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20080520

US - Chinese - Torture- Intelligence - Politics - Guantanamo Bay - Cuba - Military - Government - Prison - Investigation - Law - "Report: U.S. Soldiers Did 'Dirty Work' for Chinese Interrogators: Alleges Guantanamo Personnel Softened Up Detainees at Request of Chinese Intelligence." ... "U.S. [United States] military personnel at Guantanamo Bay [Cuba] allegedly softened up detainees at the request of Chinese intelligence officials who had come to the island facility to interrogate the men -- or they allowed the Chinese to dole out the treatment themselves, according to claims in a new government report." ... "Buried in a Department of Justice report released Tuesday are new allegations about a 2002 arrangement between the United States and China, which allowed Chinese intelligence to visit Guantanamo and interrogate Chinese Uighurs held there." ... "According to the report by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine, an FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] agent reported a detainee belonging to China's ethnic Uighur minority and a Uighur translator told him Uighur detainees were kept awake for long periods, deprived of food and forced to endure cold for hours on end, just prior to questioning by Chinese interrogators." ... "Susan Manning, a lawyer who represents several Uighurs still held at Guantanamo, said Tuesday the allegations are all too familiar." ... "U.S. personnel "are engaging in abusive tactics on behalf of the Chinese," she said Tuesday. When Uighur detainees refused to talk to Chinese interrogators in 2002, U.S. military personnel put them in solitary confinement as punishment, she said." ... ""Why are we doing China's dirty work?" Manning said. "Surely we're better than that." " (1, 2) -By Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com

20080519

Intelligence - Secrets - Archives - Enforcement - Library - Government - Law - Politics - "Keeping Secrets: In Presidential Memo, A New Designation for Classifying Information." ... "Sometime in the next few years, if a memorandum signed by [Republican] President Bush this month ever goes into effect, one government official talking to another about information on terrorists will have to begin by saying: "What I am about to tell you is controlled unclassified information enhanced with specified dissemination."" ... "That would mean, according to the memo, that the information requires safeguarding because "the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure would create risk of substantial harm."" ... "Such information -- though it does not merit the well-known national security classifications "confidential," "secret" or "top secret" -- is nonetheless "pertinent" to U.S. "national interests" or to "important interests of entities outside the federal government," the memo says." ... "Left undefined are which laws or policies generated the requirement for protecting such information, and which interests are pertinent." ... "Michael Clark, a contributing editor to the blog Daily Kos, who first wrote about the Bush memorandum, said the White House "seems to have used the crafting of new rules as an opportunity to expand the range of government secrecy." Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy, described it as a "not even half-baked" exercise in policymaking." ... ""The changes will make labeling and sharing information more effective," said an administration official, and do away with other government designations such as "For Official Use Only" and "Law Enforcement Sensitive."" ... "The tough job of implementing the new system was assigned to the National Archives and Records Administration." ... "The Controlled Unclassified Information [CUI] designation was the product of a year-long government study of how to replace the "sensitive but unclassified" [SBU] category. "Among the 20 departments and agencies . . . surveyed, there are at least 107 unique markings and more than 131 different labeling or handling processes and procedures for SBU information," Ted McNamara of the office of the director of national intelligence told the House Homeland Security Committee in April 2007." -By Walter Pincus-WashingtonPost
Vito Fossella - Politicians - Family - Virginia - Law - New York - 2008 Election - "Signs Fossella May Run Again Unnerve G.O.P.." ... "All signs indicate that [New York Republican Representative Vito] Mr. Fossella, a Republican who was arrested in Virginia on May 1 on a drunken driving charge and then admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock, is leaning toward running for a sixth term in November [2008 Election]." ... "Mr. Fossella, the only New York City [New York] Republican in Congress, represents a district that includes [New York City, New York burroughs] Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn. It is the most conservative-leaning district in the city. And he has portrayed himself during his years in politics as a Republican moderate who exemplified traditional family values." ... "As a result, many politicians on Staten Island initially expected that he would resign shortly after the revelations of an extramarital affair and a daughter born from that relationship — or at least not run again." ... "Stephen A. Harrison, a Brooklyn lawyer who was Mr. Fossella’s Democratic opponent in 2006 and hopes to challenge him again this year [2008 Election], has stopped short of calling for Mr. Fossella to resign or step down after his present term. In a statement, Mr. Harrison said, “If he decides to run, the people will decide in November if his recent behavior and revelations should disqualify him from continuing in office.”" -By Jonathan P. Hicks -NYTimes

