Iraq Govt to Probe Filming of Saddam Hanging
“The Iraqi government launched an inquiry on Monday into how guards filmed and taunted Saddam Hussein on the gallows, turning his execution into a televised spectacle that has inflamed sectarian anger.
“A senior Iraqi official told Reuters the U.S. ambassador tried to persuade Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki not to rush into hanging the former president just four days after his appeal was turned down, urging the government two wait another two weeks.
“News of the ousted strongman’s death on Saturday and of his treatment by officials of the Shi’ite-led government was blamed by one witness for sparking a prison riot among mainly Sunni Arab inmates at a jail near the northern city of Mosul.” (Reuters)
Conyers Accepts Responsibility for Possible Ethics Violations
“Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has ‘accepted responsibility’ for possibly violating House rules by requiring his official staff to perform campaign-related work, according to a statement quietly released by the House ethics committee late Friday evening.
“The top Republican and Democratic members on the ethics panel, Reps. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), said in a statement that Conyers acknowledged a ‘lack of clarity in communicating what was expected of his official staff and that he accepted responsibility for his actions.
“‘[Conyers] agreed to take a number of additional, significant steps to ensure that his office complies with all rules and standards regarding campaign and personal work by congressional staff,’ they stated.
‘We have concluded that this matter should be resolved through the issuance of this public statement.'” (The Hill)
Lawmakers’ January Junkets Curbed
“The January junket to warmer climates, a postholiday tradition of sorts for some members of Congress, could be headed to the wayside. An accelerated work schedule set up by the new Democratic leadership has put a halt on many January excursions funded by lobbyists. Given that Democrats are taking over the House and Senate in part because of GOP ethics scandals, some lawmakers are fearful of the voters’ wrath anyway if they go on the trips.
“‘I think members are looking more closely at privately funded travel, and I think … many of them are being careful and avoiding it,’ said Rep. Charles Dent, R-Pa.” (AP)
Journalists May Testify in CIA Leak Case
“Some journalists who made careers out of questioning government officials and bearing witness to history may soon find themselves answering questions from prosecutors as key witnesses in the CIA leak case.
“Ten or more reporters from some of the most prominent news organizations could be called to testify in the perjury and obstruction case of former White House aide I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby. It’s rare enough for reporters to become witnesses. But the Libby case is even more unusual because journalists will be dueling witnesses â some called by the defense team, some by prosecutors.
“‘It will be unprecedented and, as far as I’m concerned, horrifying,’ Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said of the case, for which jury selection begins in two weeks.” (AP)
John Dean: What to Do When White House Stonewalls Oversight
“‘We see a war coming on Capitol Hill,’ a well-connected Republican attorney based in Washington recently told me, as I reported in my last column on the subject. The clash is not surprising, because Vice President Dick Cheney â who is at the center of many of the subjects the Democratic Congress will be investigating â is strongly opposed to Congress’s inquiring into these areas. He believes the power of the presidency is at stake. Accordingly, as I noted earlier, he has made it quite clear that he is not going to cooperate with these investigations.
“Before the conflict develops, it might seem helpful to go over the rules of the game â to appreciate who is on solid ground, who is on shaky ground, and why this is the case. But as it happens, there are no rules!” (FindLaw)
