Bailout

Congress To Probe Geithner's "Special Purpose" Plan To Skirt Pay Caps On Bankers

Moe Tkacik | April 7, 2009, 2:53PM

Yesterday we puzzled over the mixed messages we were hearing from Obama officials over the veracity of a Washington Post report that it was using Enron-style "special purpose vehicles" to undermine executive pay restrictions on bailed out banks: senior adviser David Axelrod sheepishly defended the strategy on one Sunday talk show, while Tim Geithner denied it altogether on another. But newly-promoted House Oversight Chairman Ed Towns is getting to the bottom of it, reports the Post today, in a story that sheds some much-needed light on the conflicting stories: the strategy began with the Treasury Department's $1 trillion consumer and business lending initiative, which is in part an expansion of the Federal Reserve's Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, which is open to the American subsidiaries of foreign banks, which Treasury presumably wants to participate in the programs without having to deal with the added diplomatic headache of subjecting foreign bankers to rules designed to satisfy American voters. Unsurprisingly, not everyone in Congress is opposed to that.

A senior House aide said he agreed with the Treasury's policy and that he believed a recent vote by the House on another piece of executive compensation legislation showed that Congress did not intend the restrictions to apply to firms that did not receive direct capital injections. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.

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Oversight Committee

House Oversight Steps into Fray of Financial Crisis

Kate Klonick | September 18, 2008, 5:40PM

It looks like Congress has stepped into the fray of the Wall Street crisis.

In letters to Lehman Brothers and AIG sent today, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), chair of the House Oversight Committee, requested the communications from the last 180 days of the CEOs and board of directors at the two companies. He also requested information about how the CEOS and board members would be compensated following the bankruptcy and government bailout of the two firms.

Additionally, a tipline has been set up to assist Congress with their "investigation into the collapse of Lehman Brothers and AIG."

EPA

Senators Call for Resignation of EPA Administrator Johnson

Kate Klonick | July 29, 2008, 6:39PM

Democratic Senators from the Environment and Public Works Committee called for the resignation of EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, in a press release published this afternoon.

Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) was joined by committee members Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) in charging that Johnson had given "misleading testimony before Congress," "refused to cooperate" with Oversight investigations and had politicized decisions before the EPA.

From the EPW press release:

The senators asked Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey to investigate apparent contradictions between the sworn testimony of Administrator Johnson and the testimony of other sworn witnesses regarding the circumstances surrounding EPA's denial California's request for a waiver under the Clean Air Act to set strong standards for global warming emissions from vehicles.

Johnson has repeatedly refused to appear before Congressional committees, including the Senate Judiciary Committee, who canceled a hearing scheduled for tomorrow, July 30, after Johnson informed them he would not be coming.

When Johnson has testified, however, as he did in May before the House Oversight committee, he has often driven questioners to furious distraction in his refusal to answer questions, and his inability to recount events.

Scott Bloch

Waxman Joins Chorus Urging Special Counsel To Resign

Andrew Tilghman | July 29, 2008, 10:48AM

Special Counsel Scott Bloch is under investigation by the FBI. His own employees can't stand him. And now pressure is mounting from Capitol Hill for one of Washington's top watchdogs to step down.

House oversight committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent Bloch a letter yesterday urging him to step down from the agency charged with investigating allegations of retaliation against whistle blowers.

The mission of the agency should be the paramount consideration. It is for this reason that I have concluded that OSC would be better served with new leadership and urge you to step down as the Special Counsel. Such a move would be in the best interest of the agency and the federal employees its charged to protect.

Up until now, Waxman has been uncharacteristically quiet regarding allegations of Bloch's misconduct, which includes retaliating against whistleblowers in his own office.

The committee's ranking member, Tom Davis (R-VA), called for Bloch's resignation weeks ago.

Karl Rove

Fournier to Rove: "Keep Up the Fight"

Kate Klonick | July 14, 2008, 5:22PM

Buried in the 50-page report on Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch released today by the House Oversight Committee, is a priceless quote from none other than the new head of the AP's Washington Bureau, Ron Fournier.

Straight from page 21 of the report:

Karl Rove exchanged e-mails about Pat Tillman with Associated Press reporter Ron Fournier, under the subject line "H-E-R-O." In response to Mr. Fournier's e-mail, Mr. Rove asked, "How does our country continue to produce men and women like this," to which Mr. Fournier replied, "The Lord creates men and women like this all over the world. But only the great and free countries allow them to flourish. Keep up the fight."

Fournier did not immediately return calls for comment.

[Special thanks to TPM Reader DD for the tip.]

Patrick Tillman

Memory Loss Thwarts House Oversight Investigation into Tillman's Death

Kate Klonick | July 14, 2008, 3:49PM

The House Oversight Committee released its proposed report (pdf) on the investigation this afternoon, on the death of Corporal Patrick Tillman and the capture of Private Jessica Lynch.

Unfortunately the report says that the Committee was unable to resolve "the key issue of what senior officials knew" because of the "universal" memory loss suffered by Tillman's chain of command upon testifying before Congress:

Despite receiving information from all the top military leaders in Corporal Tillman chain of command -- including Secretary Rumsfeld, General Myers, and General Abizaid -- the Committee could not determine if any of the officials had communicated with President Bush or White House officials about fratricide in Corporal Tillman's case. The lack of recollection also prevented the Committee from understanding how information about Corporal Tillman was handled within the Defense Department and how the Defense Department and the White House shared information on this matter.

As we've previously reported, the White House was very interested in the initial reports of Tillman's death. In fact, the report details that White House exchanging almost 200 e-mails relating to Pat Tillman on April 23, 2004, during the first reports of Tillman's death. But once the death was suspected to be caused by friendly fire, there was no further discussion of Tillman at the White House, according to the report.

So what did all of the silence convey to Oversight?

