Tony Rudy: Gonna See the Folks I Dig, Even Kiss a Sunset Pig
The former DeLay staffer, who copped a plea in April and has since been cooperating with prosecutors, wants to move to California, Roll Call reports. “Thatâs about as far away as you can go,â one lobbyist told Roll Call. The Rudys have put their 6,000-square-foot Alexandria home on the market — it’s a horrible time to sell, by the way — for $1.895 million. (Roll Call: “‘It is what you are looking for,’ a virtual tour of the property declares.”) (Apologies to Joni Mitchell for the headline on this.) (Roll Call)
And in other muck. . . .
Ney Loses Senior Staff, Attributes to “Turnover”
“As with every office on Capitol Hill, where staffers work very long hours, there is inevitably turnover….” (TPM)
The GOP’s Clorox Bombshell
A moment from David Kay’s recent testimony regarding the WMD found in Iraq that Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) so shamelessly hyped. Here Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA), another believer, won’t believe what Kay is telling him:
As far back as September 2004, the CIA had disclosed the discovery of the old chemical munitions from Iraq’s war with Iran. The CIA also explained that these weapons were not the ones the Bush administration had used to justify the invasion of Iraq. What’s more, Kay said, the decades-old sarin nerve gas was probably no more dangerous than household pesticides — and far more likely to degrade at room temperature. “In terms of toxicity, sir,” Kay told Weldon at one point, “I suspect in your house, and I know in my house, I have things that are more toxic than sarin produced from 1984 to 1988.”
These were not the facts Weldon wanted to hear. The House member quickly lost his cool. “There is nothing under my sink that could be classified as a weapon of mass destruction or violate the Chemical Weapons Convention,” he thundered. (Salon)
US Forces Have Found Some Old Iraqi WMD, Says General
The U.S. military has found more Iraqi weapons in recent months, in addition to the 500 chemical munitions recently reported by the Pentagon, a top defense intelligence official said on Thursday. Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, did not specify if the newly found weapons were also chemical munitions. But he said he expected more. (Reuters)
Libby Lawyer Wants Delay in CIA Leak Trial
“In a court filing, Scooter Libby’s lead attorney, Theodore V. Wells Jr., asked that the trial, now scheduled to begin Jan. 8, be moved to Feb. 12. Wells said he is worried that he won’t be done with an unrelated trial, set to begin in September in California, by the time Libby’s case is supposed to go forward.” (AP)
House Resolution Condemns Media over Terror Stories
“The House on Thursday approved a Republican-crafted resolution condemning news organizations for revealing a covert government program to track terrorist financing, saying the disclosure had “placed the lives of Americans in danger.” The resolution, passed 227-183 on a largely party-line vote, did not specifically name the news organizations, but it was aimed at the New York Times and other news media that last week reported on a secret CIA-Treasury program to track millions of financial records in search of terrorists.” (AP)
A Governing Philosophy Rebuffed
“For five years, President Bush waged war as he saw fit. If intelligence officers needed to eavesdrop on overseas telephone calls without warrants, he authorized it. If the military wanted to hold terrorism suspects without trial, he let them. Now the Supreme Court has struck at the core of his presidency and dismissed the notion that the president alone can determine how to defend the country. In rejecting Bush’s military tribunals for terrorism suspects, the high court ruled that even a wartime commander in chief must govern within constitutional confines significantly tighter than this president has believed appropriate.” (WaPo)
Terror Suspects Reportedly Had FBI Targets
“One of seven men accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower has admitted swearing allegiance to al-Qaida and told investigators he and the others planned to bomb five FBI buildings, a prosecutor said Thursday…. At repeated meetings with the informant, Narseal Batiste said he admired Osama bin Laden, was honored and excited that al-Qaida would align itself with his group and said he had members in Chicago and Louisiana, the prosecutor said.” (AP)
Methods Questioned in Investigation Leading up to Sears Tower Arrests
“Critics are voicing concern about the FBIâs use of informants, methodology, and alleged pattern of entrapment in relation to the arrests last week of seven Miami men for having allegedly plotted to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and federal buildings in other cities.” (Raw Story)
VA Data Recovered with Informant’s Help
The government has recovered stolen computer equipment that contains sensitive personal information on millions of veterans and active-duty troops, Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson announced Thursday. A preliminary examination indicated that the data was not accessed or duplicated since it was stolen from a VA analyst’s home May 3, the FBI said. (USA Today)
DeLay Embroiled in Texas Ballot Battle
Here’s a comprehensive rundown of Texas Democrats’ bid to keep Tom DeLay on the ballot there. (The Fix)
Democrats’ K Street Addiction
“The intense focus on individual cases of corruption on Capitol Hill, such as those involving Representatives William Jefferson, D-La., and Randy Cunningham, R-Calif., masks the broader problem of an institution deeply compromised by money.” (TomPaine.com)
Fraud for Federal Grants Deemed A Problem
Fraud is becoming a problem for a popular federal grant program for cities, an internal federal housing department auditor told a Senate committee Thursday. Kenneth Donohue, inspector general for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, testified Thursday that his investigators, after reviewing just 35 of nearly 1,200 grant recipients, have questioned cities’ use of $100 million in Community Development Block Grants since 2004. The program got $3.7 billion in the current federal budget…. Since 2004, HUD has indicted 159 people in connection to false claims, bribery, fraudulent contracts, theft or embezzlement and public corruption.” (AP)
Homeland Security Manager Charged in Fraud
“A midlevel manager at the Homeland Security Department was charged with immigration document fraud on Thursday…. Court papers, filed in support of search warrant applications for [Robert] Schofield’s home and office, said there have been numerous allegations of bribery involving Schofield and Asian immigration applicants going back 10 years.” (AP)
Boeing Sees up to $1.12 Billion in Charges
“Boeing Co. said Thursday it will spend as much as $1.12 billion in second-quarter charges to settle a three-year-old Justice Department investigation into its defense contracting and for newly disclosed delays to an international airborne surveillance system.” (AP)
Mississippi Choctaws Say $13 Million Alabama Claim Untrue
“The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians said a claim the tribe spent $13 million on the 2002 race for governor in Alabama is incorrect. Chassidy Wilson, who works in the tribe’s public relations office, told the New York Times Regional Newspapers in Alabama that the claim is ‘outlandish and patently false.'” (AP)
Pennsylvania Candidates Trade Barbs over Funds
Dem candidate Patrick Murphy went after Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) for accepting tainted cash, and so Fitzpatrick’s turned around and accused Murphy of the same. It’s a taint off! Who do you think will win? (Bucks County Courier Times)
National Security Whistleblowers Coalition Announces “Dirty Dozen”
Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds announces her “dirty dozen.” (wot is it good 4)
