Rod Blagojevich

Blago Trial Update: Rahm's 'B.S.' List Of Potential Senate Appointees

Rachel Slajda | June 25, 2010, 6:14PM

Former IL Gov Rod Blagojevich

The corruption trial against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) has been chugging along, with the highlight this week being testimony from Blago's former chief of staff about Rahm Emanuel and President Obama's Senate seat.

Blagojevich's former COS, John Harris, testified that Emanuel sent him a list of people Obama would find acceptable to replace him in the Senate, according to news accounts from the Chicago Tribune and Sun. Blago reportedly called the list "B.S."

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Sue Myrick

GOP Rep: Hezbollah Partners With Drug Cartels To Infiltrate America's Southern Border

Justin Elliott | June 25, 2010, 4:18PM

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC)

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), who we last encountered exposing Muslim intern spies on Capitol Hill and terrorists in the nation's convenience stores, has issued her most startling warning yet: Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, she has come to believe, is partnering with Mexican drug cartels in the U.S. borderlands and may be planning "Israel-like car bombings of Mexican/USA border personnel or National Guard units."

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Myrick calls for a task force "to engage US and Mexican law enforcement and border patrol officials about Hezbollah's presence, activities, and connections to gangs and drug cartels."

Myrick says she has to come believe that Hezbollah is operating on the border because of evidence well, wouldn't that be crazy? She writes:

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Supreme Court

How A Supreme Court Ruling Could Set Corrupt Politicians Free

Justin Elliott | June 25, 2010, 3:40PM

In the wake of Thursday's Supreme Court ruling limiting the scope of a key federal anti-corruption statute, white-collar defense lawyers are salivating at the chance to challenge some of the biggest public corruption cases in recent memory -- from Gov. Don Siegelman in Alabama to Gov. Rod Blagojevich in Illinois to New York state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno to the myriad figures in the Jack Abramoff saga.

As Josh wrote on the editors' blog, the impact of the 6-3 ruling -- with the three dissenting justices going further than the majority and arguing that the law should be struck down entirely -- is likely to be vast.

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BP

How BP's Bob Dudley Got Kicked Out Of Russia

Rachel Slajda | June 25, 2010, 3:08PM

Bob Dudley, right, with Tony Hayward

If you've heard anything about Bob Dudley, the BP managing director who this week took over supervising the Gulf response from CEO Tony Hayward, you've probably heard that he was expelled from Russia in 2008.

So what happened?

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Antonio Villaraigosa

L.A. Mayor Accepted At Least $50K In Free Tickets: Reports

Rachel Slajda | June 25, 2010, 11:02AM

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

Reports in the L.A. Times and the L.A. Weekly show that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has accepted free tickets to around 80 events over the past five years, worth an estimated $50,000 at least.

Villaraigosa has reportedly accepted free tickets to concerts, award shows and sports games without reporting the vast majority of them. The L.A. Weekly estimated -- using a list of events on the mayor's public schedule -- that the tickets total between $50,000 and $100,000, depending on how many tickets he got for each event.

According to the Weekly, the mayor's office kept no documentation of how much the tickets were worth, how many he got for each event, who they came from or how much he received in related freebies like food and drink.

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Al Gore

Anon. Gore Friend To WaPo: Portland Massage Occurred 'Without Incident'

Justin Elliott | June 25, 2010, 10:38AM

Former Vice President Al Gore

The Gore pushback begins?

After the revelation yesterday that a Portland, Oregon, massage therapist accused Al Gore of sexual assault for a 2006 incident, Gore's spokeswoman issued "no comment"s across the board -- including to TPM. But given the woman's extremely detailed account of what she alleges happened -- and the fact that police did not dispute that Gore was in the hotel in question on the night in question, it seemed unlikely that Gore would not respond.

Now, buried in Howard Kurtz's Washington Post media column today, we have a response -- of sorts. Check out this paragraph:

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Sarah Palin

State Investigator: Palin's Legal Defense Fund Was Illegal

Ben Frumin | June 24, 2010, 6:10PM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

The legal defense fund set up for Sarah Palin when she was governor of Alaska was illegal, an investigator for the state's personnel board announced today.

Investigator Timothy Petumenos found that Palin acted in good faith in setting up the legal defense fund -- but that the fund's website improperly used the word "official," implying the then-governor's endorsement. Petumenos' report comes in response to an ethics complaint filed when Palin was governor.

Palin's lawyer said she'll return the money.

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Al Gore

The Gore Allegations: What You Need To Know

Justin Elliott | June 24, 2010, 1:31PM

Former Vice President Al Gore

You've no doubt heard by now about the sexual assault allegations made against Al Gore by a Portland, Oregon massage therapist stemming from a 2006 incident. It's a complicated case, and we've now read the 73-page police report so you don't have to.

