Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty have been accused of perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice after lying about their relationship to officials. Text messages the two sent each other on city-owned pagers prove their relationship, as well as Kilpatrick's role in the firing of a Detroit police officer. Now even more messages have been released. (New York Times)

As federal earmarks continue to be a hot topic in this election season, congressional records show Sen. Hillary Clinton leading the pack in requested handouts for 2009 at nearly $2.3 billion, almost three times more than any other senator. (The Hill)

Former defense contractor Mitchell Wade will finally receive sentencing from a federal judge in December for bribing former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Cunningham is currently serving jail time, as is fellow Cunningham-briber Brent Wilkes who worked with Wade. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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Soldiers coming back from World War II were greeted with the GI Bill, giving opportunity and promise to begin anew. Now over 800,000 young men and women are returning from war fronts looking to make their own fresh start, but they are finding the modern version of the GI Bill is insufficient, barely covering half of today's skyrocketing college tuition. (Washington Post)

By allowing outside influence to affect policy and protocol,the Bush administration has severely watered down the clout of the Environmental Protection Agency, reports a Government Accountability Office finding. The EPA's duty of assessing cancerous hazards in chemicals, specifically, has been curbed by non-scientific reviews and involvement from White House budget officials, the Energy Dept, and the Pentagon to name a few. (Associated Press)

Ashley Dupre, known as "Kristen" to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, is now suing the founder of the video franchise "Girls Gone Wild" for $10 million. Dupre was featured in one of the company's videos during a drunken spring break foray in 2003. She says she was only 17 at the time, too young to sign a binding agreement to use the footage of her. Dupre "did not understand the magnitude of her actions ..." at the time, her lawsuit claims. (LA Times)

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Family members of Iraqis murdered by workers of defense contractor Blackwater have sued the company for wrongful death. Now lawyers for the Iraqis are claiming that Blackwater has shredded documents vital to federal investigations of the company. There is no word yet on an investigation by the Justice Department into the matter. (USA Today)

Defense lawyers of clients living overseas, but barred from the U.S. due to accusations of supporting terrorism, assume that the U.S. government is monitoring their e-mail or phone correspondence with the clients. These assumptions are causing lawyers rigorous travel and expense to meet with exiled clients. (New York Times)

After backing legislation last year calling for campaigns to pay charter rates on flights in an effort to level influence of lobbyists, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been found to have used his wife's corporate-owned jet last summer at about one-third the cost when his own campaign was strapped for cash. The Federal Election Commission tried to close the loophole McCain used to justify his actions, but the agency has been in turmoil since losing the required number of commissioners to enact such rules. (New York Times)

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The U.S. government claims they are doing all they can to prop up Iraqi security forces for an eventual hand off ... one of these days. Yet the transitional path may be rockier than expected, according to an audit by the Pentagon that reveals many dead or inactive troops are on the Iraqi government payroll in an effort to support their families. (Associated Press)

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is hearing calls for his swift impeachment, by fellow Democrats no less, for allegedly promising a job to a state finance official in exchange for campaign contributions. The official, Ali Ata, pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges, implicated the governor in the wrongdoing and is now expected to testify against Blagojevich ally Tony Rezko for accepting kickbacks from state businesses. (Chicago Sun-Times)

A faculty-led panel at the University of West Virginia is investigating the retroactive master's degree given to the daughter of the state's Gov. Joe Manchin in 2007. The panel issued a report saying there was no proof the recipient, Heather Bresch, earned the 1998 master's degree of business administration. Bresch has said she completed the degree program fairly, yet her faculty advisor at the time says otherwise. (Associated Press)

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Many families of soldiers killed in Iraq, like Lt. Col. Billy Hall, have given permission for the media to cover the burial of the deceased to show the realities of war. But the Pentagon has done its best to block such coverage, quelling sound and video allowed for recordings and obstructing reporters and photographers. (Washington Post)

The senator who added "wide stance" to the American lexicon now faces further hardship. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), arrested last June by an undercover cop in an airport restroom, has used funds from this campaign committee to pay his lawyers. But the Senate ethics panel ordered him to pay out of his own bank account. (Washington Post)

Chalk up another victim to the scam artist Christopher Ward, former treasurer to several GOP campaigns and subject of an FBI investigation into alleged embezzlement charges. Rep. James Walsh (R-NY) is the latest (of the now six-member club) to reveal that he was a victim. (Washington Post)