20080518

Alphonso Jackson - Criminal - Corporate - Government - Housing - Politics - Texas - Florida - "HUD Repeatedly Dismissed Staff Concerns About Contracts." ... "The small Texas property-management company had no experience overseeing hundreds of defaulted homes across the country. It did have two former [Republican President] Reagan administration officials at the helm and warm relations with senior Republican appointees at the federal housing agency." ... "During a few weeks in 2004, the three-employee company, Harrington, Moran and Barksdale Inc. [Incorporated] (HMBI), went from no government work to landing $71 million in contracts with the U.S. [United States] Department of Housing and Urban Development to oversee the upkeep and sale of defaulted homes. It had previously managed a handful of apartment buildings and development projects." ... "The company's meteoric rise -- and HUD's willingness to bend the rules to accommodate it -- surprised veteran agency contracting specialist Gloria Freeman." ... ""After you've been in the business awhile, you get to know the signs -- 'This is a friend; let's help him out,' " she said in an interview. Not long after Freeman complained to her supervisors, she was asked to return to her previous policy job." ... "Federal investigators are still sorting through HUD contract awards to friends of [Republican President Bush's Housing & Urban Development] Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who resigned last month amid a criminal probe. But some career staff members and agency observers say problems in the agency's contracting process run much deeper than Jackson and involve officials who promoted certain companies while rebuffing concerns about their performance and qualifications." ... "A Washington Post examination of HUD's contracts shows that HMBI and two other companies won hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts under Jackson while career contracting staff repeatedly raised questions." ... "A Miami [Florida] property-management company, National Housing Group, which contributed to President Bush's reelection and other Republican campaigns, won $50 million in contracts from 2003 to 2007. Now, its second in command [Wynee Joyner] has been indicted for allegedly falsifying reimbursement requests to HUD. Regional staff members at the agency had expressed concern about the company's small size and inexperience." ... "Jackson faced criticism in 2006 after acknowledging that he took note of political loyalties. He bragged in a Dallas [Texas] speech that he had canceled a contract with a business owner who said he didn't like [Republican President] Bush. "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president?" Jackson said. "Logic says they don't get the contract."" ... "Federal procurement laws forbid basing decisions on political views." (1, 2, 3) -By Carol D. Leonnig with contributions by Alice Crites and Julie Tate -WashingtonPost

20080514

Scott Bloch - Lurita Doan - Karl Rove - Politics - Government - Hatch Act - Investigation - "Six Degrees of Scott Bloch: A Scandal Scorecard." ... "Several [Republican President] Bush administration officials have become ensnared in an interlocking set of investigations into allegations of Hatch Act violations, whistleblower misconduct and other prohibited personnel practices. At the center of these investigations is Scott Bloch, head of the U.S. [United States] Office of Special Counsel. Characters drawn into the drama include former General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and top Bush adviser Karl Rove." [SEE: "relationship each actor had with Scott Bloch."] -By Ross Gianfortune, Melanie Bender, and Robert Brodsky -GovExec.com

20080513

Corporate - Environmental - Health - Politics - Investigation - Manufacturing - Water - Michigan - Illinois - Indiana - Minnesota - Ohio - Wisconsin - "U.S. Senators Probe Departure of EPA Midwest Administrator." ... "The circumstances surrounding the resignation of Mary Gade, formerly the U.S. [United States] EPA's [Environmental Protection Agency's] regional administrator for the Midwest, are under investigation by an environmental committee of the U.S. Senate." ... "On May 2, the "Chicago Tribune" reported that two top aides to Johnson demanded that Gade resign or be fired by June 1, 2008. She has since submitted her resignation and is currently on administrative leave." ... "According to the Tribune's story, Gade believed her forced resignation was due to her efforts to push Dow Chemical Company to clean up dioxin contamination in Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron stemming from its Midland, Michigan chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxin is a known carcinogen." ... "The paper also reported that officials from Dow Chemical had met with EPA officials in Washington in January 2008 because they were unhappy with Gade's approach, and that Gade's handling of this issue became the subject of criticism from her superiors in Washington." ... "On January 4, 2008, Gade terminated negotiations with Dow Chemical aimed at a settlement to conduct a study and interim cleanup actions for dioxin contamination along the Tittabawassee River system, the Saginaw River and the Saginaw Bay. The negotiations under the Superfund Act began in October 2007 with the participation of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality." ... ""I am extremely disappointed with this outcome," said Gade on January 4. "EPA approached negotiations with high hopes and realistic expectations. Our team put in many long hours of good faith efforts that came to an unfortunate end today. EPA is now reviewing its options for ensuring that dioxin contamination in the river system and the Midland area can be fully addressed."" ... "An environmental attorney, Gade was appointed regional administrator of EPA Region 5 in October 2006 to oversee federal environmental programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin." -ENS

