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HavenWorks.com/law/enforcement/archive/2008 |
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Safety
- 
Food
- 
Drug
- 
Medical
- Manufacturers
- 
Business
- Investigation
- Lawmakers
- 
Science
- 
Politics
- "FDA
flawed on food, medical device safety: GAO: When
it comes to the safety of food and medical devices, the Food and Drug Administration
[FDA] has some work to do, government investigators reported to lawmakers
on Tuesday." ... ""FDA has opportunities to better leverage its resources,"
according to a Government Accountability Office [GAO] report presented
at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight subcommittee.
"Efficient use of resources is particularly important at FDA because we
found that its food safety workload has increased in the past decade, while
its food safety staff and funding have not kept pace."" ... "FDA oversees
about 80% of the U.S. food supply, which includes $417 billion of domestic
food and $49 billion of imported food annually, according to GAO." ...
"In November, an advisory committee to the FDA found that the agency "suffers
from serious scientific deficiencies and is not positioned to meet current
or emerging regulatory responsibilities."" ... "Also Tuesday, the GAO said
FDA has not met its statutory requirement to inspect domestic manufacturers
of medical devices classified as high risk, such as pacemakers, or medium
risk, such as hearing aids, every two years." -By
Ruth Mantell -MarketWatch
US
Immigration - 
Federal
- Law
- Enforcement
- Politics
- 
Arizona
- 
Minnesota
- 
Georgia
- 
Colorado
- "Immigration
officials detaining, deporting American citizens."
... "Thomas Warziniack was born in Minnesota and grew up in Georgia, but
immigration authorities pronounced him an illegal immigrant from Russia."
... "Immigration and Customs Enforcement has held Warziniack for weeks
in an Arizona detention facility with the aim of deporting him to a country
he's never seen. His jailers shrugged off Warziniack's claims that he was
an American citizen, even though they could have retrieved his Minnesota
birth certificate in minutes and even though a Colorado court had concluded
that he was a U.S. [United States] citizen a year before it shipped him
to Arizona." ... "On Thursday, Warziniack was told he would be released.
Immigration authorities were finally able to verify his citizenship." ...
""The immigration agents told me they never make mistakes," Warziniack
said in a phone interview from jail. "All I know is that somebody dropped
the ball."" ... "The story of how immigration officials decided that a
small-town drifter with a Southern accent was an illegal Russian immigrant
illustrates how the federal government mistakenly detains and sometimes
deports American citizens." ... "U.S. citizens who are mistakenly jailed
by immigration authorities can get caught up in a nightmarish bureaucratic
tangle in which they're simply not believed." ... "Unlike suspects charged
in criminal courts, detainees accused of immigration violations don't have
a right to an attorney, and three-quarters of them represent themselves.
Less affluent or resourceful U.S. citizens who are detained must try to
maneuver on their own through a complicated system."
-By
Marisa Taylor with contributions
by Tish Wells
-McClatchyDC.com
Iraq
- Law
- Politics
- 
Jobs
- 
Teachers
- 
People
- Police
- Government
- 
Military
- 
History
- 
US
- "Iraq's
New Law on Ex-Baathists Could Bring Another Purge."
... "Maj. Gen. [Major General] Hussein al-Awadi, a former official in Saddam
Hussein's Baath Party, became the commander of the Iraqi National Police
despite a 2003 law barring the party from government." ... "But now, under
new legislation promoted as way to return former Baathists to public life,
the 56-year-old and thousands like him could be forced out of jobs they
have been allowed to hold, according to Iraqi lawmakers and the government
agency that oversees ex-Baathists." ... ""This new law is very confusing,"
Awadi said. "I don't really know what it means for me."" ... "He is not
alone. More than a dozen Iraqi lawmakers, U.S. [United States] officials
and former Baathists here and in exile expressed concern in interviews
that the law could set off a new purge of ex-Baathists, the opposite of
U.S. hopes for the legislation. " ... "The very first decree of the U.S.-led
occupation government was to disband the Baath Party and purge its members
from the government. Issued May 16, 2003, Coalition Provisional Authority
Order No. 1 also banned the top four ranks of the Baath Party from public-sector
jobs." ... "U.S. officials believed the order would remove about 20,000
Baathists, or 1 percent of the 2 million people in Iraq said to be party
members, according to L. Paul Bremer, then the occupation administrator."