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The former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christine Todd Whitman, is off the hook for assuring New Yorkers in 2001 that air surrounding the World Trade Center after 9/11 was safe to breathe despite having no basis for such claims. Though numerous reports of sickened residents and workers near the site pour in, a federal appeals court ruled she did not intend to cause harm. Whitman contends now that she was talking about Lower Manhattan in general, not just Ground Zero. (Washington Post)

The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday challenging the equitable value of the "millionaire's amendment," which puts restrictions on wealthy congressional candidates while allowing their opponents to raise more money. Justices were split in their views of the law: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the law was created to fight the perception of congressional seats for sale. Justice Antonin Scalia argued that logic had nothing to do with fighting corruption. (New York Times)

Officials of the private military firm Blackwater Worldwide were not deterred by those protesting their projected training facility east of San Diego ... they just moved their focus-area elsewhere in San Diego County. Blackwater Vice President Brian Bonfiglio says the over 61,000-square foot building in Otay Mesa will cost "hundreds of thousands of dollars," and should be ready for Navy training this summer. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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In January of 2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered the minimizing of troop-tour extensions. A few months later, the number of troops affected by "stop loss" was at a three-year low. But since then, the number forced back into service has spiked by 43 percent ... and it will be a year before the "stop loss" policy will cease. (USA Today and Associated Press)

Bob Lady was the former CIA base chief in Milan, Italy. He was tabbed by the CIA to go after al Qaeda suspects, including top operative Abu Omar, in Milan beginning in early 2003. The mission ended up in kidnappings that Italian authorities are now putting CIA employees on trial for, and Lady, deserted by the CIA, is on the run. (Congressional Quarterly)

In search of visits by leaders of the religious right with the Bush administration, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington challenged the White House policy of concealing all visitor logs from the public. The Bush administration claims the records are not, nor have ever been, open to the public. A federal court is now seeking a compromise between the president's right to privacy and the public's right to access. (Associated Press)

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John McCain has based part of his candidacy for president on his record of independence from big name lobbying efforts. But The New York Times reports that of the campaign's 106 top fund-raisers who have raised over $100,000 for McCain, a sixth of them are lobbyists. The list of bundlers was voluntarily released by the campaign. (New York Times)

The New York Times reported Sunday on the practice of top "military analysts" appearing on television and radio to comment on American military affairs being handpicked and debriefed by the Pentagon. The effort began before the Iraq war, and several former military officials, some with ties to overseas military contractors, have gone to bat for the Pentagon to share favorable news. (New York Times)

A Supreme Court ruling from 1950 has prevented active-duty military personnel from suing for medical malpractice. The initial, and persistent, reasoning was that an excess of litigation would hamstring true military objectives. Now, after a series of recent questionable medical procedures, some in the military are demanding the ruling be amended. (LA Times)

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A study released by the RAND Corporation reports that 300,000 U.S. troops deal with depression or post traumatic stress disorder and 320,000 suffered brain injuries stemming from their service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The study surveyed 1,965 members from all branches of the armed forces, active and non-active. The economic cost of the cases is estimated between $4 billion and $6 billion over two years. (Washington Post)

Los Angeles prosecutors under his jurisdiction claim U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien has forced them to take on unwarranted criminal cases in order to boost prosecution statistics that help garner federal funding. If they fail to reach their quotas, the prosecutors claim they run the risk of discipline or professional ramifications. O'Brien say the "performance goals" are to increase results in an office once known for lagging productivity. (Los Angeles Times)

The British High Court is considering reopening the case against Prince Bandar, the head of Saudi Arabia's National Security Council, former Saudi ambassador in Washington and close ally of President Bush, for allegedly accepting bribes from British Aerospace Systems (BAE). The investigation was halted by the British government in 2006 when, allegedly, Bandar threatened to end Saudi cooperation with British terrorism intelligence if the investigation persisted. (Newsweek)

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Among the many problems in Iraq, officials there have decided seat belt laws are lax and will now crackdown on offenders. Add that to the other distractions while on the morning commute. (New York Times)

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was found to have misreported over $440,000-worth of campaign donations and spending. Blackburn blamed the discrepancies on a credit card company that she claims botched online donations and inexperienced workers who didn't know how to properly record contribution checks with the FEC. (The Tennessean)

