John Ensign

VIDEO: Ensign Ambushed By CNN On Sex-Lobbying Scandal

Zachary Roth | December 31, 2009, 4:38PM

CNN's Rick Sanchez and Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

CNN's Rick Sanchez just grilled Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) about Ensign's affair with the wife of an aide and his ham-fisted efforts to cover things up.

Ensign came on prepared to keep politicizing the failed terror attacks by using them to attack President Obama. But Sanchez quickly turned the tables by bringing up Ensign's personal woes, leaving the senator visibly surprised.

Read more »

TSA

Blogger To Fight TSA Subpoena

Zachary Roth | December 31, 2009, 4:31PM

Security at the Denver airport.

One of the two bloggers who was subpoenaed by the federal government after posting a leaked safety directive from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has asked for a delay so that he can challenge the subpoena in court.

Chris Elliott will fight the subpoena in court next week, Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press told the AP. She is serving as a spokesperson for Elliott, a leading travel journalist who writes for the Washington Post, MSNBC, and other allies.

Read more »

Blackwater

All Charges Dismissed Against Blackwater Guards In Killing Of Iraqi Civilians

Justin Elliott | December 31, 2009, 3:43PM

Dustin Heard, one of the five charged men, at a Salt Lake City court last year.

Citing Justice Department missteps, a judge has dismissed all charges against the Blackwater guards accused in the killing of civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square in 2007, the AP is reporting.

From the AP:

Read more »

Roundup

2009's Muckiest: Our Top Ten Most Popular Stories Of The Year

Justin Elliott | December 31, 2009, 3:19PM

It's been a dirty, scandalous, generally muck-drenched year here at TPMmuckraker.

2009 began with "black and bitter" and ends with Hooters. We'll always look back with fondness on Tom DeLay's tall tale of quadriplegic protesters and Mark Sanford's painfully awkward love e-mails ("I love ... the erotic beauty of you holding yourself"). And that's not even mentioning the ongoing sagas of John Murtha, Bernie Madoff, and John Ensign.

In past years, we've compiled grand lists of scandalized officials, but the Obama Administration isn't there yet.

We have our own favorite stories of the year, but more important are the posts that you, our readers, loved. So without further ado, here's our countdown of TPMmuckraker's top 10 most popular posts of the year.

Read more »

Golden Dukes

Golden Dukes: The 'Where Are They Now?' Edition

Zachary Roth | December 31, 2009, 3:17PM

This year's Golden Dukes winners are following in the footsteps of some giants. So it's only fitting that we take a moment to honor a few past victors.

But for these illustrious performers, life has gone on -- even after their acceptance speeches were given, the klieg lights went down, and their names faded from the headlines. So below, we let you in on what these Golden Dukes legends are doing today...

Read more »

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

ABC's Inaccurate Gitmo-Abdulmutallab Story Got Major Pickup

Justin Elliott | December 31, 2009, 1:16PM

ABC Correspondent Brian Ross

Just how far can one erroneous terrorism story travel?

By our very partial count, a since-corrected ABC report on the supposed role of ex-Gitmo detainees in planning the Detroit Christmas Day attack was picked up by at least 12 media outlets, and was cited by two members of Congress and legion right-wing bloggers.

Here's how the Dec. 28 story, which we've saved in its original form here, began:

Read more »

Health Care

GOP AGs Escalate Constitutional Battle Against Health Bill

Justin Elliott | December 31, 2009, 10:07AM

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster

The group of Republican attorneys general threatening a constitutional challenge of the so-called "Cornhusker Kickback" in the Senate health bill yesterday wrote a letter to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi outlining their complaints. 13 AGs, several of whom are running for governor, signed the letter.

The letter has sparked a new round of media coverage, with little analysis of the constitutional arguments being cited. Under the provision in question, all of Nebraska's expanded Medicaid costs would be covered by the federal government, with other states splitting the cost.

