Jack Abramoff

Judge Sets Abramoff Sentencing Date, Investigation May Continue

Andrew Tilghman | June 13, 2008, 6:43PM

So how lenient will Jack Abramoff's judge really be?

He'll find out on Sept. 4, which a judge in Washington today set as his sentencing date.

But don't expect that to be the end of the multi-year investigation of his lobbying ring. The feds expect him to keep up is cooperation, and possibly even testify at some point. Keep in mind that Abramoff has been cooperating from federal prison since he began serving time for his role in the separate fraud case in Florida.

Attorneys in the case came to an interesting agreement this week, according to a joint motion filed in federal court.

While the government anticipates that Mr. Abramoff's cooperation in the form of possible testimony will continue for the foreseeable future, the parties believe that they are in a position to inform the court about the full scope of his misconduct and cooperation, and that, consistent with the commitments in the plea agreement with Mr. Abramoff, sentencing in the near future in this case is appropriate.

Under his plea agreement, Abramoff can expect to receive a jail sentence of 9 1/2 to 11 years, and he is required to make restitution of $26.7 million to the IRS and to the Indian tribes he defrauded.

Scott Bloch

Bloch Pushed Underlings To Counter Negative Press With Comment Posts

Andrew Tilghman | June 13, 2008, 6:33PM

We just learned that the head of the U.S. Office of Special Council, whose office and home were raided by federal agents last month, had a habit of instructing employees to go online and post comments rebutting news stories that he perceived as negative, according to a report from CongressDaily

"That did go on," said a former employee who has been involved in the activity. "Bloch would suggest posting things in the comments section. ... There'd be a negative article about Scott's involvement on something ... and [the] comment would be something like 'This Bloch guy is doing a good job." Two former OSC employees have gone so far as to describe Bloch as thin-skinned and "obsessed" with his press coverage.

Admittedly, Bloch has gotten some bad press in recent years. The man running the office in charge of investigating whistle-blower complaints, Bloch himself came under investigation in 2005 for retaliating against whistle blowers.

Then the feds got involved, suspicious that he was obstructing justice when he had a firm called "Geeks on Call" delete a batch of office emails potentially related to the investigation.

Meanwhile, through it all, Bloch still found time to worry about what everyone is saying about him, especially in his home state.

The employee suggested at least one OSC worker posted comments on the Web sites of such publications as the Washington Post, Topeka Capital-Journal, and the Lawrence Journal World. The two Kansas-based publications have written about Bloch because he is from the state.

In another instance confirmed by CongressDaily, an OSC employee who has not served in the military identified himself as "A Combat Vet" in an online response to a July 13, 2007, article on GovernmentExecutive.com. In the article, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Republicans faulted Bloch for his use of personal e-mail to discuss agency business.

The anonymous posting said news organizations were devoting too little coverage to OSC's enforcement of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which bars discrimination against people based on service in the armed services.

"Where is the coverage of USERRA?" the posting asked. "OSC helped my buddy out when he couldn't get his job back, and it doesn't seem like anybody is checking into how it helps veterans. ... Who the hell cares if Bloch sent an email about congresscritters goofing off and playing pattycake. This USERRA issue is a huge deal for us who served. Does anyone give a crap?"

TPMmuckraker has tracked Bloch's travails pretty closely over the past several months. We don't have any indication his underlings were posting comments here -- but it does make us curious.

EPA

Waxman Threatens Contempt of Congress In EPA Investigation

Andrew Tilghman | June 13, 2008, 2:40PM

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has had enough of the great stonewaller himself, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson.

In a letter today to Johnson, Waxman threatens to hold Johnson in contempt for failing to comply with congressional subpoenas requesting information on two recent controversial decisions by Johnson that overruled EPA's professional staff: his refusal to grant California a waiver to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and his refusal to fully raise ozone standards.

Waxman, the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a similar letter threatening contempt to White House official Susan Dudley, in the Office of Management and Budget, for the White House's refusal to comply with a related subpoena.

You have neither complied with these subpoenas by their returnable date nor asserted any privilege to justify withholding documents from the Committee. In light of your actions, I am writing to inform you that the Committee will meet on June 20 to consider a resolution citing you for contempt of Congress. I strongly urge you to comply with the duly issued subpoenas.

The full text of the letters are here (pdf) and here (pdf).

Curt Weldon

A Joint U.S.-Russian Weapons Company?

Andrew Tilghman | June 13, 2008, 1:56PM

More from Sharon Weinberger over at Wired regarding former Rep. Curt Weldon's ties to Russia.