If the testimony the Committee received is accurate and if the documents submitted are complete, then the intense interest that initially characterized the White House's and Defense Department's reaction to Corporal Tillman's death was followed by a stunning lack of curiosity about emerging reports of fratricide and an incomprehensible carelessness and incompetence in handling this sensitive information.

House Oversight

Hunt Oil and the Bush Admin: A Timeline of Correspondence

Kate Klonick | July 2, 2008, 6:57PM

As we reported earlier, Chairman Waxman of the House Oversight Committee claimed today that the Bush Administration knew about the Hunt Oil deal way before it happened-- something the administration has denied regularly.

According to Waxman, there were nearly a dozen contacts between various levels of the administration and Hunt Oil as the deal was taking place. Hunt regularly informed the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board of his intentions to seek a deal with the Kurdistan government. Management at Hunt also regularly met and communicated with the U.S. Regional Reconstruction Team (RRT), as well as State Department personnel.

So let's go through a little time line of the events and communication leading up to Sept. 8, 2007-- the day the Hunt Oil deal was finalized with the Kurdistan government.

June 12 and 15: Hunt Oil officials meet with officials from the RRT for the Kurdistan region, "to investigate investment prospects" in the Kurdish region. Hunt Oil General Manager Ken McDonald, asks RRT members if the deal between Hunt Oil and Kurdistan is in violation of U.S. policy:

I specifically asked if the USG had a policy toward companies entering into contracts with the KRG and [redacted] replied that there was no policy, neither for nor against.

July 12, 2007: Ray Hunt, president and CEO of Hunt Oil sends a letter to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, letting them know he is pursuing an oil deal in Kurdistan:

We were approached a month or so ago by representatives of a private group in Kurdistan as to the possibílity of our becoming interested in that region. We had one team of geoscientists travel to Kurdistan several weeks ago and were encouraged by what we saw. We have a larger team going back to Kurdistan this week but who they will actually meet with while they are there and what the relationships of those people might be with the Government of Kurdistan are both unclear at this time.

August 2007: Hunt Oil representatives exchange a series of emails with State Department personnel discussing their return to Kurdistan.

August 30, 2007: Ray Hunt sends another letter to the Advisory Board to let them know he will be in Kurdistan the week of September 3:

While my schedule is still fluid, there is a high likelihood that I will meet with President Masoud Barzani, the Prime Minister, the Oil Minister and various other individuals associated with the government of Kurdistan.

September 5, 2007: McDonald informs the RRT in Erbil that "Hunt is expecting to sign an exploration contract" with the Kurdistan Regional Government. That same day, the RRT leader sends an e-mail summary of the meeting to the Embassy in Baghdad and the State Department headquarters in Washington. A second synopsis of the meeting is sent to the Embassy in Baghdad in a situation report the following day.

September 8, 2007: The Hunt Oil contract is finalized with the Kurdistan Regional Government.

September 13, 2007: A State Department official contacts Hunt Oil to describe another "good opportunity for Hunt" in Iraq, prompting a Hunt Oil official to write Ray Hunt: "This is really good for us. . .I find it a huge compliment that he is 'tipping' us off about this . . .This is a lucky break."

Oil

Waxman Says White House Knew About Hunt Oil Deal In Iraq

Andrew Tilghman | July 2, 2008, 3:52PM

House oversight committee Chairman Henry Waxman says the Bush Administration knew about the September 2007 deal that Texas-based Hunt Oil struck with Kurdish officials in Iraq.

That contradicts what President Bush said at the time.

That deal was controversial because it came at a time of precarious negotiations in Baghdad about a possible revenue-sharing agreement between the warring factions in Iraq. The Kurds decision to forge a deal independent of the Baghdad government angered the Sunni and Shia Arabs in Iraq.

In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Waxman asked for further information about the U.S. involvement in Iraqi oil deals, the Hunt Oil deal as well as more recent deals. He quoted the president speaking shortly after the deal was announced almost a year ago.

Administration officials criticized the Hunt Oil contract because it jeopardized the efforts of the Iraqi parliament to come to an agreement on the national oil legislation. When President Bush was asked about the Hunt Oil contract, he stated:

"I knew nothing about the deal. I need to know exactly how it happened. To the extent that it does undermine the ability for the government to come up with an oil revenue sharing plan that unifies the country, obviously if it undermines it I'm concerned"

The documents that the Committee has received tell a different story about the role of Administration officials. Ray Hunt, the head of Hunt Oil, personally informed advisors to President Bush of meetings he and other Hunt Oil officials planned with representatives of the Kurdish government. Other Hunt Oil officials kept State Department officials informed about the company' s intentions.

Pentagon

Needed: More War Profiteer Police

Andrew Tilghman | May 28, 2008, 12:19PM

The Defense Department wants more manpower to police itself.

The Defense Department's Inspector General says the massive growth in military spending during the past six years has far outpaced its ability to keep track of the money. A new report made public by the Project on Government Oversight outlines how the IG's office plans to grow -- by about 30 percent -- in the next seven years.

The rapid growth of the DoD budget since FY 2000 leaves the Department increasingly more vulnerable to the fraud, waste and abuse that undermines the Department's mission.

and

Furthermore, the demand for IG services to support the [Global War on Terror] and the ongoing operations in southwest Asia has forced us to adjust our priorities, resulting in gaps in coverage in important areas, such as major weapons acquisition, health care fraud, product substitution and defense intelligence agencies.

"Weapons acquisitions" is a pretty broad catagory and probably includes $531 million war ships, like the one the New York Times wrote about a few weeks ago. The Navy has been notoriously bad about cost overruns and runaway spending.

For years, the Pentagon's accounting procedures have been so shoddy that the Defense Department cannot even properly fail an audit. Trillions -- with a T -- of dollars are improperly accounted for. In fact, the Pentagon says there is no way it'll be able to handle a real audit until at least 2016.

