Colleagues Cite Partisan Focus by Justice Official
“Two years ago, Robin C. Ashton, a seasoned criminal prosecutor at the Department of Justice, learned from her boss that a promised promotion was no longer hers. ‘You have a Monica problem,’ Ms. Ashton was told, according to several Justice Department officials. Referring to Monica M. Goodling, a 31-year-old, relatively inexperienced lawyer who had only recently arrived in the office, the boss added, ‘She believes youâre a Democrat and doesnât feel you can be trusted.'” (NY Times)
All Eyes on Monica Goodling
“Former Justice Department official Monica Goodling has the opportunity to shed light on her key role in a firing process that has remained shrouded in mystery, despite the release of thousands of Justice Department e-mails and the testimony of a number of top officials. ‘She’s worked very hard,’ says John Dowd, a lawyer for Goodling at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. ‘She’ll do her level best to be candid and forward in her testimony.’ That promise isn’t likely to reassure Gonzales or other Bush administration officials involved in the dismissal of at least eight U.S. Attorneys.” (Legal Times)
Ex-US Attorney Questions Own Firing
“A former West Virginia federal prosecutor said Friday the White House fired him in 2005 in the middle of a corruption and vote-buying investigation but never told him why. Karl K. ‘Kasey’ Warner said he has ‘concerns’ and sees parallels between himself and eight other ousted U.S. attorneys. Congress and an internal Justice Department agency are investigating whether those firings were politically motivated. The Justice Department rejected any suggestion of politics in Warner’s dismissal.” (Associated Press)
Prosecutor of Shields Filed Motion
“Federal prosecutors want to keep the political controversy over U.S. attorney firings and resignations out of the upcoming mortgage fraud trial of Katheryn Shields and her husband. In documents filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, prosecutors asked a judge to prohibit defense attorneys from telling jurors anything about the resignation of former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves or the appointment of his interim successor, Bradley Schlozman, who was in office when the case was filed. Shields, a Democrat and former Jackson County executive, and her attorney husband, Philip Cardarella, previously have alleged that the criminal case against them is politically motivated.” (Kansas City Star)
Nevada Governor Won’t Produce Receipts for Turkey Vacation
“Lawyers for Governor Jim Gibbons say they won’t release documents that they say show the governor and his wife paid their share of a vacation the couple took with a federal defense contractor to Turkey. A spokesman for the lawyers confirmed Gibbons and his wife Dawn traveled to Turkey in 2000 with Fatih and Eren Ozmen, who own a military defense firm that sought millions in federal contracts while Gibbons was a congressman serving on the House armed services and intelligence committees.” (Associated Press)
Ex-CIA Officials Pushed Millions in Secret Deals to Pal, Prosecutors Say
“A former top CIA official steered an aviation contracting opportunity worth $132 million to a longtime friend, despite his friend’s lack of experience in the field, according to federal prosecutors. Onetime CIA Executive Director Kyle “Dusty” Foggo directed CIA employees to hire his childhood pal, Brent Wilkes, to provide covert civilian air travel for the agency, charge prosecutors in a new indictment. The indictment is an offshoot of the investigation into former congressman Randall “Duke” Cunningham, who is now serving an eight-year sentence on corruption charges.” (ABC’s The Blotter)
CREW Files Complaint Against Sen. Mel Martinez
“CREW filed a Federal Elections Commission (FEC) complaint today against Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) alleging multiple egregious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and FEC regulations. The complaint is based primarily upon the Commissionâs recent audit on April 17, 2007 of Martinez for Senate, which revealed that the campaign committee failed to comply with the most basic disclosure provisions of FECA and FEC regulations. During the course of the ten-month campaign, Martinez for Senate received no fewer than three written warnings from the Commission.” (CREW)
Ethics Tremor Made GOP Rep. Jerry Lewis’ Pedestal a Little Wobbly
“California Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis was sitting pretty when his 2006 bid for a 15th House term began. With his party then in the majority, Lewis was chairing the powerful Appropriations Committee. But at least one Democrat could be taken more seriously than most of Lewisâ past opponents. What is different this year is the flak that the entrenched incumbent has been receiving in the run-up to his next election. Lewis drew some new and unwanted attention last month, not because of new developments directly affecting him, but because of ethics controversies dogging two other House Republicans.” (Congressional Quarterly)
Waxman Widens Pentagon Probe
“The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee may include a massive military contract, plagued by rising cost estimates and design problems, in his wider investigation of federal contracting abuse at the Pentagon. In a letter obtained by The Hill, panel Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) last week asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates for documents related to the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), an amphibious assault vehicle to be used by U.S. Marines in storming beachheads.” (The Hill)
Alaska’s Friends and Family Plan