We learned earlier this week that Weldon's under investigation in what is "an element of a broader U.S. Justice Department probe into what officials suspect are efforts by Russian-backed firms to gain influence or gather information in Washington."

Now Weinberger, who co-wrote a book about nuclear weapons, found this nugget in her notes. In 2006, Weldon told her that he met with Sergey Chemezov, a former KGB officer and then the head of Rosoboronexport, which handles Russian weapons exports.

"Chemezov offers--it's an amazing offer with Putin's support... there are countries in the Middle East that are approaching Russia to buy replacement weapons and spare parts. Chemezov is here to say, "We want to work with America to either establish either a joint company, or even an American company that would act as a front for weapons these nations want to buy. So American would not think we're going behind their back."

Weldon thought it was a great idea.

Today's Must Read

Andrew Tilghman | June 13, 2008, 9:35AM

If the special-rate Countrywide loan that led to Jim Johnson's resignation from Barack Obama's VP screening team was shady, then there's a few other Washington insiders who may have some explaining to do.

A new article from Portfolio rattles off a list of top Washington officials, current and former, who also received discounted loans because they were personally approved by Countywide Financial's top exec Angelo Mozilo.

Senators Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide's "V.I.P." program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents and emails and a former employee familiar with the loans.

Other participants in the V.I.P. program included former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke. Jackson was deputy H.U.D. secretary in the Bush administration when he received the loans in 2003. Shalala, who received two loans in 2002, had by then left the Clinton administration for her current position as president of the University of Miami. She is scheduled to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom on June 19.

The loans translate into money saved. For example, in Dodd's case, Portfolio calculates that "the lower rates save the senator about $58,000 on his Washington residence over the life of the loan, and $17,000 on the Connecticut home."

In the case of Conrad, he saved about $10,700 on a loan he took out for his $1.07 million home in Bethany Beach, Del. He also took out a loan on an investment property when he refinanced an eight-unit building he owns with his brothers in Bismarck, ND. That violated Countrywide's normal rules about only providing those loans for buildings of four units or fewer. However, "in an April 23, 2004, email, Mozilo encouraged an employee to 'make an exception due to the fact that the borrower is a senator.'"

Read more »

Defense Department

Russian Group Had $97M Deal With U.S. Missile Defense Agency

Andrew Tilghman | June 12, 2008, 4:39PM

The other day we told you about the Russian not-for-profit group that was giving undisclosed payments to the wife of former Rep. Curt Weldon's chief of staff.

Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican who lost his reelection bid in 2006, had sought federal grants for International Exchange Group, which was run by a Russian with ties to the Kremlin. IEG was involved in "promoting U.S.-Russia business exchange, including nonproliferation issues."

IEG popped up again this week. Over at Wired Sharon Weinberger, who recently co-wrote a book about nuclear weapons, pointed out another connection the group had to the U.S. government.

IEG signed a deal with the U.S. military's Missile Defense Agency back in 2004 promising to provide "Russian radar data" for use with the U.S. missile defense's early warning system.

From Wired:

But the entire structure of IEG was suspect, and smacked of conflict of interest: why should the U.S. government have to pay an openly Kremlin-linked nonprofit in order to ensure government cooperation?

It didn't pass the smell test with upper-level decision makers at the Pentagon, who halted the 2004 deal at the last minute.

Weldon's connection here is unclear. But he has promoted the Russian group and he's also a longtime supporter for the Defense Missile Agency.

Weldon has been under federal investigation for a couple of years concerning his actions on behalf of a natural-gas company, Itera International Energy LLC, which has longstanding connections to alleged Russian organized-crime figures. Weldon just dumped his last $80,000 in campaign money into his legal defense fund.

And the Wall Street Journal reported this week, the probe of Weldon may be "a broader U.S. Justice Department probe into what officials suspect are efforts by Russian-backed firms to gain influence or gather information in Washington."

Jack Abramoff

Report On Abramoff's White House Influence Approved

Andrew Tilghman | June 12, 2008, 12:12PM

Now it's official. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted this morning to formalize the draft report that detailed convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's influence peddling at the White House.

Detainees

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Gitmo Detainees

Andrew Tilghman | June 12, 2008, 10:27AM

From the AP:

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts.

The justices handed the Bush administration its third setback at the high court since 2004 over its treatment of prisoners who are being held indefinitely and without charges at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. The vote was 5-4, with the court's liberal justices in the majority.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, said, "The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times."

