CIA’s Secret UK Bank Trawl May Be Illegal
“A covert programme under which confidential information about British banking transactions is passed to the CIA with the full knowledge of the government may breach both British and European law, the Guardian has learned. The information commissioner, who is responsible for enforcing the Data Protection Act, is investigating the arrangement, which has seen details of computerised transactions from around the world passed to the CIA in an attempt to spy on the financiers of jihadist terrorism.” (Guardian)
Copeland Lowery Acknowledges More Mistaken Reports
“A now-defunct lobbying firm under federal investigation has acknowledged that it failed to report some $260,000 in lobbying fees between 2002 and 2005, according to records filed in recent days in the Secretary of the Senate’s Office. The firm, Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton and White had already acknowledged underreporting some $1.4 million in fees.” (National Journal)
Congress Forces I.R.S. To Hire Private Firms in Collecting Delinquent Taxes
“The move, an initiative of the Bush administration, represents the first step in a broader plan to outsource the collection of smaller tax debts to private companies over time. Although I.R.S. officials acknowledge that this will be much more expensive than doing it internally, they say that Congress has forced their hand by refusing to let them hire more revenue officers, who could pull in a lot of easy-to-collect money.
“The private debt collection program is expected to bring in $1.4 billion over 10 years, with the collection agencies keeping about $330 million of that, or 22 to 24 cents on the dollar.
By hiring more revenue officers, the I.R.S. could collect more than $9 billion each year and spend only $296 million â or about three cents on the dollar â to do so…” (NY Times)
Desert Connections
“A real estate project is on track to create one of Nevadaâs biggest cities, partly due to the intercession of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, who has close ties to the developer.” (LA Times)
In Tennessee, GOP Senate Hopeful Corker Draws Fire for Wal-Mart Deal
“A Nashville lawyer. . . says he’s bothered by records that show how a Corker real estate company collected $4.6 million by selling the Wal-Mart land just weeks after Corker’s public works administrator signed off on a construction easement.
Responding, Corker campaign manager Ben Mitchell said the Wal-Mart was approved in a transparent, open process involving several local, state and federal agencies, much of it occurring before Corker became mayor in April 2001. ” (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
Targeting Likely Advocates with Web Ads
“To trade groups hunting for legislative supporters, C.P.A. means Cost Per Advocate, and it refers to the amount they have to spend to sign up a single citizen-activist for their causes. The average C.P.A., by the way, is roughly $5.
“That’s right, to win over the voluntary services of a voter back home to push an agenda, a company or interest group needs to lay out a mere five spot. These lobbyists-for-a-day can be called upon to send e-mails, make phone calls or even visit their members of Congress to make the lobby’s case.
“Such approaches, despite their artificial origins, are generally considered the most effective type of influence. When constituents express a preference, lawmakers (who want more than anything to get reelected) tend to listen.
“This has made networks of outside-the-Beltway advocates a longtime staple of lobbying.”(Washington Post)
DHS Terror Research Agency Struggling
“The federal research agency in charge of countering emerging terrorist threats such as liquid explosives is so hobbled by poor leadership, weak financial management and inadequate technology that Congress is on the verge of cutting its budget in half. The Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate has struggled with turnover, reorganizations and raids on its budget since it was established in 2003, according to independent scientists, department officials and senior members of Congress.” (WaPo)
Experts Fault Reasoning in Surveillance Decision
“Even legal experts who agreed with a federal judgeâs conclusion on Thursday that a National Security Agency surveillance program is unlawful were distancing themselves from the decisionâs reasoning and rhetoric yesterday. They said the opinion overlooked important precedents, failed to engage the governmentâs major arguments, used circular reasoning, substituted passion for analysis and did not even offer the best reasons for its own conclusions.” (NYT)
Hard to Predict 6th Circuit’s NSA Ruling
“Even though the administration’s warrantless surveillance program is heading toward an appellate court loaded with Bush appointees, the court’s mixed record makes it difficult to predict how it will view the surveillance, lawyers said.” (AP)
GOP Sees Strategic Advantage in Court Loss on Wiretapping
“This week’s federal court ruling that declared the president’s warrantless wiretapping program unconstitutional was a blow to the Bush administration and a victory for its critics. But in a reversal, it is Republicans who are highlighting the decision and Democrats who are sidestepping it.” (LA Times)