... "He blamed the Iraqi politicians who oversaw the de-Baathification
process in mid-2003 for going beyond the intention of the order and purging
thousands of additional people, including about 11,000 teachers." ... "The
Iraqis tell a different story. According to Ali Faisal al-Lami, executive
director of the de-Baathification commission, Bremer's order pushed 140,000
Iraqis out of their jobs." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By Amit R. Paley and Joshua Partlow
-WashingtonPost
Alberto
Gonzales
- 
Pete
Domenici - 
Heather
Wilson - Criminal
- US
Attorneys - Politics
- Hatch
Act - Federal
- Law
- Civil
Rights - 2006
Election - 2008
Election - 
New
Mexico - Minnesota
- "Attorneys
probe deepens." ... "The federal investigation into
the firing of nine U.S. attorneys could jolt the political landscape ahead
of the November [2008] elections, according to several people close to
the inquiry." ... "Washington’s attention has been diverted from the scandal
since the August resignation of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, and
has
focused instead on Democrats’ efforts to hold White House officials in
contempt for ignoring congressional subpoenas to testify on Capitol Hill
about the firings." ... "But recent behind-the-scenes activity in several
investigations suggests that the issue that roiled Congress in 2007 could
re-emerge in the heat of the [2008] election year. Two inquiries by the
House and Senate ethics committees are examining whether several congressional
Republicans, including one running for the Senate this year, improperly
interfered with investigations." ... "As potent as the congressional probes
might be, they appear to be far narrower than a sprawling inquiry launched
by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Office
of Professional Responsibility (OPR)." ... "Investigators from these offices
have been questioning whether senior officials lied to Congress, violated
the criminal provisions in the Hatch Act, tampered with witnesses preparing
to testify to Congress, obstructed justice, took improper political considerations
into account during the hiring and firing of U.S. attorneys and created
widespread problems in the department’s Civil Rights Division, according
to several people familiar with the investigation." ... "The internal Justice
Department probe cannot bring charges but can refer findings to a U.S.
attorney for the District of Columbia or a special prosecutor, who could
then pursue a criminal investigation." ... "[Former New Mexico U.S. Attorney
David] Iglesias’s case is in the crosshairs of all three investigations.
Testifying before Congress, he alleged last year that Sen. Pete Domenici
(R-N.M.) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) pressured him to accelerate an
investigation of a Democratic politician in New Mexico ahead of Wilson’s
tight [2006] reelection bid. Iglesias said he did not plan to bring charges
before the November elections, and was fired in December 2006." ... "In
a sign that the investigation has widened beyond the nine fired attorneys,
Justice last summer interviewed Thomas Heffelfinger, U.S. attorney in Minnesota,
who resigned before it was revealed that he was targeted for dismissal."
-By Manu Raju -TheHill.com
Environmental
- Corporate
- Government
- Law
- Politics
- Investigation
- 
California
- 
Cars
- 
Emissions
- "EPA
won't give details on denying emissions waiver."
