MSNBC just reported that K. Dusty Foggo, the number three man at the CIA, has resigned. From Raw Story:
Foggo's resignation was reported Monday on MSNBC. The email, which the network did not provide, allegedly stated that in light of CIA Director Porter Goss's departure, Foggo is stepping down.UPDATE: Foggo's resignation is no longer limited to internal CIA emails. The Associated Press just reported that Foggo has resigned and that the FBI is investigating Foggo for improperly awarding contracts to Brent Wilkes (who is also accused of bribing Duke Cunningham).
The FBI recently opened its own probe of Foggo, a longtime and close friend of Wilkes, the official said, speaking only on condition of anonymity because the investigation is under way. ... FBI agents also have been looking into whether Wilkes supplied Cunningham with prostitutes, limousines and hotel suites. Foggo sometimes attended poker parties at the hotel rooms, but he said there was nothing untoward about his presence.Josh Marshall previously blogged about this FBI investigation. Continue reading
In Blog Daylight:
- Nico at Think Progress writes about the importance of "Nine Fingers". For those who haven't been following the Cunningham/Wilkes/Prostitution scandal as close as others "Nine Fingers" is a CIA agent who attended the infamous poker parties that Wilkes threw at the Watergate and Westin hotels. These poker games are alleged to have turned into hooker parties.
- Also at Think Progress, Judd writes that Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) inserted a provision into a Defense Appropriations bill that was written by the vaccine industry. The provision "granted vaccine manufactures near-total immunity for injuries or deaths (even in cases of “gross negligence”) caused by their drugs during a viral pandemic, such as an outbreak of the avian flu." The vaccine industry's lobbyist was none other than Hastert's son, Joshua Hastert.
- Raw Story picks up a Roll Call story that shows more trouble for Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV). Taking trips to Spain paid for by non-profits that you created and then funnelled millions of dollars in federal earmarks to while receiving campaign contributions from the directors of said non-profits is bound to raise some eyebrows.
Foggo Expected to Fall:
Brian Ross and Richard Esposito of ABC News are reporting that K. Dusty Foggo, the Executive Director of the CIA is expected to resign soon. Foggo has been the subject of an internal CIA investigation regarding his role in the Duke Cunningham bribery/contracting scandal. Foggo is also known to have attended late night poker games thrown by defense contractor Brent Wilkes - referred to as co-conspirator #1 in the Cunningham plea deal - which allegedly led to even later nights with prostitutes. Foggo is an old friend of Wilkes and was handpicked by the recently resigned Porter Goss to be the number three man at the CIA. For details on Foggo, Wilkes, and the scandal I would check out Laura Rozen's blog, War and Piece.
Continue readingCongressman: The Process Will Be Abused:
Matt Stoller catches telecom industry stockholder Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) accidentally speaking the truth. From the Austin American Statesman:
The lawmakers admit their goal is not to pass definitive legislation in public in the coming weeks. Instead, they want to pass separate bills, regardless of how different they may be. The final version would be negotiated, largely in private, by about a dozen senators and representatives on a conference committee. The Senate just needs to pass "anything to get us into conference," where the real decisions will be made, House telecommunications subcommittee chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said Tuesday at a telecom forum hosted by National Journal's Technology Daily.Emphasis added. This is a complete abuse of the conference process and for Upton to just say this out loud is outrageous. Or as Stoller puts it, "Pretty brazen". Continue reading
Ney Aide to Plead Guilty:
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), already implicated in three guilty pleas in the Jack Abramoff scandal, is about to be fingered as a bribe taker in four guilty pleas. According to Reuters, Ney's former chief of staff Neil Volz is set to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and to violating the one-year ban on lobbying after leaving work on Capitol Hill. UPDATE: Josh Marshall has the plea agreement here.
