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The Daily Muck
Part IV of the Washington Post’s profile of Dick Cheney arrives today, with a focus on his interest in the environment. In 2001, Cheney reached down the chain of command to overturn the EPA in the case of the Klamath River; his intervention privileged the farmers and ranchers over government scientists in a hotly contested election state. (Washington Post)
Several complaints have surfaced recently that the Justice Department, which is tasked with documenting other agencies' progress in enforcing the Freedom of Information Act, produced reports that seriously overstated government-wide success in compliance. (Think Progress)
An institute director for the National Institute of Health has been found in gross violation of conflict-of-interest guidelines for, among other things, not divesting his holdings in biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks. (Washington Post)
The increasingly bizarre trial of ex-Governor Don Siegelman (D-AR) continued yesterday, with the judge assigning the prosecution two days to present sentencing evidence and the assigning the defense one day to counter. (Harper’s)
Fred Thompson hopes to become the first federally registered lobbyist ever elected President. While many worry how the nature of lobbyist work, particularly for the tobacco company Philip Morris, would affect his managerial style, Thompson has shrugged off the concerns and reaffirmed the importance and prevalence of lobbying. (Huffington Post, Associated Press)
The CIA released yesterday its “family jewels” of CIA misconduct over the past few decades; here are a few highlights. Via War and Piece, Bob Woodward offers his commentary on the situation. (Associated Press, Washington Post)
A deal that would require the electronic filing of all campaign finance forms from senators has once again been stymied, but hope still exists that the bill will eventually make it to the floor. (Roll Call)
The California GOP is in hot water for placing a Canadian immigrant in a senior director position, as FEC law prohibits foreign nationals from any involvement with campaign finances and decision. (ABC’s The Blotter)
Layers of bureaucratic legislation around the issue of ethics reform have provided two Senate aides who left office last fall have followed very different paths; although virtually similar cases, one is allowed to lobby his former colleagues immediately, while the other has heavy restrictions against him. (Congressional Quarterly)
The White House looks likely to nominate Thomas O’Brien, a career prosecutor, as U.S. Attorney for Central California. O’Brien would replace George Cardona, the final interim appointment made before Bush signed the restored Patriot Act. (Associated Press)
The White House acknowledged Bush’s mistake yesterday in calling the Senate immigration bill amnesty. Bush has assiduously denied that the bill offers amnesty to illegal immigrants. (LA Times)
Comments (8)
Rusty wrote on June 27, 2007 10:30 AM:"Bush’s mistake yesterday in calling the Senate immigration bill amnesty. Bush has assiduously denied that the bill offers amnesty to illegal immigrants. "
Damn that's funny. Good luck sneaking that one past the base.
Billy Pilgrim wrote on June 27, 2007 10:47 AM:Rusty
No problem there. The content of speech isn't important for leading sheep. Hand signals are sufficient.
Rusty wrote on June 27, 2007 10:55 AM:Billy,
If you have any room, I too am ready to become unstuck in time.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on June 27, 2007 11:02 AM:Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle asked why the DOJ gave Griles a very favorable deal in exchange for his guilty plea and no cooperation.
Why indeed. According to Prosecutor Armando Bonilla, prosecutors had planned to indict Griles on multiple felony counts.
What happened?
After reading about how Cheney contacted Sue Wooldridge in the Klamath River case, someone ought to start asking if Dick Cheney interjected himself in the Griles case.
Sue Wooldridge is married to Steve Griles.
From the WaPo:
"Before she left the Bush administration Wooldridge transferred from the DOI to the DOJ where she signed off on a settlement agreement that let ConocoPhillips delay the installation of pollution-control equipment and the payment of fines."
According to today's WaPo, Cheney fought against pollution-control equipment.
Sue Wooldridge did a stellar job for Cheney on the Kalmath River case and her work on the ConocoPhillips case must have made Cheney happy.
Putting aside anything Griles did as the #2 at the DOI to make Cheney, Wooldridge certainly had the creds as a Cheney star to ask him for help with her boyfriend's legal problems.
