Vodka Giant Sticks with Firm that Screwed Them
If somebody bilked you out of thousands of dollars, you’d probably sever ties with them. In Jack Abramoff’s case, that’s almost universally the case: nearly every client who got screwed over by his shenanigans have cut ties with his colleagues.
Except one: Stoli Vodka. E-mails have become public showing Abramoff associate Richard Edlin milked them for $25,000 to help pay for the now-infamous Scotland golf trip for Abramoff, Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), now-convicted felon and former White House official David Safavian and others.
But Stoli stands by their man. Recent lobbying disclosures show that Edlin continues to represent Stoli’s parent company, SPI Spirits, The Hill newspaper reports.
In other muck. . .
Senator Wants IRS to Chase After Pimps
“Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, wants the Internal Revenue Service to chase after pimps and sex traffickers with the same fervor it stalked gangster Al Capone for tax evasion. Grassley, R-Iowa, would hit pimps with fines and lengthy prison sentences for failing to file employment forms and withhold taxes for the women and girls under their command….Michael Horowitz, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said the change has the potential to put pimps out of business without difficult trials that require women to testify to abuse and mistreatment. “We need to simply treat the pimps and massage parlor operators the way we would treat anybody who takes the proceeds of a customer transaction from somebody and then gives a fraction of it back,” he said.” (AP)
Senator Calls for Review of Leaks Damage
“The government should conduct an inquiry into damage done by the recent disclosures of intelligence programs aimed at stopping terrorists, the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman said Tuesday. We cannot continue to operate in a system where the government takes steps to counter terrorism while the media actively works to disclose those operations without any regard for protection of lives, sources and legal methods,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan.” (AP)
House GOP Attacks NYTimes Over Bank Data Story
I love the smell of political maneuvering in the morning. It smells like. . . victory.
House Republicans are pushing a resolution to condemn the New York Times for publishing details of a secret U.S. government project that monitors international bank data. Apparently they were reading comic books for the past five years, while the Treasury Department sent press releases, gave interviews and testified before Congress about their unprecedented efforts to mine transactional bank data to catch terrorists. Why don’t they get back to the important stuff, like flag burning? (The Hill, Roll Call)
Bush’s Use of Authority Riles Senator
Senators on the Judiciary Committee accused President Bush of an “unprecedented” and “astonishing” power grab on Tuesday for making use of a device that gave him the authority to revise or ignore more than 750 laws enacted since he became president.” (NY Times)
Official Wins $24,000 in Raises while Under Investigation
William R. Mitten negotiated natural gas contracts on behalf of the federal government. He also took $25,000 in prohibited favors from a natural gas company. He wound up paying $11 million in fines. That didn’t stop his boss from giving him $24,000 in raises during the period he was under investigation, AP reports.
A Vacation from the Rules
“A Center for Public Integrity study of disclosure records for congressional officials’ privately funded travel from January 2000 through June 2005 found that Dennis’ form is one of roughly 130 with the line for the sponsor’s name left blank. In effect, the omissions allowed special interests to spend more than $230,000 on travel anonymously.” (CPI)
Sponsors’ Gifts Present a Problem
“A Center for Public Integrity analysis of disclosure forms for trips during a 5½-year period beginning in January 2000 found that more than 50 other congressional travelers also accepted gifts valued at more than $49.99.” (CPI)
Senate Report: Former Tribe Leader Says Millions Spent in Alabama
“A U.S. Senate committee reported that disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff told a tribal leader that the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians spent $13 million to elect Gov. Bob Riley in 2002.” (AP)
Dems Facing a Dilemma on Ethics Slot
“Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) reluctantly assumed the ranking memberâs post at the House ethics committee two months ago, insisting that his reign as senior Democrat be temporary. But since Bermanâs arrival, the ethics panel has started three new probes and created a voluntary approval process for member travel, with Berman displaying a warm rapport with Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) that Mollohan noticeably lacked.” (The Hill)
VA Asking for More Money after Data Theft
“Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson promised Congress on Tuesday he could turn his agency into a “model for information security” but said lawmakers will have to be patient. Nicholson also said the Bush administration was asking for at least $160.5 million in emergency funds for credit monitoring and other measures to protect veterans and military troops whose sensitive personal information was stolen from a VA employee’s laptop computer.” (AP)
As GOP Ties to Corruption Mount, Democrats Differ over Strategy
“Democrats are split over how to attack unfolding corruption scandals involving Republicans: Continue to hammer away at what they call a culture of corruption or focus on their own candidates’ ideas.” (AP)
Reciprocity Underlies Lobbying Scandals
“The recent barrage of negative publicity over suspect lobbying practices has created renewed interest in reform. Congress now proposes new lobbying-reform measures, but these still fail to address the heart of the problem: the basic human impulse to return a favor. Meaningful reform of the lobbying system, in other words, requires repudiation of the reciprocity principle.” (The Hill)
FEC Unleashes Its Lawyers
“The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is being accused of attempting to intimidate soft-money donors to 527s by targeting the donors for questioning.” (The Hill)
President to Press for Line-Item Veto Power
“With his proposed overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws now in legislative limbo, President Bush focused on another priority on Tuesday, to secure Congressional approval of a presidential line-item veto. Speaking to a conservative group here in the morning, Mr. Bush said he would use a line-item veto to eliminate spending on the pet projects called earmarks that lawmakers attach to spending bills.” (NY Times)
