhood obesity," said Jay Carson, a spokesman for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, in a statement to the paper.

The former president is not without voices of restraint, Carson noted.  On occasion, the spokesman told Politico, Clinton's staff "recommended decreases to the proposed budgets."

April 11, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (11)

Congresswomen to Rice: No Blackwater Contract

April 10, 2008 3:52 PM

From The Blotter:

Two congresswomen called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to stop Blackwater USA's contract in Iraq from being renewed.

"Blackwater USA has clearly exhibited disrespect and disregard for its employees, their families and Iraqi civilians," Reps. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., wrote in a letter to Secretary Rice today.

Last week, sources told ABC News the one-year extension, worth an estimated $240 million, to Blackwater's contract in Iraq, was requested by officials at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

"We fear that the State Department's renewal of the diplomatic security contract with Blackwater USA is one made out of convenience and not based on the company's track record or the quality of their work," the two congresswomen wrote.

That track record includes allegations of improper use of force, arms trafficking, tax fraud and overbilling. Currently, a federal grand jury is investigating whether Blackwater security guards used excessive force in killing 13 Iraqi civilians in central Baghdad last September. As ABCNews.com has reported, the criminal investigation is focusing on two or three Blackwater guards who opened fire, claiming they perceived a threat. Other Blackwater guards have testified to federal agents, however, that they saw no such threat.

Federal prosecutors are probing allegations that Blackwater personnel smuggled weapons, night-vision scopes and other sensitive material into Iraq. The firm has denied any involvement in such a scheme.
A congressional panel is investigating whether the company illegally dodged millions in taxes by misclassifying its employees as "independent contractors." The allegation, Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said at the time, was "incorrect."

And a State Department investigation in 2005 found Blackwater sometimes double-billed employees' time, resulting in "duplication of profit."

"The State Department's decision to renew the contract not only puts the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians at risk, but it threatens the safety of our troops and jeopardizes the U.S. mission in Iraq," Rep. Schakowsky, a member of the House Intelligence Committee who introduced the Stop Outsourcing Security (S.O.S.) Act to phase out the use of private military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, said last week.

Now she and Rep. Brown-Waite have requested a meeting with Secretary Rice regarding the renewed contract.

April 10, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Tax Expert: Remember Clintons' $3 T-Shirts

April 07, 2008 3:16 PM

From The Blotter:

When Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign released her family's tax records late Friday afternoon, many outside experts saw the couple's high tax bracket -- 31% -- and concluded the senator and her ex-president husband must have skipped out on many tax write-offs favored by the very wealthy.

Not so, says a forensic accountant familiar with the Clinton's past filings.

"Their history as tax filers shows that if they can claim something they take it," said Steve Bankler, a San Antonio accountant who has studied the returns of the past three presidents.

A case in point, Bankler noted: the Clintons wrote off more than $77,000 in expenses for their home offices in New York and Washington, DC. The couple reported more than  $250,000 "cleaning and maintenance" expenses for their homes and applied a small percentage of those costs as expenses for their home offices.  The Clintons did this in 2003 and 2004, Bankler found.  Taxpayers pick up the cost of the former president's Harlem office, which reportedly costs $354,000 a year. 

Bankler recalls the Clintons took deductions for a $2 thermal undershirt and $3 t-shirts donated to charity in the late 1980s.

Of the ex-president, Bankler said, "If he's paying for it, he'd be deducting it."  By that logic, Bankler suggested that Clinton may have paid little if any travel, meals and entertainment related to his many far-flung speaking engagements, which would have been tax deductible.

Jay Carson, a Clinton campaign spokesman, said that in many cases those costs are covered by the ex-president's client. But, said Carson, if and when Clinton himself pays, "he does not seek reimbursement or a deduction."

April 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (18)

Senator Vitter Ordered to Testify at D.C. Madam Trial?

April 07, 2008 9:53 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

A U.S. senator who admitted to using the "D.C. Madam" escort service is fighting a subpoena to testify at her trial –- down to the opening gavel this morning.

Defending herself against a sortie of felony charges stemming from running an alleged interstate prostitution business, Deborah Jeane Palfrey has subpoenaed Sen. David Vitter, R-La., to testify.

Vitter's telephone number appeared in the phone records of Palfrey's business for February 2001, which Palfrey had released to the media. At the time that was revealed, Vitter issued a statement confirming he had used the service.  Through his lawyer, Vitter has said he will not testify.

At a last-minute hearing Friday, U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson appeared to reject an argument by a lawyer who has represented Vitter that his client's testimony would be "totally inappropriate," reported Legal Times. The judge declined to nullify the subpoena.

The lawyer, Henry Asbill, declined to confirm that Vitter was the client in question.  Vitter's office also declined to do so, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Instead it issued a brief statement from Vitter to "reaffirm how sorry I am to have hurt the people I love so deeply. . . including the people of Louisiana."

Asbill said that if forced to testify, his client was prepared to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Palfrey has insisted that she was not running a sex-for-hire business but a legal "fantasy services" firm, and that the female independent contractors who worked for her were not to engage in intercourse.

April 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (24)

New KBR Rape Allegations

April 04, 2008 1:42 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Another female KBR employee has come forward alleging she was brutally raped in Iraq, and that the company attempted to cover it up, the Nation magazine reported yesterday.