... "Invoking executive privilege, the [Republican President Bush run]
U.S. [United States] Environmental Protection Agency refused to provide
lawmakers Friday with a full explanation of why it rejected California's
greenhouse gas regulations." ... "The EPA informed [California Democratic
Senator] Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., that many of the documents she had
requested contained internal deliberations or attorney-client communications
that would not be shared with Congress." ... "The refusal to provide a
full explanation is the latest twist in a congressional investigation into
why the EPA denied California permission to impose what would have been
the country's toughest greenhouse gas standards on cars, trucks and sport
utility vehicles." -AP
via -SFGate.com
John
Ashcroft - 
Michael
B Mukasey
- Alberto
R Gonzales - 
Debra
Wong Yang - Criminal- Corporate
- Government
- Lawyers
- US
Attorneys - Politics
- Medical
- 
New
Jersey - 
Indiana
- 
New
York
- Los
Angeles - California
- "Ashcroft
Deal Brings Scrutiny in Justice Dept.." ... "When
the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey [Christopher J. Christie] needed
to find an outside lawyer to monitor a large corporation willing to settle
criminal charges out of court last fall, he turned to [Republican] former
Attorney General John Ashcroft, his onetime boss. With no public notice
and no bidding, the company awarded Mr. Ashcroft an 18-month contract worth
$28 million to $52 million." ... "That contract, which Justice Department
officials in Washington learned about only several weeks ago, has prompted
an internal inquiry into the department’s procedures for selecting outside
monitors to police settlements with large companies." ... "The contract
between Mr. Ashcroft’s consulting firm, the Ashcroft Group, and Zimmer
Holdings, a medical supply company in Indiana, has also drawn the attention
of Congressional investigators." ... "The New Jersey prosecutor, United
States Attorney Christopher J. Christie, directed similar monitoring contracts
last year to two other former Justice Department colleagues from the [Republican
President] Bush administration, as well as to a former Republican state
attorney general in New Jersey." ... "Officials said that while there had
been no accusations of wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Christie or Mr. Ashcroft,
aides to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey were concerned about the appearance
of favoritism." ... "Mr. Mukasey, a former federal judge who was sworn
in as attorney general in November, has vowed to remove political considerations
from decision-making at the department in the wake of a series of scandals
under his predecessor, Alberto R. Gonzales." ... "In the Bush administration,
federal prosecutors have increasingly relied on out-of-court settlements
with large corporations in criminal investigations that in the past might
have resulted in indictments and trials." ... "Mr. Christie directed similar
contracts in settlements with other medical-supply companies to two other
former Justice Department colleagues — David N. Kelley, the former United
States attorney in Manhattan [New York], and Debra Wong Yang, his counterpart
in Los Angeles [California] — and to David Samson, the former Republican
attorney general in New Jersey." (1, 2)
-By Philip Shenon -NYTimes
Secretive
- Criminal
- Government
- 
Telephone
- 
Surveillance
- 
Intelligence
- Law
- 
Accounting
- US
- 
Foreign
- 
Terrorism
- Politics
- "FBI
Wiretaps Dropped Due to Unpaid Bills." ... "Telephone
companies have cut off FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] wiretaps used
to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures
to pay phone bills on time." ... "A Justice Department audit released Thursday
blamed the lost connections on the FBI's lax oversight of money used in
undercover investigations. Poor supervision of the program also allowed
one agent to steal $25,000, the audit said." ... "In at least one case,
a wiretap used in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act investigation
"was halted due to untimely payment," the audit found. FISA [Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act] wiretaps are used in the government's most sensitive
and secretive criminal investigations, and allow eavesdropping on suspected
terrorists or spies." ... ""We also found that late payments have resulted
in telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established
to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence,"
according to the audit by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine." -By
Lara Jakes Jordan -SFGate.com
John
McCain
- Law
- Investigation
- 
Ralph
Reed
- 
Jack
Abramoff
- 
Grover
Norquist
- 
Tom
DeLay
- Secret
- Corporate
- Religion
- History
- Georgia
- 
New
Hampshire - 2008
Election - 
Television
- Politics
- Opinion
- "Ralph
Reed's New Role." ... "Eighteen months ago, the political
