The Daily Muck

Former CIA Official Pleads Not Guilty
“A former top CIA official pleaded not guilty Monday to new charges that he pushed a proposed government contract worth at least $100 million for his best friend in return for lavish vacations, private jet flights and a lucrative job offer. The indictment, returned last week, replaced charges brought in February against Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, who resigned from the spy agency a year ago, and defense contractor Brent Wilkes. Foggo and Wilkes now face 30 wide-ranging counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Each faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.” (Associated Press)

Wilkes Looks to Public Opinion
“Most criminal defense attorneys insist that clients steer clear of the news media and keep their mouths shut to avoid statements that could come back to haunt them in court. Not Mark Geragos. The day his client, former Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes, pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the Randy “Duke” Cunningham congressional bribery scandal, Geragos’ office released an emotional statement by Wilkes declaring innocence and predicting vindication. Wilkes lambasted prosecutors for political motivations and media leaks. He lamented the impact of the sensational allegations on his children. Essentially, he went from a name in the news to a real person with feelings.” (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Lawmaker to Challenge FBI Raids
“Rep. William Jefferson says the FBI crossed the line when it raided his congressional office and wants a federal appeals court to order the return of documents. Jefferson, D-La., says the raid last year was unconstitutional because it trampled on congressional independence. His lawyers are scheduled to argue that point Tuesday before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.” (Associated Press)

Giuliani Firm Lobbied for Clients
“Energy companies, FBI agents, a media tycoon and even a candlemaker: Rudy Giuliani’s firm has lobbied for them all and dozens more in Washington, opening the door to a wide range of potential conflicts of interest should he become president. If Giuliani were elected, his administration would be on the receiving end of regulatory requests, contract bids and policy proposals by the same clients of his Houston firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, that have contributed toward his personal net worth of millions of dollars.” (Associated Press)

Support Erodes for Doolittle
“Political support for Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) is beginning to erode, with Republicans in his district predicting he will face a credible primary challenger next year if his legal woes continue and he does not abandon his vow to run for re-election. Originally silent or supportive following an FBI raid of Doolittle’s Virginia home last month, a growing number of Republican activists in the Sacramento-area 4th district have decided they can no longer support the Congressman and are beginning to explore backing other candidates.” (Roll Call)

US Divulges New Details on Released Gitmo Inmates
“The Pentagon on Monday released the names of six former Guantanamo detainees who U.S. officials say re-emerged as Islamist fighters in Afghanistan after their release from the U.S. military prision in Cuba. The Defense Department said three of those released from the prison for suspected militants resurfaced as senior Islamist fighters in Afghanistan while a fourth was later identified as having been a Taliban deputy defense minister.” (Reuters)

Padilla Trial is Shaded by Spectre of Al Qaeda
“In opening arguments Monday in the terrorism conspiracy trial of Jose Padilla and two codefendants, a federal prosecutor mentioned Al Qaeda 91 times in little more than an hour in what defense attorneys cast as a scare tactic to link their clients to extremist Islam. ‘We will prove that Jose Padilla became an Al Qaeda trainee who provided the ultimate support — himself,’ Assistant U.S. Atty. Brian Frazier said in his opening statement. He said the defendants were ‘members of a secret organization, a terrorism support cell, based right here in South Florida.’ Defense lawyers countered that the government’s equation of this case with murderous attacks waged by Al Qaeda was a deliberate misrepresentation inspired by the absence of any evidence against Padilla, Adham Amin Hassoun or Kifah Wael Jayyousi.” (LA Times)

Guantanamo Detainees’s Suit Challenges Fairness of Military’s Repeat Hearings
“The military system of determining whether detainees are properly held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, includes an unusual practice: If Pentagon officials disagree with the result of a hearing, they order a second one, or even a third, until they approve of the finding. These “do-overs,” as some critics call them, are among the most controversial parts of the military’s system of determining whether detainees are enemy combatants, and the fairness of the repeat hearings is at the center of a pivotal federal appeals court case.” (NY Times)

Marine Refused Staff’s Advice On Iraq Deaths
“A Marine Corps officer testified Monday that a commander in Iraq rejected recommendations from two subordinates that he investigate accusations that marines in his battalion deliberately killed a group of civilians in Haditha in late 2005. Maj. Samuel H. Carrasco, the operations officer for the Third Battalion, First Marines at the time, testified in a military hearing here that the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, forcefully dismissed advice from staff officers to look into whether marines he supervised had killed the civilians in violation of the laws of war.” (NY Times)

A Casualty of War: MySpace
“The Defense Department began blocking access on its computers to YouTube, MySpace and 11 other Web sites yesterday, severing some of the most popular ties linking U.S. troops in combat areas to their far-flung relatives and friends, and depriving soldiers of a favorite diversion from the boredom of overseas duty. The banned Web sites include some of the Internet’s most popular destinations for social networking and sharing photographs, videos and audio recordings. Soldiers and their families frequent the sites to exchange notes, swap pictures and share recorded messages — a form of digital communication that, along with e-mail, has largely replaced the much-anticipated mail call of previous wars.” (Washington Post)

New Detainees Strain Iraq’s Jails
“The capture of thousands of new suspects under the three-month-old Baghdad security plan has overwhelmed the Iraqi government’s detention system, forcing hundreds of people into overcrowded facilities, according to Iraqi and Western officials. Nearly 20,000 people were in Iraqi-run prisons, detention camps, police stations and other holding cells as of the end of March, according to a U.N. report issued last month, an increase of more than 3,500 from the end of January. The U.S. military said late last week that it was holding about 19,500 detainees, up more than 3,000 since the U.S. and Iraqi governments began implementing the security plan in mid-February.” (Washington Post)

DHS report: Shirlington Limo Should Not Have Gotten Contract
“A Washington transportation company that was questioned in the Randy “Duke” Cunningham investigation should not have been awarded its contract with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the department’s internal watchdog said. In a report obtained by The Hill, the department’s inspector general says Shirlington Limousine and Transportation Inc. was not qualified to receive the contract and instead was given an unfair advantage over its competitors by DHS officials. DHS’s procurement office, the report says, ‘awarded the contract to a non-responsible contractor.'” (The Hill)