U.S. Measures Anti-Terror Laws vs. Britain’s
“The uncovering of an alleged bomb plot in London has focused new attention on the differences in the legal arsenals available to terrorism hunters in the U.S. and Britain. Some Republican lawmakers contend the U.S. should emulate parts of the British model because it gives agents more flexibility in monitoring and detaining suspects. But critics say such expansive powers come at a great cost: British laws are generally considered more hostile to civil liberties, and trying to adopt such rules in the U.S. would create legal and public outcry.” (LA Times)
Gov’t Fulfills Few Katrina Promises
“A year after the storm, the federal government has proven slow and unreliable in keeping the president’s promises…. The job of clearing debris left by the storm remains unfinished, and has been plagued by accusations of fraud and price gouging. Tens of thousands of families still live in trailers or mobile homes, with no indication of when or how they will be able to obtain permanent housing. Important decisions about rebuilding and improving flood defenses have been delayed. And little if anything has been done to ensure the welfare of the poor in a rebuilt New Orleans.” (AP)
Katrina: Disaster Profiteers Pocket Millions in Deals
“A year after Hurricane Katrina, the reconstruction of the devastated Gulf coast is being severely hampered by waste and inefficiency overseen by “disaster profiteers” who are making million of dollars, according to a watchdog group. The group claims the inefficiency – along with the companies’ political connections – follows a pattern similar to what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq.” (Independent)
Libby Denied Some Classified Documents
“A federal judge blocked Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff on Friday from using some classified material to help with his defense in the CIA leak case… “The documents and information at issue are extremely sensitive and their disclosure could cause serious if not grave damage to the national security of the United States,” Walton wrote in a ruling that sides with prosecutors and intelligence officials who opposed turning them over. Walton ruled that the documents being withheld would not aid Libby’s defense.”” (AP)
Author: Terror Spy Show A TV Whitewash
“What was expected to be a controversial documentary that charges that Osama bin Laden’s top spy infiltrated three U.S. security agencies has gotten even hotter, with investigative reporter Peter Lance calling the TV piece based on his book a whitewash that’s “like doing Schindler’s List from Hitler’s perspective.” The documentary, Triple Cross, is scheduled to air on the National Geographic Channel Aug. 28, with Lance’s book of the same name due out a few weeks later. But their accounts of how bin Laden’s master spy Ali A. Mohamed outwitted the CIA, the FBI and the U.S. Army may be overshadowed by the war of words between Lance and the network.” (Miami Herald)
$10M Verdict Overturned in Iraq Fraud Case
“A federal judge has overturned on a technicality a $10 million jury verdict against a military contractor accused of defrauding the U.S. government in the first months of the Iraq war. The award, levied in March against Fairfax-based Custer Battles LLC, had been the first civil fraud verdict arising from the Iraq war.” (AP)
Penalties Sought in Recruiter Misconduct
“The ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Sunday he would push to increase penalties for sexual misconduct by military recruiters. Rep. Ike Skelton was reacting to an investigation by The Associated Press that found more than 80 military recruiters were disciplined last year for sexual misconduct with potential recruits.” (AP)
Ruling Raises Bar in Lobbyists’ Case
“The federal judge who last week refused to throw out charges of conspiring to violate the 1917 Espionage Act against two former pro-Israel lobbyists simultaneously made it much more difficult for the government to prove its case against them, attorneys for the defendants and First Amendment advocates contend. In a controversial case with wide free-speech implications, two former lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, were charged with conspiring to obtain national defense information from U.S. government officials and pass it on to members of the media and Israeli government officials.” (WaPo)
Court: Members of Congress Not Immune from Discrimination Suits
“A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a motion to dismiss a job discrimination suit against Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., ruling that members of Congress are not automatically immune from such suits under the Constitution.” (McClatchy)
Conference Remains Loophole In Lobbying Overhaul
“As states throughout the country tighten [ethics] rules, the annual conference for legislators from all 50 states as well as events staged by similar groups seem to have taken on importance for lobbyists as places to ply their trade.” (WSJ)