Pentagon documents reveal the 2003 prisoner abuse of Afghan detainees at the Gardez Detention Facility. Among other abuses, prisoners were forced to kneel outside in wet clothing while they were hit repeatedly if they moved. (Associated Press)

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As opportunities to impact policy in an election year become scant, action on the credit crisis in Washington has had varying effects on legislation. On the surface, a bill approved in the U.S. Senate will aid homeowners at risk of foreclosure. Dig deeper and you'll find major tax breaks for a variety of big business and industry, say consumer and labor groups. (New York Times)

Further last ditch legislative efforts in Congress before the election include the attachment of money for transportation, unemployment insurance, public housing and other causes by Democrats onto President Bush's $108 billion war funding bill. The White House has now threatened a veto. (USA Today)

A group of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their crucial Sadr City-post Tuesday night, leaving the area unsupervised for hours. This left angered U.S. military officials to order American and Iraqi soldiers to make up the lost ground left by the deserters during a critical push to gain control of parts of Sadr City from militia forces. (New York Times)

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Displaced Iraqi civilians that have stayed within the country's borders are now being offered more aid by various militia groups than the Iraqi government, according to a report by Refugees International. The report says "militias of all denominations are improving their local base of support by providing social services ...," while the Iraqi government, "has access to large sums of money," yet is incapable and unwilling to offer necessary humanitarian assistance. (Washington Post)

The environmental group Greenpeace was the subject of intense, intrusive attention from a private security firm during the late 1990s, according to documents attained by Mother Jones. Beckett Brown International, made of former Secret Service and police officers focused their surveillance and infiltration techniques on environmental groups for clients like Allied Waste, the Carlyle Group and Monsanto, among others. (Mother Jones)

Today is April 15. Have you done your tax-related duties? Well, the Internal Revenue Service has outsourced some of its own. The agency is expected to lose over $37 million in using private debt collectors to do their bidding. Since 2006, the IRS has collected only $49 million of the $1 billion they sent private companies to retrieve. Those collectors took home as much as a 24 percent commission in the process. (Washington Post)

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The Justice Department is pursuing the leak from government officials to The New York Times' James Risen. A former government official called before a grand jury regarding the case has confirmed that he was shown phone records that prove some in the government had conversations with Risen as he was reporting on the CIA, as well as the National Security Agency's program of warrantless eavesdropping. The department is pursuing the sources for Risen's book "State of War," and articles he wrote for the Times. (New York Times)

The Bush administration has plans to implement a new advanced domestic spying system, employing technology formerly used for the likes of mapping and disaster response. Congress has responded critically, claiming that there's no proof that the program will not be used to violate citizens' privacy. The Department of Homeland Security wants to use the program for enhanced satellite imagery and chemical detection, among other monitoring abilities. (Washington Post)

Bill Clinton's charity, credited with raising millions for causes like disaster response and poverty relief, is now accused of accepting funds from a Chinese Internet company closely associated with the Chinese government. Alibaba Inc., now running Yahoo in China, carried a government-mandated post on the Yahoo China homepage calling for citizens to point out any Tibetan activists involved in the recent riots. This comes after Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, has called for President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of the upcoming Beijing Olympics. (Los Angeles Times)

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When Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud Qosi, a Sudanese detainee at Guantanamo Bay, was arraigned Thursday he refused to accept legal representation and informed the military court that he would boycott future proceedings. In a "rambling statement" he told the judge, "I leave in your hands the camel and its load for you to do whatever you wish." (LA Times)

An advisory panel of scientists has slammed the Environmental Protection Agency's Administrator Stephen Johnson for ignoring its advice and implementing air quality standards that fail to protect public health. When Johnson lowered the allowable ozone levels that are considered healthy (from 80 parts per billion to 75 parts per billion) 345 counties nationwide were deemed to be in "violation of the federal air quality standards for ozone, commonly known as smog." (AP)

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates apologized to Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) after Gates told Levin he must be confused for believing that the Pentagon was still involved in the physical reconstruction business in Iraq. Levin had received a letter from the Pentagon discussing an allocation of $600 million in reconstruction aid, yet Gates mistakenly told Levin that the money must have been for something else. After receiving a note from an aide that confirmed Levin's understanding, Gates admitted that “[T]here are actually things that go on that I don’t know about." (Politico's "The Crypt")

