Questions of Cost-Cutting in Army’s Disabilities Ratings
“The Army is shortchanging troops on their disability retirement ratings to hold down costs, according to veterans advocates, lawyers and service members…The number of soldiers approved for permanent disability retirement has plunged by more than two-thirds, from 642 in 2001 to 209 in 2005, according to a Government Accountability Office report last year. That decline has come even as the number of soldiers wounded or injured in Iraq has soared above 15,000.” (Army Times)
Democrats Planning Fundraising Blitz
“Eager to shore up their fragile House and Senate majorities, congressional Democrats have enlisted their committee chairmen in an early blitz to bring millions of dollars into the party’s coffers, culminating in a late-March event featuring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 10 of the powerful panel chairs.” (The Washington Post)
Continuing Deliberations in Libby Trial
Begining its second week of deliberations in the perjury trial of former White House official Scooter Libby, the jury have thus far released only two notes that suggest they are “methodically reviewing the evidence against the former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney.” (USA Today)
Marines in Iraq Murder Trial Point to Commander
“Four Marines who pleaded guilty in the killing of an Iraqi man last year pointed to their squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, as the driving force behind the attack that day in Hamdania. Defense attorneys say Hutchins is innocent, and on Monday, they were expected to reveal their strategy during a motions hearing that comes as lawyers raise questions about the victim’s innocence and the difficulty of getting reliable information out of Iraq.” (The Boston Globe)
Financial Ties to Iran Cripple Romney’s Calls for Divestment
“Republican Mitt Romney is urging state pension systems to divest from Iran, yet the presidential contender’s former employer and the company he started have links to recent Iranian business interests or deals…Bain Capital, the venture capital firm that Romney started and made him a multimillionaire, teamed up with the Haier Group, a Chinese appliance maker that has a factory in Iran, in an unsuccessful 2005 buyout effort.” (The New York Times)
Murky Details of 2008 Budget Draws Scrutiny
While much attention has been drawn to the White House’s 2008 budget for it’s to allocate over $700 billion for defense, one aspect of this “black budget.” “It’s also the part of the budget of interest to the FBI, which is conducting a preliminary investigation into allegations that Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, when serving in Congress, took favors from longtime friend Warren Trepp in exchange for securing Defense Department funds for Trepp’s company.” (Las Vegas Sun)
Article on Abramoff Puts Grassley In Hot Water
A recent article by Kim Eisler in the Washingtonian on Jack Abramoff saw the indicted lobbyist claiming to be thoroughly financially involved with Senator Charles Grassley (R-IO). Grassley, who has claimed to have no involvement with Abramoff, responded to the Washintonian with a letter stating that the article was marred by a “failure to validate claims made by Jack Abramoff.” (The Des Moines Register)
Louisiana Lawmaker to Begin Prison Sentence
“Brett Pfeffer and Vernon Jackson, who have pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges as part of the ongoing federal investigation of Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, are due to begin their prison sentences Thursday. Pfeffer’s attorney, Paul Knight , said his client has been told to report to the minimum security federal correctional facility in Loretto, Pa., while Jackson’s attorney, Michael Nachmanoff, said Jackson is preparing to travel to the minimum security prison in Cumberland, Md. ” (The New Orleans Times-Picayune)
False Transcriptions Muddy Prosecution of Muslim Charity
Five years after being shut down by government officials amid acussations of links to terrrorism, a Dallas-based Muslim charity may soon see redemption. Attorneys for the organization produced documents in recent court filings that have revealed possible tampering and fabrication in FBI-wiretap transcripts of conversations between the charity’s employees in 1996. (The Los Angeles Times)
Foggo Trial Could Involve State Secrets
“The handling of national secrets could play a role in the conspiracy case against the CIA’s former executive director who is accused in a corruption scandal that allegedly involves a Poway defense contractor. A prosecutor and a defense attorney for Kyle ‘Dusty’ Foggo, the CIA’s former No.3 man, have both said that they intend to use classified information in the case.” (North County Times)
New Prison Facility Enacts Tight Restrictions
“The Justice Department has quietly opened a new prison unit in Indiana that houses a hodgepodge of second-tier terrorism inmates, most of them Arab Muslims, whose ability to communicate with the outside world has been tightly restricted. At the Communications Management Unit, or CMU, in Terre Haute, Ind., all telephone calls and mail are monitored, the number of phone calls limited.”(Washington Post)
House Ethics Panel Requests Funding Boost
“The House ethics committee has requested a $6.1 million operating budget for the 110th Congress, nearly a 43 percent increase from the previous Congress. If approved by the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over all House committee budgets, the investigative panel will have doubled its funding since the 108th Congress, when it had a $3 million budget.” (Roll Call)
Big Spending at Top Lobbying Spots
“With billion-dollar election cycles and $1,000-a-plate dinners the norm, many Members of Congress and professional fundraisers appear less inclined to roll the dice on an experimental event that may cost plenty but bring in little. Preferring a play-it-safe approach, political committees ate and drank through millions of fundraising dollars during the previous election cycle at high-end eateries, taverns, coffee shops and liquor stores within a short dash of the Capitol.” (Roll Call)
Study: Bias by the Billions in Flawed Ed Program
“Top Education Department officials, including former Secretary Rod Paige, allowed specialists to improperly encourage state and local officials to spend billions of dollars in federal grant money with a small group of companies, government investigators have concluded.” (The Blotter)
Despite New Limits, Congressional Travelling Goes On
While recent congressional legislation has attempted to restrict paid-for travel in Congress, a number of exemptions allow lawmakers to travel with lobbysts on trips funded by third-parties. (USA Today)
