Ethics Report on Foley Not Expected Before Elections
“The House ethics committee has all but wrapped up the investigative phase of its probe into the actions of former representative Mark Foley, informing key witnesses that they will not be summoned back for more questioning, lawyers in the case said yesterday.
“But those lawyers indicated that the committee is unlikely to release its report on the Florida Republican — or even an interim memo — before the Nov. 7 elections.” (WaPo)
Fla. Voters Will Be Informed of Foley’s Ballot Replacement
“A Florida appeals court on Friday issued a ruling that appears to resolve the dispute over whether state officials can inform voters that Republicans have chosen a replacement candidate for resigned Republican Rep. Mark Foley in the 16th District â even though Foleyâs name remains on the Nov. 7 ballot, because he withdrew too late to have his name removed.
“The decision permits election officials to post signs at ballot locations listing all of the candidates actively vying to replace Foley, who resigned his House seat Sept. 29 â and quit a bid for a seventh term for which he had been heavily favored â after revelations that he had inappropriate e-mail communications with underage pages.” (CQ Politics)
Report: Halliburton Unit Exploited Rules
“The Halliburton subsidiary that provides food, shelter and other logistics to U.S. troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan exploited federal regulations to hide details on its contract performance, according to a government audit released Friday.
“The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction found that Halliburton’s Kellogg, Brown & Root Services routinely marked all information it gave to the government as proprietary, whether it was or not. The government promises not to disclose proprietary data so a company’s most valuable information is not divulged to its competitors.
“By marking all information proprietary â including such normally releasable data as labor rates â the company abused federal regulations, the report says.
“In effect, Kellogg, Brown & Root turned the regulations ‘into a mechanism to prevent the government from releasing normally transparent information, thus potentially hindering competition and oversight.'” (AP)
Voting Machine Firms Confirm U.S. Probe
“A U.S. manufacturer of touch-screen voting machines confirmed Sunday it was being investigated by the federal government for alleged ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez but flatly denied any connection….
“The probe [of Sequoia Voting Systems Inc.], disclosed in the final days before the November congressional elections, comes amid growing concern about the reliability of electronic voting machines in what are expected to be many tight races nationwide.
“A report released earlier this month by The Century Foundation think tank found problems with malfunctioning voting machines in 10 states it sampled. Activists, meanwhile, have filed lawsuits in at least nine states contending the new electronic voting machines are not secure.” (AP)
Nev. Candidate Says He’d Take a Polygraph
“A Republican congressman running for Nevada governor who was accused of assaulting a casino cocktail server said he is willing to take a lie-detector test….
“[Rep. Jim] Gibbons’ [R-NV] offer followed a similar one last week from Chrissy Mazzeo, 32, who accused the congressman of pushing her against a wall and making a sexual advance toward her Oct. 13 in a parking garage outside a Las Vegas restaurant where they had been drinking. Mazzeo said she was willing to take a polygraph test.” (AP)
Furor Over Cheney Remark on Tactics for Terror Subjects
“The White House found itself fending off questions on Friday about what Vice President Dick Cheney meant when he agreed with a talk-radio host that there was nothing wrong with dunking a terrorism suspect in water if it saved lives.
“Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, said Mr. Cheney was not endorsing water-boarding, a coercive interrogation technique that simulates drowning and that many have said qualifies as torture. Mr. Snow said Mr. Cheney was not, in fact, referring to any technique, whether it was torture or not, because administration officials do not discuss interrogation methods.” (NY Times)
Feds in Wyo. Take Over Colorado Ad Probe
“The FBI said Friday that Wyoming officials would take over an investigation into a Colorado gubernatorial candidate’s campaign ad to avoid potential conflicts of interest after authorities learned a Denver-area federal agent may have been involved.
“The investigation is examining whether GOP Rep. Bob Beauprez accessed a restricted federal database for information used in a television ad to attack his Democratic challenger, Bill Ritter.” (AP)
Judge Sets Schedule on Detainee Lawsuits
“A federal judge Friday set the stage for the next push by the Bush administration to get all the lawsuits by detainees at Guantanamo Bay thrown out of U.S. courts.
“U.S. District Judge James Robertson laid out a five-week schedule for the Justice Department and lawyers for Salim Ahmed Hamdan to file written arguments in the detainee’s challenge to his confinement….
