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:

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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).

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