« previous | MUCK HOME | next »
The Daily Muck
House Committee Asks for More Records of Political Briefings
Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif) of the House Oversight and Government reform Committee “asked 27 federal departments and agencies yesterday to turn over information related to White House briefings about elections or political candidates, substantially widening the scope of a congressional investigation into the administration's compliance with the law that restricts partisan political activity by government employees. (Washington Post)
Special Council Steps Up White House Investigation
“Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch met with White House Counsel Fred F. Fielding on Thursday as he pushed ahead with an ambitious inquiry into White House political operations.” Bloch and Fielding “set up procedures that his agency would use to investigate the firing of at least one U.S. attorney, missing White House e-mails and the distribution of political information to Cabinet agencies." (LA Times)
Frist Escapes Insider-Trading Charges
“The Securities and Exchange Commission has decided not to file insider-trading charges against former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in connection with the sales of stock in the hospital chain his family owns, The Washington Post reported Friday. An 18-month investigation by the SEC staff and the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York ended without action against the Tennessee Republican, the Post reported.” (USA Today)
Administration Targeted Minnesota US Attorney
“The Bush administration considered firing the former U.S. attorney in Minnesota, but he left his job voluntarily before the list of attorneys to be ousted was completed, two congressional aides said Thursday. Congressional investigators probing the firings of eight U.S. attorneys saw Thomas Heffelfinger's name on a version of the list that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, began assembling in early 2005. Heffelfinger left in February 2006, more than nine months before the Justice Department agreed on a final list of prosecutors to remove.” (McClatchy)
Rep. Feeney’s Scotland Trip Linked to Abramoff
“U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney's controversial golf trip to Scotland in 2003 apparently was paid for by a foundation that Senate investigators described as a "slush fund" used by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The foundation's connection is included among thousands of pages of Senate records and is the first evidence of who apparently paid for the trip, which has sparked an FBI probe. (Orlando Sentinel)
Earmarked $10 Million Linked to Rep’s Campaign Cash
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, may have earmarked $10 million in the federal transportation bill for a study of an obscure Florida interchange in part due to some well-timed campaign contributions. In just one day, two weeks after a fundraiser in Estero, Young recorded $41,750 in donations, including at least one from a land-owner who stands to benefit from the interchange. (Naples Daily News)
Ex- US Attorney Carol Lam Wins Bar Award
“Carol Lam, one of eight former U.S. attorneys across the country whose dismissals have ignited a political firestorm and calls for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, has been named outstanding attorney of the year by the San Diego County Bar Association, the organization announced Wednesday afternoon. Andy Albert, the association's immediate past president, said the decision to give Lam what the association calls its "most prestigious" award was not a political one.” (North County Times)
Witness Turned Down Request to Kill Gus Boulis
“A potential witness in the Konstantinos ''Gus'' Boulis gang-like slaying case said he was offered $100,000 to gun down the Miami Subs founder and SunCruz owner, court records show.” The witness declined the offer, but the Miami Subs founder and SunCruz owner was later murdered while leaving his Fort Lauderdale office. Boulis had sold SunCruz to Jack Abramoff and Adam Kidan -- both are in prison. (Miami Herald)
Comments (10)
bobh wrote on April 27, 2007 10:57 AM:Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) said yesterday that the Bush administration and Republicans are not doing enough politically in Iraq and that he and fellow presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) have been in talks about introducing a bill that would call for partitioning Iraq into three states.
Speaking to reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Brownback also offered a couple nods to social conservatives, saying he would now vote against the Senate-passed immigration bill that he supported last year and that as president he would not impose his opposition to the death penalty.
Brownback said he met with Vice President Cheney and others last week to discuss his and Biden’s plan but that the administration is not devoting sufficient attention to a political solution to the problems in Iraq. Instead, he said, it is relying too heavily on force and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
“They have a strategy, and it’s dominated by military and Maliki,” he said.
Brownback and Biden’s idea would split Iraq into Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite states under a weak central government. Asked if the administration was interested in hearing about the idea, Brownback hesitated noticeably before remarking, “They’re interested in hearing some about it.
“I think the Republican Party, in this case, has pushed too much of just a military solution,” Brownback said. “I don’t think the Democrats are much interested in talking now that they see the political advantage of where they are. The solution involves both of these answers.”
The third-term Republican said he has been working with Biden, who originally championed the three-state idea, about putting together a resolution that would codify their proposal.