A spokeswoman for Gore told us the former vice president has no comment.

[Late 6/25/10 Update: A friend of Gore tells the Washington Post that Gore remembers getting the massage "without incident."]

Here's what we know:

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BP

NYT: BP Moving Ahead With Offshore Alaska Rig Despite Moratorium

Rachel Slajda | June 24, 2010, 11:34AM

The Endicott oil production island in Alaska

The New York Times reports today that BP is moving ahead with a project that would drill a two-mile-deep well off the coast of Alaska. How is BP getting around the moratorium on new offshore drilling? It's building its rig on an island -- a man-made island built by BP -- and declaring it "onshore."

The moratorium was instituted in response to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, a leak BP is legally responsible for. And yet, BP is now the only company allowed to drill a new well in the Arctic.

The moratorium was blocked by a judge, but the Obama administration has challenged the block. Many oil companies are in a holding pattern until the legal challenges are over.

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Meet Anadarko, The Oil Company Struggling To Get Off The Hook For The Gulf Spill

Rachel Slajda | June 24, 2010, 10:53AM

Anadarko CEO James Hackett and a still from the Gulf

You could never imagine BP escaping public notice in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion. And yet one of its partners, Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum has somehow -- despite owning a 25 percent stake in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig -- almost managed to fly under the public's radar.

That is, it did until last Friday, when Anadarko's CEO released a scathing statement declaring BP grossly negligent in the rig's explosion. But why risk the PR exposure? Possibly, Anadarko is looking to limit their legal exposure.

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Gary Brooks Faulkner

Bin Laden Hunter: 'I Put My Life On The Line' (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | June 24, 2010, 10:12AM

Gary Brooks Faulkner

Gary Faulkner, who was arrested this month in Pakistan while searching for Osama bin Laden, gave an interview to CNN yesterday after arriving back in the U.S.

Faulkner, who was found with a gun, a sword, night goggles, and Christian literature, was not charged by Pakistani authorities but instead returned to the U.S. It was his seventh trip to the country, he said, on a hunt for bin Laden.

"How does one go about trying to find Osama bin Laden?" asked the interviewer.

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Kwame Kilpatrick

Feds Charge Ex-Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick Looted Nonprofit To Pay For Yoga Lessons, Summer Camp

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 3:45PM

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Former Democratic Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who just last month was sentenced to at least 18 months in prison for probation violations in Michigan, has been slapped with 19 federal fraud and tax evasion charges in connection with a non-profit whose resources he allegedly raided for personal and campaign expenses.

Between 2003 and 2008, Kilpatrick allegedly received over $640,000 in income in the form of cash and expenses from the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, a non-profit he created to "contribute to the betterment of the lives of youth of Detroit" among other high-minded purposes.

Kilpatrick, who is already in prison for his state case and resigned as mayor amid scandal in 2008, allegedly used the money on the following:

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Hutaree

Appeals Court: Hutaree Must Stay Behind Bars

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 2:54PM

Members of the Hutaree militia: Joshua Stone, Tina Stone, David Stone, Jr. (left-right, top row); Michael Meeks, David Stone, Sr., Joshua Clough (second row); Kristopher Sickles, Jacob Ward, Thomas Piatek (bottom row).

Overturning the ruling of a lower court, a federal appeals court Tuesday ruled that five members of the Hutaree militia, who are accused of plotting to kill police, are a potential danger to the community and cannot be released on bail pending trial.

In May, a U.S District Court judge in Michigan ruled that the Hutaree members were not a flight risk and did not present a threat to the community.

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National Board of Ophthalmology

Colbert Tackles Rand Paul's Rogue Ophthalmology Outfit (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 1:20PM

Stephen Colbert discusses Rand Paul

Last night Stephen Colbert took a look at Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul's dissident ophthalmology re-certification group, which Paul created after a dispute with the national board.

Colbert established his own "USA Board of Ophthalmologist Freedom" to compete with the major existing certifying board, the American Board of Ophthalmology, and the one based at Paul's Kentucky home, the National Board of Ophthalmology. (See TPMmuckraker's coverage of Paul's board here.)

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Brent Furer

Attorney: Vitter Aide Paid His Own 'Minimal' Fees In Assault Case

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 12:01PM

Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

One of the curiosities of the case of the now-former aide to Sen. David Vitter who held his girlfriend hostage during an assault in 2008, is that Brent Furer, on a $47,000-per-year salary, hired one of the top lawyers at one of Washington's fanciest law firms to represent him.

The lawyer, Thomas Kelly of Venable LLP, told TPMmuckraker this morning that the fees in the case were "minimal" -- and that Furer paid.

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David Vitter

Vitter Aide Who Assaulted Girlfriend Resigns

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 10:47AM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

Brent Furer, the aide to Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) who allegedly cut his girlfriend with a knife during a 2008 altercation and has had other run-ins with the law, has resigned after ABC reported on his criminal record, the AP is reporting.

