Pentagon’s IG: Soldiers Under-Equipped
An audit by the Defense Department’s Inspector General found that the U.S. military is not adequately equipping troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, “especially for nontraditional duties such as training Iraqi security forces and handling detainees.” Soldiers have gone without enough “guns, ammunition, and other necessary supplies. . . and have had to cancel or postpone some assignments while waiting for the proper gear.” The audit comes at an inopportune time for the President Bush’s administration, which is seeking to rally waning support for a 21,500 troop increase in Iraq. (BusinessWeek.com)
DoJ, House Agree to Deal on Cunningham Docs
“Seeking to head off a potentially nasty legal battle, House Democrats appear to be on the path to a deal with the Justice Department in which they would turn over reams of documents from the Appropriations, Armed Services and Intelligence committees subpoenaed as part of the probe into jailed ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.).” (Subs. Req.) (Roll Call)
Padilla Charge Reinstated
A federal appeals court judge reinstated the charge that suspected terrorist Jose Padilla had conspired to “murder, kidnap and maim” people overseas. It is the only charge leveled against Padilla that could carry a life sentence. (Reuters)
Miller Takes the Stand
Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller took the stand yesterday in the perjury and obstruction trial of former Dick Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. In her two hours of testimony, she contradicted statement made by Libby, saying Libby disclosed that Valeria Plame was a CIA agent two weeks before Libby claimed to have found out himself. (The New York Times)
Voting Machine Tests Suspect
The Election Assistance Commission, which was set up to oversee many of the new e-voting machines used in the 2006 election, released a report that is sure to heat up the debate over voting security. The EAC slammed Ciber Inc., the company that tests the of the software used in the machines, for using “tests developed by the voting-machine makers themselves to decide whether the equipment met security requirements.” (WSJ’s Washington Wire)
Post Drops Secret Service Lawsuit
The Washington Post has dropped a lawsuit demanding access to Secret Service logs of visitors to Vice President Dick Cheney’s home and office. A lawyer for the Post said the paper’s goal had been to get the records out prior to the election. (The New York Sun)
Miller, Under FBI Investigation, Tapped for Investigatory Panel
“After months of GOP ethics scandals, House Republicans chose Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) as the ranking member of a panel charged with investigating financial institutions â even as the FBI was looking into his land deals.” (The Hill)
Cunningham Co-Conspirator to be Indicted
The U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego is close to seeking an indictment against Brent Wilkes, a Poway defense contractor whose company received millions of dollars in government contracts after allegedly bribing the now-imprisoned Randy “Duke” Cunningham, two federal officials with intimate knowledge of the case said Tuesday. (North County Times)
Spy Chief Could Face Ethics Trouble
Retired Vice Adm. Mike McConnell, Bush’s choice to be the nation’s next spy chief, “could face an unusually daunting challenge avoiding ethical entanglements over his decade-long work as a senior vice president for Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., the consulting giant with sales of $3.7 billion worldwide.” (AP)
Dems Change Stance on Iraq Panel
“Democratic leaders agreed yesterday to President Bush’s idea for a new bipartisan panel to advise him on the fight against terrorism and the Iraq war, days after rejecting such a commission.” (The Washington Post)
Can Public Financing be Resurrected?
“With major presidential contenders expected to ditch the public financing system entirely for the first time in 2008, legislation was introduced in both chambers Tuesday that would dramatically increase matching funds and spending limits for participating candidates, a plan the proposalsâ authors claim may revive an ailing â and increasing irrelevant â system.” (Subs. Req.) (Roll Call)
Senate to Examine Pentagon’s Intelligence Program
The Democratic-controlled Senate is set to take a hard look “into how the Pentagon has increased its covert intelligence operations.” (Subs. Req.) (The Wall Street Journal)
