Specter Mulls Labor-HHS Without Earmarks
“Facing an FBI investigation of his top staff and scrutiny of his own financial records, Sen. Arlen Specter [R-PA] said he currently is weighing ‘the pros and cons’ of whether to eliminate earmarks entirely from the annual Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies spending measure.
“Specter, whose staffers are being investigated for allegedly improperly securing earmarks for businesses owned by their family members, currently chairs the Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the bill. He said in a recent interview that he plans to talk to his fellow Senators about the idea of ridding the measure of targeted spending provisions but has yet to reach a final determination.” (Roll Call)
Turmoil in Hastert’s Office as Key Staff Testifies
“The investigation of how the Republican leadership handled the issue has provoked turmoil and finger-pointing in [House Speaker Dennis] Hastert’s [R-IL] office, congressional sources say.
“Some of Hastert’s principal aides have hired criminal defense lawyers to represent them during the investigation. Ted Van Der Meid, Hastert’s chief in-house counsel, has retained Washington, D.C.-based attorney Lee Blalack, who also represents convicted former Congressman Duke Cunningham.” (The Blotter)
RNC Mailing Accuses Pa. Democrat of Helping to Start the War in Iraq
“Voters in Pennsylvania’s rural, conservative 10th Congressional District received an unlikely mailing earlier this month accusing a former Navy lieutenant of helping start the Iraq war.
“Quoting a 2004 article, ‘Lie Factory,’ that appeared in Mother Jones magazine and relied on interviews with a former Pentagon analyst turned White House foe, Karen Kwiatkowski, the mailing highlights Christopher Carney’s role in a small intelligence analysis shop inside the Pentagon before the Iraq war. The top of the mailing warns voters, ‘Chris Carney failed our nation once.’ ‘Don’t give Chris Carney a chance to FAIL us again,’ the next page says.
“The mailing may seem par for the course in an election season in which Republican incumbents are vulnerable to attacks on their support for an unpopular war. But its return address is the Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania. The mailing’s target is Mr. Carney, who some see as one of the national Democratic Party’s brightest hopes to wrest control of the House of Representatives in 2006.” (NY Sun)
Many Follow U.S. Example on Detainees
“Several governments around the world have tried to rebut criticism of how they handle detainees by claiming they are only following the U.S. example in the war on terror, the U.N. anti-torture chief said Monday.
“Manfred Nowak, the U.N. special investigator on torture, said that when he criticizes governments for their questionable treatment of detainees, they respond by telling him that if the United States does something, it must be all right. He would not name any countries except for Jordan.” (AP)
Talent Praised Company Run By Donors That Was Selling Illegal Securities
“In August, Senator Jim Talent was personally involved in publicly boosting an biofuel start-up’s efforts to raise capital through the illegal sale of unregistered securities. Paseo Biofuels has admitted breaking the law with its solicitations at the same time Jim Talent was heartily endorsing and supporting Paseo’s project.
The Office of Secretary of State today announced that it has entered into a consent agreement with Paseo Biofuels LLC as punishment for that outfit’s illegal sale of unregistered securities in connection with its construction of a biodiesel plant in Kansas City. Paseo Biofuels agreed to pay fines for having sold interests in its biodiesel facility without registering with the state to sell those securities….
“As the release notes, Paseo received its exemption on August 15th, meaning solicitations made prior to that date were in direct violation of the state’s securities law. Senator Jim Talent, according to his own website, was helping pump Paseo Biofuels start-up on August 9th –nearly a week before the exemption was granted.” (Fired Up! Missouri)
Chatty Abramoff Gets an FBI Desk
“Jack Abramoff, the lobbying scandal figure, has become such a chatty rat that probe insiders say he’s been given a desk to work at in the FBI. We’re told he spends up to four hours a day detailing his shady business to agents eager to nail more congressmen in the scandal. And when cooperative witnesses spend that much time inside, they get a desk.” (US News and World Report)
More Bad News Piles Up for Jefferson’s Family
“[Rep. William] Jefferson’s [D-LA] brother, Archie Jefferson, a disbarred lawyer and convicted felon, decided to enter the kidney care business by initiating plans in December 2002 to open a Mid-City dialysis clinic on Ulloa Street….
“A few months after his siblings got the clinic open, Jefferson teamed with House colleague Dave Camp [R-MI] and U.S. Sens. Rick Santorum [R-PA] and Kent Conrad [D-ND] to introduce a still-pending bill that is a darling of the dialysis clinic industry. Called the Kidney Care Quality Improvement Act, it would ensure that the price Medicare pays for dialysis is adjusted every year, as it is with many other procedures.
