Alaska

Indicted AK State Sen. Cowdery Proclaims His Innocence

Kate Klonick | July 11, 2008, 4:28PM

Alaska State Sen. John Cowdery (R) was "holed-up" in the Prospector Hotel in Juneau yesterday, when he was indicted on two charges of bribery and corruption. He flew to Anchorage, where the Federal Court is located, arriving on Thursday night.

From KTUU in Anchorage:

He was asked at the ariport [sic] if he plans to fight the charges.

"I'm going to win it," Cowdery said. "I'm not guilty."

Cowdery said he had nothing more to say and that his attorney has already said it.

Cowdery's attorney released this statement:

"We believe, along with many others who are familiar with Sen. Cowdery's long and exemplary service to the people of this state, that the government has done a substantial disservice to Sen. Cowdery in charging him. This will be exposed for the mistake it is."

Cowdery is expected to be arraigned today at 5:30 ET.

Torture

Mayer: CIA Forced Detainee To Stand For Hours Without Prosthesis

Kate Klonick | July 11, 2008, 3:10PM

It took a New York Times article; a dozen phone calls and an over-eager intern running to a publishing house in 92 degree heat-- but we got it: Jane Mayer's new book, "The Dark Side," which I've been poring through for the better part of the day.

So why the rush? The book reveals new details on the CIA's torture of high-level Qaeda captives with information from a secret report by the International Committee of the Red Cross. According to Mayer, the 2007 report which was shared with the President and Secretary of State described the CIA's actions, "categorically, as 'torture'" and warned that the abuse placed the "highest officials in the U.S. government in jeopardy of being prosecuted."

But besides that enormous and, (possibly) devastating claim, Mayer's "sources familiar with the ICRC report" also give horrifying details about the CIA's techniques.

One detainee claimed in the report that he was forced to stand on one leg for hours without his prosthesis and his arms chained to the ceiling.

The detainee, Tawfiq Bin Attash, was linked to the attack on the USS Cole but is being charged as part of the Sept. 11 attacks. Attash, also known as Khallad, had lost his leg below the knee following an injury in the Afghan-Soviet War.

Other detainees described similar stress positions to the ICRC, Mayer reports:

They described not just standing, but being kept up on their tiptoes with their arms extended out and up over their heads, attached by shackles on their wrists and ankles, for what they described as eight hours at a stretch. During the entire period, they said they were kept stark naked and often cold.

The International Committee of the Red Cross isn't so happy that news of this report is out. As they told the New York Times, "its work is more effective when confidential."

Don Olson

Olson Has Been Cooperating with FBI For a Year

Kate Klonick | July 11, 2008, 11:42AM

The mysterious Alaskan "State Senator A" -- a.k.a. Sen. Don Olson (D) -- has been cooperating with federal prosecutors for "about a year" on their investigation of the massive public corruption scandal involving half a dozen state senators -- including former State Sen. Ben Stevens-- bribery by local oil and gas company VECO.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, Olson testified to a federal grand jury last month and has been "interviewed maybe a half dozen times about the events" covered in the recent indictment of State Sen. John Cowdery (R). Cowdery is charged with two counts of bribery and conspiracy.

Though Olson was cited in the Cowdery indictment as being the target of a bribe, it is unlikely that he's about to be charged with anything:

Olson has no assurance that he won't be prosecuted, but [Olson's attorney Paul] Stockler said it appears highly unlikely that he will be.

"I don't believe Donny Olson did anything wrong," Stockler said. Olson never received the $25,000.

Torture

New Book Reveals Existence of Secret Red Cross Torture Report

Kate Klonick | July 11, 2008, 8:45AM

In a secret report last year, the International Committee of the Red Cross found that the CIA's interrogation techniques were "categorically" torture, a new book reveals.

From the New York Times:

The book, "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals," by Jane Mayer, who writes about counterterrorism for The New Yorker, offers new details of the agency's secret detention program, as well as the bitter debates in the administration over interrogation methods and other tactics in the campaign against Al Qaeda.

. . .Citing unnamed "sources familiar with the report," Ms. Mayer wrote that the Red Cross document "warned that the abuse constituted war crimes, placing the highest officials in the U.S. government in jeopardy of being prosecuted."

Late Update: The book also reveals new specifics on Abu Zubaydah's waterboarding. Contrary to administration reports that the technique was used "on only three occasions," Abu Zubaydah told the Red Cross that he was waterboarded "at least 10 times in a single week and as many as three times a day."