Read more »

TSA

Feds Subpoena Bloggers For Posting TSA Security Memo

Zachary Roth | December 30, 2009, 7:20PM

Security at the Denver airport.

Federal agents went to the homes of two bloggers Tuesday to issue subpoenas in an effort to find out who leaked them a memo on the Transportation Security Administration's enhanced security procedures in the wake of the failed Christmas Day terror attack. The agents looked through the computer, Blackberry, and iPhone of one of the bloggers, and told him they'd sit outside his house until he gave them the information they wanted, he says.

On Sunday, Chris Elliott, a well-regarded travel journalist who writes for National Geographic, MSNBC, and the Washington Post, published on his blog a TSA security directive, issued in the hours after the failed bombing incident. The directive, which went to airline, airport, and government personnel, outlined enhanced screening procedures, including performing a "thorough pat-down of all passengers at boarding gate prior to boarding, concentrating on upper legs and torso."

Around the same time, Steven Frischling, who writes a blog for KLM Dutch Royal airlines, posted the same directive.

Read more »

The Palins

REVEALED: See Going Rogue Event 'Banned List' Drawn Up By Todd Palin

Justin Elliott | December 30, 2009, 6:23PM

Todd and Sarah Palin. "Banned list," inset.

We've just gotten our hands on the so-called "banned list" that was responsible for two journalists getting booted from a Sarah Palin book event in Wasilla last week. Check it out right here.

And we've got new details that shed light on Todd Palin's role as his wife's chief enforcer.

The "coordinating instructions" document, whose authenticity was confirmed by James Hastings, the Wasilla official who runs the arena and who wrote the instructions, refers to a "DENIED ACCESS LIST PER TODD PALIN." And, after listing three names, continues:

Read more »

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Hoekstra: Abdulmutallab Should Be Classified As 'Enemy Combatant'

Justin Elliott | December 30, 2009, 1:42PM

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) believes the Obama Administration should have ordered that alleged terrorist Umar Abdulmutallab be taken into military custody and held as an enemy combatant, his spokesman tells TPMmuckraker.

Abdulmutallab is currently in federal prison in Michigan and is expected to be tried in U.S. district court.

Read more »

John Yoo

Yoo: I've Never Met Bush

Zachary Roth | December 30, 2009, 12:40PM

John Yoo

George W. Bush, you say? Never heard of him.

That's the tack that Torture Memo author John Yoo seems to take in a new interview with Deborah Solomon of The New York Times Magazine.

The parley was to promote Yoo's new book, Crisis and Command, which the Times describes as "an eloquent, fact-laden history of audacious power grabs by American presidents going back to George Washington" -- a subject with which Yoo, who was a lawyer in the Bush Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, has some familiarity.

Read more »

Military Contractors

Cashing In: Ex-Officers Double As Paid Military 'Mentors' And Contractor Consultants

Justin Elliott | December 30, 2009, 9:35AM

Former Air Force Chief of Staff and Durango Group Founder Gen. Ron Fogleman

Under a newly revealed arrangement that makes the famous "revolving door" seem quaint, retired military officers are simultaneously drawing paychecks both from the government and from private sector businesses gunning for Pentagon contracts, according to a USA Today investigation.

A defense consulting firm out in Colorado called Durango Group, which helps companies obtain DOD contracts, sits at the center of this lucrative arrangement.

Read more »

Tea Party Express

Maddow Cites TPMmuckraker On Tea Party Express Finances

Zachary Roth | December 30, 2009, 9:21AM

Tea Party Express strategist Sal Russo

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow last night picked up our report on how most of the Tea Party Express's recent spending went to the GOP consulting firm that created it.

Read more »

Allen Stanford

Meeks Stays Mum On Ties To Stanford

Zachary Roth | December 30, 2009, 8:44AM

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)

Faced with a credible news report that they agreed to a request from Allen Stanford to ask Hugo Chavez to file criminal charges against a Venezuelan banker, most politicians would likely want to respond. Either to deny the story, or at least to offer some generic and uncontroversial sentiment like "Congressman X believes Allen Stanford should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law." After all, that's not exactly the kind of story most pols want to leave just hanging out there.