“By the time Jefferson rolled out the legislation, he had developed a relationship with DaVita Inc., a publicly traded company that is the nation’s largest independent provider of dialysis services, with several clinics in New Orleans, including one just blocks from Archie Jefferson’s start-up. DaVita’s political action committee has also contributed at least $4,500 to Jefferson’s re-election campaigns over the past two years, according to campaign finance reports.
“In June 2004, six months before DaVita bought out the Jeffersons’ faltering clinic — and just weeks before he introduced his dialysis legislation — the congressman issued a news release describing in glowing terms a visit he paid to a DaVita clinic in Algiers. The release called the clinic ‘a valuable asset to its 50 plus patients living with chronic kidney failure and depending on dialysis to save their lives,’ and went on to cite approvingly various other data supplied by the dialysis giant.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
…And Even More
“In [a] 2001 letter, [brother of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)] Archie Jefferson introduced himself to the prime minister of Sao Tome and Principe, a remote, oil-rich speck of a nation off the coast of West Africa, and pitched a deal….
“The letter, which was turned over to the FBI and shown to The Times-Picayune by a disgruntled former business partner of Archie Jefferson’s, was vague on many points, saying only that the Jefferson Group LLC was prepared to deposit $50 million to develop a port facility.
“But if Jefferson was somewhat hazy on the services he could provide Sao Tome and Principe, he was clear on what his syndicate expected to receive in return: revenue from that new port, interests in the offshore oil leases, money from a trade-free zone and other privileges.
“He also reminded the African prime minister, Guilherme Posser da Costa, that Archie Jefferson’s brother was a congressman, and requested the ruler’s timely response.” (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Despite Claims, CA GOP Candidate Personally Involved in Anti-Immigrant Mailing
“Congressional candidate Tan Nguyen personally bought the list of voters to whom a racially charged letter was mailed, warning that immigrants could be jailed or deported for voting, according to the president of the company that sold the list and sources familiar with the still-unfolding investigation.
“Nguyen requested information on registered Democrats in the central Orange County Congressional district with Spanish surnames who were born outside the United States, according to people familiar with a state investigation into the letter.” (LATimes)
Election Day is Almost Here, Yet Scandals Continue to Surface
“When Out There published its last scandal checklist on Sept. 20, we thought it would be the final one of the election cycle. How naïve.
“Nine days later, then-Rep. Mark Foley [R-FL] resigned following revelations that he had sent sexually explicit instant messages to Congressional pages â a demise too fast to make this checklist. But that was only the beginning.” (Roll Call)
Former DeLay Staffer Leaves the Hill
“Dan Flynn, the last of former Rep. Tom DeLayâs (R-Texas) ‘inner circle’ of aides still working on Capitol Hill, left the House payroll last month after being reprimanded earlier this summer for improper political activity.
“Flynn, who was employed in the Texas 22nd district office as a senior adviser following DeLayâs resignation from the House in June, was formally admonished by the House Clerk in late July for using his House e-mail account to send out a DeLay-related message. Flynn formally resigned from the office on Sept. 4, according to a spokeswoman for the House Administration Committee, which oversees the Clerkâs office, but the committee offered no further comment.” (Roll Call)
Harman Unlikely to Retain Top Spot on Intel if Dems Win House
“Representative Jane Harman [D-CA] has gained national prominence as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, but even her supporters now concede that she is unlikely to become chairman if her party wins control of the House….
“[Since] 2003 [Harman] has been the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee. Her supporters say she had assumed she would ascend to committee chairwoman if Democrats reclaimed the House, until news reports last year that [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi [D-CA] planned to install Mr. Hastings. Ms. Harman has lobbied intensely over the last year, enlisting outside interest groups and wealthy Democratic donors to help convince Ms. Pelosi that she would be the best candidate for the job.
“Ms. Pelosiâs allies say that she is infuriated by the lobbying effort and that the outside pressure has made her even less likely to consider Ms. Harman.
“Ms. Harmanâs efforts to claim the post have even attracted the attention of investigators. Federal officials said Monday that she was the focus of a year-old F.B.I. inquiry related to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac, a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group. The officials, confirming a Time magazine report, said the bureau had been looking into whether she had made improper promises to the group in exchange for its efforts to lobby Ms. Pelosi on her behalf.” (NY Times)
Senate Democrats Revive Meetings With Lobbyists
“Anticipating midterm gains that will strengthen their hand in the Senate, possibly even handing them control, top Senate Democratic aides have quietly restarted regular meetings with their K Street allies.