And there's new info on Khalid Shaikh Mohammed as well. "KSM" says he was "kept naked for more than a month" and "kept alternately in suffocating heat and in a painfully cold room."

Don Olson

State Sen. Don Olson Is Mystery "Senator A"

Kate Klonick | July 10, 2008, 5:56PM

From the Anchorage Daily News:

The indictment identifies the senator Cowdery was trying to influence only as "state Senator A," but [Cowdery's attorney Kevin] Fitzgerald said that person is Donny Olson, D-Nome, who at the time was running for lieutenant governor.

The document describes a series of phone calls as well as a June 25, 2006, breakfast meeting. Olson, Cowdery and Veco chief executive Bill Allen met at the Sunshine Grill in Anchorage, Olson's lawyer, Paul Stockler of Anchorage, said this morning.

[Late Update]: Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has called for Cowdery to resign from the Alaska Senate.

Alaska

Another State Legislator Indicted in Alaska Corruption Probe

Kate Klonick | July 10, 2008, 1:36PM

Alaska State Sen. John Cowdery (R) was indicted today on two counts of conspiracy and bribery. Cowdery is the latest Alaskan politician to fall in the wide-reaching public corruption scandal.

Former VECO Corp. CEO Rick Smith testified in September of last year that he had bribed Cowdery, and four other State Senators, including Stevens, for favorable legislation on an Alaska gas pipeline.

Cowdery was a former co-worker and friend of former State Senator Ben Stevens, who has been the subject of an ongoing investigation by the FBI.

Cowdery's indictment can be found here.

Karl Rove

Rove Is a No Show at House Judiciary

Kate Klonick | July 10, 2008, 10:54AM

Karl Rove stood by his claim last week that he wouldn't be showing up to testify about anything to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, despite its subpoena, on the grounds of executive privilege.

The Subcommittee quickly passed a motion to reject Rove's claim of privilege, with Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT), the ranking minority member, the lone voice of dissent. Since Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) threatened contempt last week, we're expecting a vote on that in the near future, but it won't be happening today.

Michael Mukasey

Biden to Mukasey: "You Really Are an Enigma to Me"

Kate Klonick | July 9, 2008, 3:25PM

There a whole host of issues confronting the Justice Department that remain unaddressed-- overall politicization, the Office of Legal Counsel memos, torture memos, hiring and firing practices, and selective prosecution. But when it comes to hard answers to Congressional Oversight, Attorney General Michael Mukasey dances around the questions, usually deflecting criticism that stems from the Gonzales era.

When Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) requested a listing of the OLC memoranda that the DOJ chose not to review, Mukasey stated that he didn't know that it "would serve anybody's interest" to do so.

When Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) questioned him about why Judith Miller was left in jail, he demurred, stating that it fell into the responsibilities of special counsel.

When Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) wanted to know if anyone was planning on reviewing Gitmo detainees files to see why they were being detained, Mukasey deferred noting the cases were before the D.C. district court.

And when Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) demanded accountability for the loss of valuable civil servants to the politicization of the DOJ Honors Program, the Attorney General stated that it had already been "covered by the OIG report."

But when it was Sen. Joe Biden's (D-DE) turn to ask questions, he took a more straight forward approach, tearing into Mukasey as an "enigma," "acting like you float above up in the ether somewhere."

Don Siegelman

OPR Reaches Out to Siegelman's Camp for Assistance in Investigation

Kate Klonick | July 9, 2008, 12:21PM

The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility reached out for the first time to the Don Siegelman camp on Monday, asking in a letter to Siegelman's attorney for "information and documents that would assist" them in investigation the allegations that the "selective and politically motivated" prosecution of the former Alabama governor.

Vince Kilborn, Siegelman's attorney, said that he would take the OPRs request for assistance as an opportunity to focus on the reasons behind U.S. Attorney Leura Canary's recusal of herself from the case.

From the AP:

[Kilborn] wants a Justice Department review of the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman to focus partly on the reasons a federal prosecutor in Montgomery stepped aside from the case.

. . .Kilborn said the office, an arm of the Justice Department, should seek documents regarding a decision by U.S. Attorney Leura Canary -- a GOP appointee -- to recuse herself from the prosecution of Siegelman, a Democrat. Canary's husband, William, leads the Business Council of Alabama and has been a Republican political consultant.

