Potential Libby Jurors to Get Politically Charged Questions
Jury selection is set to begin today in the trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the former Cheney chief of staff accused of perjury and obstruction in the Valerie Plame case. “[A]ttorneys for both sides want to ask potential jurors about their opinions of the Bush administration, political scandals and the Iraq war.” Given that the trial’s venue is DC, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 9-to-1, Libby and his attorneys will be hard-pressed to find sympathetic ears. (AP)
Judge Rules fired CIA Agent’s Lawsuit can Proceed
A former CIA agent who contends he was fired for collecting prewar intelligence unfriendly to the Bush administration’s Iraq claims can sue the agency, a US District Judge ruled. The agent, known only as Doe, collected information from several countries, including Iraq, and makes the potentially explosive charges that “CIA superiors either refused to disseminate the intelligence or demanded he falsify his report to indicate several countries were developing the weapons,” and that his personnel file was falsified to justify his firing. (AP)
If We End up Fighting Iran, They’ll Have the Benefit of Our Weapons
President Bush is ramping up the rhetoric against Iran, but he may want to inform his military, which has “sold forbidden equipment at least a half-dozen times to middlemen for countries â including Iran and China â who exploited security flaws in the Defense Department’s surplus auctions. The sales include fighter jet parts and missile components.” (AP)
Data Mining and its (Oft-Ignored) Legal Hurdles
The Washington Post takes a look at data collection, an area in which “federal laws often have been outpaced by technology.” To nobody’s surprise, President Bush “asserts that he has ‘inherent authority’ to authorize agents to intercept electronic communications without a warrant in the interest of national security.” (The Washington Post)
Architect of India Nuclear Deal Leaving Gov. to Lobby for India
Stephen G. Rademaker, the United States assistant secretary of state for arms control who negotiated the deal allowing the U.S. to sell its nuclear technology to India, is leaving his State Dept. post for a lobbying position at the firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers. One of the firm’s most important clients is â you guessed it â the Indian government, on whose behalf BG&G lobbied during the nuclear negotiations. (Think Progress)
Haditha Attorneys Unhappy About Leaked Photos
The attorneys representing one of the Marines implicated in the Haditha killings want answers from the military about a possible leak after The Washington Post published pictures of some of the dead. “This leak was inexcusable and unethical and very clearly presents a publicly unfavorable portrait of our client,” the lawyers wrote. (AP)
The Only Rule of Being a Former Lobbyist on Capitol Hill: There are no Rules
Congressmen who become lobbyists have to wait a year before contacting their former associates on the Hill. But there are such regulations for those who go in the other direction, and a number of former lobbyists for huge companies like DaimlerChrysler and Microsoft have come to DC to work for members of congress or congressional committees. (The Washington Post)
New Rules May Disappoint the Senate’s Frequent Fliers
For years, Senators have enjoyed the ability to charter corporate aircraft while paying only the cost of a first-class ticket per passenger. This is set to change, which is likely to upset Trent Lott (R-Miss.), the Senator most fond of this privilege (second for the period between 2001 and 2005 was Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards). This week, the Senate will debate new rules that would require its members to pay the full cost of chartering planes. (McClatchy Newspapers)
Ethics Committees to Bolster Staffs
The “Senate and House ethics committees plan to increase their staffs to police Congress better in the wake of lobbying and ethics reform legislation.” This indicates that “the tide is running for extra staff and against an outside [ethics] panel,” which has been a recent demand of nongovernmental watchdog groups. (The Hill)
Five Years in Gitmo
The Post also marks the five-year anniversary of Guantanamo Bay’s first detainee arrivals. (The Washington Post)