20080508

J Robert Flores

Politics

Federal

Juvenile

Justice

Investigation

"Former Justice Official Says Juvenile Chief Misled Her: Says Flores ‘misrepresented’ scores on grant proposals so that she’d approve his choices." ... "A former assistant attorney general says the head of the nation’s juvenile justice agency misled her into approving millions of dollars in grants to organizations that he favored." ... "Regina Schofield said Thursday that J. Robert Flores, administrator of the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), “misrepresented the rating scores” of bidders for the National Juvenile Justice Programs last year, hiding the fact that most of his choices received lower scores than many of the proposals that he rejected." ... "Schofield’s statement on Thursday could undercut a defense that Flores has given as a congressional committee investigates his agency’s grant making: that Schofield approved the grants." ... "Flores declined to comment about the allegation by Schofield, whose Office of Justice Programs oversaw the OJJDP. Flores has previously said that he followed proper procedures in awarding the grants. On May 2 he traveled to Capitol Hill to discuss the investigation with members and/or staffers of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, according to people familiar with the committee’s investigation." ... "At issue is a memo that Flores wrote to Schofield last July, in which he explained how he chose 10 winning proposals from among more than 100 bids for the National Programs grants. The memo repeatedly uses the phrase “highest scoring” to describe his choices, even though those choices ranked behind the top bids as scored by the OJJDP staff, and in some cases below dozens of proposals that didn’t get funded." ... "Here’s what explains the discrepancy: After the agency invited bids for the funds through a Request for Proposals, Flores created new criteria and categories for the grants. The incoming bids were assigned to those new categories." ... "Out of the 10 winning bids, eight were the only bids assigned to certain categories – and therefore were the highest-scoring bids in those categories. (For a detailed explanation, see “A Friend at Justice.”)" ... "For example: Under a criterion called “School-based outreach efforts directed at preventing high-risk activity (out-of-wedlock pregnancy),” Flores’ memo says the application of the nonprofit Best Friends Foundation [controlled by Elayne Bennett, Republican politician Bill Bennett's wife] “has the highest score that met the criteria.” The memo does not say, as other OJJDP documents show, that Best Friends was the only qualified bidder in that category, or that among all the bidders, it ranked 51st." -By Patrick Boyle

-YouthToday.org

Vito J Fossella - New York - Parent - Va - Law - Investigation - "Fossella Admits to Extramarital Affair." ... "[New York Republican] Representative Vito J. Fossella, a Staten Island Republican who was arrested on May 1 in Alexandria, Va. [Virginia], and charged with drunken driving, issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging that he had had an extramarital affair with Laura Fay, a former Air Force lieutenant colonel, and that the two of them have a 3-year-old daughter together." ... "The prospect that Mr. Fossella could face a mandatory jail sentence if convicted had already threatened to bring to an end his decade-long career in the House, where Mr. Fossella is the only Republican representing New York City [New York]." ... "He faces a mandatory five days in jail if convicted." ... "The House ethics committee also could open an investigation into the matter." ... "Mr. Fossella and his wife, the former Mary Patricia Rowan, married in 1990. They have two sons and a daughter." ... "“Vito Fossella’s behavior is a disgrace to himself, his family and to Staten Island,” said an anesthesiologist, Dr. John Ferguson, 44. “Given the fact that he votes along the Bush-Cheney line 90 percent of the time, which means he sees himself as a moral values candidate, I find his behavior completely, but not surprisingly, hypocritical. He should resign immediately.”" -By Jonathan P. Hicks with contributions by Sewell Chan, Carl Hulse, Maureen Seaberg and David Stout -NYTimes

