Harris: My Dinner(s) with Mitchell
It took a while, but Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) finally fessed up to dining with former MZM Inc. owner and Duke Cunningham briber Mitchell Wade. Recall the $2800 meal at Citronelle? The “only-appetizers-and-a-drink” claim? The failure to reimburse or report the meal, which was w-a-a-a-y over the House gift limit?
It turns out Harris enjoyed an earlier dinner with Mitchell — on his dime — that she also failed to report or reimburse. Harris dispatched her spokesman to defend her activities, but apparently failed to arm him with a viable set of facts. She made a contribution to a charity for the amount of her meal, he insisted, “but he could provide no details,” reports the St. Petersburg Times, which broke the story. “He said he did not know how much that meal cost, how much Harris donated to charity or what the charity was.”
Trial Nears for Ex-Official Tied to Lobbyist
A former White House budget official is scheduled to go on trial this week, the first defendant to face a jury in the corruption scandal centered on the lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The former official, David H. Safavian, is charged with lying about his contacts with Mr. Abramoff and about the circumstances of their 2002 golfing trip to Scotland by private jet. (NY Times, Bloomberg)
As lobbyist issue arose, Ney, staff ceased privately paid trips
After accepting 131 trips worth $234,775 in 4 1/2 years, Rep. Bob Ney and his staff haven’t let a private outside group pay for their travel since June 14, 2005, according to an Associated Press review of travel disclosure forms Ney’s office filed with the House clerk. (AP)
BellSouth Spokesman says company may sue USA Today
BellSouth’s spokesman SAID the company is considering suing USA Today over the NSA story. But he wouldn’t rule out the possibility that a third party subcontractor had handed over the data to the NSA. (Horse’s Mouth)
Verizon Refuses to Deny Participation in the NSA Spying Program
In a 44-page response to the Maine Public Utilities Commission Friday, Verizon refused to confirm or deny cooperation in the illegal National Security Agency program, arguing that the Public Utilities Commission lacks the authority to investigate whether Verizon has provided NSA access to its customer records and its switching machines in Maine. Verizon further asserted a “state secrets privilege.â (MCMS)
Kappes’s Comeback
When intel czar John Negroponte announced the nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden as CIA director, he took the unusual step of saying he hoped Kappes would agree to be Hayden’s second in command. The announcement was a not-too-subtle dig at retiring Director Porter Goss. Goss’s 18-month tenure of bureaucratic infighting and petty political disputes resulted in plummeting morale and an exodus of some of the CIA’s most experienced analysts and officersâincluding Kappes, who was one of the first people Goss’s regime pushed out. (Newsweek)
Cheney’s Guy: David Addington
it is a largely anonymous government lawyer, who now serves as Cheney’s chief of staff, who has served as the ramrod driving the Bush administration’s most secretive and controversial counterterrorism measures through the bureaucracy. (US News)
Doolittle’s Campaign On Friends-and-Family Plan
Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA) manages to funnel much of his campaign expenditures towards his friends and family, who apparently have Doolittle as their ‘exclusive’ client. (Roll Call)
Attorney General: “Close Read” of Law Shows Press Can Be Jailed for Leaks
Gonzales hit the airwaves on Sunday for a bit of his signature smiley-faced sabre-rattling, aimed at the ink-stained wretch community which continues to report damning news from inside the executive branch’s national security apparatus.
Hill Cops Want Action From McKinney Assault Probe
Capitol Police are complaining about the slow pace of the grand jury investigation into the alleged closed-fist assault of an officer by Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA).
Prosecutors appeal on DeLay indictment
Prosecutors in the case against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay have asked the state’s highest criminal court to reinstate an indictment accusing the former House majority leader of conspiring to violate election laws. The appeal filed with the Court of Criminal Appeals Friday had been expected and likely postpones a trial for DeLay on a separate money laundering charge. (AP)
Libby Denies Seeing Cheney’s Notes on Newspaper Column
Lawyers for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the indicted former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, said in a court filing late Friday that Libby did not see the notes Cheney inscribed on a key newspaper column criticizing the administration’s rationale for invading Iraq until he was shown the annotations in the course of an FBI investigation. (WaPo)
Congressman Taylor cited for trashy property
Congressman Charles Taylor (R-NC) has been issued a notice of violation that says Taylor must clean up rental property he owns because it has become a âpublic health nuisance.â (CT, Stakeholder)
Senate panel probes ex-senator in U.N. case
The chairman of a Senate investigative panel said Friday it is looking into the actions of former Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., in connection with the United Nations oil-for-food program for Iraq. He declined to say what the allegations were. (AP)
Congress faces multiple criminal probes
For the first time since the Abscam scandal a quarter-century ago, multiple lawmakers face criminal and ethics investigations that are tarnishing Congress, already low on public approval. (AP)
Loading the Pork Train
US News takes Sen. John Thune’s (R-SD) huge earmark for a railroad as a case study of why earmarks may be getting out of hand. (US News)
Congress bribery probe could deepen
Here’s the Boston Globe’s run-down of where the Duke Cunningham investigation stands. (BG)