Like Jamie Leigh Jones, whose story ABC News reported last December, the woman said she was gang-raped after being slipped a tranquilizer.  Her KBR supervisor told her to keep quiet about the incident, she told the magazine.  When she tried to contact a lawyer in the United States, she said, the company confiscated her computer.

The woman, who said the rape occurred this January, asked  not to be named, the Nation reported.

In a letter to the woman’s lawyer, a KBR attorney said that the firm takes the allegations "very seriously," but that they had "inaccuracies."

"[T]he Company intends to pursue all available remedies should false statements be publicized," KBR lawyer Celia Ballí wrote, according to the Nation.

April 4, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Like Clinton, Obama Attended "Shadowy" Group's Prayer Meetings

April 04, 2008 11:21 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Stories on the "stealth" ministry of Douglas Coe have been cropping up recently on blogs and online publications, linking him unfavorably to Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.

Comparing Coe to Obama's inflammatory pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barbara Ehrenreich wrote at HuffingtonPost.com, "When it comes to unsavory religious affiliations, she's a lot more vulnerable than Obama."

But the story may not be so simple.  Indeed, as Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign confirmed yesterday, he has also attended Coe's prayer meetings.

Coe’s group, "the Fellowship," reportedly shuns publicity while focusing on ministering to those in power in the United States and around the world.  In Washington, D.C., Coe sponsors a weekly Senate prayer breakfast and an annual National Prayer Breakfast regularly attended by U.S. presidents.

Coe’s group has been called "shadowy," and Coe has made some unusual comments which have raised more than a few eyebrows. In recorded presentations, he has seemed to praise Hitler and other totalitarian leaders for brutally enforcing their followers’ allegiance to doctrine over allegiance to family, and suggesting that was a model for teaching children about Jesus.

"[T]here is something deeply strange about the group," wrote the Atlantic magazine's Joshua Green, who has reported extensively on Coe's Fellowship and Hillary Clinton.

Ehrenreich and others have noted that Hillary has been a regular attendee at his weekly prayer meetings, and spoke warmly of Coe in her autobiography, "Living History."

But if Clinton has a Coe problem, then it seems Obama would also: a quick call to the Obama campaign elicited a confirmation that the junior senator from Illinois had also attended "a couple" of Coe’s meetings.  And, like Clinton reportedly has, Obama spoke at one of the meetings about his faith, spokesman Bill Burton confirmed.

April 4, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (62)

Secret Memo Raises New Questions on Domestic Spying

April 03, 2008 9:20 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Justin Rood reports:

Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the Bush administration concluded constitutional protections against unreasonable searches did not apply if they were done as part of “domestic military operations,” the Wall Street Journal reports this morning.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which unearthed that tidbit, called it a "radical interpretation" of the Fourth Amendment. A Justice Department spokesman said the administration has since changed its thinking on the matter. However, the legal reasoning was in place from 2001 until possibly as late as 2006, the Journal says.

The reasoning is contained in a still-classified 37-page memo dated Oct. 23, 2001, from the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel.  Another document, recently obtained by the ACLU, mentioned the October 2001 memo’s findings on the Fourth Amendment.

That secret memo has appeared before, however.

The October 2001 document, "Re: Authority for the Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities within the United States," was mentioned in another Bush administration legal opinion – the so-called "Bybee Memo," since rescinded, which found that torture "may be justified" in some instances.

A footnote to the Bybee document said that the October 2001 memo also concluded that Posse Comitatus –- an 1878 statute barring the military from participating in "law and order" missions domestically, under most circumstances – does not apply to the war on terror.  "Posse Comitatus does not forbid the use of military force for the military purpose of preventing and deterring terrorism within the United States," the memo stated.

The two conclusions -- that both the Fourth Amendment and Posse Comitatus do not protect Americans from government anti-terror efforts -- is puzzling, experts say.  It's simply not clear exactly what operation the October 2001 memo was meant to justify.

While some speculated it was meant to provide a legal basis for the National Security Agency's controversial domestic wiretapping program, a White House spokesman told the Journal that effort relied on "a separate set of legal opinions."

"What kind of surveillance program was it meant to justify, then?" the ACLU's Jameel Jaffer asked a Journal reporter.

April 3, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

Briber Could Be Free During Appeal, Judge Rules

April 01, 2008 2:24 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

The California man found guilty of bribing a former U.S. congressman could be released from jail while he fights his conviction.

Last November a jury found Brent Wilkes guilty of 13 felony counts related to a scheme in which he gave more than $600,000 in cash and gifts to former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., in exchange for business contracts with the federal government worth millions.

Late last week, a federal appeals court ordered Wilkes released during his appeal, if he meets conditions to be set by a lower court. Wilkes had been free during his trial because he posted $2 million bail. His appeal will be handled by a public defender because he says he can't afford an attorney.

Wilkes has been in prison since last month, when a federal judge sentenced him to 12 years. The other man prosecutors have accused of bribing Cunningham with cash and gifts, Mitchell Wade, is cooperating with the investigation and has not seen the inside of a jail cell. 

Last month, Cunningham marked the second anniversary of his incarceration; a judge sentenced him to eight years and four months in March 2006.

Wilkes isn't the only one unhappy with his sentence. Prosecutors had asked for Wilkes to get as many as 25 years behind bars, and have signaled they may challenge his sentence.

April 1, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)