Continue readingWeekend Wrap:
- Florida Today asks Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) why he won't "disclose his funding requests for the coming year". Weldon has been criticized for his earmarking of funds to a company, Map Roi, with ties to a Tom DeLay crony and Jack Abramoff associate Ed Buckham.
- According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) is losing support among Democrats after he was implicated in a second guilty plea in a federal bribery investigation. Both House Democratic leaders, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD), called for an ethics investigation of the embattled lawmaker.
- The Boston Globe reports on limiting donations to political charities, which can often serve as another way for lobbyists or favor-seekers to curry favor with lawmakers. Continue reading
Danger, Danger Tom DeLay:
The Associated Press reports that Tom DeLay's (R-TX) office knew that Jack Abramoff, and not the National Center for Public Policy Research, was behind the funding and coordination of a controversial 2000 trip to Scotland:
Prosecutors have e-mails showing Rep. Tom DeLay's office knew lobbyist Jack Abramoff had arranged the financing for the GOP leader's controversial European golfing trip in 2000 and was concerned "if someone starts asking questions." House ethics rules bar lawmakers from accepting free trips from lobbyists. DeLay, R-Texas, reported to Congress that a Republican advocacy group had paid for the spring 2000 trip that DeLay, his wife and top aides took to Scotland and England. The e-mails obtained by The Associated Press show DeLay's staff asked Abramoff -- not the advocacy group -- to account for the costs that had to be legally disclosed on congressional travel forms. DeLay's office was worried the group being cited as paying the costs might not even know about them, the e-mails state.Federal investigators are looking into whether "DeLay filed false public reports to disguise the source and size of political donations, travel and other gifts he received from special interests." Both Tony Rudy and Jack Abramoff have already pled guilty and have agreed to cooperate. Kent Cooper, the former chief of public disclosure for the Federal Election Commission says, "It clearly shows some members live in a dream world of high-class living and fictional accounting. DeLay's office was part of the public deception." Continue reading
Saturday Thread:
What do you think about the news this week? Porter Goss, Patrick Kennedy, the Watergate prostitute scandal. Tell me in the comments section.
- At Daily Kos dengre posts a full letter from Jack Abramoff to then-Marianas Islands Governor Tenorio explaining how Abramoff's lobbying protected the Islands' sweatshops.
- Josh Marshall has the goods on Porter Goss and his number three: the Wall Street Journal reports that K. Dusty Foggo - handpicked by Goss to be the CIA's Executive Director - is under federal investigation in connection to the Cunningham-Wilkes bribery (hooker) scandal. Laura Rozen is a must read for a full explanation. Meanwhile, court jester at Daily Kos speculates as to whether the hookers involved are more Jeff Gannon and less Heidi Fleiss, if you know what I mean. However, the head of Shirlington Limousine has categatorically denied providing prostitutes to congressmen and defense and CIA officials, according to the Washington Post.
- Glenn Reynolds posts responses to constituent concerns regarding earmarking and the emergency supplemental from Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Patty Murray (D-WA).
- POGO Blog tells us that "it's a small world after all." Has anybody called Rep. Jerry Lewis' (R-CA) office about this?
Goss Backstory:
Josh Marshall provides the backstory for the Goss resignation. TPM Muckraker has Goss' statement on his resignation. (It looks like everything anyone is hearing is pointing to the Wilkes-Cunningham-Foggo axis.) UPDATE: More from Laura Rozen on Goss, Foggo, and Negroponte. And questions abound from Huffington Post report on possible Pentagon under secretary resigning in the wake of Cunningham scandal.
Continue readingSpeaking Too Soon:
What a crazy news day! Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) just announced that he is checking himself into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for treatment due to a prescription drug addiction. Kennedy had previously been in drug treatment in his late teens. Personally, I hate it when people demagogue on issues like this so I hope that no one does. Addiction is a serious problem, and a mental health one at that. Hopefully, he can recover quickly and hire a driver so this doesn't have to happen again. UPDATE: I'm glad that Sullivan agrees Continue reading
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