TPMMuckraker The Daily Muck: February 2009
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Chris Black | February 27, 2009, 10:03AM
The Justice Department is preparing to bring charges against a man identified as an al Qaida operative who is currently being held on American soil. Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, whom the Bush administration had intended to hold indefinitely without charges, will be tried in a civilian court, officials said yesterday. The Justice Department had faced a March 23 deadline to explain to the Supreme Court whether or not it would uphold the Bush administration's policy. The decision to try al-Marri in a civilian court allows the new administration more time to review detention policies. (New York Times)
Lawsuits filed against large financial companies, including Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, contend that female employees are bearing the brunt of recent downsizing. Plaintiffs note that female employees made up 64 percent of Wall Street employees before the crash, and yet 72 percent of the last 260,000 jobs cut were held by women. The firms dispute the allegations, saying it is hard to show that there is no evidence gender is playing a role in firing decisions. (Forbes)
The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against drug maker Forest Laboratories for defrauding the government of millions of dollars by marketing two antidepressants for use in children and young adults. The complaint says that Forest Laboratories concealed a study that showed the drugs were not effective in children and could cause patients to become suicidal. The lawsuit also charges that the company gave kickbacks -- in the form of baseball tickets, gift certificates to expensive restaurants, and paid vacations -- to doctors who prescribed its drugs. (New York Times)
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Chris Black | February 26, 2009, 10:12AM
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced yesterday that it began an investigation of its New Orleans office last week, relating to equal employment opportunity complaints. The news came after Rep. Anh Cao (R-LA) raised questions about cronyism and other misconduct at the office. (Associated Press)
For the second time since the Inauguration, the Obama administration finds itself defending Bush's use of state secrets claims. The Justice Department is seeking to delay hearings in a lawsuit involving warrantless wiretaps of a now-defunct Saudi Islamic charity operating in Oregon. The Bush administration had previously warned that the judge in the trial would not be able to protect against the release of sensitive information if the trial were allowed to proceed. The case is the first and only to challenge warrantless wiretapping. (Associated Press)
A report published by the Department of Energy's Inspector General Monday found that 15 government facilities licensed to hold nuclear materials did not have as much in their inventories as had been originally recorded. The report points to accounting errors, and lax record-keeping regarding nuclear material loaned to other institutions such as universities and commercial research facilities. Among the materials listed as missing were enriched uranium and plutonium. The report was a follow-up on a 2001 probe that found similar problems with record keeping. (NTI.org)
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Chris Black | February 25, 2009, 10:06AM
Alaska governor Sarah Palin's financial woes continue, as a special investigator hired by the Alaska Personnel Board looking into trips taken by the first family insists that Palin reimburse the state for nine trips taken by her children. Palin was accompanied by her daughter Bristol on one trip to New York to attend Newsweek's annual Women and Leadership conference. According to the special investigator, the state of Alaska will only pay for family travel if family members serve an important state interest on the trip. Palin has 120 days to pay up. (Associated Press)
A group of wealthy Americans is suing Swiss bank UBS in federal court to keep their identities secret. The suit alleges that UBS' actions in cooperating with U.S. investigators violate Swiss bank secrecy laws and amount to illegal activities involving foreign authorities. UBS, the world's largest private bank, had been charged by US authorities with conspiring to help wealthy clients avoid their taxes. As part of a settlement, the bank agreed to release the names of 19,000 clients. (New York Times)
Jackson, Mississippi mayor Frank Melton may face another trial after a judge declared a mistrial yesterday on charges that Melton lead a vigilante-style raid on a crackhouse that included the use of a sledgehammer to break down the building's front door. The mistrial was declared after jurors failed to reach a verdict after five days of deliberation. Melton had been criticized previously for his Wild West-style of governing, which included participating in police checkpoints and passing out cowboy hats to city council members. (Associated Press)
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Chris Black | February 24, 2009, 9:54AM
A federal judge facing sexual abuse charges struck a plea deal Monday allowing him to get off on much lighter terms. By pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and retiring from the federal bench, Judge Samuel Kent will not have to face a trial for five other charges relating to sexually inappropriate behavior with employees, although the plea deal did require the judge to admit that his advances were neither invited nor enjoyed. The obstruction of justice charge carries a 20 year maximum sentence. Kent would have been the first district judge to be tried on federal sexual harassment charges. (New York Times)
A few former associates of President Obama have raised eyebrows with their recent moves to lobbying firms. Matthew Nugen, the political director for Obama's campaign, will take a job with Ogilvy Government Relations as a strategic adviser; Jeff Berman, the director of Obama's national delegate operation, will join D.C. lobbying firm Bryan Cave; and Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for HHS Secretary has returned to lobbying powerhouse Alston & Bird. Obama has announced rules banning lobbyists from serving in his administration -- though these have been waived in several cases. (Politico)
