Judge Strikes Down Parts of Executive Order on Terrorism
“A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that key portions of a presidential order blocking financial assistance to terrorist groups are unconstitutional, further complicating the Bush administration’s attempts to defend its aggressive anti-terrorism tactics in federal courts.
“U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins, in a ruling released late Monday, found that two provisions of an executive order signed Sept. 23, 2001, are impermissibly vague because they allow the president to unilaterally designate organizations as terrorist groups and broadly prohibit association with such groups.” (WaPo)
Man Mistakenly Abducted by C.I.A. Seeks Redress
“A lawyer for a German man who was abducted while on vacation in Macedonia and said he was tortured while in C.I.A. custody in Afghanistan urged a federal appeals court on Tuesday to reinstate his lawsuit against the agency, which had been dismissed for national security reasons.” (NYTimes)
Judge Upholds Policyholdersâ Katrina Flood Claims
“A federal judge offered a glimmer of hope to the tens of thousands of people whose homes and businesses in New Orleans were flooded in Hurricane Katrina, ruling that insurance companies should pay for the widespread water damage.
“If upheld, the ruling late Monday by Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. of Federal District Court in New Orleans could cost the insurers billions of dollars more than the $41 billion they have already paid to storm victims. But the insurers insist that their policies do not cover flooding, and they said yesterday that they expected an appeals court to reverse the decision. A final ruling could take months, if not years.” (NYTimes)
Vote Disparity Still a Mystery In Fla. Election For Congress
“Why were there no votes for Congress recorded from more than 18,000 people who chose candidates in other races [in Florida’s 13th congressional district]?…
“So far, there are three theories, and lots of political and legal posturing.
“Maybe, as scores of voters have claimed, there were glitches with the touch-screen systems and they dropped votes.
“Or maybe voters overlooked the congressional race simply because of a confusing ballot design.
“Or maybe, as some say, an astoundingly high number of Sarasota County residents decided to forgo voting in the high-profile race.” (WaPo)
Hastings, Harman Rejected for Chairmanship
“House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has decided against naming either Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House intelligence committee, or Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (Fla.), the panel’s No. 2 Democrat, to chair the pivotal committee next year.
“The decisions came despite lobbying by conservative Democrats on Harman’s behalf and a full-throttled campaign by Hastings to overcome the stigma of the 1988 impeachment that drove him from his federal judgeship.” (WaPo, The Hill, Roll Call, WSJ, LATimes)
Liberties Board Likes What It Sees, But How Independent Is It?
“A civil liberties panel appointed by the White House received a classified briefing Tuesday on the Bush administrationâs program to monitor international banking transactions, and several members said they had come away impressed with the privacy controls in place to prevent abuses against Americans.
“The program, which gives American intelligence officials access to large volumes of banking data through a Brussels consortium known as Swift, has been attacked by regulators in Europe, who view it as illegal and have threatened sanctions. But the administration gave no indication at Tuesdayâs briefing that it was rethinking the program, defending it as a vital tool in tracking terrorist financing….
“Democrats in Congress…have questioned the independence and resources of the board and its ability to inquire deeply into highly classified programs. Until last month the White House had resisted allowing the board to be briefed on the Swift and N.S.A. programs.
“The White House has now allowed security clearances for the board to look at both, and for the Justice Departmentâs inspector general to examine the N.S.A. program. Democrats have suggested that the election victory giving them imminent control of Congress spurred the White Houseâs change of heart, an assertion that administration officials deny.” (NY Times)
1,245 Secret CIA Flights Revealed by European Parliament
“The CIA flew 1,245 secret flights into European airspace, according to a European Parliament draft report obtained by ABC News.
“The report is the result of a year-long investigation into secret CIA ‘extraordinary rendition’ flights and prisons in Europe.
“No European country has officially acknowledged being part of the program.” (The Blotter)
Reid Looks to End Anonymous Earmarks
“Ethics reform, a higher minimum wage and more money for stem cell research are the top items on the Senate agenda next year, incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press….
“The [midterm] election came on the heels of several ethical scandals involving lawmakers, and Reid said reform is needed. He said “the first thing we do” will be to try to cut the practice of lawmakers anonymously inserting “earmarks” â narrowly tailored spending that often helps a specific company or project in their district â into bills.
“Citizens Against Government Waste, a taxpayer watchdog group, said there were 9,963 such projects in the spending bills for the 2006 budget year, costing $29 billion.” (AP)
Tests Start Today on Voting Machines
“State elections officials will fool four touch-screen voting machines into thinking today is Election Day, then cast hundreds of “votes” on electronic ballots, looking for problems.
“It’s the first step of a three-week audit that promises to be the state’s most comprehensive review of how the machines used by 15 Florida counties performed in an election.
“But it is unlikely to dispel concerns from voters and advocacy groups that the machines somehow contributed to the large number of voters — 13 percent — who did not register a vote in the 13th Congressional District race.” (Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune)
Five Years After Enron, Firms Seek Weaker Rules
“Business interests, seizing on concerns that a law passed in the wake of the Enron scandal has overreached, are advancing a broad agenda to limit government oversight of private industry, including making it tougher for investors to sue companies and auditors for fraud….
“Interest groups are trying to build political support to review long-standing rules that govern companies, as well as parts of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley law, which imposed stringent responsibilities on accountants, boards of directors and corporate executives. Some key members of Congress have recently expressed concern that U.S. companies may be over-regulated.” (WaPo)
Philly Mayor’s Brother Indicted
“The older brother of Mayor John F. Street used his last name to obtain lucrative city contracts and failed to pay taxes on more than $2 million in income, federal authorities charged Tuesday.
“Soon after Street took office in 2000, T. Milton Street Sr. began hiring himself out as a high-priced consultant to companies that thought he could help them get city contracts, the indictment charged. One firm paid Milton Street, a longtime hot dog vendor, $30,000 a month for a no-work contract, authorities said.
“He and two other businessmen face charges of mail and wire fraud, filing false tax returns and related counts….
“The mayor, who was not charged, said he did not know details of his brother’s financial dealings but defended his right to pursue city contracts.” (AP)
Ill. Gov’s Greeting Cards Raise Eyebrows
“Batches of greeting cards bearing niceties from [Gov. Rod] Blagojevich and his wife arrived in mailboxes right before the spring and fall elections, raising new ethical questions about the Illinois governor.
“Blagojevich has been accused in recent months of awarding jobs and contracts to contributors and cronies. He has also been criticized for accepting a $1,500 check for his young daughter from a friend whose wife had just landed a state job.
“A state official said there was nothing political about the timing of the new-baby cards, which are part of a nearly 20-year-old program to remind parents about immunizations for their children. The state was just trying to dig out from a backlog, said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, which oversees the program.” (AP)