Late Update: The court did not say that the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay should be released.

It did, however, say that they can take their individual cases -- or petitions of habeas corpus -- into federal court.

Plain, old federal court. So you can expect to see a sudden, steady stream of accused terrorists in orange jumpsuits appearing alongside drug dealers and kiddie-porn downloaders.

The ruling could resurrect many detainee lawsuits that federal judges put on hold pending the outcome of the high court case. The decision sent judges, law clerks and court administrators scrambling to read Kennedy's 70-page opinion and figure out how to proceed. Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth said he would call a special meeting of federal judges to address how to handle the cases.

Is this the end of secret prisons?

Today's Must Read

Andrew Tilghman | June 12, 2008, 10:15AM

Does liking porn disqualify a judge from hearing a porn case?

Maybe so, in the case of Judge Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Kozinski -- who is just one rung below the U.S. Supreme Court -- yesterday delayed the obscenity trial he was presiding over of Hollywood adult filmmaker Ira Isaacs, whose work includes scenes of bestiality and defecation. (Although Kozinski is an appeals court judge, he was sitting as the trial judge in this case.)

The Los Angles Times found the judge had a Web site with some pretty freakish scenes of his own, which he was sharing with friends and family.

Among the images on the site were a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows and a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal. He defended some of the adult content as "funny" but conceded that other postings were inappropriate.

Kozinski, 57, said that he thought the site was for his private storage and that he was not aware the images could be seen by the public, although he also said he had shared some material on the site with friends.

When a reporter from the Times asked the judge about the images, "the judge said he didn't think any of the material on his site would qualify as obscene."

"Is it prurient? I don't know what to tell you," he said. "I think it's odd and interesting. It's part of life."

He has since taken the site down.

Kozinski, appointed by President Regean in 1985, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court. He is considered a judicial conservative on most issues.

When it comes to matters of porn and computer privacy, Kozinski is no hypocrite.

In September 2001, Kozinski was a fierce opponent of any effort by Washington bureaucrats to monitor his computer, prompting Leonidas Ralph Mecham, the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, to remark to the New York Times that "Kozinski had shown 'great interest in keeping pornography available to judges,' especially of what Mr. Mecham called 'the more homosexual and exotic varieties.'"

Judge Kozinski said Mr. Mecham's comment about ''homosexual'' Web sites appeared to refer to an incident in 1998 when one of his law clerks downloaded a Web site for a San Francisco gay bookstore and the Administrative Office complained. ''I don't think we need bureaucrats in Washington looking over our shoulders for this kind of thing,'' Judge Kozinski said.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco has a long tradition of being the country's most liberal. It's backed medical marijuana and struck the words "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance.

Jack Abramoff

Targeting Sweeney's Wife Fits Abramoff Pattern

Andrew Tilghman | June 11, 2008, 7:00PM

So the feds are not only looking into former Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY), but also his ex-wife?

That's sure how it looks, since they subpoenaed files about Sweeney and the fundraising firm run by his wife, Gayle Ford Sweeney - who was married to the upstate New York Republican until shortly after he left office in 2006.

As speculation mounts that John Sweeney is the latest target in Jack Abramoff's lobbying ring, the New York Times noted that Abramoff investigators have found a pattern of money funneled to Congressional spouses.

Take Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA). The FBI raided his house last year and he's opting not to run for reelection. Doolittle's wife, Julie, was running a one-person company that got large payments from campaign funds and PACs run by Doolittle. In addition, Abramoff's firm paid Doolittle's wife, Julie, $67,600 to plan an event that was ultimately canceled.

Or look at Tom Delay, the former Rep. from Texas. His wife was running a group called the Delay Foundation for Kids. It's donors? Well, whaddya know. They were a diverse set of special interest who appeared to be seeking favors from Tom Delay.

Sweeney's wife was campaign and fundraising consultant who got a cut of the money raised for her husband.

She was also taking a salary from Sweeney's friend and lobbyist Bill Powers's firm. And she left Sweeney just a few months after voters kicked him out of office.

We'll be interested in hear what the feds find in all that paperwork.

Jack Abramoff

Questions About Sweeney's Ties to Abramoff Go Back Years

Andrew Tilghman | June 11, 2008, 3:53PM

The Jack Abramoff investigation is a gift that keeps on giving.

Nearly three years after the feds flipped the corrupt Washington lobbyist, we've learned just today that former U.S. Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY) may be the next lawmaker in the cross hairs of the feds' ongoing investigation.

