Leaders Agree: Convicted Lawmakers Shouldn’t Be Honored
The House Democratic and Republican leadership have found another issue they agree on: former congressmen convicted of abusing their office shouldn’t be saluted for their service to the nation.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is refusing to take part in an event Wednesday night that will include a tribute to former Reps. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.), saying the two men ‘have dishonored the House’ and ‘are unfit to to be honored for their service.’
When told of Pelosiâs objections to having Cunninghamâs name mentioned during the event, Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) agreed, saying through a spokesman that ‘it would be inappropriate to have a convicted felon on the honor roll.’
The head of the group hosting the event, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, said that he was willing to “skip any mention” of Cunningham during the event. But he would not refrain from honoring DeLay, who to date has not been convicted. (Roll Call) (sub. req’d)
Corruption Cited in Iraq’s Oil Industry
“U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker told Congress last week that “massive corruption” and “a lot of theft going on” in Iraq’s government-controlled oil industry is hampering the country’s ability to govern itself. “It took me about, you know, a second and a half to realize that, obviously, there was massive corruption going on, because the numbers just didn’t add up,” Walker said, referring to a trip he took to Iraq this year in which he was shown figures on oil production and revenue.” (WaPo)
Turf War Hampers War on Terror
“With more than 100 labels in use among the various federal agencies to identify types of unclassified, but sensitive, information — and who gets access to it — the Justice and Homeland Security departments were assigned last year what seemed to be a fairly straightforward task: consolidate the list to just a few labels that would be shared by all agencies. But some within the agencies have been reluctant to give up not only the labels they’re familiar with, but also control over who gets information, intelligence officials and lawmakers said. The conflict represents a major obstacle to the administration’s information-sharing initiative and serves as a backdrop as the White House awaits what it expects to be a highly critical report today from the nonpartisan Markle Foundation on federal intelligence sharing, they said.” (Baltimore Sun)
That Times Leak Was No Surprise
“Before you jump in with those heaping scorn on the New York Times for using a leak to reveal the secret Treasury program to search financial transactions for terrorist activities, know this: The Treasury Department expected it to leak. When the program was developed in 2003, a press plan was included. The goal: Get out front with the spin that there are safeguards to prevent snooping on private accounts, that it is legal, and that there are big benefits to it.” (U.S. News)
Hoekstra Openly Rakes WH On Intel, Quietly Pushes for Pro-Industry Rules Change
At the same time heâs been deeply involved in urgent matters of international affairs and national security, [House Intel committee chair Pete] Hoekstra has also been locked in a long-running and bitter feud with the White House over an issue of paramount interest to his constituents back home in western Michigan: whether to end a requirement that federal agencies give preference to furniture and other goods produced by prison inmates. . . .
Now, after years of seeing no progress on the issue, Hoekstra says he is close to a breakthrough with the Bush administration. He insists, however, that he has not leveraged the powers of his House Intelligence gavel to get it.
(Roll Call) (sub. req’d)
Lawmaker-Turned-Lobbyist at Center of `Earmarking’ Probe
“[Former Congressman Bill] Lowery is at the center of a federal investigation that grew from the Cunningham probe to focus on a more powerful member of Congress — House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, a good friend of Lowery’s and a fellow Southern California Republican. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are investigating the close and mutually beneficial relationship between the two men, focusing on Lowery clients who have gotten tens of millions of dollars for projects in the annual spending bills Lewis’ committee approves. Lowery and his associates have been top donors to Lewis’ campaigns, and the two men have swapped key aides.” (AP)
New House Majority Leader Keeps Old Ties to Lobbyists
“Representative John A. Boehner won the job of House majority leader amid a post-Abramoff clamor for an overhaul of lobbying and ethics rules. But nearly six months later, the changes are still tied up in Congress. And far from trying to put the brakes on lobbyists and the money they channel into Republican coffers, Mr. Boehner, who has portrayed his ties to Washington lobbyists as something to be proud of, has stepped on the gas. He has been holding fund-raisers at lobbyistsâ offices, flying to political events on corporate planes and staying at a golf resort with a business group that has a direct stake in issues before Congress.” (NY Times)
Defense Contractors: All We Are Saying, Is Give Ethics a Chance
“Spurred partly by Pentagon weapons-acquisition scandals in recent years, major U.S. and European defense contractors for the first time are jointly developing voluntary ethical standards that would apply to contracts on both sides of the Atlantic.” (WSJ)
Burns Campaign Raises Nearly $7 Million – And Spends on Lawyers
“Incumbent GOP Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) is closing in on $7 million raised for his re-election effort, an amount the campaign says is a record for a U.S. Senate campaign in Montana…. The Burns campaign also said its campaign finance report would show that it is paying for a lawyer who has been reviewing complaints related to donations linked to lobbyist Jack Abramoff out of the campaign account….The law firm has been paid about $64,000 so far, said Burns campaign spokesman Jason Klindt.” (Billings Gazette)
Link to Disgraced Lobbyist Taints Reed Race