Part of the problem may be that many retired military officials go on to work for defense contractors in later life.

The GAO has also been harping on the military's use of money

So it's no wonder that we've been hearing about absurd contracts like a 25-year-old Miami club goer who wins a $300 million contract to arm our allies in Afghanistan.

The Defense Department consumes about 19 percent of all federal spending.

Must Read

Today's Must Read

Paul Kiel | December 3, 2007, 9:38AM

It's easy to get distracted in our workaday lives and lose sight of the big picture.

For instance, Mike Allen of the Politico reports that the White House recently passed "an unusual landmark": the administration has produced 1 million documents to Congress since January. The mind can scarcely comprehend the horrors of such unbridled oversight.

The details of this "unusual landmark" are unclear. Characteristic of a White House that has successfully stonewalled a number of key Congressional investigations while still managing to complain about responding to inquiries, the provenance of that "1 million" number is unstated. (A Waxman aide "scoffed" at the number, Allen reports.) Presumably if you were to press for information as to where it had come from, it would prove an additional unreasonable burden. And as to whether that landmark (if it has been reached) is, in fact, "unusual," who knows? Certainly to a White House that suffered no oversight during its first six years, it is unusual.

Having staggered the mind with the "1 million" number, Allen quotes a "senior administration official" to drive home the real costs:

“There are a number of dry holes that got drilled,” a senior administration official said. “People don’t care about it. The public is saying: Gas is at $3 a gallon. Is there any energy bill? No.”

The official even made sport of the Democrats’ approach, calling it “purely reflexive.”

“People are having concerns with their mortgages,” the official said. “Is there a mortgage bill? No. We have a government to fund. Is there any appropriations bill? No.

“But, I’ve got a new subpoena for you today — and we’re going to hold somebody in contempt. Doesn’t that help you?”

The main effect, the official said, was a distraction for the staff and countless hours of work for the White House counsel’s office.

Accepting the undeniable logic of every new subpoena meaning one less sweeping piece of legislation, it staggers the mind to think of what the Democratic Congress could have accomplished these past 11 months if it had spent its time passing the administration's legislation instead of investigating it. Not only that, but there wouldn't have been the additional burden of having to replace officials forced to resign as the result of those investigations. Think how much more could get done!

Now, if only the press would lay off too, then they could really get some things accomplished.

Iraq

Waxman: State Investigator Blocked Corruption Probes

Paul Kiel | September 18, 2007, 4:31PM

In a blistering 14-page letter today (pdf), House oversight committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) charged that the inspector general for the State Department Howard Krongard has been actively impeding probes into waste and corruption in Iraq and elsewhere. The basic allegation, as Waxman simply puts it, is that "you believe your foremost mission is to support the Bush Administration, especially with respect to Iraq and Afghanistan, rather than act as an independent and objective check on waste, fraud, and abuse on behalf of U.S. taxpayers." In other words, Waxman is charging that he's a hack, and the worst kind, too -- one that can do real damage.

Waxman has a litany of examples of Krongards' alleged hackishness, but one is particularly colorful.

There have been allegations that the contractor First Kuwaiti used forced labor building the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. So Krongard looked into it.

Only he had a peculiar method, according to Waxman's investigation. First, he insisted on doing the report entirely by himself and shut out his staff. And instead of seeking out the source of the allegations, he allowed the contractor to choose the employees that he'd interview. He ultimately interviewed six employees.

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Oversight Committee

Waxman Continues Investigation of Rove Scheme

Paul Kiel | August 21, 2007, 4:08PM

Karl Rove made sure that agency and department officials were busy, busy, busy come election time, The Washington Post reported this weekend. And now House oversight committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) wants to figure out just how busy.

Waxman sent out a request to 19 different agencies/departments today (take a deep breath: Departments of Justice, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Labor, State, Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, United States Agency for International Development, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy), all of which apparently took part in Rove's scheme to use agency officials to help vulnerable Republicans.

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Oversight Committee

Hearing to Scrutinize Lax Gov't Security Contractor

Spencer Ackerman | July 17, 2007, 4:25PM

Just in time for the NIE's assessment that the U.S. faces a "heightened threat environment," a House Oversight subcommittee hearing tomorrow will highlight the curious tale of the Wackenhut Corp. Wackenhut is one of the nation's largest private security companies, and over the last few years it's been awarded millions in government contracts to protect nuclear facilities, Army bases, transportation infrastructure, and much more. The trouble is that where Wackenhut goes, complaints of lax security often follow.

Wackenhut has the contract to secure the Army's Holston Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. Last year, guards at the plant told lawmakers that boaters were easily able to float into restricted areas at the riverfront facility, and that Wackenhut only bolstered patrols when it knew that Army inspectors were up for a visit. Wackenhut has contracts to secure 31 nuclear power plants around the country. Last year, the Project on Government Oversight reported that Wackenhut nearly got employees killed by not stopping a mock terrorism-response exercise at the Oak Ridge nuclear facility in time. Perhaps most egregiously, the Department of Homeland security opted last year not to renew Wackenhut's contract to protect DHS's Washington headquarters after guards told the AP about numerous security breaches -- including a botched anthrax scare. (Wackenhut security officials actually took the "suspicious white powder" into the office of Secretary Michael Chertoff and sprinkled it out of his window into the area below.)

Not the most union-friendly company on the planet, Wackenhut often blames its bad press on disgruntled employees. Making the feeling mutual, the Service Employees International Union keeps a website, EyeOnWackenhut.com, compiling the myriad complaints -- some legal, some in the court of public opinion -- made against Wackenhut.

