The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has issued a subpoena for Karl Rove’s testimony regarding the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006. Rove and two other senior aides to Bush, Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten, have been subpoenaed before but refused to appear, citing executive privilege. It is unknown how Rove will react now that the President is unlikely to exert executive privilege on his behalf. (Associated Press)
FINRA, the self-regulatory body for the financial services industry, has begun an inquiry into firms that referred clients to Bernard Madoff. Along with a request for lists of clients referred to Madoff, FINRA is seeking descriptions of any due diligence performed on brokerage firms that referred clients to Madoff or to feeder funds that invested with him. (New York Times)
Former New York state health commissioner Antonia Novello is the subject of a new report by the state inspector general’s office, alleging that Novello abused her power by ordering employees to run personal errands for her and take her on shopping trips. The report refers a criminal case and potential felony charges to the district attorney. (New York Times)
Nine out of ten top executives at the companies receiving bailout funds still have their jobs, a review by the Associated Press reveals. Most of the leadership that took the industry into the crisis is still in command — meaning many of the people who helped cause the problem are now being relied upon to fix it. (Associated Press)
When George W. Bush departed Washington on January 20, he left behind 48 proposed midnight regulations that will never become official rules. The number of regulations that the former President proposed exceeds 100, the vast majority of which will become rules and will be hard for opponents to get rid of. According to the Center for American Progress, President Bush “took unprecedented steps to make his midnight regulations harder to overturn.” (Bloomberg)