A report published by the Pentagon yesterday urges U.S. authorities to speed the transfer of 17 Uighur detainees from the Guantanamo Bay facility. Admiral Patrick Walsh, who oversaw the review, said that other detainees are aware that the Uighurs are to be freed, and that it "breeds a climate... of friction." The U.S. has been trying for years to transfer the men to a third country; if this fails they may be settled in the United States. (Agence France Presse)
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Chris Black | February 23, 2009, 10:02AM
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac has begun an investigation into its own lobbying activities. The firm spent $2 million dollars to fight regulations that would have required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to sell hundreds of billions of dollars worth of mortgage-backed securities held in their portfolios. The same securities plunged in value when the housing market tanked. High-priced lawyers from Covington & Burling will lead the probe. (Associated Press)
Attorney General Eric Holder embarked today on a trip to review the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The trip comes in the wake of Obama's announcement that he intends to close the facility within a year. News reporters were not allowed to accompany Holder on his flight to Cuba, and it is unclear if any part of the visit will be open to press coverage. (Associated Press)
A Pentagon review of Guantanamo Bay has concluded that treatment of detainees at the facility meets the standards set by the Geneva Conventions. The review came as part of the process of closing the facility, something mandated by President Obama. The report is likely to irk defense lawyers, who for years have insisted that treatment at the camps has lead to mental health problems for some detainees. (Washington Post)
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Chris Black | February 20, 2009, 10:01AM
A report by the Associated Press reveals that jobless workers have to pay fees on the benefits they collect. 30 states have made deals with large banks, many of which are taking bailout funds, like Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and US Bancorp that require the unemployed to pay bank fees just to get access to their money. In some cases, those collecting benefits have no choice but to use bank issued debit cards, which run the risk of incurring overdraft fees. "It's a racket. It's a scam," said one unemployed woman. (Associated Press)
An Orthodox Jewish Army engineer accused of spying for Israel is now suing the Departments of Defense and Justice, claiming that investigations into his actions damaged his career. The lawsuit also claims that David Tenenbaum was falsely accused of spying solely because of his Jewish heritage. An inspector general's report from the Pentagon supports these claims, finding that Tenenbaum faced unusual and unwelcome scrutiny because of his background. The lawsuit is the second filed by Tenenbaum, the first having been dismissed on a state secrets claim by a federal appeals court. (Associated Press)
Binyam Mohamed, a one-time resident of the United Kingdom, will be transferred home early next week, sources familiar with the matter said. The release may come as early as next Monday, the same day that Attorney General Eric Holder plans to arrive at the facility as part of a review. A second former British resident is also rumored to be on the edge of release, although U.S. officials have said that he is still regarded as "dangerous" and unlikely to be relocated. Mohamed would be the first detainee to be released under the Obama administration, sources tell the Washington Post.
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Chris Black | February 19, 2009, 10:02AM
Attorney General Eric Holder will travel to Guantanamo Bay next Monday to examine the facility and learn about interrogation techniques. Holder is part of a panel that will review all aspects of detainee treatment, from apprehension all the way to trials. The panel has 180 days to report to the president, who is trying to close the facility within a year. (Associated Press)
In an example of how hard it may be for Obama to meet that goal, a federal appeals court overturned a judge's order that would have freed 17 Guantanamo detainees Wednesday. In their ruling, the three judge panel ruled that the Supreme Court's ruling in Boumediene v. Bush did not give judges the power to release people detained abroad into the general U.S. population. While the option of allowing detainees to be freed in the U.S. still exists, it no longer has legal justification, complicating the Obama administration's efforts to close the facility. (New York Times)
An internal report released yesterday by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement finds that ICE agents arrested 24 Hispanics at a convenience store in 2007 in order to meet an annual quota of 1,000 arrests. An immigration rights group is now accusing ICE of racial profiling in the raid, in which blacks and whites were ignored. The report's findings contradict sworn statements by those involved in the raid, who said they just happened to stop by the convenience store after working in neighboring counties, and had their car mobbed by day laborers. The agency's acting Assistant Secretary will seek an investigation into inconsistencies in sworn statements. (Associated Press)
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Chris Black | February 18, 2009, 10:00AM
While the Obama administration has taken public steps to discontinue some of the policies of Bush's "war on terrorism," there are signs new president will continue some of his predecessor's most controversial practices. In addition to arguing that a recent lawsuit should be shut down based on the "state secrets" argument, some of Obama's nominees have now voiced their support in hearings for such practices as transferring suspects to other countries where they have no legal rights, and indefinitely detaining suspects without trials. (New York Times)
The Army will begin an investigation soon to learn what two 16-year-old girls were doing in a barracks at Fort Lewis, Washington. The two girls, who are not military dependents, were found at 3:30 AM on Sunday, one unconscious and one dead at the scene. The surviving girl is recovering at a local hospital and will soon be ready for interviews with investigators. An autopsy has been complete on the other, although results will not be available for a few more days. (Associated Press)