And in the same line of questioning with Sen. Levin and the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gates said he doesn't hold out hope for getting troop levels in Iraq down to 100,000 by 2009, despite the past prospects he's had on the subject. (ThinkProgress)

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The ACLU has petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen who alleges that he was abducted in December 2003 and then tortured by the CIA. El-Masari was denied his day in a U.S. court when the Bush administration successfully employed a state secrets defense. (AP)

A Saudi detainee at Guantanamo Bay who has denounced the U.S. government's case against him as a "sham," had himself removed from his military tribunal as a protest. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza Al-Darbi, whose brother-in-law was one of the September 11 hijackers, stated that "history will record these trials as a scandal," Al-Darbi said. "I advise you, the judge, and everyone else who is present to not continue with this play, this sham." Al-Dabri, who is yet to be classified as an enemy combatant, has also claimed that he was beaten in custody and left hanging from handcuffs while he was detained and interrogated at Bagram air base. (Los Angeles Times)

A senior official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testified to Congress that climate change "is likely to have a "significant impact on health" and that the "CDC considers climate change a serious public health concern." Though this testimony relates directly to the EPA's regulatory policies on CO2 emissions, the official refused to comment directly on whether the Environmental Protection Agency should regulate CO2 under the federal Clean Air Act. (AP)

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Attorneys for Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a detainee being held as "enemy combatant," argued to an appellate court yesterday that a memo that the Justice Department declassified and released only last week proves that their client's detention is illegal. According to the attorneys, the memo "makes plain as day that al-Marri was declared an enemy combatant based on discredited legal opinions and for the illegal purpose of abusive interrogations." (Washington Post)

The Washington Post has published a guide to the 11 multicolored charts that General Petraeus presented to Congress yesterday because "a close look at the facts indicates that the data often lacked context or were misleading." In the case of Petraeus' first chart, the paper notes that "the figures for 2009 appear to be based on guesswork, and Petraeus's office declined to provide supporting information." (Washington Post)

Jury deliberations have resumed in the trial of the six men accused of conspiring with al Qaeda to destroy the Sears Tower in Chicago. The Bush administration has claimed that this case is an important accomplishment in the war on terror but the first trial ended in a deadlocked jury and Neal Sonnett, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, believes the case is "more hype than evidence." (ABC's "The Blotter")

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Since 1994 the FBI has maintained a surveillance link (the Digital Collection System) between 40 of its offices, Quantico, and networks belonging to major telecommunications companies. Three Democratic lawmakers are concerned about the scope of this surveillance and have demanded more information about "transactional data" captured in these networks without court warrants. (Washington Post)

Lawmakers also have concerns about the Department of Homeland Security's domestic surveillance program. Known as the National Applications Office, the DHS' satellite program provides government officials with spy satellite imagery (sub. req.) and has no legal safeguards in place to prevent domestic spying. (Wall Street Journal)

Key legal opinions and documents related to the Department of Justice's torture memos of 2002 and 2003 and warrantless surveillance program remain under lock and key at the DOJ. Though lawmakers have requested the documents for years - and Attorney General Mukasey promised that "there isn't going to be any stonewalling" over Congressional requests for documents - the DOJ seems to be too busy to fill the requests. DOJ spokesman Peter Carr noted that congresisonal inquiries take "an enormous amount of department time and resources." (Washington Post)

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Defense lawyers of detainees at Guantanamo Bay assert that the government's efforts to introduce evidence obtained through abusive interrogation "heralds a very dark chapter in American history." The lawyers for Salim Ahmed Hamdan have asked a military judge to acknowledge that Hamdan was beaten and sexually humiliated. (New York Times)

The Senate Armed Services Committee has been "quietly but aggressively scrutinizing" the role of top administration officials in the abuse of detainees under Depart of Defense custody. In February, the committee informed the Pentagon that it wanted to speak with former Pentagon legal counsel William Haynes, the official who requested that Justice Department lawyer John Yoo draft the recently released March 2003 torture memo. Haynes has agreed to speak without being subpoenaed. (Newsweek)

Federal legislation from 2006 that makes it possible for civilian contractors in Iraq to be tried under the military justice system will be tested for the first time. The case, which centers on a knife fight between two Arabic-speaking interpreters, is considered to be "significant" "because it's an untested power" and could have a massive impact on all independent contractors working overseas. (U.S. News and World Report)