Maybe Conyers or Leahy should ask Prosecutor Armando Bonilla why the DOJ dropped multiple felony charges against Griles and why Griles was not required to cooperate in the investigation as part of his plea agreement.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on June 27, 2007 11:39 AM:I mixed up a reference to Wooldridge in a WaPo editorial in my comment above.
From the 2/17/07 WaPo editorial,"Cozy at the Beach":
"IT'S THE KIND of story that seems to confirm everything people believe is sleazy about the way Washington works. Last March, Sue Ellen Wooldridge, then the head of the Justice Department's environmental division, bought a $1 million vacation home with Don R. Duncan, the top lobbyist for oil company ConocoPhillips. Nine months later, Ms. Wooldridge signed off on a settlement agreement that let ConocoPhillips delay the installation of pollution-control equipment and the payment of fines.
Just to make matters cozier, the third owner of the beach house is J. Steven Griles, the former No. 2 official at the Interior Department who's now the target of a Justice Department criminal investigation into his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Oh, and Ms. Wooldridge, who lives with Mr. Griles, once worked with him at Interior, where she gave Mr. Griles ethics advice and defended his actions during an inspector general investigation...."
From today's WaPo story about Cheney and the environment, "Leaving No Tracks":
"Sue Ellen Wooldridge, the 19th-ranking Interior Department official, arrived at her desk in Room 6140 a few months after Inauguration Day 2001. A phone message awaited her.
"This is Dick Cheney," said the man on her voice mail, Wooldridge recalled in an interview. "I understand you are the person handling this Klamath situation. Please call me at -- hmm, I guess I don't know my own number. I'm over at the White House."...
That's what happened when a mortified Wooldridge finally returned the vice president's call, after receiving a tart follow-up inquiry from one of his aides. Cheney, she said, "was coming from the perspective that the farmers had to be able to farm -- that was his concern. The fact that the vice president was interested meant that everyone paid attention."
Cheney made sure that attention did not wander. He had Wooldridge brief his staff weekly and, Smith said, he also called the interior secretary directly..."
From yesterday's AP story about the Griles sentencing:
"...Second in rank only to then-Secretary Gale Norton, Griles effectively was Interior's chief operating officer between 2001 and 2005 and its top representative on Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force.
Under his plea deal with prosecutors, the Justice Department recommended he serve five months in prison and five months in a halfway house or under house arrest...
[Prosecutor Armando]Bonilla ran down the list of contacts between the two men and said prosecutors had planned to indict Griles on multiple felony counts. Huvelle questioned why the Justice Department had accepted the deal, one which she later told Griles was "very favorable."
Griles was fined $30,000 and was sentenced to three years probation following his release from prison. The judge did not immediately set a date for him to report to prison. That will be set by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which also will assign him to a prison. Griles asked Huvelle to recommend he be assigned to a prison camp in Petersburg, Va., and she agreed.
Griles is not cooperating in the investigation. Federici pleaded guilty this month tax evasion and obstruction and is helping investigators..."
Jacqueline wrote on June 27, 2007 12:58 PM:From the WaPo article "Probe Finds NIH Official Violated Government Regulations":
"The internal NIH review found that Schwartz wrongly used almost $2,000 in government funds to frame his high school diploma and various photographs for his office, and for expenses relating to a limousine service. The report did acknowledge that his staff gave him bad advice on those matters."
I wonder if that limousine service might happen to be Shirlington?
PT&S wrote on June 27, 2007 1:32 PM:The links in the post are wrong -- many of the links are identical, pointing to a single story.
NitPicker1 wrote on June 27, 2007 5:46 PM:"...ex-Governor Don Siegelman (D-AR)..."
Wow! I didn't know Siegelman had been governor of Alaska! ;-)
Seriously, TPM staff need to put little sticky notes on their monitors:
AR = Arkansas = Pryor, Cummins, Griffin, Clinton, etc.
AL = Alabama = Seigelman, deep south, Montgomery, etc.
AK = Alaska = Ted Stevens, fish, fishy deals, really cold, etc.
(By the way, I learned all this useful info at the University of Idaho, in Iowa City, Ohio.)