He said he hopes that they can introduce something before the pending troop-funding bill collides with a probable presidential veto, but noted Biden hasn’t committed to anything in their preliminary discussions.
Talking at length about immigration, Brownback said that now he would not vote for the immigration bill co-authored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), despite voting for it last May. He said the dialogue that ensued after its passage raised red flags on issues like chain migration.
The bill sought to provide illegal immigrants in the United States with a pathway to citizenship. All senators running for president and almost all who were considering bids at that point voted for the bill.
“What we got through was what we could get through the Senate to move the process on forward,” Brownback said. “There were a number of things in it that I don’t think were good.”
On the death penalty, Brownback said he would not enforce his personal view and move to restrict its use if he becomes president. He calls himself “pro-life, whole-life,” and only believes in capital punishment in cases where society cannot be protected from the perpetrator — someone like Osama bin Laden, he said.
“I think it is tough for us, as a state, to teach a culture of life and still use this tool of death,” Brownback said. “That’s where I have difficulty with it, but I’m not going to be pushing it on an aggressive basis.”
Brownback has built his candidacy on social conservatism, suggesting the frontrunners for the Republican nomination do not appeal to the GOP base. The death penalty and his immigration vote are two things that could jeopardize his standing among the social conservatives who dominate that base.
Similar to Brownback’s death penalty nod, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is leading in the national polls despite his socially liberal views, has pledged to appoint strict-constructionist judges.
Trailing badly in those polls and usually only garnering a couple percentage points, Brownback characterized himself as “the tortoise” in the race, and urged social conservatives not to write him off.
At the same breakfast two weeks ago, three prominent social conservatives — Gary Bauer of American Values, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Mark Earley of the Prison Fellowship — were dismissive of Brownback and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), who are lagging far behind in the polls and fundraising.
“I’d invite them to hold the fire,” Brownback said. “This is way early, and let’s see how some of this develops. … Gives us a chance to have a campaign.”
-------
If that wingnut is out publicly against Bush he must believe bush is not long for this world.
C 92 wrote on April 27, 2007 11:04 AM:It appears as though the Department of Justice is withholding over a hundred key e-mails:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FIRED_PROSECUTORS?SITE=NCFAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-04-27-04-24-07
"...WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department released a list of internal documents Thursday focusing on lawmakers' concerns and media questions about the firings of eight federal prosecutors, but the department resisted congressional demands for copies of the memos.
The list of 159 e-mails and memos, spanning nearly three months, at the least demonstrates concern about how the dismissals were being publicly received before they erupted into a firestorm that has resulted in calls for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.
The small pile of documents, sent to Capitol Hill on Thursday night, also included e-mails about articles published in The Washington Post and The New York Times that quoted unidentified Justice officials justifying the firings. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said congressional investigators requested those two stories to determine who the unidentified officials were..."
C 92 wrote on April 27, 2007 11:07 AM:Whatever happened to the investigation about day trading going on in Tom DeLay's and Bill Frist's offices?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/19/17445/7449
bobh wrote on April 27, 2007 11:08 AM:its being sat on of course
phil james wrote on April 27, 2007 12:39 PM:Can we all just stipulate to the fact that the Bloch "investigation" of Hatch Act violations by Rove and his minions will produce a finding that (as Dana Perino put it) the breifings were "appropriate, legal, and ethical" and stop reporting on this charade? You can pick it up again if it startles the world and actually finds otherwise. You can pick up my next 3 months salary in that event as well.
phil james wrote on April 27, 2007 12:54 PM:Anybody know if the USA for the Southern District of NY is a graduate of Regent University?
Barbara wrote on April 27, 2007 1:52 PM:In response to Phil James' question I looked up Michael J. Garcia on Wikepedia. It says his degrees are from the State University of NY at Binghamton (BA), College of William and Mary (MA), and Albany University Law School at Union University (Juris Doctor)
mac2151 wrote on April 27, 2007 2:46 PM:As per the post on Don Young & the Daniel Aranoff land earmark :
Stanley Aranoff is the former President of the Ohio Senate and was an investor with Tom Noe in Games Inc.
phil james wrote on April 27, 2007 4:37 PM:Thanks Barbara. Sounds legit. I don't know why I would be so skeptical about US Attorneys and their refusal to issue indictments against Republican politicians. Maybe I'm just having a bad week.
Herb wrote on April 27, 2007 7:00 PM:Oy vey!