The Daily MuckRep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, yesterday accused the International Oil Trading Company, which handles fuel delivery to the U.S. Army in Iraq, of overcharging for its services and earning its chief millions of dollars in personal profits. The company is led by Harry Sargeant, a chairman of the Florida GOP and a top McCain fundraiser. Waxman says his bids were repeatedly higher than competitors. (New York Times)
The National Journal publishes a long profile of the Washington lobbyist whose relationship with GOP presidential candidate John McCain was the subject of a controversial New York Times article last year. The woman, Vicki Iseman, blames the piece, which reported that some of McCain’s aides confronted him over his closeness to Iseman, for hurting her career. Iseman and McCain have denied that they engaged in an improper relationship, with Iseman saying that she has “never even been alone with Senator McCain.” (National Journal)
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, whom many regard as a rising star in the Republican party, took a trip shortly after his installation this year funded by Koch Industries, a large U.S. company with ties to the radically conservative John Birch society. The trip has prompted scrutiny from some who say it could violate ethics standards that regulate contacts between politicians and firms that do business with the state. (The Advocate)
A new report in an academic journal fingers U.S. policy-makers for Iran’s radical move to the right in the late 1970s, saying that decisions to pressure the Shah about rising oil prices weakened the rulers position at home and may have contributed to the coup that ushered in the current Islamic regime. The players include some ominously familiar faces, including former Bush Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. (LA Times)
Sec. of Defense Robert Gates developed proposals to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison, but they were rejected this year by the White House. Resistance to the plan was strongest in the Justice Department, reports the Financial Times, which has also dragged its feet when it comes to the release of 17 Chinese citizens being held in Guantanamo despite a court order requesting their release. (FT)
Denver will drop charges today against an ABC News journalist who was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing during the Democratic Convention. The news producer, Asa Eslocker, had been attempting to capture footage of top fundraisers as they entered a local hotel. (ABC)
Insurance giant American International Group, whose lavish retreat at a California St. Regis shortly after the infusion of billions of dollars federal funds outraged Washington, will cancel more than 160 events this fall and allow New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to review its spending and executive compensation. Cuomo had threatened the company with legal action. (New York Times)