The federal judge presiding over the trial of five Blackwater security contractors refused to dismiss the case brought against the guards. Defense lawyers had argued that because the men were not working directly for the Department of Defense when 14 civilians were killed in a Baghdad market in September 2007, the government does not have jurisdiction to bring charges against them. The contractors were working instead under a contract with the State Department. (Washington Post)
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Chris Black | February 17, 2009, 10:03AM
Disappointing advocates of stricter gun laws, the Obama Justice Department is defending a midnight regulation that allows concealed firearms in national parks. Three groups, including the Brady Campaign, have filed a lawsuit to overturn the law. The Obama administration has countered that the rule will not affect the environment, public health or safety. Nonetheless, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has asked for a review of the rule. (Washington Post)
Texas state Rep. Lon Burnam (R) filed a resolution Monday to impeach a judge on the state's Supreme Court. Burnam became concerned after Judge Sharon Keller refused to keep court offices open after five o'clock on the day that an inmate was scheduled to be executed. The inmate's lawyer was unable to file an appeal in time and the man was executed. Burnam is seeking an investigation into Keller for gross neglect of duty. (Associated Press)
A conservative watchdog group has announced that it is suing the federal government to get access to details of how TARP funds were spent last fall. Freedom Watch founder Larry Klayman explained in a press release his concern that money was doled out to banks based on political influence, fueled in part by failure of the government to respond to a request for details filed under the Freedom of Information Act in December. (The Hill)
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Chris Black | February 16, 2009, 9:53AM
Illinois Republicans are seeking an investigation into whether Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) committed perjury after he admitted in a sworn affidavit, released over the weekend, to having been asked by associates of former governor Rod Blagojevich to make campaign contributions to the governor. That contradicts what Burris told an Illinois state House of Representatives impeachment panel. (Washington Post)
Texas billionaire Allen Stanford's company cancelled some plans to finance two deals this weekend in light of recent reports that the company is being investigated by federal authorities, raising further doubts about the company's legitimacy. Stanford is known for his flamboyant lifestyle and his significant contributions to influential members of both political parties. (Reuters)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) has reaped a profit of more than $200,000 from political contributions by charging interest on money she loaned her own campaign, according to an analysis by Bloomberg. The congresswoman initially loaned herself $150,000 in 1998, and has since repaid herself from campaign contributions. Because the loan was given an unusual 18 percent interest rate, campaign funds have paid a staggering $221,780 in interest while only reducing the principal by $64,727. The interest charges were the subject of a 1998 complaint by her primary opponent but were allowed by the FEC. (Bloomberg)
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Chris Black | February 13, 2009, 10:11AM
Two Pennsylvania judges pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of taking kickbacks in exchange for sending juvenile offenders to private detention facilities. Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan allegedly took $2.6 million in bribes and may have tainted the convictions of thousands of juvenile offenders. One 17-year-old girl who faced Ciavarella was given three months in a center for making a mock website that made fun of an assistant principal at her school. (Associated Press, New York Times)
On Monday prominent Mississippi attorney Richard Scruggs pleaded guilty to charges of bribery. In the same cause, the Mississippi county circuit judge who was the target of Scruggs' bribery pleaded not guilty to bribery yesterday, saying that his decisions were not influenced by a promise that former Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) would help him get appointed to the federal bench. Judge Bobby DeLaughter had presided over a case argued by Scruggs over the awarding of millions of dollars in fees from asbestos litigation. (law.com)
Foundations that invested with Bernard Madoff may face tax fines for exercising poor judgment in handling their money. The fines could be assessed under an obscure law designed by the IRS to penalize foundations for not vetting managers properly, not diversifying prudently, or taking on too much risk that could threaten their survival. The fine would likely apply only to those foundations which invested exclusively with Madoff. (New York Times)
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Chris Black | February 12, 2009, 10:01AM
Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich now has nothing to lose, at least politically, and may be making the most of it. In recent days Blagojevich has been lashing out at those who ousted him, referring to Illinois state lawmakers as drunkards and adulterers who don't know how to do their jobs. While most lawmakers are brushing off his comments as gossip, some fear that Blagojevich may be able to reduce his sentence by informing on others. As a former congressman and twice-elected governor, he likely knows where a lot of bodies are buried.. (Associated Press)
Yesterday, in a letter to the House Financial Services committee, New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo gave details on how Merrill Lynch distributed its 2008 bonus pool, revealing that 696 employees received $1 million or more in bonuses--only a very small fraction of the company's 39,000 employees. A reminder: Merrill lost $27 billion last year. (New York Times)