A copy of the OPR's letter to Kilborn is here.

Michael Mukasey

Mukasey to Testify Today; Senate to Vote on FISA

Kate Klonick | July 9, 2008, 9:31AM

The Attorney General is headed to the Hill to testify this morning in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on oversight of the Justice Department. It starts at 9:30 ET, with a break for the FISA vote at 11:15. We'll be watching and posting developments on both so stay tuned for more.

Curt Weldon

Defense Solutions Gets Defensive About Forgery Allegations

Kate Klonick | July 8, 2008, 2:10PM

We've previously followed some of Sharon Weinberger's coverage at Wired on former Representative Curt Weldon's ties to shady arms-dealings. Weldon, a defeated Republican from Pennsylvania was employed as Chief Strategic Officer for Defense Solutions after losing his election in November 2006.

Lost in the holiday weekend traffic was a Wired story on the Pennsylvania based arm dealer's multiple contracts, potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars, to corner the supplier market from Eastern Bloc countries to to Iraq. The deals, which the magazine describes as "often legally murky" were brokered by Weldon, who is currently under investigation by the FBI for corruption stemming from his work in Congress.

In an update yesterday, Weinberger expanded on Defense Solution's claim that they had an exclusive deal with Ukraine to supply their armored vehicles to Iraq. The boast was bolstered by a signed letter from Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andri Veselovsky, to the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Stephan Minikes.

Defense Solution's CEO, Tim Ringgold, bandied the letter about as proof of their relationship -- that is until Veselovsky told Wired the letter was a fake, and that it wasn't his signature. Now Ringgold seems to be taking it all back.

In an update on Weinberger's Wired blog DANGER ROOM:

Timothy Ringgold, the CEO of Defense Solutions wrote DANGER ROOM to express some objections with this post. His letter, with our answers, follows......

Ringgold writes: Your article of July 7, 2008 11:07 a.m. has a number of significant inaccuracies, not he least of which deals with your allegation of forgery:
As I informed you during our phone conversation, I have no knowledge of a "letter" from Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister, but I am aware of an email dated February 25, 2008 received from the Deputy Foreign Minister. Since I spoke with the Deputy Foreign Minister after receiving it, I think it safe to conclude the email was genuine.
[DR: The forgery allegation is not ours; it is Veselovsky's. He stated quite clearly it is not his signature on the letter. When asked about the Veselovsky letter during the interview, Ringgold acknowledged it, until he was told the Veselovsky denied signing it.]

House Oversight

Waxman Threatens Attorney General with Contempt

Kate Klonick | July 8, 2008, 12:26PM

House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is wielding more than his gavel against Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

In a letter to the AG today, Waxman brought out the big guns, stating that the Committee would vote to hold him in contempt on July 16, if he failed to produce a report on an interview with Vice President Cheney regarding the Valerie Plame leak scandal.

From Waxman's letter:

Despite the Committee's repeated requests, you have consistently refused to provide these reports to the Committee or unredacted versions of the reports of FBI interviews with White House staff. In response to the Committee's June 16 subpoena, you wrote: "we are not prepared to provide or make available any reports of interviews wi t h t he President or Vice President from the leak investigation" because of "core Executive Branch confidentiality interests and fundamental separation of powers principles."

. . .I regret that your failure to produce responsive documents has created this impasse, but Congress has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the executive branch. Therefore, unless all responsive documents, with the exception of the FBI interview report of President Bush, are provided to the Committee or a valid assertion of executive privilege is made, the Committee will meet on July 16 to consider a resolution citing you in contempt. I strongly urge you to reconsider your position and comply with the duly issued subpoena.

Dick Cheney

Cheney's Office Pushed for Trims to EPA Congressional Testimony

Kate Klonick | July 8, 2008, 10:36AM

Vice President Dick Cheney's office apparently worked to cut swaths of the Center for Disease Control's congressional testimony on the effects of greenhouse gases.

The information was revealed in a letter from recently-resigned associate deputy EPA administrator, Jason Burnett, obtained by the AP, to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA):

"The Council on Environmental Quality and the office of the vice president were seeking deletions to the CDC testimony (concerning) ... any discussions of the human health consequences of climate change," Burnett has told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

. . . The letter by Burnett for the first time suggests that Cheney's office was deeply involved in downplaying the impacts of climate change as related to public health and welfare, Senate investigators believe.