The AP says Vitter "accepted" Furer's resignation.

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John Ensign

Report: Staffers Tell Ethics Panel Ensign Knew He Was Breaking Lobbying Ban

Rachel Slajda | June 23, 2010, 9:47AM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

The Hill reports that staffers for Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) have told the Senate Ethics Committee that their boss knew he was breaking a one-year lobbying ban when he helped a former staffer set himself up as a lobbyist.

In depositions to the committee, Ensign's staffers said several aides openly discussed helping to get lobbying gigs for former staffer Doug Hampton, after Ensign had an affair with Hampton's wife. The aides also discussed that such help apparently violated a one-year ban on Congressional staffers moving to K Street, sources close to the investigation told The Hill.

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Brent Furer

Vitter Continued To Employ Aide Who Slashed Girlfriend, Drove Drunk

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 9:07AM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

It seems that Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) doesn't have the most discriminating standards when it comes to who he employs on his staff: ABC today tells the dark story of Vitter legislative assistant Brent Furer, who was accused in a 2008 criminal case of assaulting his girlfriend with a knife but nevertheless remains on the job at the senator's office.

Furer, who has worked on Vitter's staff since 2005, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor threat and property destruction charges after the January 2008 incident involving him and his girlfriend, Nicolia Demopoulos.

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Jack Abramoff

Jack Abramoff Gets A New Gig

Megan Carpentier | June 22, 2010, 6:42PM

Jack Abramoff

Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, mere months after serving his debt to society for bribing Congressmen and related shenanigans, is making mad dough these days in his new job.

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War In Afghanistan

McChrystal Quote Suggests Flippant View Of Civilian Casualty Policies

Justin Elliott | June 22, 2010, 3:24PM

Gen. Stanley McChrystal and a convoy in Serobi, Afghanistan

One of the hallmarks of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan are new rules of engagement that, whether or not they are effective, are designed to reduce killing of civilians by American planes and soldiers.

That's why it's surprising to see McChrystal quoted in the big Rolling Stone profile seeming to take a decidedly flippant view of those very policies. Greg Sargent and Marcy Wheeler highlighted this passage:

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American Crossroads

Fundraising Group Led By GOP All-Stars Falling Short Of Goals

Eric Lach | June 22, 2010, 11:10AM

Karl Rove, former Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush

American Crossroads, formed by some of the GOP's biggest names with the aim of helping the party win the 2010 midterms, launched a few months ago with an ambitious $52 million fundraising goal. So how much did the group pull in in May? A whopping $200.

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Faisal Shahzad

Attempted Times Square Bomber Pleads Guilty, Denounces U.S. Wars

Justin Elliott | June 21, 2010, 6:25PM

Faisal Shahzad

Faisal Shahzad, the man who tried to set off a crude bomb in Times Square in May, pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan today to weapons and terrorism counts.

The AP reports from the courtroom:

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2010 Census

Census Workers Have Been Attacked By Animals 24 Times, Assaulted 88 Times

Justin Elliott | June 21, 2010, 4:22PM

There were 409 threats or assaults on Census workers making home visits between May and last Friday, 24 of which were animal attacks and 13 of which involved shots fired, according to data given to TPMmuckraker by the Census Bureau.

The Washington Post had a good story Sunday looking at the hazards of Census work. The paper noted that this year has seen more than double the 181 incidents reported last time around, in 2000.

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War In Afghanistan

Blackwater Snags $120 Million Contract In Afghanistan

Justin Elliott | June 21, 2010, 1:51PM

private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Whether or not Erik Prince is fleeing America for the United Arab Emirates, his military contracting company continues to thrive on lucrative government contracts.

The latest: the Obama Administration has awarded Xe, formerly known as Blackwater, with a $120 million contract to provide security for U.S. consulates in Afghanistan. The contract could last as long as 18 months.

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Gregory Meeks

Dem Rep Meeks Failed To Report $50k In Loans

Justin Elliott | June 21, 2010, 10:57AM

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) did not report on his personal financial disclosures over $50,000 in loans from a New York businessman that he used to pay for a large home in the Jamaica section of Queens, the Daily News reports.

Meeks, who has been on TPMmuckraker's radar recently because of a federal probe into his Hurricane Katrina charity, told the News that the loans, for $40,000 in 2007, and $15,000 in 2008, were not reported because of an "oversight."

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Gerald Walpin

Axed IG's Lawsuit Against Obama Administration Thrown Out

Justin Elliott | June 21, 2010, 9:08AM

Gerald Walpin

Gerald Walpin, the AmeriCorps inspector general who sued after being fired by the Obama Administration last year, has lost a round in court, Politico reports.

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