20080507

Vito J Fossella - New York - Virginia - Cops - Law - "Vito Fossella told cops he was on way to see 'my sick kid' at mystery gal's address." ... "When cops stopped [New York Republican Representative] Rep. Vito Fossella for drunken driving, the married congressman said he was rushing to see his sick daughter on nearby Grimm St. [Street, Alexandria, Virginia] - the home of the mystery woman who later plucked him from jail." ... "Fossella's spokeswoman has insisted the single mom, Air Force Col. Laura Fay, 45, was only a "good friend," but the Staten Island Republican implied to suburban D.C. cops that Fay's 3-year-old was his." ... ""The subject stated that he was driving down from Washington, D.C., to Grimm St. because his daughter was sick and needed to go to the hospital," a police report obtained by the Daily News reveals." ... "The report describes how Fossella, who has a wife and three children in New York, failed a sobriety test by reciting the alphabet wrong, swaying while standing on one leg and stumbling while trying to walk a straight line. " -By Rich Schapiro and James Gordon Meek, and Tina Moore -NYDailyNews.com
Water - Infrastructure - Human- Health - Safety - Enforcement - Environment - Underground - Money - History - Weather - Animals - Plants - "Aging systems releasing sewage into rivers, streams." ... "America's aging sewer systems continue to dump human waste into rivers and streams, despite years of fines and penalties targeting publicly owned agencies responsible for sewage overflows, a Gannett News Service analysis shows." ... "The analysis of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data found that since 2003, hundreds of municipal sewer authorities have been fined for violations, including spills that make people sick, threaten local drinking water and kill aquatic animals and plants." ... "DATABASE: Sewer treatment plant reports by state[.]" ... "Local governments across the USA plan to spend billions modernizing failing wastewater systems — some of which are more than 100 years old — over the next 10 to 20 years, EPA, state and local sewer authority officials said." ... "Those improvement efforts face a huge challenge mitigating problems in what the EPA estimates to be 1.2 million miles of sewers snaking underground across the USA." ... "Waste gurgles from manholes and gushes down streams and rivers somewhere in the USA almost every day, the EPA estimates." ... "Gannett News Service analyzed enforcement and compliance records compiled by the EPA and state regulators from January 2003 to February 2008." ... "The analysis found that at least one-third of the nation's large, publicly owned sewage treatment systems were the subject of formal enforcement actions by the EPA or state regulators for sewage spills or other violations. Those enforcement actions included fines as well as orders to fix problems or expand treatment capacity. Fines totaling $35 million were assessed against 494 of the nation's 4,200 municipal facilities that treat at least 1 million gallons of sewage daily, the analysis shows." ... "An EPA 2004 report to Congress estimated that 850 billion gallons of storm water mixed with raw sewage pour into U.S. waters every year from older, combined sewer systems that were designed to overflow in wet weather. These combined systems, built by cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries, are now considered antiquated and a threat to public health and the environment, according to the EPA and environmental groups." ... "The EPA's 2002 Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis reported the nation's municipal sewer authorities' capital needs to meet clean water requirements from 2000 to 2019 ranged from $331 billion to $450 billion. Based on that data, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies now puts that range at $350 billion to $500 billion for the next 20 years, association spokeswoman Susan Bruninga said." -By Larry Wheeler and Grant Smith with contributions by Robert Benincasa and Dan Klepal -USATODAY
Secret - Government - Intelligence - Terrorism - Politics - Illegal - Surveillance - Investigation - Internet - Archive - Library - Electronic - Civil Liberties - Brewster_Kahle - Censorship - San Francisco - California - Student - Health - Consumer - Telephone - Electronic - Data - National Security Letter - "FBI Targets Internet Archive With Secret 'National Security Letter', Loses." ... "The Internet Archive, a project to create a digital library of the web for posterity, successfully fought a secret government Patriot Act order for records about one of its patrons and won the right to make the order public, civil liberties groups announced Wednesday morning." ... "On November 26, 2007, the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] served a controversial National Security Letter (.pdf) on the Internet Archive's founder Brewster Kahle, asking for records about one of the library's registered users, asking for the user's name, address and activity on the site." ... "The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive's lawyers, fought the NSL [National Security Letter], challenging its constitutionality in a December 14 complaint (.pdf) to a federal court in San Francisco [California]. The FBI agreed on April 21 to withdraw the letter and unseal the court case, making some of the documents available to the public." ... "The Patriot Act greatly expanded the reach of NSLs, which are subpoenas for documents such as billing records and telephone records that the FBI can issue in terrorism investigations without a judge's approval. Nearly all NSLs come with gag orders forbidding the recipient from ever speaking of the subpoena, except to a lawyer." ... "Brewster Kahle called the gag order "horrendous," saying he couldn't talk about the case with his board members, wife or staff, but said that his stand was part of a time-honored tradition of librarians protecting the rights of their patrons." ... ""This is an unqualified success that will help other recipients understand that you can push back on these," Kahle said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning." ... "Though FBI guidelines on using NSLs warned of overusing them, two Congressionally ordered audits revealed that the FBI had issued hundreds of illegal requests for student health records, telephone records and credit reports. The reports also found that the FBI had issued hundreds of thousands of NSLs since 2001, but failed to track their use. In a letter to Congress last week, the FBI admitted it can only estimate how many NSLs it has issued." -By Ryan Singel -Wired