career of Christian right golden boy [Republican] Ralph Reed came crashing
down, a casualty of his role in the [Republican] Jack Abramoff lobbying
scandal. This week, Reed has found a new calling. He appeared on CNN during
its New Hampshire primary coverage and again last night, labeled as a "GOP
[Grand Old Party=Republican] political analyst."" ... "Reed sounded none
too bullish about [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John
McCain's prospects going forward despite his big New Hampshire win. That's
perhaps not surprising, given the long history between the two." ... "McCain,
as chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, launched an investigation
of Abramoff's tribal lobbying that turned up a mountain of e-mails, including
some between Reed and Abramoff." ... "The e-mails revealed Abramoff's corrupt
dealings with politicians, as well as conservative religious and advocacy
groups. Reed often participated in Abramoff's business schemes, telling
him in a 1998 e-mail after stepping down as head of the Christian Coalition:
"I need to start humping in corporate accounts!"" ... "E-mails and testimony
before McCain's panel showed that Reed, who once branded gambling a "cancer"
on society, reaped millions of dollars in tribal casino proceeds that Abramoff
secretly routed to him through various non-profit front groups. Abramoff,
a lobbyist for the tribes, paid Reed to whip up "grassroots" Christian
opposition to prevent rival tribes from opening casinos." ... "Abramoff
sometimes routed his money to Reed through a group called Americans for
Tax Reform, run by conservative anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist. Norquist
lately has been attacking McCain's record on taxes, placing robo calls
to voters in New Hampshire." ... "Reed's much-publicized role in the Abramoff
scandal cost him the 2006 Republican primary for Georgia lieutenant governor--the
first rung on what was widely expected to be a climb into national politics."
... "Former House majority leader [Republican] Tom DeLay, who left Congress
and is still under investigation by the Justice Department in connection
with the Abramoff probe, predicted to MSNBC's Chris Matthews that McCain
won't fare well with conservatives in the South." -By
Susan Schmidt -WashingtonPost
John
Doolittle
- Jack
Abramoff
- Calif
- Lawmaker
- Investigated
- 
Va
- 2008
Election - "GOP
officials urging embattled Calif. Rep. Doolittle not to seek reele[ction]."
... "As speculation mounts about his future, [California Republican Representative]
Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) is being urged by friends and colleagues
not to seek reelection [2008 Election]." ... "Republican operatives fear
that if Doolittle does not retire at the end of this Congress and survives
what would be a bruising GOP [Grand Old Party=Republican] primary, they
will lose the nine-term lawmaker’s seat. Doolittle is under an ethics cloud,
having had his Virginia house investigated by the FBI [Federal Bureau of
Investigation] last year. Several prominent Republicans are seeking to
defeat him in the primary." ... "The FBI raided his Oakton, Va. [Virginia],
home in an attempt to gain information about Sierra Dominion, a fundraising
company operated by his wife, Julie, that received payments from Jack Abramoff."
-By Jackie Kucinich with contributions by Susan Crabtree
and Aaron Blake -TheHill.com
Money
- Discrimination
- Crime
- 
Maryland
- 
Homeowners- Consumers
- 
Ohio
- New
York
- "Baltimore
Is Suing Bank Over Foreclosure Crisis." ... "Baltimore’s
[Maryland state] mayor and City Council are suing Wells Fargo Bank, contending
that its lending practices discriminated against black borrowers and led
to a wave of foreclosures that has reduced city tax revenues and increased
its costs." ... "The recent surge in homeowner defaults nationwide, generated
by lax lending practices during the real estate boom, has officials bracing
for a range of problems that often accompany foreclosures. Some municipalities,
including Cleveland [Ohio] and Buffalo [New York], are trying to make lenders
responsible for abandoned properties to ward off crimes like arson, drug
use and prostitution." ... "In the suit, Mayor Sheila Dixon joined with
the City Council to ask that the court bar Wells Fargo from charging higher
fees to black borrowers. Many of these borrowers paid more under the bank’s
subprime lending program, designed for less creditworthy consumers, and
are more likely to default on their loans." ... "In 2006, Wells Fargo made
high-cost loans, with an interest rate at least three percentage points
above a federal benchmark, to 65 percent of its black customers in Baltimore
and to only 15 percent of its white customers in the area, according to
the lawsuit. Similarly, refinancings to black borrowers were more likely
to be higher cost than to white ones and to carry prepayment penalties."
-By Gretchen Morgenson
-NYTimes