Yet Wackenhut keeps landing lucrative contracts. Tomorrow, Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) is holding a hearing of his House Oversight subcommittee to find out why that is. Along with a number of Energy and Homeland Security procurement officials and inspector-generals, a former Wackenhut guard at Homeland Security named Robin Smith will testify about the company's shaky standards of performance -- and how they don't appear to influence the government's willingness to give Wackenhut a pass. It doesn't seem that the company is sending anyone to refute the allegations, but expect a vigorous response from the Florida-based company all the same.

Karl Rove

Waxman Wants Former Rove Aide to Testify about Politicization

Paul Kiel | July 17, 2007, 12:25PM

It's time for another round of "Which Office or Agency is the White House Politicizing Now?"

House oversight committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), having recently brought to light the politicization of the surgeon general's office, is shining a light on the nation's drug czar. The czar, John Walters, and his deputies traveled on the taxpayers' dime to 20 events with vulnerable Republican members of Congress in the months prior to the 2006 elections, according to a committee press release. Not only that, but several of the trips were "combined with the announcement of federal grants or actions that benefited the districts of the Republican members." If government officials were using government funds to help elect Republicans, that would be a violation of the Hatch Act.

You can guess who was behind all that GOP-boosting travel: Karl Rove. Waxman says that Rove's former top aide Sara Taylor was the point person, and so he wants her to testify before his committee. He's requested that she appear for a deposition July 24th and raises the possibility of a hearing on July 30th. Taylor, you'll remember, just testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week about the U.S. attorney firings.

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George Bush

Today's Must Read

Paul Kiel | July 6, 2007, 9:34AM

Things just aren't what they used to be.

Nowadays, hardly an arbitrary exertion of executive power goes by without examination. Fire eight U.S. attorneys at once, and Congress starts asking questions. Commute the sentence of your former aide who was convicted of lying to protect senior administration officials and within a week, there's a hearing. Even your off-the-record email system is exposed, so that now there might be a record of Karl Rove's communications.

The White House is not happy, as spokesman Scott Stanzel made clear during yesterday's press briefing. Clearly, the Democratic Congress is in some sort of oversight frenzy, cross-eyed and foaming at the mouth, issuing subpoenas every waking hour:

I would note that we do get a lot of inquiries from the Hill. They've launched over 300 investigations, had over 350 requests for documents and interviews...And they have had over 600 oversight hearings in just about 100 days -- so that's about six oversight hearings a day. And we've turned over 200,000 pages of documents as an administration.

It's just no fun being in power any more.

Of course, Democrats, with characteristic skepticism, question the White House's numbers:

Democrats were dubious of the figures but did not offer their own.

"His numbers are as faulty as the intelligence they used to make their case for war," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

"In the last six years, all they've had is a rubber-stamp Congress. Since January, Democrats have demanded accountability, a change of course and transparency," Manley said.

Full transcript below.

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Oversight Committee

Confidentiality Interests Prevent DOT From Handing Over Docs

lkmcgann | July 5, 2007, 2:07PM

The Department of Transportation is citing "confidentiality interests of the Executive Branch" as the reason for hanging on to at least 53 documents the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wants to see.

The committee requested the documents for its investigation into whether DOT improperly lobbied Congress on behalf of the auto industry. DOT maintains that anti-lobbying measures do not apply in the alleged scheme because members of the agency contacted Congress directly. The measures only applies when an agency enlists citizens to lobby officials, lawyers for DOT argue.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) still wants a full look at the case. The situation emerged from California's request for an Environmental Protection Agency waiver that would allow it to heighten emissions standards in the state. When the deadline for EPA to make a decision neared, DOT employees contacted members of Congress about how the decision could affect the auto industry in their districts.

Oversight Committee

DOT Defends Lobbying Congress For Auto Industry

lkmcgann | June 14, 2007, 4:48PM

The Department of Transportation said in a letter earlier this week that anti-lobbying measures do not apply to its officers who contact members of Congress on behalf of the auto industry.

DOT announced this stance in a letter from the agency’s acting general counsel responding to the head of the House Committee on Oversight and Government’s request for information. The committee wants to hear more about an alleged plan to pressure members of Congress into persuading the Environmental Protection Agency to deny California a waiver allowing it to raise carbon emission standards.

DOT’s head lawyer Rosalind Knapp argued in her response that anti-lobbying law only applies when agencies call on private citizens to lobby Congress on their behalf. She also said that she advised several officials that it would not violate anti-lobbying provisions if they contacted members of Congress directly:

DOTs actions in no way violated anti-lobbying restrictions, as those provisions apply to and prohibit “grass roots” lobbying intended to encourage third parties, members of special interest groups, or the general public to contact members of Congreess or State legislatures in support of or opposition to a legistlative matter.

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Lurita Doan

Waxman To Doan: Step Down

lkmcgann | June 13, 2007, 3:06PM

Today the head of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) told Lurita Doan, chief of the government's procurement agency, that she ought to step down.

Doan was back in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today where Democrats wanted to know why she gave the Office of Special Counsel information that seemed to contradict what she first told the committee under oath in March.

The Office of Special Counsel questioned Doan over a possible violation of the Hatch Act about a month after she faced the House Oversight Committee. In a letter to the president released yesterday, Special Counsel Scott Bloch said his findings show that Doan should be punished to the fullest extent possible, which would mean being fired.

The Hatch Act violation stems from a comment she made to her employees about helping Republican congressional candidates. Doan made the comment, according to General Services Administration employees present, at a January 26 meeting at the GSA where Karl Rove's deputy Scott Jennings put on a slideshow showing key House and Senate races coming up in the 2008 election cycle.

In March, Doan had little memory of the meeting, but when she spoke with the Office of Special Counsel she recalled many more details. She also made disparaging comments about GSA employees who cooperated in the investigation, calling them poor performers. She also implied that she'd be sure they would not receive promotions or bonuses in the future.