Scott J Bloch - Criminal - Government - Computer - Censorship - Politics - Workers - Law - Virginia - "Federal Agents Raid Office of Special Counsel." ... "Nearly two dozen federal agents yesterday raided the Washington headquarters of the agency that protects government whistle-blowers, as part of an intensifying criminal investigation of its leader, who is fighting allegations of improper political bias and obstruction of justice." ... "Agents fanned out yesterday morning in the agency's building on M Street, where they sequestered Office of Special Counsel chief Scott J. Bloch for questioning, served grand-jury subpoenas on 17 employees and shut down access to computer networks in a search lasting more than five hours." ... "Bloch, who was nominated to his post by [Republican] President Bush in 2003, is the principal official responsible for protecting federal employees from reprisals for complaints about waste and fraud. He also polices violations of Hatch Act prohibitions on political activities in federal offices." ... "Bloch has long been a target of criticism, some of it by his agency's career officials, but the FBI's [Federal Bureau of Investigation's] abrupt seizure of computers and records marked a substantial escalation of the executive branch's probe of his conduct. Retired FBI agents and former prosecutors called the raid an unusual, if not unprecedented, intrusion on the work of a federal agency." ... "Agents from the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general's office, who have been investigating Bloch for more than two years, visited his home on Stockade Drive in Alexandria [Virginia] yesterday. They left carrying boxes of files." ... "Complaints from [whistle-blowers lawyer Debra] Katz's clients and others ultimately prompted the inspector general at the Office of Personnel Management to begin examining Bloch's treatment of workers and his handling of cases involving whistle-blowers at other agencies. During the probe, Bloch hired the technology service Geeks on Call to erase his computer hard drive and those of two aides, giving rise to new allegations that he was obstructing justice." (1, 2) -By Carrie Johnson and Christopher Lee with contributions by Stephen Barr and Daniela Deane and research editor Alice Crites -WashingtonPost
Scott J Bloch - Lurita Alexis Doan - Illegal - Political - Government - Workers - Hatch Act - Computer - Censorship - 2004 Election - Travel - "FBI seizes Doan, Rice case files in raid of OSC chief's office." ... "About 20 FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] agents and administrative investigators executed search warrants Tuesday on the U.S. [United States] Office of Special Counsel in a daylong raid that appeared at least partly focused on finding information on the office's high-profile investigations into alleged illegal political activity by [Republican President] Bush administration officials." ... "Last year, the OPM IG's office began looking into Bloch's hiring of private computer technicians to remove files from his office computer and those of aides. The files had been sought by investigators, but Bloch has described the files as personal and not relevant to the probe." ... "But OSC employees said the grand jury subpoenas seek a wide range of information that goes beyond Bloch's deletion of computer files or treatment of agency employees." ... "Investigators have demanded all files on OSC's investigation last year into allegations of improper political activity by Lurita Doan, the former head of the General Services Administration, who was forced to resign last week by the White House." ... "OSC found that Doan, in a January 2007 meeting to discuss Republican congressional races with the agency's political appointees and a White House political operative, violated the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from using government resources for partisan politics. But the finding generated criticism from House Republicans, who accused Bloch of leaking results of the Doan investigation to the news media." ... "During Tuesday's raid, investigators did not seek files from the wider Hatch Act probe, but they subpoenaed at least two OSC employees who are part of the unit looking into the suspected political activities. They also sought Bloch's expense and credit card records, information regarding his use of storage facilities or safety deposit boxes and material related to testimony he has delivered at congressional hearings." ... "In addition, investigators demanded documents related to OSC's investigation into allegations that Secretary of State Rice used federal resources to travel to campaign appearances supporting President Bush's re-election in 2004. Bloch's office closed the case, finding no violation by Rice." -By Dan Friedman -CongressDaily via -GovExec.com
Scott J Bloch - Karl Rove - Criminal - Government - Workers - Politics - Hatch Act - History - Computer - Data - Censorship - "FBI Raids Special Counsel, Seizes Data." ... "Federal agents raided the Office of Special Counsel, a government agency involved in several high-profile and politically sensitive investigations. The agents seized computer files and documents from its chief, Scott Bloch, and his staff." ... "Mr. Bloch, who was appointed by [Republican] President Bush, has been under investigation since 2005 by the Office of Personnel Management for employee claims that he abused his agency's authority, retaliated against its staff and dismissed whistleblower cases without adequate examination." ... "The Justice Department joined the case as the inquiry was widened last year to include possible obstruction of justice, which is a criminal offense. The Wall Street Journal reported [November] Nov. 28 that in the midst of the inquiry Mr. Bloch used an agency credit card to hire a commercial firm, Geeks on Call, to erase data from his computer and those of former staff." ... "The Office of Special Counsel, created in the 1970s in the wake of the Watergate scandal, probes sensitive personnel and whistleblower claims by government workers. It also enforces the Hatch Act, which forbids the use of federal resources for partisan political purposes." ... "Among the office's recent inquiries was whether former [Republican President Bush] White House political director Karl Rove and others improperly used U.S. [United States] agencies to help elect Republicans." ... "Mr. Bloch's investigation of the White House political operation began after a Rove deputy gave a series of political presentations to government agencies on Republican prospects in specific congressional races. Mr. Bloch's office wanted to know whether such presentations violated the Hatch Act." -By John R. Wilke -WSJ.com

