McCain Staffers Defend Abramoff Report
Countering attacks by conservative activist Grover Norquist, aides to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said his committee’s report on Jack Abramoff is “a neutral, factual account of [Jack] Abramoffâs movements.” Norquist had accused McCain of using the report to launch attacks against him personally.
âMcCain does what he thinks is right. Heâs not going to shift his position for Grover or anyone else,” one McCain aide told The Hill newspaper. “I have no evidence that McCain takes any of this personally.â (The Hill)
Cagle’s TV Ad Slams Reed-Abramoff Link
“For the first time, Casey Cagle put rival Ralph Reed’s relationship with convicted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff on TV airwaves on Monday, sending the Republican race for lieutenant governor into a new and aggressive phase.” (AJC)
Issue Revisits Lewis
“The criticism centered upon Jerry Lewis’ close ties with lobbyists. The claim suggested he was being bought by lobbying interests who were more than willing to fill his campaign coffers. The accusation was made in 1974 by his opponent in a race for the state Senate, which Lewis eventually lost.” (San Bernardino Sun)
Hacker Attacks Hitting Pentagon – NSA Program Behind
“A National Security Agency program to protect secrets at the Defense Department and intelligence and other agencies is seven years behind schedule, triggering concerns that the data will be increasingly vulnerable to theft, according to intelligence officials and unclassified internal NSA documents obtained by The Sun.” (Baltimore Sun)
Detainees’ Lawyers Oppose More Filings
“Attorneys representing hundreds of Guantanamo Bay detainees urged a federal appeals court Monday to reject a Bush administration request for more legal filings in light of last week’s Supreme Court ruling in the case of Osama bin Laden’s driver…. The attorneys for the detainees said the Hamdan decision “speaks with perfect clarity” and said that granting the administration’s request for more filing time “would cause further unwarranted delay … seriously prejudicing the Guantanamo detainees,” most of whom “languish in their fifth year of imprisonment without being charged with any wrongdoing.”” (AP)
Interest Groups Lining Up to Lobby on Web Gambling
“While Internet gamblers lay down big money on World Cup soccer this summer, teams of lobbyists are facing off on Capitol Hill in a contest over whether the United States should choke off the growth of wagering on the Web.” (NYT)
A History of Publishing, and Not Publishing, Secrets
“Many reporters believe that the government routinely exaggerates the need for secrecy. They suspect that security officials try to snuff reporting that is merely embarrassing or at most politically troublesome. And most journalists are deeply reluctant to pass up a scoop. Yet for decades, American newspapers and broadcasters have regularly censored themselves on security grounds, plucking compromising details from a story, delaying its publication or killing it entirely.” (NYT)
Hand Count to be Requested in Congressional Race
“The San Diego County Registrar’s office has notified election integrity advocates that the deadline to request a manual hand count will be on Wednesday due to the 4th of July holiday tomorrow, which would have otherwise been the deadline for filing.” (Raw Story)
‘Prince of Pork’ Brings Home the Bacon
“Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) says he inadvertently misstated some transactions, but insists he did nothing illegal. He takes pride in his nickname and is proud of bringing in $500 million over the past 10 years. “I’m proud of the efforts we’ve undertaken for the first congressional district of West Virginia,” Mollohan said. “If being the ‘Prince of Pork’ merits that designation, then I’m proud of that. Yeah.”” (ABC)
40 Years Ago, FOIA Vexed President Johnson
“When he signed the law on July 4, 1966, Johnson was so uneasy about the new legislation he refused to conduct a public signing ceremony that would draw attention to it. He also submitted a signing statement that some researchers believe was intended to undercut the bill’s purpose of forcing government to disclose records except in narrow cases. Draft language from Johnson’s statement arguing that “democracy works best when the people know what their government is doing,” was changed with a handwritten scrawl to read: “Democracy works best when the people have all the info that the security of the nation will permit.”” (AP)
With Scandals Aplenty, Ethics Bills Await
“Which is the more watered down? A free whiskey from a Washington lobbyist or the legislation to prevent lobbyists from enticing lawmakers into sticky ethics situations? You know the answer, of course.” (KRT)
Local Government Pays Lobbyist To Get Help From Missouri Rep
A couple Missouri municpalities have hired a lobbyist close to Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) in order to get help with funding requests – an arrangement similar to the one that’s gotten Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) in trouble. (Fired Up!)
Ethics Panel: Probe Md. Governor’s Lawyer
“Common Cause has asked the State Ethics Commission to look into the activities of David Hamilton, Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s personal lawyer, to see if he is violating state lobbying laws. “It appears that Mr. Hamilton has not registered with the State Ethics Commission as a lobbyist, in spite of engaging in lobbying activities in his representation of clients before government officials,” Bobbie Walton, executive director of the government watchdog group, said in a letter to the commission.” (AP)
Feds Investigate Yale over Accounting
“Like most large research universities, Yale relies heavily on government grants to pay for scientific research. The grants come with stringent accounting rules that in one recent case Yale did not follow, federal officials said.” (AP)
Ensign Gives Back Safavian Money
“Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., says he made a charitable contribution last year equaling the amount he received from a former Bush administration official recently convicted of lying about his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.” (LVRJ)
PAC Donation Offsets Abramoff Funds
“A political action committee with ties to former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary (R-TN) has donated $18,050 to offset campaign donations from groups represented by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.” (AP)