Oversight Committee

Transportation Department Accused Of Lobbying For Auto Industry

lkmcgann | June 12, 2007, 3:25PM

Another proud moment in government brought to you by the Bush administration: the Department of Transportation has been accused of working as an auto lobby.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who heads the Committee on on Oversight and Government Reform, sent DOT Secretary Mary E. Peters a letter today requesting more information on a voicemail message received by a member of Congress that implicates the agency in a lobbying effort. The message left by Heideh Shahmoradi, an aide at the Transportation Department, urges the unnamed official to take a stand on California’s move to enforce tougher carbon emission standards because “this would greatly impact the auto facilities” in the member’s district.

Waxman wants Shahmoradi deposed for the committee and copies of all documentation related to the incident. He wrote:

It is not an appropriate use of federal resources to lobby members of Congress to oppose state efforts to protect the environment. It is especially problematic on an issue that is pending for decision before the Administration and that is supposed to be decided based on an independent assessment of the merits. At the very least, Ms. Shamoradi's call suggests the presence of an improper hidden agenda.

Waxman’s letter, which includes a full transcript of the voicemail message, is available here.

Oversight Committee

DoJ Document Dump Muckraking Thread

lkmcgann | June 6, 2007, 7:07PM

The Department of Justice released more documents this evening. We are raking through them now. As has worked well before, we set up a thread here for readers to help us spot interesting pieces. When you post, please identify what you find by document dump set number and then page number. We have two sets, so an item from the first set on page 4 would read "1:4". The first set is here . The second set is here. Happy hunting!

Oversight Committee

Leahy And Feinstein Question Schlozman On Voter Fraud

lkmcgann | June 5, 2007, 3:45PM

Bradley Schlozman has been criticized for bringing voter fraud charges against several ACORN registration organizers just days before a close election in 2006. The decision appears to be in conflict with Department of Justice policy. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) pointed out the apparent conflict to Schlozman today during his testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on the politicization of the agency.

Leahy became openly angered during his questioning of Schlozman when the witness tried to skirt the topic. Schlozman claimed he had clearance from his superiors at the Department of Justice to bring the charges. He also said that he did not think the charges would have an affect on the pending election. Leahy raised his voice and sharpened his tone, not his typical persona.

Here is video of the Leahy-Schlozman tussle:

Feinstein also pressed Schlozman on his decision to bring the criminal indictments right before the election. She was not thrilled with his answer either. Her video is on the way.

Late Update: Here's Feinstein.

Oversight Committee

Senate Judiciary Hearing Gets Started

lkmcgann | June 5, 2007, 2:23PM

We're reporting live from the Senate Judiciary's latest hearing on the politicization of the Department of Justice. The first witness will be Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' first appointed U.S. Attorney, Bradley Schlozman, of the Western District of Missouri. The second witness we'll hear from is Todd Graves, the U.S. Attorney that was ousted to make room for Schlozman.

Schlozman is being sworn in. More coverage is on the way. You can also follow along with video here.

Oversight Committee

Sen. Whitehouse Still Asking What "Improper" Means

lkmcgann | June 4, 2007, 5:29PM

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) still wants to know where the Department of Justice sets the bar for "wrongdoing" or "improper" conduct.

Today, Whitehouse asked the Justice Department's oversight arm, the Office of the Inspector General, to look into how the agency defines improper behavior. When U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in April, Gonzales explained that actions become improper when they have an adverse affect on a particular case. Whitehouse was and is appalled.

“The notion that the definition of impropriety for DOJ employees should be set so low as to more or less mirror the definition of criminal obstruction of justice is disturbing,” Whitehouse wrote in a letter to Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine. “Indeed, it implies that it would be perfectly appropriate to dismiss a U.S. Attorney because he or she did not, for example, act in a sufficiently partisan manner, although without regard to a particular case.”

Check out the volleying during Gonzales' Senate testimony:

Oversight Committee

Under Pressure: The Congressional Subpoena

lkmcgann | May 21, 2007, 11:53AM

Congress and the administration keep getting closer and closer to the edge. As part of the U.S. attorney firings investigation, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) has threatened to subpoena Karl Rove and other White House officials, a subpoena the White House will certainly fight. And in the House, House reform committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has subpoenaed Condoleezza Rice to testify next month; Rice has said she won’t comply.

So what happens when they get to the edge? Will we see top officials in cuffs soon?

The short answer: no, but a subpoena still gets results.

Former general counsel to the House Charles Tiefer explained that these face-offs never culminate in court.

"In theory, what happens is, after the House, or the Senate, goes through a certain process, [the case] is kicked over to a prosecutor," Tiefer said. But to think that will actually happen "is a naive way" of looking at Congressional investigations.

No top government official has ever been indicted for failing to respond to a Congressional subpoena. Tiefer, who signed off on more Congressional subpoenas than anyone else while counsel to the House from 1984 to 1996, explained that these investigations mount pressure to achieve results.

When asked if a Congressional subpoena has teeth he asked his own question: “Does a vise have teeth?” Well, no, but, “you could crack stones in a vise.”

The investigation process ramps up political pressure with letters, media outreach, subpoenas and contempt until one side cracks. The more bipartisan support an investigation has, the heavier each move weighs. The more the public supports the opposing branch, the more likely a committee will be to back down.

Usually a negotiated agreement is reached before the investigation hits a serious phase.

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Iraq

Waxman to Rice: Step Back

Paul Kiel | May 4, 2007, 12:55PM

Here's the latest volley in the ongoing battle between Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Waxman, the chairman of the House committee on oversight, wrote to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice today to complain that State Department officials had attempted to prevent a nuclear weapons anaylst at the department from speaking with his staff. This comes after Waxman's committee issued a subpoena last week for Rice's testimony on how she dealt with claims before the war that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger. Rice has said that she won't comply with the subpoena.