20080505

Vito J Fossella - New York - Virginia - Cops - Driving - Law - Marketing - Money - 2008 Election - "Vito Fossella's relationship with 'mystery woman' under scrutiny." ... "This is the first look at the mystery woman whom [Staten Island, New York Republican Representative] Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I. [Republican-Staten Island]) called for help after he was charged with drunken driving in Virginia." ... "Fossella aides continued to describe the two only as good friends." ... "In other developments:" ... "Watchdog groups questioned Fossella's use of campaign funds to pay a high-priced damage control expert." ... "The Republican, facing reelection in November [2008 Election], had a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 - twice the legal limit, cops said, and hired damage consultant Susan Del Percio with money from his campaign war chest." -By Kenneth R. Bazinet, Joe Gould, and Tina Moore -NYDailyNews.com
Bernard Kerik - Corporate - Police - US - Iraq - Military - History - Book - "Former Iraq Commander: Bernard Kerik was 'a waste of time' in Iraq." ... "The former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq took aim at Bernard Kerik in an exclusive interview with the Daily News Sunday, calling his efforts to train Iraqi police in 2003 "a waste of time and effort."" ... "Retired [Lieutenant General] Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top military leader in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004, blasted the former police commissioner for failing to produce results while Kerik was the interim minister of interior in 2003." ... ""I would be hard-pressed to identify a major national-level success that his organization accomplished in that time," Sanchez told The News a day before his new memoir, "Wiser in Battle" hits bookstores nationwide." ... "Sanchez, who was in charge during Saddam Hussein's capture and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, said Kerik put U.S. [United States] soldiers in danger many times by not telling the Army about his police operations." ... "Sanchez said when Kerik left Iraq, after just 90 days, he checked the Interior Ministry's inventory to see what equipment was bought for the Iraqi police. Sanchez said he was "shocked" to find out that the only thing on the books was 50,000 Glock pistols." ... ""When I was informed of the exorbitant prices that were being paid for these pistols, my first reaction was that there had to be some impropriety, but I had no evidence to substantiate it," he wrote. " -By Stephanie Gaskell -NYDailyNews.com