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The Nation reports in harrowing detail on the rape of Lisa Smith (a pseudonymn), who worked as a paramedic for KBR in southern Iraq. A KBR supervisor told her to shut up about the brutal rape and the camp's military liaison officer also instructed her to keep quiet. (The Nation)

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has joined forces with the American Civil Liberties Union to launch an $8 million program to defend at least seven Guantanamo Bay detainees. The two organizations believe that the Pentagon has failed to provide adequate resources to military defense lawyers and that the military tribunal process permits convictions based on “secret evidence, hearsay and confessions derived from torture.” (New York Times)

The chairs of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the oversight and investigations subcommittee want Environmental Protection Agency documents to determine if the the chemical industry has improperly influenced expert review panels convened by the EPA. Richard Wiles of the Environmental Working Group called it a "landmark investigation" that "has called into question the ethics of the entire industry." (Washington Post)

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If the Army had conducted proper paperwork on the initial testing of its body armor, it would have been able to guarantee that the protective vests provided to soldiers met current safety standards. But it didn't, a Defense Department audit shows. (USA Today)

After September 11, 2001 the federal government established dozens of "fusion centers" across the nation that have access to personal information about American citizens. One center even has access to "top-secret data systems at the CIA." By employing "law enforcement analysts and sophisticated computer systems to compile, or fuse, disparate tips and clues and pass along the refined information to other agencies," the centers are designed to enhance "national information-sharing networks that link local, state and federal authorities." (Washington Post)

Representative Don Young (R-AK) supports the Alaska SeaLife Center and its three-day fishing tournament. But Young's genuine appreciation of wild marine animals and marine biologists is now complicated by the fact that Alaska SeaLife Center (a 501(c)(4) nonprofit) used the same invitation to invite donors to both the fishing tournament and a campaign event for Young. Young and his campaign have refused to comment on the apparent violation of campaign finance law. (KTUU News)

Representative William Jefferson's (D-LA) needs a new chief political strategist. Mose Jefferson, who currently holds that position, and is also William's oldest brother, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on seven felony counts. Mose is charged with bribing a New Orleans school official to win support for a math curriculum he was selling. (Times Picayune)

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Just one week before General Petraeus is expected to testify about the progress of the surge, General Richard Cody, the army's vice chief of staff, asserted that the 30,000 additional troops sent to Iraq have inflicted "incredible stress" and have created "a significant risk" for the military. Cody added, "I've never seen our lack of strategic depth be where it is today." (Washington Post)

The U.S. and Britain disagree about the status and future of one of the two British residents who remains in detention at Guantanamo Bay. While the Pentagon is determined to pursue terrorism-related charges against Binyam Mohamed, Britain has criticized the American's military tribunal process as unfair. Britain is also concerned that information about its intelligence agencies could emerge during a trial: “there is some discomfort with what the defense will try to drag out.” (New York Times)

The ACLU believes that the Pentagon has been using the FBI's national security letters to hide its efforts to evade legal restrictions on obtaining private internet, financial, and telephone records of American citizens. After reviewing more than 1,000 documents that the Defense Department was forced to turn over in a ACLU filed law suit last year, the ACLU is "incredibly concerned that the FBI and DOD might be collaborating to evade limits put on the DOD's use of NSLs." (USA Today)

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When Rush Limbaugh launched his "Operation Chaos" plan which urged Republicans to register as Democrats so that they could vote for Hillary Clinton in Mississippi, he may not have realized the extent of the chaos he was causing. Party-switchers in Mississippi who voted in the presidential primary last week - an unusually high number - will not be allowed to cast ballots in an important congressional contest this week. (Politico)

The U.S. military has struggled throughout the Iraq war to contain blogs, especially those written by soldiers. A 2006 report for the Joint Special Operations University - "Blogs and Military Information Strategy" - proposed that ""hiring a block of bloggers to verbally attack a specific person or promote a specific message may be worth considering." But the plan also conceded that "on the other hand, such operations can have a blowback effect, as witnessed by the public reaction following revelations that the U.S. military had paid journalists to publish stories in the Iraqi press under their own names." (Wired)

The book is now officially closed on the investigation into the CIA leak that outed the identity of agent Valerie Plame. The price tag: $2.58 million, according to the Government Accountability Office. The extensive 45-month investigation by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald involved many prime players of the Bush Administration and the State Department, including I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff who was convicted of perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI. (AP)

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