“The Monday Group, as the gathering was informally known, disbanded early this year when Democrats on Capitol Hill grew anxious about appearances while seeking to make ethics reform a centerpiece of their agenda. In recent weeks, veterans of that group have been gathering again, this time under the aegis of Third Way, a centrist think tank.” (Roll Call)
Beauprez Voted to Protect Database
“GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez in Congress voted to strengthen protections against abuse of a national crime database for non-law enforcement purposes.
“But last week, Beauprez portrayed an ‘informant’ who gave his campaign information â which critics say came from that database â as a heroic whistleblower. Beauprez used the information in a TV ad to attack his Democratic rival, former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, over Ritter plea bargaining immigrants.
“In addition, The Denver Post reported last week that Beauprez said until the controversy over his ad erupted, he was unaware of the existence of the database, the National Crime Information Center, which is known by its initials. But the Ritter campaign pointed out Sunday that NCIC has figured into key provisions of legislation Beauprez has either co-sponsored or supported in the U.S. House of Representatives.” (Rocky Mountain News)
Wife of Noe Dangled Tape of ’04 Roast; 2 Top Democrats Spoke with Her, Attorney
“In the months leading to her husband’s trial on felony charges that he stole from the rare-coin funds he managed for the state of Ohio, Bernadette Noe held out a tantalizing prospect for Democrats.
“It was the videotape of Tom Noe’s 50th birthday party roast – a tape that could launch 30-second TV attack ads against GOP candidates like so many shells from a cannon.
“The event, held Aug. 24, 2004, at the Holland Gardens dining hall as a fund-raiser for the Lucas County Republican Party, starred U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, Gov. Bob Taft, Auditor Betty Montgomery, and Attorney General Jim Petro – all reminiscing about Tom Noe with a blend of humor and seriousness less than a year before scandal erupted.” (Toledo (Ohio) Blade)
A Fundraiser’s Powerful Connections to IL Gov.
“One nondescript page — containing 19 names and a note to Gov. Blagojevich from his chief of staff — shows the clout Antoin “Tony” Rezko once wielded in state government.
“‘Rod, Here is a list of candidates that Tony Rezko wants to be put on non-paying boards. What are your thoughts?’ Blagojevich’s former top aide, Lon Monk, wrote in a note faxed to the governor along with the Jan. 20, 2003, list.
“Of the 19 people named on the document, obtained exclusively by the Chicago Sun-Times, 10 wound up being appointed by the governor to a state board or commission — or got a spouse named. Others wound up with contracts underwritten by taxpayers, or their children got state jobs amid a Blagojevich hiring freeze.
“The governor, meanwhile, got more than $830,000 in campaign contributions dating back to 2001 from 15 people on the list, or from their businesses, state records show. The Blagojevich campaign called that figure an ‘inaccurate representation of the facts.'” (Chicago Sun-Times)
Chicago Voter Database Hacked
“As if there weren’t enough concerns about the integrity of the vote, a non-partisan civic organization today claimed it had hacked into the voter database for the 1.35 million voters in the city of Chicago.
“Bob Wilson, an official with the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project â which bills itself as a not-for-profit civic organization dedicated to the correction of election system deficiencies â tells ABC News that last week his organization hacked the database, which contains detailed information about hundreds of thousands of Chicago voters, including their Social Security numbers, and dates of birth.” (ABC News)
Joe Wilson Stumps for Dems
“Having soaked up just about every last bit of limelight from the CIA leak scandal, former GOP-appointed Ambassador Joe Wilson is burning up the campaign trail on behalf of Democrats while apparently planning a full-time move away from Washington, D.C.” (Roll Call)
U.S. Rank on Press Freedom Slides Lower
“Some poor countries, such as Mauritania and Haiti, improved their record in a global press freedom index this year, while France, the United States and Japan slipped further down the scale of 168 countries rated, the group Reporters Without Borders said yesterday. . . .
“Although it ranked 17th on the first list, published in 2002, the United States now stands at 53, having fallen nine places since last year.
“‘Relations between the media and the Bush administration sharply deteriorated after the president used the pretext of “national security” to regard as suspicious any journalist who questioned his “war on terrorism,”‘ the group said.
“‘The zeal of federal courts which, unlike those in 33 U.S. states, refuse to recognize the media’s right not to reveal its sources, even threatens journalists whose investigations have no connection at all with terrorism,’ the group said.” (WPost)