“The Alaska Congressional delegation over the past several months has quietly intensified work to secure federal help in developing a sparsely populated area outside of Anchorage, an effort that could yield significant financial benefits for family members and current and former aides of the three Republicans, according to the Congressional Record and state and local land records. Although stymied in 2005 when Congressional reformers lampooned their âBridges to Nowhereâ earmarks, the delegation â made up of Republican Rep. Don Young and Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski â has continued to back a plan to develop the âKnik Arm,â a largely unpopulated region of Alaska that currently is difficult to access but could become a major new suburb of Anchorage if a bridge is ultimately built to it.” (Roll Call)
Bank Files May Undercut Wolfowitz, Critics Say
“Documents circulating at the World Bank suggest that Paul D. Wolfowitz, the bank president, understood that his role in ordering a pay increase and promotion for his companion in 2005 might be seen as a conflict of interest but insisted on proceeding anyway, bank officials who are critics of Mr. Wolfowitz said Sunday. The officials, speaking on the eve of a fateful week for Mr. Wolfowitzâs efforts to remain head of the bank, said testimony and notes that Xavier Coll, vice president of human resources, provided to a bank committee investigating the matter supported the charge that Mr. Wolfowitz was aware of engaging in favoritism. One said the documents were ‘devastating’ to Mr. Wolfowitzâs case.” (NY Times)
Ex-Ambassadors Seek Removal of Appointee
“A group of former U.S. ambassadors asked President Bush to remove the U.S. ambassador to Belgium on grounds the recess appointment of Republican donor Sam Fox undermines diplomatic posts worldwide. The White House was forced to withdraw Fox’s nomination in March after Senate Democrats indicated they would block it. A week later, Bush appointed Fox, a Missouri businessman, while Congress was in recess. ‘Appointing an ambassador after the nomination has been withdrawn, and before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has even considered the nominee, essentially renders the Senate’s confirmation process irrelevant,’ seven former diplomats wrote in a letter to Bush dated May 8. ‘This has the potential to undermine the legitimacy of those who serve in these vital posts all around the world,’ the letter said.” (Associated Press)
Questions Raised About FBI’s Informants
“Even as the FBI hails as a major success story its breakup of an alleged plot by “radical Islamists” to kill soldiers at Fort Dix, N.J., federal authorities acknowledge that the case has underscored a troubling vulnerability in the domestic war on terror. They say the FBI, despite an unprecedented expansion over the past 5 1/2 years, cannot possibly counter the growing threat posed by homegrown extremists without the help of two often unreliable allies. One is an American public that they lament is prone to averting its attention from suspicious behavior and often reluctant to get involved. The other is a small but growing army of informants, some of whom might be in it for the wrong reasons — such as money, political ax grinding, or their own legal problems.” (Associated Press)
Pentagon Opens Inquiry of Troop-Support Group
“The Pentagon is looking into complaints that Defense Department officials charged with building public support for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan might have engaged in improper fund-raising and unauthorized spending, officials said Friday. The inspector general is examining whether officials who run âAmerica Supports You,â a three-year-old Pentagon program lauded by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, helped arrange a fund-raiser for a private foundation set up last December by former Bush administration appointees. The foundation raises money to help troops and their families.” (NY Times)
Billions in Oil Missing in Iraq, US Says
“Between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraqâs declared oil production over the past four years is unaccounted for and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling, according to a draft American government report. Using an average of $50 a barrel, the report said the discrepancy was valued at $5 million to $15 million daily. The report does not give a final conclusion on what happened to the missing fraction of the roughly two million barrels pumped by Iraq each day, but the findings are sure to reinforce longstanding suspicions that smugglers, insurgents and corrupt officials control significant parts of the countryâs oil industry.” (NY Times)
Lobbying Reform in Trouble?
“The AP reports that lobbying reform, one of the key planks in the 2006 Democratic campaign, is running into problems in the House. Specifically, four specific provisions are threatening to scuttle the whole process. If the Democrats want to distinguish themselves from the past six years of governance, they are going to have to pass these reforms.” (Washington Monthly’s Political Animal)
Padilla Case Has Changed a Lot in Five Years
“When federal prosecutors begin to present evidence Monday against terrorism suspect Jose Padilla, their case is expected to rest heavily on a single document: his alleged application to become an Islamic warrior. Nowhere in the indictment is there mention of the sensational charges leveled against Padilla when he was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in May 2002. Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft said U.S. agents had thwarted a plot between Padilla, who is a U.S. citizen, and top Al Qaeda figures to detonate a radioactive ‘dirty bomb’ or blow up apartment buildings in U.S. cities.” (LA Times)