Not Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), though. Over 60 hours after McClatchy reported that Meeks agreed to that request during a 2006 phone call with Stanford, the New York congressman remains mum. His office didn't respond to McClatchy, and his press secretary hasn't returned two voice-mails and email from TPMmuckraker.

Read more »

Health Care

Republican AGs Cycle Through Thin Constitutional Arguments Against Health Bill

Justin Elliott | December 29, 2009, 5:40PM

Attorneys General John Suthers of Colorado and Henry McMaster of South Carolina

The group of Republican state attorneys general waging a public campaign against the Nebraska Medicaid provision in the Senate health bill appear to be scrambling to come up with a valid constitutional argument, already discarding one obscure objection and coming up with two new arguments -- which legal experts say are still flimsy.

When the effort was first announced last week, the Republican AGs  stuck to vague language about the (undisputed) unfairness of the "Cornhusker Kickback." Now, they've begun to do more research, or perhaps get more advice, and the result has been no less than three successive arguments against the measure.

Read more »

House Ethics Committee

Mystery: What's The Focus Of Rep. Stark Ethics Probe?

Justin Elliott | December 29, 2009, 2:25PM

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)

The House Ethics Committee has launched an investigation of longtime Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), but it's staying mum on what the probe is about.

The panel says (.pdf) it will announce its course of action in the case before Feb. 10. The outside Office of Congressional Ethics forwarded Stark's case to the ethics panel in November.

Read more »

Allen Stanford

Stanford's Shady Ties To Lawmakers Under Scrutiny

Zachary Roth | December 29, 2009, 2:16PM

Allen Stanford

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether members of Congress did special favors for Allen Stanford, the Texas banker charged with running a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme, McClatchy reported Sunday.

So what specifically might DOJ - which hasn't confirmed that the probe is underway -- be looking at?

Read more »

Parker Griffith

Former Dem Threatened With Legal Action Over Last-Minute Voter Data Download

Justin Elliott | December 29, 2009, 1:11PM

Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL)

The Alabama Democratic Party is drafting a letter to Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL) threatening legal action if he does not delete voter data the Dems say was improperly accessed by Griffith operatives on the eve of his party switch.

Jim Spearman, executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party, tells TPMmuckraker he plans to send the letter to Griffith and Main Street Strategies, the consulting firm accused of downloading the confidential information, today.

Read more »

The Palins

Levi Johnston Says He Fears 'Extremely Vindictive' Sarah Palin

Justin Elliott | December 29, 2009, 10:03AM

Todd and Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston

"I do not feel protected against Sarah Palin in a closed proceeding."

So says Levi Johnston in an affidavit in the custody fight between him and Bristol Palin that has become public after a judge denied the Palins' request to keep it confidential.

Read more »

Allen Stanford

Special Delivery: Dem Rep Reportedly Takes Stanford's Message To Chavez

Zachary Roth | December 29, 2009, 9:38AM

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)

We've already told you about Rep. Pete Sessions's email to Allen Stanford in the wake of charges being filed against the banker for running a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. "I love you and believe in you," wrote the GOP congressman to the alleged fraudster.

But Stanford may have had an even tighter bond with another member. After all, you have to be pretty close with someone to ask them to carry a message to Hugo Chavez on your behalf. Especially when that message is that you want the Venezuelan president to open a criminal investigation into an associate with whom you've fallen out. But according to McClatchy, that's what Stanford asked Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) to do. And, say the news outlet's sources, Meeks agreed.

Read more »

Birthers

Orly Taitz Seems To Suggest Call To Arms Against Obama

Ben Frumin | December 28, 2009, 7:05PM

Orly Taitz

In a blog post on her website titled "It might be time now," birther queen Orly Taitz seemed to suggest today a call to arms against President Obama.

