Memo Implies Cunningham Scandal Could Widen
“An internal congressional investigation has found that “major breakdowns” in legislative controls enabled former Republican Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham to use his position on the House Intelligence Committee to steer classified government contracts to political cronies, according to a memo distributed this week to Democrats on the panel.
“The memo was written by Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), ranking Democrat on the committee, and circulated to Democrats on Tuesday.
“Harman’s description suggests that the seven-month probe by the House intelligence panel could significantly broaden the scope of the scandal surrounding Cunningham, the Rancho Santa Fe lawmaker who pleaded guilty last year to bribery and tax evasion and is serving an eight-year prison sentence.” (LATimes)
Top Counterintelligence Officials Resign
The director and deputy director of the controversial and scandal-tarred Counterintelligence Field Activity office (CIFA) told staff yesterday they would be stepping down. In an email to employees, director David Burtt II said, “I do not make this decision without trepidation, but the time is right to move on to the next phase of my career.” His deputy, Joseph Hefferon, “has also decided to retire, after over 31 years of federal service,” Burtt wrote. (WPost)
Was the Sailor Actually a Spy?
“His father tells TIME that [21 year-old] Ariel Weinmann was just a disillusioned sailor who deserted the Navy, but the Navy has suggested he sold state secrets to a foreign power. How did a patriotic enlistee become accused of espionage?” (Time)
Sailor From Oregon Charged With Espionage
“According to charge sheets, Weinmann put electronic copies of the classified information onto a government laptop between May and July 2005, knowing that the information “was to be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation.” He then allegedly stole the laptop when he deserted the submarine in Connecticut on July 3, 2005. Military officials believe he destroyed the hard drive “by smashing it with a mallet” in Vienna in March.” (WaPo)
Big Katrina Contractors Win More FEMA Work
“The four giant construction firms that received controversial no-bid contracts to house Hurricane Katrina evacuees last September will be earning up to $250 million apiece to do similar work after future disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said yesterday.” (WaPo)
2 Testify CIA Questioner Beat Detainee
“An ex-CIA contractor charged with beating an Afghan detainee who later died hit the man with a flashlight and kicked in him the groin with enough force to lift him off the ground, witnesses testified Wednesday. The two were the first witnesses to say they saw David Passaro beat detainee Abdul Wali during a 2003 interrogation about rocket attacks on a remote base housing U.S. and Afghan troops.” (AP)
Elections Officials Seek Clarity On Ney’s Replacement
“State elections officials asked the state attorney general Wednesday for an opinion on how the law applies in determining who is eligible to replace U.S. Rep. Bob Ney on the November ballot.” (AP)
Ney Tries to Pick Successor, Ohio Democrats Cheer
“[Officials] from both parties say Republicans committed a huge political blunder and served up an unexpected gift to Democrats when the GOP announced that Ney had picked Padgett as his replacement. That gives Democrats the ability to run roughly the same anti-Ney message straight through to the November election because Padgett, a Coshocton Republican, can be tied so closely to the tainted congressman.” (Columbus Dispatch)
Administration Wants to Narrowly Define Torture
“Officials say the [Bush Administration’s proposed] amendments would alter a U.S. law passed in the mid-1990s that criminalized violations of the Geneva Conventions, a set of international treaties governing military conduct in wartime. The conventions generally bar the cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment of wartime prisoners without spelling out what all those terms mean. The draft U.S. amendments to the War Crimes Act would narrow the scope of potential criminal prosecutions to 10 specific categories of illegal acts against detainees during a war, including torture, murder, rape and hostage-taking. Left off the list would be what the Geneva Conventions refer to as “outrages upon [the] personal dignity” of a prisoner and deliberately humiliating acts — such as the forced nakedness, use of dog leashes and wearing of women’s underwear seen at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq — that fall short of torture.” (WaPo)
DeLay Write-In Candidate Announced
“”Today, with the encouragement and backing of my family, grass roots leaders and friends, I am announcing that I will be a write-in Republican candidate for the 22nd Congressional District,” [David] Wallace said in a statement. “I will be taking the fight to Nick Lampson and his liberal allies every day. ” Lampson, a former congressman, is the Democratic nominee in this Houston-area district. He represented an adjacent district for eight years until a DeLay-engineered redistricting cost him re-election in 2004. The state Republican party did not immediately comment and hasn’t said whether it would support Wallace’s candidacy.” (AP)
Credit Protection Due Vets in Data Theft
“Millions of veterans and active-duty troops whose sensitive personal information was lost by the Veterans Affairs Department will receive some form of credit protection against identity theft, the government said Wednesday.” (AP)
