On Wednesday, the House Ethics Committee announced that it was launching two probes into lawmakers and a third probe wide-ranging probe into possible violations by staffers and other lawmakers in the Duke Cunningham scandal. However, these probes may interfere with the current investigations that the FBI and Department of Justice Public Integrity Unit have underway. The Washington Post looks at whether the Ethics Committee is too late to the game:
The Justice Department has traditionally opposed such parallel inquiries by congressional committees for fear that lawmakers might complicate its collection of testimony and information. The Senate's ethics panel, for instance, regularly steps aside when another enforcement agency is looking into the behavior of senators. But House officials indicated yesterday that they hope the continuing conversations between the Justice Department and the ethics committee will avert conflicts. A spokesman for the department declined to comment.It is doubtful that the Justice Department is happy about this development. Previously, Justice had asked the House and Senate Ethics Committees to steer clear of any investagtion relating to Jack Abramoff. The House's investigation into Bob Ney, who is alleged to have accepted things of value from Abramoff in exchange for favorable action, clearly goes against Justice's recommendations. A March article in Roll Call notes that the ethics committee's rule 15(f) states that the committee "may defer action on a complaint against a Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives when the complaint alleges conduct that the Committee has reason to believe is being reviewed by appropriate law enforcement or regulatory authorities, or when the Committee determines that it is appropriate for the conduct alleged in the complaint to be reviewed initially by law enforcement or regulatory authorities." An expert interviewed in the Post article states, "I can't imagine that they will pursue subpoenas and testimony and get in the way of the Justice Department; that hasn't happened in the past." Continue reading
Here’s What I Really Want To Know
There's a story in the New York Times that yesterday the House voted to take back some of the billions of dollars in incentives it had given to oil and gas producers, with lots of Republicans voting against oil company interests. Sounds like a man bites dog story, but is it?
Continue readingAir Force Generals in FBI Probe:
The top ranking Air Force General and his predecessor are under federal investigation for allegedly steering a contract for the aerial performance Thunderbirds to a friend, who is a retired Air Force General, according to Reuters:
The FBI investigation began after complaints from Air Force insiders and a rival company whose bid was for half the amount, the network said. The contract was canceled earlier this year when the Air Force General Counsel questioned the "integrity of the process" and the involvement of four-star generals, ABC said. The case was referred to the Inspector General for the Department of Defense, and the FBI later joined the investigation, it said.Continue reading
Evening News:
- Sen. Mel Martinez may not like this Miami Herald article that shows how $250,000 in campaign contributions is connected to the felonious lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
- Former White House procurement officer and Abramoff e-mail buddy David Safavian "was dealt a series of setbacks by a federal judge Wednesday," according to Roll Call. The judge ruled that jurors can hear allegations that Safavian gave Abramoff "confidential government information about one of his clients" and "that jurors can be told the full cost of a controversial Scotland golf junket that Safavian took part in during August 2002." Can they also be told the purpose of that trip: Golf Golf Golf Golf!!!!! (more from TalkLeft)
- This anti-Al Gore movie ad is the perfect example of how big business operates through front groups. This one just seems completely over the top, beyond the realms of reason. I mean this ad is hanging in the outer regions of the universe. Seriously how many people in the world are pro-emissions? I love Josh Marshall's vision of the pro-emissions crowd: "I have this image in my mind of connoisseurs with their noses by a muffler. Nice bouquet? Mmmmm. Bahrain 1974." An e-mailer to Josh provides his take: "With their new ad anti-global warming ads, I think we can safely call May 18, 2006 the day the oil companies lost it completely."