Read more »

Tea Party Express

Majority Of Tea Party Group's Spending Went To GOP Firm That Created It

Zachary Roth | December 28, 2009, 6:15PM

Tea Party Express strategist Sal Russo

The political action committee behind the Tea Party Express (TPE) -- which already has been slammed as inauthentic and corporate-controlled by rival factions in the Tea Party movement -- directed almost two thirds of its spending during a recent reporting period back to the Republican consulting firm that created the PAC in the first place.

Our Country Deserves Better (OCDB) spent around $1.33 million from July through November, according to FEC filings examined by TPMmuckraker. Of that sum, a total of $857,122 went to Sacramento-based GOP political consulting firm Russo, Marsh, and Associates, or people associated with it.

Read more »

Fraud

AP: 2009 Was The Year Of The Collapsing Ponzi Scheme

Justin Elliott | December 28, 2009, 6:07PM

Bernie Madoff, Scott Rothstein, and Allen Stanford

Over 150 Ponzi schemes collapsed this year, up from just 40 last year, according to a new and, for TPMmuckraker readers, totally unsurprising tally by the AP.

The wire service reports:

Read more »

Romance Among The Birthers

Ex-Ally Blasts Taitz's 'Treachery' To Him, Birther Cause

Justin Elliott | December 28, 2009, 3:00PM

Orly Taitz

Via the Washington Independent: Topping off a very bad year, it appears that Orly Taitz has now lost another ally, a fellow Birther who is claiming he was romantically involved with the married Taitz.

Read more »

Pete Sessions

Sessions: Email To Stanford Was Just Designed 'To Encourage Right Decisions'

Zachary Roth | December 28, 2009, 2:11PM

We told you earlier about the tender email sent in February by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) to Allen Stanford, in which the lawmaker told the accused Ponzi schemer: "I love you and believe in you." We also told you about the lengthy ties between the two men.

Now Sessions's office has provided TPMmuckraker with a statement on the issue. We'll just let it speak for itself:

Read more »

Health Care

Law Prof: GOP State AGs' Objection To Health Bill Is 'Crazy Talk'

Justin Elliott | December 28, 2009, 1:03PM

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster and Sen. Jim Demint (R-SC)

The arguments of a group of Republican state attorneys general who are talking up a constitutional challenge to the "Cornhusker Kickback" provision of the health care bill are "strictly political" and do not have legal merit, a law professor tells TPMmuckraker.

"If a private individual brought the suit, the court might assess a fine for bringing a frivolous suit," says Timothy Jost, a health law specialist at the Washington and Lee University School of Law who favors the reform bill.

Read more »

Allen Stanford

Blame It On Antigua! The Forbidden 'Love' Of Pete Sessions And Allen Stanford

Zachary Roth | December 28, 2009, 12:06PM

Intrigue. Deceit. And forbidden love on a sun-kissed tropical island -- with billions of dollars on the line.

No, this isn't a Danielle Steel bodice-ripper. Or Mark Sanford's latest confession about crossing "the ultimate line". Instead, it's the story of the tangled, high-stakes relationship between Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) and accused Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford.

Read more »

Obama Administration

Obama Promotes Prosecutor Mistreated By Bush DOJ For Wife's Dem Ties

Justin Elliott | December 28, 2009, 9:45AM

William Hochul and Monica Goodling

A career prosecutor whose promotion to Main Justice was quashed by Monica Goodling during the Bush years has been nominated to be a U.S. Attorney, in President Obama's latest reversal of a politicized decision of the Bush Justice Department.

William Hochul, who has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York for nearly 20 years, was nominated to be the U.S. Attorney there last week after a recommendation from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Read more »

Allen Stanford

Pete Sessions To Allen Stanford: 'I Love You And Believe In You'

Zachary Roth | December 28, 2009, 9:03AM

Allen Stanford

Now that's loyalty.

When a top supporter gets busted by the Feds for allegedly running a massive Ponzi scheme, most big-time pols are usually pretty quick to distance themselves. (See Crist, Charlie, for the locus classicus of the genre).

Read more »