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The Daily Muck
Details about Dick Cheney's interview under oath with Patrick Fitzgerald about the vice president's role in the outing of Valerie Plame may soon become public, thanks to a lawsuit filed by a non-profit watchdog group. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is suing the Department of Justice for failing to release records related to their investigation of the Plame leak. The House Judiciary Committee has sought access to these records for more than a year. (CREW)
Rep. Don Young (R-AK) appears likely to win the Republican nomination for re-election to Congress despite ongoing allegations of corruption, and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) has won the Republican party's nomination for re-election to the Senate despite a criminal indictment. Both congressmen have gotten into hot water for failing to report gifts from the the VECO corporation. (New York Times)
The fate of Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick could be in the hands of Michigan's Democratic governor Jennifer Granholm. Granholm has scheduled a hearing to determine whether Kilpatrick should be removed from office. Kilpatrick currently faces 10 felony charges, including bribery and misconduct in office. The hearing will begin September 3. (AP)
To no one's surprise, the courting of high-end fundraisers is in high gear at the Democratic National Convention, as the biggest donors enjoy greater access to candidates, tremendous amenities and special private events. Rewards for big donors at the Convention include a private, invitation-only concert at Red Rocks featuring Sheryl Crow and Dave Matthews, a plush hotel private breakfast with the candidates, and luxury skyboxes for Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field. "The more donors chip in, the more access they buy," according to Craig Holman of Public Citizen. We can expect a similar scene at the Republican Convention next week. (USA Today)
There will be no free Kanye for House staffers, according to the House Ethics Committee. Congressional staff members had been offered free tickets to tonight's highly anticipated concert to kick off the One Campaign, an effort by a group of musicians including Kanye West to end global poverty. However, the Ethics Committee has determined that accepting the tickets would constitute an illegal gift. (Washington Post)
A former marine took the stand Tuesday in the ongoing trial of Jose Nazario, the Marine on trial for the murder of four unarmed Iraqi detainees. Cory Carlisle testified for the prosecution that Nazario killed the Iraqis while the Marines were conducting a house search, and after they had already searched the house for weapons. (AP)





Young is only 145 votes ahead, with a few precincts yet to be counted and a few thousand absentees not yet counted, so it is much to close to call to say that he is likely to win.
August 27, 2008 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
When is the dolt Fitzgerald going to indict Blago and Obama for being members of the Syrian mafia? They've already got Blago taking $25000 in cash from Rezko (Levine, at Rezko's trial). Now, here's more from Evelyn Pringle's "Curtain Time" series at opednews.com, so you can see the kind of scummy hood Obama really is:
The evidence presented in “Tony Rezko’s] trial focused on his influence over officials in getting members appointed to the Boards. Prosecutors did not discuss how the legislation got passed that enabled the Planning Board to be set up in a way that allowed for the appointment of members to rig the votes to begin with. That part of the scheme will likely be detailed in future indictments, probably starting with Blagojevich. Blagojevich signed the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act with an effective date of June 27, 2003. However, before he could sign the act, a bill had to be passed by the Illinois House and Senate. As discussed fully in Curtain Time Part II, Obama was the inside guy in the senate who pushed through the legislation that resulted in the Act. Obama was appointed chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The minute the bill was introduced, it was referred to his committee for review. The sponsors of the bill also served on this committee with Obama. Within a month, Chairman Obama sent word to the full senate that the legislation should be passed. On May 31, 2003, Senate Bill 1332 passed and specified that the “Board shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.” The legislation reduced the number of members from 15 to 9, paving the way for the appointment of a five-bloc majority to rig the votes. The corrupt members appointed included three doctors who contributed to Obama. Michel Malek gave Obama $10,000 on June 30, 2003 and donated $25,000 to Blagojevich on July 25, 2003. Malek also gave Obama another $500 in September 2003. Fortunee Massuda donated $25,000 to Blagojevich on July 25, 2003, and gave a total of $2,000 to Obama on different dates. After he was appointed, Dr Imad Almanaseer contributed a total of $3,000 to Obama. Almanaseer did not give money to Blagojevich. When the first pay-to-play scheme was put in play, and the application for approval of a new hospital was submitted, the Department of Human Services, along with four other Illinois agencies, sent recommendations that the project should be approved even though experts said the hospital was not needed. During the trial, Rezko’s attorney presented an email exchange to the jury that hinted at Obama’s role in setting up the scheme. The exchange showed that Obama and seven other top Illinois politicians consulted on the legislation passed in 2003 and were involved in recommending the members for the board. Matthew Pickering wrote the memo to Blagojevich’s general counsel, Susan Lichtenstein, on behalf of David Wilhelm, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who headed Blagojevich’s 2002 campaign for governor. Pickering said he and Wilhelm had “worked closely” over six months with state legislators. The memo recommended the appointees listed above and stated, “our attached recommendations reflect that involvement” with the political leaders. The persons appointed to rig the votes, including those who contributed to Blagojevich and Obama, are cooperating in exchange for immunity or lighter prison sentences. Feds shut down pay-to-play schemes. Only two pay-to-play schemes succeeded before the Feds swooped in and shut them all down. Blagojevich did not receive the $1.5 million from the Planning Board deal because the hospital was never built. But Obama received $20,000 from the first kickback paid in the pension fund scheme and the straw donors used to funnel the $10,000 payments, Elie Maloof and Joseph Aramanda, also made $1,000 contributions to Obama’s failed run for Congress in 2000. In addition, Aramanda gave $500 to Obama’s senate campaign on June 30, 2003. In the summer of 2005, Aramanda’s son landed an intern position in Obama’s Washington office. Obama also received contributions for his senate campaign from the two persons appointed to rig the vote on the pension fund board. On June 30, 2003, Jack Carriglio contributed $1,000, and the other appointee, Anthony Abboud, donated $500 on June 30, 2003, $250 on March 5, 2004, and $1,000 on June 25, 2004. The person chosen to funnel the kickback in a future scheme, Michael Winter, donated $3,000 to Obama on June 30, 2003. All these people are also cooperating in exchange for immunity or lesser prison sentences but prosecutors pointed out during closing arguments that people who entered into agreements with the government are required to tell the truth or all deals are off.
August 27, 2008 2:35 PM | Reply | Permalink