The Daily MuckIn January of 2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered the minimizing of troop-tour extensions. A few months later, the number of troops affected by “stop loss” was at a three-year low. But since then, the number forced back into service has spiked by 43 percent … and it will be a year before the “stop loss” policy will cease. (USA Today and Associated Press)
Bob Lady was the former CIA base chief in Milan, Italy. He was tabbed by the CIA to go after al Qaeda suspects, including top operative Abu Omar, in Milan beginning in early 2003. The mission ended up in kidnappings that Italian authorities are now putting CIA employees on trial for, and Lady, deserted by the CIA, is on the run. (Congressional Quarterly)
In search of visits by leaders of the religious right with the Bush administration, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington challenged the White House policy of concealing all visitor logs from the public. The Bush administration claims the records are not, nor have ever been, open to the public. A federal court is now seeking a compromise between the president’s right to privacy and the public’s right to access. (Associated Press)
Hillary Clinton’s campaign received a prized endorsement from pastor Calvin Butts, of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Upon further review, Rolling Stone found that Clinton has dished out well over $1 million in earmarks to the church in the last year. (Rolling Stone)
After years of doling out earmarks at will during their reign as the majority in Congress, Republicans are now divided over the practice. Some GOP members of the House are calling for the party to put a one-year moratorium on earmarking, yet many Republicans have already filed requests for this year, which Democrats would jump on as a Republican bait-and-switch. A ban, which House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) supported earlier this year only to be denied by the party, was voted down by Democrats as well in February. (Politico)
The Supreme Court hears a case today involving millionaire congressional candidate Jack Davis (D-New York) who took the Federal Election Commission to court two years ago to challenge the Millionaire Amendment. If the amendment is overturned or altered by the court, several congressional races could feel the effects. (Roll Call)
Former defense contractor, and Randy “Duke” Cunningham-briber, Brent Wilkes has been denied a court-appointed attorney. A two-judge panel in California ruled that he has enough money to hire one himself. Wilkes is already serving a 12-year sentence for his nefarious dealings with Cunningham. (North County Times)
