The Still-Hampered Iraq Rebuilding Effort
The Special Inspector General of Iraq Reconstruction reported yesterday that “despite nearly $108 billion that had been budgeted for the reconstruction of Iraq since the 2003 invasion, the countryâs electrical output and oil production were still below prewar levels and stocks of gasoline and kerosene had plummeted to their lowest levels in at least two years.” Many American contractors are suspected of having wasted funds; others, such as DynCorp, which “[billed] the United States for millions of dollars of work that was never authorized and [started] other jobs before they were requested,” may have committed outright fraud. (The New York Times)
Continue below for the rest of the day’s muck…
Cooper Contradicts Libby’s Story
Former Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper testified yesterday in the perjury and obstruction trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, and his account dealt further damage to Libby’s. Like Judith Miller before him, Cooper claimed that Libby revealed the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame prior to July 10, 2003, which is when Libby claimed to the FBI and a grand jury that he first learned of Plame’s identity from NBC’s Tim Russert. (The Washington Post)
Fitzgerald May Use Libby’s Testimony
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has said he plans to play excerpts from Libby’s grand jury testimony that Fitzgerald claims constitute a lie and Libby claims are the result of faulty memory. It also appears that Fitzgerald plans to call Russert as his final witness. (AP)
Journalism on Trial
Libby isn’t the only one in the hot seat in this trial; journalism is also taking a beating, as the defendant’s attorneys “asked former New York Times reporter Judith Miller about her spotty memory and former Time reporter Matthew Cooper about his sloppy note-taking and inconsistent handling of confidential sources.” Portraying the journalists as unreliable is key to Libby’s defense, since both Miller and Cooper contradicted Libby’s sworn testimony. (AP)
Trial Shows DC to be Brutal
The trial has also provided an insider’s view of Washington DC’s backstabbing political culture. Most revealing have been the suggestions offered to Libby by Mary Matalin, Vice President Dick Cheney’s top communications aide. (LA Times)
FBI Investigating Miller’s Land Deals
The FBI is investigating Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) for land deals in which he avoided paying capital gains taxes by claiming he had been forced to sell under eminent domain. The Bureau acquired video of Miller asking a California town to buy his land, which undermines his account. (LA Times)
House Leaders Consider Outside Ethics Panel
Watchdog groups have long demanded that Congress set up an outside panel to handle ethics investigations, and yesterday the House took a step in this direction when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Republican leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced a task force to examine whether an outside panel would best serve the purpose of investigating House ethics infractions. (AP)
Gonzales Expands Access to Spy Program
“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales expanded Congress’ access Wednesday to classified documents detailing the government’s domestic spying program but still didn’t satisfy several lawmakers demanding information about surveillance.” (AP)
Wiretapping Case Hits Appeals Court
“A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union urged a federal appeals court on Wednesday to affirm a lower-court decision that the Bush administration’s Terrorist Surveillance Program was illegal and show ‘the president that he has to obey the law.'” (LA Times)
Gitmo Lawsuits Delayed
Sixteen lawsuits brought by Guantanamo Bay detainees have been put on hold. “U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton in Washington said the Military Commissions Act, signed into law in October, has left him unable to consider whether the detainees can challenge being held at the Navy facility in Cuba.” (AP)
House to Examine Bush Signing Statements
“The new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, said yesterday that he is launching an aggressive investigation into whether the Bush administration has violated any of the laws it claimed a right to ignore in presidential ‘signing statements.'” (The Boston Globe)
Did Your Rep Call My Rep a Whore?
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) has left the Congressional Hispanic Caucus after accusing Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.), its chairman, of telling people she is a “whore.” Sanchez also cited concerns over whether Baca was fairly elected chair, and “about his general attitude toward female lawmakers.” (The Politico)