Sweeney's ties to Abramoff over the years may have been overshadowed by Sweeney's more colorful scandals that repeatedly involved booze and women half his age.

In 2001, Sweeney was among a handful of lawmakers who took a trip to the Northern Marianas -- Abramoff's infamous client -- and failed to disclose that the trip was privately funded. While there he parroted Abramoff's favorite line -- that reports of sweatshops there were overblown.

In March 2006, DOJ investigators pulled some of Sweeney's financial records from the House clerk and reviewed them along with a handful of others linked to Abramoff.

Back then, when records showed Sweeney had taken $2,000 from Abramoff's firm, he gave that money away to a local hospital to publicly cleanse himself of ties to the convicted felon.

With the latest news that the feds have raided the firm of Sweeney's political mentor, Bill Powers, has the Abramoff investigation zeroed in on Sweeney? The New York Times suggested as much today, but it cited no source for that proposition. So it's not immediately clear what the connection is between Sweeney and Powers and Abramoff. Powers was a chairman of the state GOP throughout the 1990s, and Sweeney was one of his executive directors before being elected to Congress. The New York papers are reporting Sweeney may have steered big federal grants to Powers' clients while Sweeney was still in Congress.

By the way, Sweeney's then wife (now ex-wife) went to work for Powers' firm a few years after he was elected to Congress, and left the firm shortly after he lost his reelection bid. More on that shortly.

John Sweeney

Feds Raid Albany Lobbying Firm, Target of Probe is Former Rep. John Sweeney

Andrew Tilghman | June 11, 2008, 12:00PM

We've enjoyed cataloging the dubious record of former Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY).

Maybe he's best known for helping to instigate the "Brooks Brothers Riot" with other Republicans during the Florida recount in December 2000.

Yet at home in upstate New York, he has also been accused of beating his wife, getting conspicuously drunk with college kids, drunk driving and taking free trips from Jack Abramoff.

Now he may be getting roped directly into the Jack Abramoff investigation, as the feds are looking into whether he steered a series of grants to his longtime friend and lobbyist Bill Powers, an elder statesmen of the New York State GOP.

The New York Times reports:

Federal law enforcement agents have raided the offices of an influential lobbying firm in Albany as part of the latest investigation connected to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal in Washington.

The Times provides no source for the Abramoff link. Other reports do not explicity tie in the raid with Abramoff, but note the DOJ investigation is run from Washington rather than Albany.

From the Albany Times Union

A federal criminal investigation is focusing on the relationship of lobbyist William D. Powers and former U.S. Rep. John E. Sweeney in connection with a series of federal grants that were steered to Powers' clients, according to several people familiar with the probe.
...

Several people familiar with the case said it is centered on a period when Powers' clients received the earmarks while Sweeney's then-wife, Gayle, was working for Powers' Albany-based lobbying firm.

The FBI swarmed the Albany office of the lobbying firm run by Powers, a former head of the New York Republican Party and longtime patron to both Sweeney and former New York Gov. George Pataki.

Double-parking their cars, about 15 agents descended on the State Street suite of the former party official, William Powers, and herded the employees into a room while the agents searched for files.

Sweeney appears to be getting most of the investigators' attention. The New York Daily News reports:

The agents issued grand jury subpoenas for records about the firm; ex-Republican Rep. John Sweeney; Sweeney's campaign committee and leadership PAC; Sweeney's ex-wife, Gayle, who worked for Powers; and Gayle Sweeney's former fund-raising firm, Creative Consulting. The Daily News obtained copies of the subpoenas and the FBI confirmed being at the offices.

Abramoff is set for sentencing in September. Does this suggest that three-year-old investigation still has legs?

Dusty Foggo

Judge Refuses to Let Former CIA Spy Take European Vacation

Andrew Tilghman | June 10, 2008, 5:31PM

Indicted CIA spook Kyle "Dusty" Foggo wants to get away for a little while, to travel with his wife and two kids on a five-week vacation to Austria this summer.

Unfortunately for the former CIA executive director, he has a couple dozen felony charges against him that remain unresolved, accusing him of fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements.

So when Foggo asked U.S. District Judge James Cacheris of Virginia to give him back his passport and let him leave the country, the judge last week flat-out rejected him.

Not that Foggo's attorneys didn't try to make the case:

"Mr. Foggo has served the U.S. government with distinction for 23 years in the Central Intelligence Agency ("CIA") and prior to his indictment had no criminal record."

(They added in a footnote, however, that "the details of nearly all aspects of Mr. Foggo's distinguished service to this country are classified, including honors and awards received.")