Waxman said that when his staff sought to meet with Simon Dodge, a nuclear weapons analyst at the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, a State Department official called and objected. According to Waxman, the official "informed Committee staff that you [Rice] were prohibiting Mr. Dodge from meeting with Committee investigators. This official claimed that allowing Mr. Dodge to speak with Committee staff would be 'inappropriate' because the Committee voted to issue a subpoena to compel your attendance at a hearing on your knowledge of the fabricated evidence."

Waxman wants to speak to Dodge because he raised alarms about the Niger evidence two weeks before President Bush cited it in his State of the Union address in 2003.

Waxman said he was giving Rice the benefit of the doubt:

I assume that your legislative staff was acting without your authorization in this matter. It would be a matter of great concern - as well as an obvious conflict of interest - if vou had directed your staff to impede a congressional investigation into matter that may implicate your conduct as National Security Advisor.

Waxman informed Rice that the committee would be interviewing Dodge next week.

And he also requested several documents from Rice "relating to the claim that Iraq sought uranium from Africa."

Iraq

House Panel Authorizes Rice Subpoena

Paul Kiel | April 25, 2007, 1:29PM

FromCQ:

The Democratic-run House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on today authorized subpoenas for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice....

Waxman has been trying to get Rice to testify about claims Iraq was attempting to obtain uranium, a vital element for nuclear weaponry, in the buildup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. The committee voted 21-10 to authorize him to issue a subpoena to Rice.

Update/Correction: This post originally incorrectly stated that the panel had issued the subpoena.

Iraq

Waxman to Rice: The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get

Paul Kiel | April 9, 2007, 12:37PM

Here's the latest instance of what is becoming a flourishing genre in the new Congress: the spurned chairman letter. It comes when oversight efforts are met with deafening silence from the administration.

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice such a letter (pdf) today. Last month, Waxman wrote Rice, inviting her to an April 18 hearing on the Niger forgeries and the infamous sixteen words, and asking a list of questions about what she knew about the documents and how they got into the State of the Union address. What he got in return was a mostly irrelevant letter from one of Rice's subordinates forwarding previous correspondence that answered none of his questions. He's not happy and is pressing again for answers.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) delivered one of the classics of the genre last week, berating Alberto Gonzales for his silence in response to repeated requests for information over the past several months.

The administration's strategy, if indeed it is one, seems short-sighted. It's worked for the past six years. But the Dems are in charge now -- and anger and subpoena-power is a dangerous mix.

Oversight Committee

In Iraq, No Room at The Inn for Auditors

Paul Kiel | March 12, 2007, 4:04PM

How strained are resources in Iraq? So strained that the State Department can't afford for three auditors to make a three month visit.

The State Department recently turned down a request for three congressional auditors to make a three-month stay in Baghdad, saying that having them around for that long would be "a serious challenge to mission resources."

In response, 22 Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), have called on Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to make room. "American taxpayers are currently being asked to spend approximately $3,420 every second and $280 million per day in Iraq," reads a letter to Rice sent today. "It is imperative that GAO be given the access it needs to serve as the eyes and ears of the United States Congress...."

But the burden of having those three auditors around would seem almost insurmountable... or at least that's the impression a State Department official gave in a letter to Harkin last week:

"each of [the auditors] would require lodging, extensive support services, security, computers, and other administrative support, as well as the attention of our staff in Baghdad in responding to their requests and inquiries."

You can read the entire letter here. The State Department turned down the GAO's request for a three-month stay, agreeing only to a two-week visit -- although the official pointed out that even that "will place considerable burden on Embassy staff and resources."

In the letter sent to Sec. Rice today, the Democrats didn't buy that argument, asking instead that the State Department make room for a six-month stay for the auditors.

Oversight Committee

Gonzales to Dems: Shoo, Fly

Paul Kiel | March 3, 2007, 10:02AM

From Bob Novak's column today:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has indicated he is too busy to answer letters from Democratic congressional leaders about his firing seven U.S. attorneys involved in probes of public corruption, though a lower-level Justice Department official rejected their proposals.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, House Democratic Caucus chairman, had written Gonzales two letters suggesting that he name Carol Lam, fired as U.S. attorney in San Diego, as an outside counsel to continue her pursuit of the Duke Cunningham case. Asked by Melissa Charbonneau of the Christian Broadcasting Network about this column’s report that Gonzales did not respond, Gonzales said: “I think that the American people lose if I spend all my time worrying about congressional requests for information, if I spend all my time responding to subpoenas.”

Richard A. Hertling, the acting Justice Department lobbyist, responded Wednesday, 22 days after Emanuel’s letter. He contended “the Justice Department would not ever seek the resignation of a U.S. attorney if doing so would jeopardize a public corruption case” and rejected naming Lam as a special prosecutor.

Oversight Committee

Sens to Admin: Explain Views on Congress War Powers

Paul Kiel | January 30, 2007, 1:14PM

This ought to be good. Senate Judicary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Ranking Member Arlen Specter (R-PA) have written Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to ask what power they think Congress has to restrict the waging of war.

The request comes as Sen. Russ Feinfold (D-WI) holds a hearing today called "Exercising Congress's Constitutional Power to End a War." A number of Democrats, like Feingold, have urged that the Democrats use the power of the purse to restrict Bush's troop increase in Iraq.

"What constitutional authority do you recognize resides with the Congress with respect to war?" the letter asks. "How do you believe Congress can exercise its authorities? What limits to you believe exist on those authorities? We would appreciate your prompt reply and legal analysis."

A couple of weeks ago, President Bush, in response to a question of whether he had "the authority to put the [21,000 extra] troops in [Iraq] no matter what the Congress wants to do," answered, "In this situation, I do, yeah. Now, I fully understand they could try to stop me from doing it. But I made my decision, and we're going forward."

