82 Inmates Cleared But Still At Guantanamo
“More than a fifth of the approximately 385 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been cleared for release but may have to wait months or years for their freedom because U.S. officials are finding it increasingly difficult to line up places to send them, according to Bush administration officials and defense lawyers. Since February, the Pentagon has notified about 85 inmates or their attorneys that they are eligible to leave after being cleared by military review panels. But only a handful have gone home, including a Moroccan and an Afghan who were released Tuesday.” (Washington Post)
Inspectors Find Rebuilt Projects Crumbling in Iraq
“In a troubling sign for the American-financed rebuilding program in Iraq, inspectors for a federal oversight agency have found that in a sampling of eight projects that the United States had declared successes, seven were no longer operating as designed because of plumbing and electrical failures, lack of proper maintenance, apparent looting and expensive equipment that lay idle. The United States has previously admitted, sometimes under pressure from federal inspectors, that some of its reconstruction projects have been abandoned, delayed or poorly constructed. But this is the first time inspectors have found that projects officially declared a success â in some cases, as little as six months before the latest inspections â were no longer working properly.” (NY Times)
Corruption Investigations in Iraq Stopped in Their Tracks
“Investigations into government corruption in Iraq are being stopped in their tracks due to an antiquated law that has been reinstated by the prime minister, according to a report to be released today by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. The law says that no case can go forward without the approval of the minister of the affected agency. So far, the report says that various agency ministers have stopped the prosecution and investigation of 102 individuals involved in 48 cases.” (ABC’s The Blotter)
Memo Describes Installing Unconfirmed Prosecutors
“More than a year before the Bush administration has said it first considered firing US attorneys, a top Justice Department official asked lawyers to determine how the administration could temporarily fill vacant US attorney positions with appointees who had not been confirmed by the Senate. In a September 2003 memo, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which answers legal questions for the president and his appointees, described a way to install a replacement US attorney who could serve up to 330 days without Senate confirmation.” (Boston Globe)
Prosecutor in Missouri Was Target of Ouster
“Former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves of Kansas City was one of 12 prosecutors considered for removal by the White House in 2005 and 2006, congressional sources say. The congressional sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly, have told McClatchy Newspapers that four other attorneys, including Graves, were also targets for dismissal.” (Kansas City Star)
Political Appointees No Longer to Pick Justice Interns
“The Justice Department is removing political appointees from the hiring process for rookie lawyers and summer interns, amid allegations that the Bush administration had rigged the programs in favor of candidates with connections to conservative or Republican groups, according to documents and officials. The decision, outlined in an internal memo distributed Thursday, returns control of the Attorney General’s Honors Program and the Summer Law Intern Program to career lawyers in the department after four years during which political appointees directed the process.” (Washington Post)
The Investigated Investigator
“When Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch put his obscure federal agency at the center of one of the furthest-reaching political investigations in the nation last week, it surprised many, but for different reasons than one might expect. Bloch has spent most of his tenure under investigation himself due to allegations of illegal personnel practices — and he would be investigating the executive branch at the same time that it is investigating him.” (Washington Post)
Republican Lawmaker Knew of US Attorney Replacement
“GOP Congressman John Boozman (R-AK) received an email from the White House last July informing him of the impending replacement of US Attorney Bud Cummins, according to the Washington Post. Around the same time, according to the Associated Press, Bud Cummins had written the Executive Office of US Attorneys to inform them there, ‘there may be some stink about this down the road’ regarding the involvement of the White House in his replacement.”
Gonzales Stays But Faces More Questions
“For a moment, it looked like Attorney General Alberto Gonzales might be able to put the U.S. attorney scandal behind him. But itâs now clear Gonzales has many more tough weeks ahead. The number of probes into the firings has increased: Now there are three congressional committees, a joint investigation by two Justice Department offices, and an investigation by the Office of Special Counsel.” (Legal Times)
Rep. Feeney Sought Rule Change Tied to Abramoff
“Rep. Tom Feeney insists he never helped convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but in 2003 Feeney was among several lawmakers who wrote to the Energy Department opposing changes to a federal program that also were being fought by an Abramoff client. Five months later, Abramoff treated a small group of people, including Feeney, to a luxury golf trip to Scotland that began with a trans-Atlantic flight on a private jet and featured twice-daily golf at world-famous locales.” (St. Petersburg Times)
Justice Department Official Resigns Over Investigation of Abramoff
“Robert E. Coughlin II has resigned from the Justice Department because of the ever-expanding investigation into the activities of Jack Abramoff, McClatchy Newspapers reports. The resignation is particularly embarrassing given that Coughlin was deputy chief of staff for the criminal division, which is overseeing the Departmentâs probe of Abramoff. The Washington Post reports further that Coughlin began his relationship with Abramoff through a longtime friendship with Kevin Ring.”
Senior Official Linked to Escort Service Resigns
“Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias submitted his resignation Friday, one day after confirming to ABC News that he had been a customer of a Washington, D.C. escort service whose owner has been charged by federal prosecutors with running a prostitution operation. Tobias, 65, director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), had previously served as the ambassador for the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief.” (ABC’s The Blotter)