Prosecutors in the case opposed Foggo's request, noting the risk that the former spy could simply not return to stand trial in the U.S. He's currently out of jail on a $200,000 bond.

"There is no family emergency that necessitates his travel. ... Foggo acknowledges that the European vacation he wishes to take is strictly elective."

They also said the request seemed pricey, considering Foggo had claimed he was too poor to stand trial in the initial venue on the West Coast.

A five-week European vacation for Foggo and his entire family - especially given current foreign exchange rates - also seems inconsistent with Foggo's prior argument in favor of transferring this case from the Southern District of California, where Foggo maintained that he was too impoverished to try this (three-week) case.

A lot has changed since Foggo used to allegedly get free trips to Scotland and Hawaii, compliments of Brent Wilkes, the friend and contractor who got multimillion-dollar Iraq-related contracts with Foogo's help.

Curt Weldon

Weldon's Staffer's Wife Took Money from Weldon's Associate

Andrew Tilghman | June 10, 2008, 1:32PM

The federal corruption probe of former Rep. Curt Weldon's office is grinding on. Turns out one of the Russian businessmen the Pennsylvania Republican was promoting was giving undisclosed payments to his chief of staff's wife.

The chief of staff, Russell Caso, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in December, but the actual source of the cash given to his wife was not identified. Today's Wall Street Journal reports that the money came from a group called the International Exchange Group, run by Vladimir Petrosyan.

The not for profit group paid $19,000 to Caso's wife, mostly for editing work that was never done. The Journal reports that Petrosyan, a prominent Russian with ties to the Kremlin, was a fixture around Weldon's office on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Petrosyan, who was the "general secretary" of the group, "met frequently and sought official action from" then-Rep. Weldon, the Caso plea statement alleges. Mr. Weldon directed Mr. Caso to seek U.S. government backing for projects involving biological and chemical weapons and he "made presentations to various executive branch agencies, including to high-level officials in the Departments of State and Energy and the National Security Council."

Read more »

Scott McClellan

McClellan to Testify in Congress

Andrew Tilghman | June 9, 2008, 4:49PM

Scott McClellan will go to Capitol Hill to testify next week about his allegation that Vice President Cheney "directed" him to lie about who leaked CIA a operative's identity.

From AP:

McClellan's lawyers said he has accepted House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers' invitation to testify June 20. The attorneys said McClellan will appear and be sworn during the proceedings.

McClellan said he was misled by others, possibly including Cheney, about the role of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in the leak and has said publicly that Bush and Cheney "directed me to go out there and exonerate Scooter Libby."

Jack Abramoff

White House Aides Sought "Fruits" for their Abramoff Labors

Andrew Tilghman | June 9, 2008, 2:15PM

The term "fruit" was used as a code word for tickets to sporting events or concerts between Jennifer Farley, former White House Associate Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Kevin Ring, a lobbyist for Jack Abramoff's firm, according to today's draft report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

On December 12, 2002, Ms. Farley asks Mr. Ring, "Do you have any kind of fruit tonight?" Mr. Ring responds, "No games tonight." In another e-mail exchange about an issue of interest to one of Mr. Ring's clients, Ms. Farley stated, "Let me know about the fruit in the middle of the basket." Mr. Ring responded, "The fruit is going to happen. Just trying to make sure it is picked on the right day."

In another email, Ring asked: "All set to use the fruit on a new date?"

Abramoff's team of lobbyists and White House officials often shared dinner, drinks and good stadium seats, according to the report. Records from Abramoff's firm obtained by the committee show that his team members met with White House officials over meals or drinks 186 times, billing the firm's clients for these meetings on 156 occasions. Many meetings took place at "expensive Washington restaurants such as Oceanaire, Bistro Bis, and the Oval Room."

Who exactly picked up the tab? That's still pretty hazy.

In most cases, the documents and billing records did not provide any evidence as to whether the White House officials paid for their share of the meals and drinks. ... The Committee in many cases also could not reach any conclusion about who paid for the meals and tickets.

However, the Committee's 32-page report did feel compelled to note that:

The acceptance of meals and gifts by White House officials would raise concerns about White House officials' compliance with federal laws regarding the solicitation and acceptance of gifts.

At least three White House officials refused to answer some questions from the Committee and instead invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Susan Ralston, Karl Rove's then-personal assistant who had previously held a similar position with Abramoff, requested tickets to seven events and was given tickets to nine, including Wizards, Capitals, and Orioles games, as well as concerts by Bruce Springsteen and Andrea Bocelli, according to documents from Abramoff's firm obtained by the committee.