We'll see if the administration sticks to that line.

We've posted Leahy's full statement on this issue below.

Read more »

George Bush

Help Wanted: Lawyer, Experience Fighting Subpoenas, Democrats

Paul Kiel | January 6, 2007, 5:55PM

The New York Times gives the rundown on the search for White House counsel Harriet Myers' successor:

Republicans said Friday in interviews that the White House was now, in essence, seeking a politically savvy outsider with ties throughout the capital and in Congress who might be called upon to become something of a public figure in potentially high-profile fights.

“They need somebody who can sit down face-to-face with an ornery committee chairman and work out a conflict over an oversight request,” said Bradford A. Berenson, a former associate counsel for Mr. Bush during his first term. “The job will require a certain minimum level of stature and a minimum level of political experience.”

Several Republicans, including some former administration officials, said the new White House counsel would also need the stature to counterbalance David S. Addington, the powerful chief of staff of Vice President Dick Cheney. Mr. Addington has tended to argue against cooperating with Congressional requests for classified information, a position that may require some softening, or at least more diplomacy, in the 110th Congress.

The White House is, in some respects, seeking a figure who is the mirror opposite of Ms. Miers, who has not shown a high level of comfort being a public figure....

This search is in tandem, of course, with the White House's wider effort to beef up their legal ranks in preparation for the coming investigations.

Oversight Committee

Dem Forms Un-Disappearing Committee

Paul Kiel | January 5, 2007, 5:27PM

From The Hill:

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has created a new subcommittee that will tackle decisions made by the Bush administration regarding which government records should be made available to the public.

Well, he's got a lot of un-disappearing to do. Via Tapped.

Oversight Committee

Firm Drafts Oversight Defense A-Team

Paul Kiel | January 4, 2007, 5:33PM

As we noted repeatedly last month, law firms, lobbyists, and professional spinners have busily repositioning themselves to attract corporate clients who'll be looking for help once the Democrats bring the gavel down.

But one firm has topped them all, organizing a one-stop-shop for targeted companies (sub. req.):

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw today is launching a Congressional Oversight Strategy group that will combine lobbyists, white-collar defense lawyers and members of its banking, securities and energy practices.

“I’ve chaired an oversight subcommittee, so I know what they’re going to be looking for,” said ex-Rep. David McIntosh (R-Ind.), a Mayer Brown lobbyist. “If a private person or corporation comes up before Congress and needs a team, we’ll be bringing the people together.”

McIntosh said the new practice will have as many as 20 lawyers and lobbyists, including one-time U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor; Peter Scher, former chief of staff to Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.); Andrew Shore, former chief of staff to the House Republican Conference; and Howard Waltzman, most recently the chief telecommunications counsel on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Well, jeez. And the investigators don't even have their pants on yet. Early advantage: corporations.

Oversight Committee

As Whistle Blows for 110th Congress, Dem Probers Still Suiting Up

Justin Rood | January 3, 2007, 3:00PM

The House returns tomorrow to begin a new session. Democrats have announced they'll push an ambitious legislative agenda in the first 100 hours, but some people -- us, of course, and many of our readers -- are eager to see congressional investigations kick off a new era of more involved oversight. Well, I hear we're all going to have to wait a while for those fireworks to begin. Just like the Fourth of July, the parade comes first.

"People shouldn't expect oversight hearings right out of the gate," one Democratic Hill insider told me today. While some, like incoming Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Joe Biden (D-DE), are planning immediate oversight hearings -- in Biden's case, on Iraq -- it will be several weeks or months before most panels will have significant new findings to release.

"It has surprised me how much of a dragged-out process this has been," said the insider, referring to the length of time it has taken many oversight operations to add staff and develop their agendas. He didn't believe disorganization was to blame. Rather, it has taken time for leadership in the House and Senate to determine budgets for the committees. "Until people knew what their budgets were, they wouldn't know what their staffing would be."

As a result, when the curtain rises on the 110th Congress, some committees are reportedly still interviewing for new investigations staff.

Read more »

Oversight Committee

The Investigators: The Lions from Michigan

Justin Rood | January 2, 2007, 2:54PM

Two of the sharpest-toothed hunters among House Democrats are also among the longest-serving: Reps. John Dingell (D-MI) and John Conyers (D-MI). Combined the two men have over 95 years of service in Congress, yet their instincts for oversight remain sharp.

Player: Rep. John Dingell (D-MI)
Position: Chair, House Energy & Commerce Committee

"You're the biggest pain in the ass on Capitol Hill," President Bush reportedly told Dingell in 2005 as the two fought over health care legislation. It's a reputation the senior lawmaker does little to diminish. He's claimed his share of scalps from the executive branch, including at least one jailing mixed in with the forced resignations. Rove pal Ken Tomlinson quit the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board under Dingell's pressure. (Tomlinson couldn't stay out of trouble, however.)

Since it became clear he would retake his committee's chairmanship, Dingell has held his list of executive-branch targets close to the vest. Natural targets would include the administration's trade policies, and its ties to Big Oil. He's made no secret of his appetite for investigating the private sector. So far, he's tipped his hand enough to show plans to investigate Medicare and Medicaid fraud involving big pharmaceutical companies, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and the dietary supplement industry.

Player: Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Position: Chair, House Judiciary Committee

Convers, in his fifth decade on Capitol Hill, has emerged as one of the Democrats' most vocal critics of the White House. After holding hearings on the topic in 2005, he's held tenaciously to questions from the Downing Street Memo that were never answered to his satisfaction. The memo is a British government document from 2002 which alleged the Bush White House was "fixing" the intelligence about Iraq to make a case for war.