“The new Military Commissions Act, which President Bush signed on Oct. 17, strips U.S. courts of jurisdiction to hear the detainees’ challenges to their indefinite detentions. Hamdan’s lawyers say the new provision is ‘of doubtful constitutionality.'” (AP)
A Tangle of a Race to Fill DeLay’s Old Seat
“Hoping against the odds to keep a prize Republican Congressional seat from falling to the Democrats next week, President Bush travels to his home state on Monday for a rally in the district long led by his Texas ally Tom DeLay.
“But in a topsy-turvy race with more than its share of bizarre twists, the rally in Sugar Land is not for Mr. DeLay, the former House majority leader. Mr. DeLay, who is facing legal and ethical questions, capped a primary victory in March with the announcement that he was abandoning his run for a 12th term, resigning from Congress and moving to Virginia.
“Instead, Mr. Bush is the headliner for a Houston councilwoman, Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who emerged only in August as the Republican choice for the 22nd Congressional District and who is running in two elections: the general election on Nov. 7 and a special election the same day to fill Mr. DeLayâs unexpired term. Her main opponent to fill the House seat for the next two years is Nick Lampson, a Democrat and former congressman who has been campaigning for more than a year and is favored to win.” (NY Times)
Stay Denied in Blackwater Wrongful Death Suit
“The families of four civilian contractors killed in Iraq have cleared another legal hurdle in their wrongful death lawsuit against the men’s employer, Blackwater USA.
“The U.S. Supreme Court denied Blackwater’s request for a stay, meaning the case heads back to state court in North Carolina for trial….
“The lawsuit claims Blackwater failed to provide them with armored vehicles, weapons and maps as promised, and did not give them a chance to learn local routes before being sent out on their fatal mission. As Brian Ross first reported on ABCNews PrimeTime last year, one of the men complained about the unprofessionalism in an e-mail home just before he died.” (The Blotter)
From Whitewater to Blackwater
“Blackwater USA, the private military contractor in the Bush Administration’s “war on terror,” has a new lawyer working to defend it against a ground-breaking wrongful death lawsuit brought by the families of four of its contractors killed in Iraq. The new “counsel of record” for the North Carolina-based company is none other than former Whitewater investigator Kenneth Starr–the independent counsel in the 1999 impeachment of President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. Starr was brought in last week by Blackwater to file motions in front of the US Supreme Court in a case stemming from the killing of four Blackwater contractors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah on March 31, 2004.
“‘I think that Blackwater has brought in Kenneth Starr to somehow leverage a political connection to help them succeed in a case where they can’t win on the merits,’ says Marc Miles, an attorney for the families of the Blackwater contractors. Starr takes over from Blackwater’s previous counsel, Greenberg Traurig, the influential Washington law firm that once employed lobbyist Jack Abramoff. ‘They bring in all these big-time lawyers from nationwide firms with hundreds of attorneys. Blackwater is really painting this David and Goliath picture themselves.'” (The Nation)
IL Gov.’s Wife’s Real Estate Deals Raise Ethics Concerns
“Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s wife earned more than $113,000 in real estate commissions this year through a woman who holds a longstanding, no-bid state contract and whose banker husband has business pending before state regulators.
“The four real estate deals involving the Chicago couple Anita and Amrish Mahajan, the last of which closed Sept. 28, account for the only commissions Patricia Blagojevich has earned this year.” (Chicago Tribune)
Insider with Ties to IL Gov. Pleads Guilty
“Political insider Stuart Levine pleaded guilty Friday to scheming to squeeze millions of dollars from firms seeking state business, and authorities alleged in the clearest detail yet that he had the help of [Illinois] Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s top campaign supporters.
“The new allegations in the plea agreement of Levine, a longtime Republican fundraiser reappointed to state boards by the Democratic governor, only increased the questions about corruption swirling around the race for governor with little more than a week until the Nov. 7 election.” (Chicago Tribune)
GA Gov’s Financial Disclosure Omission Kept Conflict of Interest Low-Profile
“Gov. Sonny Perdue took office in 2003 after campaigning for greater transparency in state government. But within months, he bought 101 acres next to his home in Houston County without disclosing it as required by state law.
“The omission obscured a conflict of interest Perdue faced in 2004 when the state had to decide whether to protect a major tract of conservation forest abutting the governor’s land.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Filings Show Taylor Campaign Supported Primarily By His Own Money
“Republican Rep. Charles Taylor [R-NC] has nearly drained his campaign account _ including about $2.2 million of his own money _ in an aggressive attempt to keep his seat in Congress.
“Taylor, who’s facing perhaps the toughest challenge of his eight-term tenure, had just $136,396 remaining in his campaign coffer as of Oct. 18, according to his latest filings with the Federal Election Commission.” (AP)
