Waxman Reveals New Use Evidence Showing White House Use of Political Email Accounts
“U.S. News reported recently that several White House aides said that they stopped using the White House system except for purely professional correspondence. In a new letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding, House Government and Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman reveals new e-mail communications that provide further evidence that White House employees were trying to circumvent the archives system.” (Think Progress)
The Myth of Voter Fraud
“Allegations of voter fraud — someone sneaking into the polls to cast an illicit vote — have been pushed in recent years by partisans seeking to justify proof-of-citizenship and other restrictive ID requirements as a condition of voting. But firing a prosecutor for failing to find wide voter fraud is like firing a park ranger for failing to find Sasquatch.” (Washington Post)
Chastised Head of Local FBI Office Announces Retirement
“San Diego FBI chief Dan Dzwilewski, who was rebuked by superiors for publicly defending ousted U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, has announced his retirement. Dzwilewski, who has been at the helm of the San Diego office since July 2003, sent an e-mail to his agents and staff Wednesday saying he planned to take a post as director of security at Sempra Energy.” (San Diego Union Tribune)
Moving the Guantanamo Trials
“Congress is considering closing Guantanamo Bay as a detention facility and transferring its prisoners to military facilities in the United States. (McCLatchy) Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that he had been pressing others in the Bush administration to move the war crimes trials of suspected terrorists inside the US because the military tribunals may appear tainted in the eye of the international community.” (LA Times)
Another Guantanamo Challenge for Justices
“The Supreme Court is poised to announce â as early as Friday â if it will take up another confrontation over the rights of foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. If the justices decide to take up the decision, it will mark the third time the high court has scrutinized a ruling by the D.C. Circuit court related to the Guantanamo detainees. In the first two instances, the justices reversed the lower court.” (USA TODAY)
HHS Official Facing Legal Action Resigns
“The head of the federal office responsible for providing women with access to contraceptives and counseling to prevent pregnancy resigned unexpectedly yesterday after Medicaid officials took action against him in Massachusetts. The Health and Human Services Department provided no details about the nature of the Massachusetts action that led to Dr. Eric Keroack’s resignation.” (Associated Press)
Testimony by Guiliani Indicates He Was Briefed By Kerik in 2000
“Rudolph W. Giuliani told a grand jury that his former chief investigator remembered having briefed him on some aspects of Bernard B. Kerikâs relationship with a company suspected of ties to organized crime before Mr. Kerikâs appointment as New York City police commissioner, according to court records. Mr. Giulianiâs testimony amounts to a significantly new version of what information was probably before him in the summer of 2000 as he was debating Mr. Kerikâs appointment as the cityâs top law enforcement officer.” (NY Times)
Waxman Drops Inquiry
“Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has dropped his inquiry into allegations that Barbour Griffith & Rogers and Diligence engaged in corporate espionage, his spokeswoman said. The congressman ended the preliminary inquiry with a letter he sent March 22 to W. Gordon Dobie, a partner at the Chicago law firm of Winston & Strawn.” (The Politico)