20080502

Stephen Johnson - Corporate - Government - Politics - Fetal - Human - Health - Science - Environmental - Safety - Enforcement - Emergency - Wildlife - Soil - Water - Law - Manufacturing - History - Michigan - Illinois - "EPA's top Midwest regulator forced out: Mary Gade, based in Chicago [Illinois], says [Republican President] Bush administration made her quit over Dow Chemical case." ... "The Bush administration forced its top environmental regulator in the Midwest to quit Thursday after months of internal bickering about dioxin contamination downstream from Dow Chemical's world headquarters in Michigan." ... "In an interview with the [Chicago] Tribune, Mary Gade said two top officials at the U.S. [United States] Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington stripped her of her powers as regional administrator and told her to quit or be fired by June 1." ... "Gade said she had told the agency she would resign her position, based in Chicago [Illinois]." ... "For the past year, Gade has been locked in a heated dispute with Dow about long-delayed plans to clean up dioxin-saturated soil and sediment that extends 50 miles beyond its Midland, Mich. [Michigan], plant into Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron." ... "Gade, a former corporate attorney appointed by Bush in September 2006, invoked emergency powers last year to force Dow to clean up four hot spots of dioxin, including the largest amount of the cancer-causing chemical ever recorded in the United States." ... "In January, Dow urged officials at the EPA's [Environmental Protection Agency's] headquarters to intervene after Gade broke off negotiations intended to renew the terms for a more comprehensive cleanup. Neither side would reveal details, citing confidentiality agreements, but Gade said Dow resisted taking steps needed to protect human health and wildlife." ... "Though regional EPA administrators typically have wide latitude to enforce environmental laws, Gade drew fire from officials in Washington last month after she sent contractors to test soil in a Saginaw [Michigan] neighborhood where Dow had found high dioxin levels." ... "She said top lieutenants to Stephen Johnson, the national EPA administrator, repeatedly questioned her aggressive action against Dow, which long ago acknowledged it is responsible for the dioxin contamination but has resisted federal and state involvement in cleanup plans." ... "Dow dumped dioxin-contaminated waste into the waterways for most of the last century. The chemical, which is so toxic that it is measured in trillionths of a gram, was a manufacturing byproduct of the Vietnam-era herbicide Agent Orange and other chlorinated herbicides." ... "Company documents show Dow knew by the mid-1960s that it could make people sick or even kill them." ... "Citing years of independent studies, the EPA says dioxin can cause cancer, disrupt the immune system and alter fetal development." ... ""We have a responsibility to make sure people are living in a healthy and safe environment," Gade said. "This problem has been out there for more than 30 years, and it's unconscionable that action hasn't been taken."" (1, 2) -By Michael Hawthorne -ChicagoTribune

20080501

Don Young - Connie Mack - Money - Investigation - Road - Construction - Florida - Alaska - Federal - Law - "‘Liar’ comment cranks up Coconut Road earmark controversy." ... "Two U.S. [United States] congressmen who spent a day touring Southwest Florida roads three years ago — sharing the same car for a drive up Interstate 75, attending the same town hall meeting at Florida Gulf Coast University and going to the same fund raising party in Estero [Florida] — are now trading insults." ... "At issue is who deserves the blame for how and why $10 million in a 2005 federal highway bill got assigned to a Coconut Road [Fort Myers, Florida] interchange study after the $286.4 billion bill passed Congress, but before the president signed it into law." ... "There’s now a dispute over who’s telling the truth and who’s ducking between [Florida Republican Representative] Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, the congressman who had invited a more senior house colleague to visit Lee County in February of 2005, and [Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who took the floor of the House on Wednesday to defend his support for the Coconut Road interchange study." ... "Young said he backed the project because it was what people from the area told him they wanted, and those were views he heard at Mack’s invitation." ... "“It was supported by the congressman from that district,” Young said of the $10 million earmark to study a new place to access the interstate. “And there’s letters to back that up.”" -By Elizabeth Wright -NaplesNews.com
Randall Tobias - David Vitter - Louisiana - Florida - Law - "D.C. Madam Found Dead of Apparent Suicide." ... "Florida police are investigating the apparent suicide of the so-called D.C. Madam, who was found dead in the Florida mobile home of the madam's mother Thursday." ... "The madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, was recently convicted on federal charges stemming from operating a prostitution service in the Washington, D.C. area with a number of high-profile clients. She was scheduled to be sentenced July 24." ... "Several well-known men were reportedly clients of her service, including former U.S. [United States] Agency for International Development chief Randall Tobias and [Louisiana Republican Senator] Sen. David Vitter, R-La[Republican-Louisiana]. Neither man was among the clients called to testify at Palfrey's trial." (1, 2) -By Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com
Vito J Fossella - New York - Politician - Virginia - Law - "Rep. Fossella Arrested on Charges of Driving While Intoxicated." ... "[New York Republican Representative] Rep. Vito J. Fossella (R-N.Y.[Representative-New York]) was arrested overnight in Alexandria [Virginia] and charged with driving while intoxicated, court records showed today." -By Daniela Deane -WashingtonPost

