The Daily MuckRep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) isn’t letting a federal investigation stop him from doing business with his favorite lobbying firm. Innovative Federal Strategies, a lobbyist firm under watch for its relationship with the California lawmaker, nevertheless secured $55 million for its clients through earmarks that were sponsored or co-sponsored by Lewis. (The Hill)
Another kind of deployment. The Washington Post details how Karl Rove, along with his “deployment” team, coordinated official government announcements to maximize President Bush’s political gain, particularly during election time. Cabinet officials with government largesse would visit key battleground states just before the elections. Rove may have executed nearly 100 political briefings to various Cabinet departments and agencies. (Washington Post)
The Defense Intelligence Agency is looking to outsource even more of its intelligence gathering responsibilities this year. As of now, the cost looks to be over one billion dollars paid to private firms in charge of core intelligence gathering and analysis. This comes only months after Congress forced the DIA to decrease the number of private contractors gathering intel. (Washington Post)
Michael “Brownie” Brown, the former director of FEMA who resigned under pressure after the government’s dismal response to Hurricane Katrina, has found a new (and we imagine, a more lucrative) calling: consultant to government agencies and other customers on disaster relief and data-mining. With his success, Brown is not that bitter about being the scapegoat for the Bush administration: “There is life after government…even after you have been thrown under a bus by the leader of the free world.” (Chicago Tribune’s The Swamp)
Immoral, psychologically damaging, and counterproductive. That’s the verdict the American Psychological Association has reached on many of the interrogation techniques used by the Bush administration, including prolonged nudity and the use of prisoner phobias. (Washington Post)
The Army has no available combat units that can be used to replace the five extra brigades sent this year as the brunt of the surge. This means that by next spring, either the surge will be forced to end, or soldiers are going to be forced into additional service. (Associated Press)
A plan to move Guantanamo Bay detainees from the controversial detention facility to the middle of Kansas is gaining widespread political support from Democrats and civil liberties groups. Kansas residents living close to Ft. Leavenworth prison, however, are not as enthusiastic. (Chicago Tribune)
David Chalmers, a trader for Bayoil, pleaded guilty Friday to accepting bribes and kickbacks while trading under the U.N.’s oil-for-food program with Iraq. (NY Times)