When asked about that, Ralston "did not answer these questions and indicated that she would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights if compelled to respond," according to the committee report.

Matt Kirk, the former Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, also refused to answer any questions from the committee. Documents from Abramoff's firm obtained by the committee show he was given tickets to a Wizards game and to the NCAA basketball tournament.

Abramoff's firm had 27 contacts with Farley. She was provided with "fruits" to three events, two Orioles games and a Yanni concert, the firm's records show.

Ms. Farley's attorney told the Committee that Ms. Farley would not respond to questions on the following subjects: "First, what benefits she may or may not have been offered; and, two, any communications between Ms. Farley and any member of the so-called Abramoff team."

The report also mentions Ken Mehlman, former Bush campaign manager and RNC chairman. The firm's documents say the Abramoff team had designated tickets for Mr. Mehlman for a U2 concert in June 2001. The Committee sent Mehlman a letter asking about the concent and it got no response.

In his interview with the Committee, Mr. Mehlman said that he did not respond to this letter on the advice of his attorney. Mr. Mehlman also indicated that he did not recall having accepted tickets from the Abramoff team to the June 15, 2001, U2 concert, and said, "My recollection is that I didn't attend. I don't think I attended." He further stated: "I've been to a lot of concerts. I've been to U2 concerts. ... I don't remember going to that concert."

Jack Abramoff

McCain Camp: Advisor Linked to Abramoff No Longer with Campaign

Andrew Tilghman | June 9, 2008, 2:01PM

John McCain's campaign has taken down a web page that listed lobbyist Carlos Bonilla as an economic advisor.

Bonilla, a former special assistant to the president for economic policy, was included in today's report about White House ties with Jack Abramoff as one of the White House officials who received tickets from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's firm.

A McCain aide said Bonilla was dropped from the campaign a few weeks ago when McCain implemented a tougher conflict-of-interest policy barring most active lobbyists from his team. Bonilla is a senior vice president with the Washington Group.

Campaign workers thought they had already removed the web page, the aide said. It was removed after the page was brought to the campaign's attention by TPMmuckraker.

Bonilla joined the McCain campaign in July 2007. He did not return a phone call for comment today.

Today's Must Read

Andrew Tilghman | June 9, 2008, 10:09AM

The system designed to keep corporate cash from secretly slipping into the hands of doctors who do highly influential medical research isn't working very well.

Even at the nation's top institutions - such as Harvard - and affecting the most vulnerable populations - children with psychiatric problems.

A front-page story in Sunday's New York Times reports that a Congressional probe found some top child psychiatrists earning more than $1 million in often undisclosed consulting fees from drug firms.

What's most troubling about the investigation is that the these individual doctors and their public advocacy for certain drugs for mentally ill children "has helped fuel an explosion in the use of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children."

Dr. [Joseph] Biederman is one of the most influential researchers in child psychiatry and is widely admired for focusing the field's attention on its most troubled young patients. Although many of his studies are small and often financed by drug makers, his work helped to fuel a controversial 40-fold increase from 1994 to 2003 in the diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder, which is characterized by severe mood swings, and a rapid rise in the use of antipsychotic medicines in children. The Grassley investigation did not address research quality.

Biederman, who works at Harvard Medical School's department of psychiatry, received $1.6 million in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007 but for years did not report much of this income to university officials, according to information given congressional investigators.

While there are rules for disclosing such payments, there's virtually no enforcement of those guidelines.

"It's really been an honor system thing," said Dr. Robert Alpern, dean of Yale School of Medicine. "If somebody tells us that a pharmaceutical company pays them $80,000 a year, I don't even know how to check on that."

While the probe, led by Sen. Charles Grassley, (R-IA) is scrutinizing the system for disclosing such payments, there is no effort to examine whether these payments may have influenced the doctors' research.

As the Times notes: "The Grassley investigation did not address research quality."

Controlling for bias is especially important in such work, given that the scale is subjective, and raters often depend on reports from parents and children, several top psychiatrists said.

More broadly, they said, revelations of undisclosed payments from drug makers to leading researchers are especially damaging for psychiatry.

"The price we pay for these kinds of revelations is credibility, and we just can't afford to lose any more of that in this field," said Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, executive director of the Stanley Medical Research Institute, which finances psychiatric studies. "In the area of child psychiatry in particular, we know much less than we should, and we desperately need research that is not influenced by industry money.