Cheney's office also objected last January over congressional testimony by Administrator Johnson that "greenhouse gas emissions harm the environment."

An official in Cheney's office "called to tell me that his office wanted the language changed" with references to climate change harming the environment deleted, Burnett said. Nevertheless, the phrase was left in Johnson's testimony.

As we've reported, the Senate and House have been trying for months to check communications and other documents on the role of political influence in the EPAs work.

Burnett left the EPA in June after disagreements over the "agency's response to climate change":

The White House, at the urging of Cheney's office, "requested that I work with CDC to remove from the testimony any discussion of the human health consequences of climate change," wrote Burnett.

"CEQ contacted me to argue that I could best keep options open for the (EPA) administrator (on regulating carbon dioxide) if I would convince CDC to delete particular sections of their testimony," Burnett said in the letter to Boxer.

But he said he refused to press CDC on the deletions because he believed the CDC's draft testimony was "fundamentally accurate."

[Late update]: To view the letter from Burnett to Boxer, click here.

Cyril Wecht

Dr. Wecht Tailgates With His Former Jurors

Kate Klonick | July 7, 2008, 8:54PM

It's been a long, difficult few years for Dr. Cyril Wecht, The former coroner of Allegheny County, celebrity forensic pathologist and prominent Democrat, who has been at the center of a so-called political prosecution, but at least he picked up some friends along the way.

After serving on the jury for Wecht's federal trial that ended in a mistrial earlier this year, five of the former-jurors who had voted for acquittal sought out the good doctor, and his legal team to voice their support. It wasn't long before the group was organizing outings-- most recently to a Pirate's baseball game complete with tailgating.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

A message on PNC Park's electronic scoreboard welcoming a special group to a recent baseball game went unnoticed by those it was intended to honor.

That's because Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, along with five jurors who voted to acquit the former Allegheny County coroner at his federal public corruption trial, still were tailgating in the parking lot.

The group get-togethers have been going on since the trial ended in April, ranging from lunch at the food court in downtown Pittsburgh to a 60th anniversary celebration.

"A group of them five of them reached out to us, and told us they'd like to meet with us and talk to us because of how they felt about what had happened," Wecht's attorney Jerry McDevitt told TPMmuckraker.

"They started telling us how strongly they were against the retrial. So, not only did they not convict him, they thought he was a decent guy. . . The whole thing hasn't exactly renewed my faith in the government, but it's certainly renewed my faith in the jury system."

Justice Department

CREW Files Bar Complaints Against Former DOJ Officials

Kate Klonick | July 7, 2008, 6:19PM

After the news that a class action suit had been filed against former Justice Department officials Esther Slater McDonald and Michael Elston, we've been waiting for the other shoe shoe to drop: bar complaints.

Sure enough, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed complaints in the wake of the Inspector Generals report that found both McDonald and Elston in violation of federal law for taking "political and ideological" affiliations into account when hiring for the U.S. Attorney's Honors Program:

The Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit attorneys from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty and conduct that "seriously interferes with the administration of justice." By illegally taking political and ideological affiliations into account in screening applicants for career DOJ position, Mr. Elston and Ms. McDonald may have violated bar rules could be subject to discipline.

CREW's executive director Melanie Sloane told TPMmuckraker that due to the findings of the independent OIG report, the complaint should be taken fairly seriously. "The only question left for the bar is whether their violations of the law rise to level of professional responsibility," Sloane said. "And I bet that they do."

The complaint was filed, with the OIG report attached, against McDonald in the District of Columbia and Elston in Virginia. Copies of the complaint were sent to all other jurisdictions where they were bar members.

Don Young

Don Young Turns to Lobbyist "Wolfpack" for Financial Aid

Kate Klonick | July 7, 2008, 3:01PM

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) and his staff were quick to issue a denial last month of anything more than "friendly" ties between the Alaskan Representative and the group of nine federal lobbyists who, according to the "Intern Survival Guide," were given preferential treatment when calling the office. But now his fiscal relationship to the "A Team," as they were called, has become less tenuous.

Mike Anderson, Young's Chief of Staff, solicited campaign donations in June 2007 from 27 individuals -- 23 of whom were lobbyists -- and which included all of the "A Team," the Anchorage Daily News reported. Raising the specter of a Young defeat, Anderson wrote: "[Y]ou and your clients will be impacted by these elections."