“It is curious enough to see Ralph Reed, a man who was on the cover of Time magazine at age 33, the man widely credited with galvanizing evangelical Christians into a national political force, putting everything he has into a race for the relatively low-profile job of lieutenant governor of Georgia. But it is stranger still to see him losing ground. ” (NY Times, WaPo)
Harris: $100,000 Went to Fix up Home
“‘I have never heard of a candidate taking money out of a campaign coffer like it’s an ATM. It absolutely boggles my mind,’ former Harris campaign manager Jim Dornan said. ‘This is a woman who has completely lost touch with reality. You don’t take your campaign contributors’ money, whether it’s yours or not, and spend it to renovate your house. This is absolutely insane.'” (AP)
Filing: Lewis Campaign Paid Legal Fees
As TPMm reported yesterday, Jerry Lewis’ re-election campaign paid his legal defense team $200,000, according to new FEC filings. (Riverside Press-Enterprise)
House Ethics Panel Keeping “Busy” with Scandals
“It has been nearly two months since the House ethics panel began probes into the conduct of several lawmakers, but no progress has been announced. The surfacing of a bevy of other scandals may not seem to have the attention of the secretive oversight committee, but its work is quietly humming along this summer.” (Wash Times)
A Corrupt, Brutal Dictator in the White House? Maybe Just for a Visit…
“In early 2004, President Bush issued a presidential proclamation barring corrupt foreign officials from entering the United States. Then, a few months ago, in spite of that proclamation, Washington was treated to the disgusting spectacle of an official visit by Teodoro Obiang, the corrupt dictator who rules over oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. But now the Bush Administration is preparing to roll out the red carpet for a man who, by sheer numbers, appears to have stolen far more than Obiang: President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.” (Harper’s)
A Steamy Spy Scandal at the State Department
“Few occasions are more sensitive than a visit to the U.S. of a foreign head of state, and few such events during the Bush years have been as closely watched as Chinese leader Jiang Zeminâs visit to the Presidentâs Texas ranch in 2002. But a Taiwanese spy named Isabelle Cheng had the inside track on Jiangâs trip, according to a recent court filing. Federal prosecutors say vaunted State Department Asia hand Donald Keyser sent Cheng long e-mails detailing his âconversations with Chinese President Jiangâ in Texas.” (Time)
Specter Bill Could Expand Bush’s Executive Power
“In essence, Specter’s bill repeals each and every restriction on the President’s ability to eavesdrop, all but forecloses judicial challenges, and endorses the very theory of unlimited executive power which Hamdan just days ago rejected (and in the process, rendered the administration’s FISA-prohibited eavesdropping on Americans a clear violation of the criminal law). ” (Glenn Greenwald)
NATO Taps Guantanamo General as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
“Gen Craddock has normally defended the controversial camp against criticism, although he has ordered investigations into some claims of abuse of suspects. In one case, he blocked attempts to get a Guantanamo commander reprimanded over abuse claims, insisting the officer had done nothing wrong.” (BBC)
Will Bush Nominee Pass Lindsey Graham?
“At a Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) said that Pentagon General Counsel William J. Haynes II had pushed for the tactics over the objections of top uniformed military lawyers who considered the policy process a “sham.” The result, Graham told reporters after the hearing, was “legal confusion” that contributed to the scandal at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison — and the attendant courts-martial and other career damage for those held responsible.” (WaPo)
D.C. Watchdog Group Calls for Doolittle Investigation
“Washington, D.C. ethics watchdog group Democracy 21 is calling for the House Ethics Committee and the Justice Department to investigate U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, to determine whether he violated House ethics rules. But a Doolittle staff member said the investigation request is a smoke screen for Democrat opponents unable to attack the congressman on more concrete issues. “The people that are promoting these phony allegations are the fringe elements of the Democrat party,” Doolittle Communications Director Laura Blackann said. “They can’t attack the congressman on the issues so they’ve resorted to smear tactics.”” (Auburn Journal, Dump Doolittle)
Bribery At Border Worries Officials
“Federal law enforcement officials are investigating a series of bribery and smuggling cases in what they fear is a sign of increased corruption among officers who patrol the Mexican border.” (WaPo)
Plame Lawsuit May Hurt Libby, Rove
“The Supreme Court has ruled that Presidents have immunity and that cabinet officers have âqualified immunity,â meaning that they cannot be sued unless, for example, they violated someoneâs constitutional rights and had a pretty good idea they were doing so. That leaves open the question of whether Vice Presidents get immunity, but the consensus among constitutional scholars is that they do, so Cheney lucks out. As behind-the-scenes guys, Rove and Libby probably get only qualified immunity, which means theyâll have to show that the complaint fails to state any legal claims, if they want to get rid of it quickly.” (Time)
Can White House Officials Be Sued?
“The law is clear that the president has absolute immunity from lawsuits for anything he does while in office. Less clear is how far that immunity extends to the vice president and White House aides.” (NY Times)
Texas Capitol Project Draws Criticism for Use of Private Donations
“Speaker Tom Craddick of the Texas House has a taxpayer-provided apartment inside the stateâs domed Capitol, the nationâs only residence in any statehouse, and lobbyists, business owners and a corporate foundation are among about 40 donors who have contributed more than $1 million to renovate it.” (AP)