Continue reading
Death Knell of the K Street Project:
Franklin Foer over at The Plank pronounces that the K Street Project is headed the way of Tom DeLay. That is, down the elevator shaft. Foer provides an anecdote from his office building:
TNR shares its building with a lobbying outfit that was a prime cog in K Street Project machine. (Yes, our office space is that sweet.) This firm contains several of DeLay's ex- staffers. But apparently, their juice has dried up. Riding down in the elevator, I heard the firm's head kvetching about how DeLay's downfall had been bad for business. "We're hurting," he moaned. "The whole industry is hurting." Hopefully, the hurt has just begun.Continue reading
Congressional boozefests
I don't know about you, but nothing says "responsible public policy forum" to me quite as strongly as politicians, PACs, lobbyists and hard alcohol. And that's what's on offer today on D Street--according to the flier emailed to Washington's lobbying firms and PACs (here's a small JPEG, just to give you the flavor)...
Those are five of the many Washington, D.C., fundraisers taking place today (BONUS: We post yesterday's fundraisers today too!)
First, from Thursday:
D Street Block Party! Congressman Chris Chocola, (Margarita Tasting) $1,000 contribution. Congressman Clay Shaw (Scotch tasting) $1,000 contributon. Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (Martini Tasting) $1,000 contribution. Congressman Jim Ryun (Coffee and Desserts), $1,000 contribution. Congressman Mark Foley (Wine Tasting) $1,000. The flier has a nice note: "These are independent events and require separate contributions and RSVPs." Continue reading
Gee, Another Record-Breaking Fundraiser…
In case you missed the brief AP story yesterday, President Bush hosted the season’s biggest GOP fundraiser on Wednesday, raising $17 million for the Republican Party. It was a record for a non-presidential election year, but the reporting of such figures has become positively ho-hum in Washington. Seems like just another part of the background noise.
The perfunctory nature of the news story – and the fact that unless you were really looking for it, you probably missed it – underlies the reality that raising money is one of most common things people do these days in Washington. Parties do it. Presidents do it. Members of Congress do it. And every time they blast-fax those invitations around town (my colleague Bill Allison has been collecting them lately), the armies of the night emerge. Lobbyists, PAC directors, party loyalists and a host of others seeking to stay on the good side of the nation’s most powerful politicians dutifully turn out in their tuxes, dark suits and evening gowns, checks in hand.
Continue readingAmericans Think Congress is Corrupt:
A new Gallup Poll shows that 47 percent of Americans believe that most members of Congress are corrupt. Hmmmm... I wonder why?
Ah, Local Corruption:
Here at The Sunlight Foundation we focus our attention at the federal government, in particular Congress, and the many officials, members, staffers, and hangers-on who engage in dubious, if not criminal, behavior. In doing this we often overlook some of the better corruption stories from across the nation. Today we have an Arkansas mayor who solicited sex from two women after they fell behind on their water bills:
Troy Anderson, 72, is accused of abusing the public trust and patronizing a prostitute. After hearing complaints about delinquent water bills, Anderson solicited sex from the women, authorities said. In January, a woman who said she had refused Anderson's requests went to the mayor for help in getting her granddaughter out of state Department of Health and Human Services custody. The mayor told the woman he might be able to help, and that she should meet him at an apartment, the affidavit said. ... Another woman told investigators that she'd been having sex with Anderson for money for the past eight to 10 years. She said Anderson paid her $25 per encounter and that he allowed her to change the name on her overdue water bill, which kept her water turned on, the affidavit said. The mayor also gave the woman $60 to pay a late water deposit in exchange for sex, the affidavit said. The woman's bill was $617 overdue, the affidavit said.It looks like Mayor Anderson is running for the Honorary Marion Barry Award. Continue reading
On Assignment…
Moving south from the Vornado-dominated portion of Crystal City (in fairness, there are other property owners in the area, but none with nearly as many holdings), one runs smack dab into a vacant stretch of undeveloped land. This land is right next to Washington Airport, right across from the nation's Capitol. It is prime real estate (don't worry about airplane noise: planes don't pass over the area, and there's more noise in Old Town Alexandria than there is in Crystal City), and in a few years it will go from looking like this:
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