The group, dubbed the "AK Wolfpack" by Anderson in the email, includes Rick Alcalde of the Coconut Road earmark and Randy Delay, brother of former House majority leader Tom Delay.

The email, who's subject is "How Can I Help?," was sent on June 8, 2007 from Anderson's personal Yahoo address. Citing the case of defeated Rep. Richard Pombo, a close Republican ally of Young's in the House, Anderson outlined the Democratic threat as a "call to action". . . check-writing action:

For those of you who volunteered and served and watched November's elections, many of you observed or even worked former Congressman Richard Pombo's race. While each of you may have different opinions as to what may have contributed to to the election results, at the strategic level, we will all agree it is a textbook case in how Outsiders can reach into a district with money, volunteers, and a well coordinated attack defeat an incumbent not necessarily on his/her record, but on innuendo and perception.

If you think that Young's article in the NY Times being released the same day as Steven's article in the Wash Post was a coincidence, then I have a beluga whale in the Potomac to show you. If you think that the DNC or DCCC is not interested in turning Alaska blue, then you must have an unlisted phone number to your telephone booth.

You must believe that these forces, when combined, will have a major play and impact on Senator Ted Stevens or Congressman Don Young's election! And if that is the case, then much, much closer to home --- you probably understand that you and your clients will be impacted by these elections.

To some, this may be a scary proposition -- an opportunity to wring our hands and speculate. To others, it becomes a call to action -- to develop and execute a plan. I know into which of these two groups I fall into -- and where you AK Wolfpack members fall into, too.

Since the email was sent, over $90,000 has been contributed to Young's campaign either from the individuals on the list, their firms, or their firm's clients.

Besides those previously known to have ties to Young, through the "A Team," the remaining members of the "Wolfpack" are comprised of many former staffers for Young and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK). For all those named to the "AK Wolfack," see the ADN.

Must Read

Today's Must Read

Kate Klonick | July 7, 2008, 9:58AM

For those hoping investigations by the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility might shine some light on the scurrilous activities at the Bush Justice Department, today's Los Angeles Times piece doesn't offer much solace.

The OPR, a watchdog of the Justice Department's lawyers and activities, has ceased to issue regular public reports of its investigations, some of which have resulted in the exoneration of attorneys accused of professional misconduct.

From the U.S. Attorney firing scandal; to selective prosecution of Democratic political figures; to unlawful detainment of terrorist suspects, the OPR is facing increasingly weighty caseloads, and meeting their investigations with decreasing transparency.

As the Times reports, the changes in disclosure have come with a new administration:

After President Bush took office in 2001, the Justice Department reversed a decade-old policy of publicly disclosing detailed summaries of OPR investigations of department lawyers found to have committed professional misconduct. Janet Reno, attorney general since 1993, had believed that publicizing the information would bolster confidence in the department; and during her tenure she had authorized the release of two dozen public summaries of misconduct cases -- including one against then-FBI Director William S. Sessions.

The OPR also has been far behind in producing required annual public reports summarizing its activities. Last month, it released its report covering fiscal year 2005. That means many investigations undertaken during the tenure of former Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales remain under wraps.

Two weeks ago the OPR issued a report, along with the Office of the Inspector General, that found that the two attorneys in the Justice Department broke federal law when they hired new lawyers for the DOJ's Honors Program based on "political and ideological" factors.

But besides the report with the Inspector General, the OPR has failed to disclose the results of its investigations of misconduct relating to the war on terrorism.

According the documents obtained by the Times, the OPR has exonerated lawyers involved in two high-profile terrorism investigations:

According to a redacted copy of a confidential OPR report obtained by The Times, the office found that department lawyers had not engaged in misconduct in connection with the controversial practice of using special warrants to round up and incarcerate men after Sept. 11 who were considered witnesses to crimes. Human rights groups said the technique was a way to illegally detain, sometimes for months, dozens of Muslims whom the government suspected but could not prove were engaged in criminal activity.

The report, issued more than a year ago, concluded: "Department of Justice attorneys involved did not misuse the material witness statute, and thus did not commit professional misconduct or exercise poor judgment."

There's nothing sinister going on in the lack of reports, insists Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis. He says that the decision was merely made to conserve resources and protect the privacy of accused attorneys:

"My goal is to get fair and speedy dispositions of allegations against our attorneys," he said, "and, to the extent possible, let the public know what we did and why we did it without unnecessarily or gratuitously . . . publicly humiliating our line attorneys as individuals."