20080430

Lurita Doan - Money - Politics - Hatch Act - Investigation - Election - Law - "GSA Head Doan, Under Fire From Democrats, Resigns (Update1)." ... "Lurita Doan resigned as head of the [Republican President Bush run] General Services Administration following criticism from Democrats about her political activity and handling of contracts." ... "A House committee has investigated whether Doan used her office to support Republican political candidates and the awarding of a contract to a company that had been accused of fraud in earlier contracts." ... "GSA [General Services Administration], the government's acquisitions and property management agency, awards approximately $69 billion in contracts each year." ... "Doan has been investigated for allegedly asking GSA officials during a briefing how they could ``help our candidates,'' referring to Republicans, win the next election." ... "The Hatch Act prohibits partisan activity on government property. Six GSA political appointees who appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voluntarily testified that she made the statement about helping Republicans." -By Christopher Stern -Bloomberg

20080424

John McCain - Prison - Labor - Alabama - Police - Politics - 2008 Election - "McCain campaign gets almost 80% off on Homewood gathering space, plus free labor from Homewood Jail inmates." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain got a deal when his campaign rented gathering space from the city of Homewood [Alabama] for a private fundraiser earlier this week." ... "His campaign was given a discount of about 80 percent off the standard booking rate for Rosewood Hall. In September, Jefferson County Democrats rented the same facility and were charged the full rate." ... "The McCain campaign was charged $250 to use two rooms in the hall, which normally would book for $1,200 on a weeknight. The campaign also was given free labor from Homewood City Jail inmates to set up tables and chairs for the event, avoiding a $100 set-up fee, but did pay a standard $50 cleaning fee." ... "Homewood Mayor Barry McCulley said the rental rate was discounted because the event was on Monday, a slow day for business. City Council members say they always vote on such discounts but didn't get a say in this deal. They're upset, as are local Democrats." ... "Homewood police Chief Phil Dodd said city jail inmates had never before set up at Rosewood Hall, but did so at the mayor's request." (1, 2) -By Kim Bryan with contributions by Hannah Wolfson -al.com
Criminal - Torture - Secret - Military - Prison - Censored - Intelligence - Law - Politics - Federal - New York - "CIA Foresaw Interrogation Issues: Agency Considered Investigations 'Virtually Inevitable'." ... "The CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] concluded that criminal, administrative or civil investigations stemming from harsh interrogation tactics were "virtually inevitable," leading the agency to seek legal support from the Justice Department, according to a CIA official's statement in court documents filed yesterday." ... "The CIA said it had identified more than 7,000 pages of classified memos, e-mails and other records relating to its secret prison and interrogation program, but maintained that the materials cannot be released because they relate to, in part, communications between CIA and Justice Department attorneys or discussions with the [Republican President Bush] White House." ... "Nineteen of those documents were withheld from disclosure specifically because the Bush administration decided they are covered by a "presidential communications privilege," according to the filings, made in federal court in Manhattan [New York]. Some were "authored or solicited and received by the President's senior advisors in connection with a decision, or potential decision, to be made by the president."" ... "Although the precise content of the documents is unknown, the agency's statements illustrate the extent to which senior White House officials were involved in decision-making on CIA detentions, interrogations, and renditions, a term for forced transfers of prisoners." -By Dan Eggen with contributions by Julie Tate -WashingtonPost

20080423