A report from the SEC’s inspector general has found evidence not only of an employee bypassing computer controls to download pornography, but also tells of employees operating “private photography businesses” out of their offices and one senior level employee abusing his position to intimidate a broker involved with family members’ money. The report seems to have gone unnoticed in the days after its post-Thanksgiving release. (ProPublica)
Bernard Madoff’s niece is drawing scrutiny from the SEC inspector general. Shana Madoff, who was married to former SEC official Eric Swanson, worked as a compliance lawyer in Madoff’s firm. Although they met in 2003, the couple did not get married until 2007 after Swanson left the agency. (Wall Street Journal)
The Illinois House of Representatives will expand impeachment allegations against Gov. Rod Blagojevich. In addition to the charges against the Governor revealed on Dec. 9, the impeachment committee now alleges that Blagojevich used his power to make “emergency rules” exempt from committee oversight to usher through initiatives aimed at expanding health care programs and making foreign-made prescription drugs more easily accessible. (Washington Post)
An Associated Press study of the finance industry revealed that CEOs of 116 banks receiving bailout money earned $1.6 billion in bonuses last year. That same amount would cover 53 banks that have so far received bailout money from the government’s program. (Associated Press)
For the second time, the state bar association of Alaska is requesting that former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) be stripped of his license to practice law. With his license already suspended in California and Washington, D.C., Stevens argues that he did not violate any laws in Alaska when he lied on a Senate disclosure form. (McClatchy)
The transfer of President George W. Bush’s email messages to the National Archives will take longer than the required four weeks, the Boston Globe reports. Technical problems and lawsuits have already delayed the process, and it is unclear how long it will take to recover missing emails from 2005 from White House backup tapes. (Boston Globe)