Last August, Conyers' staff produced a report detailing at least 26 violations of law on the part of the Bush administration, mostly involving pre-war intelligence, the NSA domestic spying program, and the CIA's black sites operations. Despite producing a list of potential criminal charges against President Bush, Conyers has repeatedly denied allegations that he seeks to impeach the president. He has called for "Watergate-style hearings" to learn the details of many of the administration's questionable programs.

Oversight Committee

Defending Against a Congressional Probe: A Primer

Paul Kiel | December 11, 2006, 12:49PM

Uh-oh, you just got a subpoena from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) in the mail. What do you do?

As we've noted here before, a Democratic Congress means big business for those who make their living defending big business. And law firms have done what they can to whip their corporate clients into a panic over the coming investigations.

In today's Washington Post, Jeffrey Birnbaum reports that "just about every company on K Street is vying for a piece of the soon-to-thrive 'crisis management' business" -- and offers a glimpse of what costly (and sometimes contradictory) opinions from legal eagles, publicity consultants, and lobbyists will look like. The result is a rough primer for targetted corporations:

Read more »

Oversight Committee

The Investigators: Rocky and Reyes Head for Intel

Justin Rood | December 7, 2006, 5:00PM

With majorities in both houses of Congress, Democrats will control two of the most delicate but vital instruments of national security oversight: the House and Senate intelligence committees.

In Republican hands these past few years, the panels became known more for what they didn't do than for what they did: for not learning about secret government spying projects, not inquiring about interrogation abuses, and for slow-walking investigations into intelligence failures.

But the two Democrats who will take charge of the panels next year say that's going to change.

Player: Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Position: Chair, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI)

Tall, quiet and genteel, Rockefeller has in the past fielded criticism that he may be too lighweight on national security issues and use a too-light touch with the opposition. Indeed, he has typically eschewed bomb-throwing and confrontation in favor of more discreet efforts -- like writing a secret letter to the vice president. But that may be changing: Rockefeller has declared that his intelligence committee will pursue a "cleanup agenda," to make up for the messes left behind by the White House and his Republican predecessor, Sen. Pat Roberts (KS).

Rockefeller has billboarded his concerns about the Bush administration's "too aggressive" pursuit of secrecy, and has vowed stricter oversight of and inquiry into the NSA's domestic spying program and allegations of detainee torture.

It's the White House's habit of stonewalling, regardless of the issue, which really raises Rockefeller's hackles. "it's like they will only tell you what they want you to know," he told NPR's Steve Inskeep recently. "And I'm sorry, but this administration has carried that to extremes that I have never been familiar with before in intelligence or any other subject.

"We have to have oversight so that we can call them up short when they're doing something which we think is wrong. And right now we think some things they're doing may be wrong."

Player: Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX)
Position: House Permanent Subcommittee on Intelligence (HPSCI)

A third-stringer, Reyes comes to the House intel chairmanship with experience and ambition. House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (CA) reached past two more senior candidates to pick Reyes to head the committee. He's got some chops: A former border patrol officer and Vietnam vet, Reyes has been a member of HPSCI as well as the chairman of the strategic forces subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee, which oversees nuclear weaponry and military satellite programs.

Reyes has vowed to make current intelligence on Iraq a top priority. In an interview with CQ's Tim Starks, the congressman said he'd focus on "understanding the role of intelligence and the role of intelligence agencies" in scaling down the U.S. military presence in that country. (In a separate interview with Newsweek, however, Reyes said "we have to consider the need for additional troops to be in Iraq.")

Reyes said he would also look into the NSA program and the treatment of detainees in the war on terror. The incoming House chairman added that he wanted to focus also on "emerging threats," which he believed were coming from places as far-flung as Latin America, the Balkans and Russia, as well as Iran and North Korea.

Oversight Committee

EPA: Don't Get the Lead out

Paul Kiel | December 7, 2006, 1:14PM

The Bush administration wants to consider relaxing restrictions of how much lead polluters can spew into the air. Why? Because existing environmental policies have lowered the level of lead in the air enough already, according to a draft report (pdf) by the Environmental Protection Agency. Why overdo it?

"Given the significantly changed circumstances since lead was listed in 1976," such restrictions on the deadly substance may no longer be needed, the EPA reasons. (A number of corporate interests, including battery manufacturers, have been lobbying the EPA hard to relax its lead emissions rules, as the AP has noted.)

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the perennial bulldog, fired off a letter to the EPA's head yesterday, marveling that he would revoke the national standard for lead and urging him to "renounce this dangerous policy immediately." We've posted a copy of Waxman's letter here.

Oversight Committee

New Firm To Specialize in Scandal Management for Targeted GOPers

Paul Kiel | December 6, 2006, 5:05PM

From Roll Call (sub. req.) -- who says white-collar defense lawyers should get all the money? Spokespeople gotta eat, too:

With Hurricane Subpoena bearing down on Capitol Hill, veteran GOP spin masters Mark Corallo and Barbara Comstock are hitching their wagons to help Republicans fight the storm and — well, sure — rake in some dough.

Corallo and Comstock are forming the crisis management firm Corallo Comstock, Inc. They aim to open shop on Jan. 1, just before the new Democratic chairmen will start banging their gavels and demanding information from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

“Just in time for subpoena season,” Corallo told HOH.

Barbara Comstock and Mark Carallo, of course, are seasoned professionals who have issued "no comment"s on behalf of such notable clients as Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Tom DeLay (R-TX), and Karl Rove. More at ThinkProgress.

Oversight Committee

Pundits: EPA Officials Scare Easily

Justin Rood | December 6, 2006, 3:25PM

Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency are set to resign, knowing their agency will face multiple investigations from a Democratic Congress, according to the Evans Novak Political Report.

(We don't subscribe, so we have to take Political Wire's word for it.)

I'd expect to see a few more stories like this before Hill Dems even have a chance to pick up their gavels in January.