It seems that the staff at Los Alamos National Laboratory is having trouble keeping track of its computers. A recent memo shows that currently 67 computers are missing and that 13 of them are confirmed lost or stolen in the past year alone. Furthermore, officials at the laboratory may have erred when they decided to treat the lost computers as a property management issue and not a potential lapse in cyber security. Among the losses is a laboratory BlackBerry that went missing in a "sensitive foreign country." (Project on Government Oversight)
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Chris Black | February 11, 2009, 10:09AM
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts may recuse himself from an upcoming ruling. Pharmaceuticals giant Wyeth was charged with negligence in a tort case related to the loss of a patient's arm that was argued before the court last November, and is also the acquisition target of Pfizer, a company in which Chief Justice Roberts owns stock. The court decision would likely affect the value of Wyeth and therefore Pfizer's value as well. Justice Roberts' decision will likely set the precedent for these types of conflicts of interest. (law.com)
In a federal corruption trial yesterday, former Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Fumo (D) defended a secret $17 million gift from a utility company to a charity run by his aides, arguing that it benefitted consumers. The charity's main operations involve street cleaning and economic development work in Fumo's district. Prosecutors allege that Fumo embezzled more than $1 million from the charity using its vehicles and credit cards. (Associated Press)
A well-known anti-tobacco attorney pleaded guilty yesterday to mail fraud in a case that involved the attempted bribery of a judge. Richard Scruggs, the brother-in-law of former Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), tried to get a county circuit judge to rule in his favor by telling him he could get him appointed to the federal bench with Lott's help. Lott himself has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the matter. (Associated Press)
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Chris Black | February 10, 2009, 10:29AM
Angering civil libertarians and others on the left Monday, lawyers for the Obama administration went along with a Bush administration policy designed to keep the details of controversial anti-terror policies secret. In a case filed by five detainees against Boeing and its subsidiaries for their involvement in extraordinary rendition flights, lawyers for the administration made the same state-secrets argument--that details of certain cases are too sensitive to national security to even be discussed in court--that was so controversial during the Bush years. Simultaneously, the administration announced that Attorney General Eric Holder has ordered a review of all claims of state secrets, "to ensure that it is being invoked only in legally appropriate situations." The controversial state secrets privilege was famously invoked by the Bush administration to fend off legal challenges to its warrantless wiretapping program. (New York Times, Associated Press)
In another piece of fallout from the Bush administration's war on terror tactics, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has proposed a "truth panel" to investigate Bush anti-terror programs. The panel would be designed to probe misdeeds by former officials relating to issues like torture and the use of intelligence in the lead-up to the Iraq war. At his press conference last night, President Obama appeared lukewarm to the idea, saying that he would rather "get it right moving forward." (Associated Press)
Jackson, Mississippi mayor Frank Melton may have his bond revoked for trying to personally serve a subpoena to a witness in his case. The mayor has pleaded not guilty to three felony charges that he violated civil rights during an incident in which he destroyed a suspected crack house with a sledgehammer. Melton said that he was simply keeping a campaign promise to root out crime in the city. (Associated Press)
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Chris Black | February 9, 2009, 9:51AM
A scandal may be brewing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as a debate grows over whether the agency was correct to deny 650,000 applications for housing after Hurricane Ike. FEMA claims that 90 percent of claimants don't understand the organization's mission and the limited scope of the help it can provide. Critics allege that FEMA inspectors are unqualified, poorly trained, and motivated by a flat payment for each inspection they make, giving them an incentive to work quickly. Inspectors are responsible for surveying damage to houses caused by Ike; quick inspections are sometimes unable to properly assess damages. (Associated Press)
Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell (D) will testify Monday in the trial of state Sen. Vincent Fumo (D) who allegedly defrauded the state Senate and two non-profits out of $3.5 million. Rendell, the star witness for the defense in the trial, is expected to vouch for Fumo's work ethic and the long hours he put in as a state lawmaker, according to defense lawyers. (Associated Press)
Prosecutors filed new charges against former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's chief fundraiser. Prosecutors allege in the new indictment that Christopher Kelly used $1.1 million in fraudulently obtained proceeds to pay personal debt expenses, including $383,000 in gambling debts. Kelly is already facing 11 counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering related to a bid-rigging scheme for an $8.5 million dollar contract at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. (Associated Press)
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Chris Black | February 5, 2009, 9:58AM
New details are emerging about the government's extreme eagerness to ensure that Bank of America didn't walk away from its deal to buy Merrill Lynch back in December. The Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.) that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke threatened that if the deal fell through, the government would remove Bank of America's directors in the event that it needed more bailout funds. The details suggest the control that the federal government has enjoyed over the financial sector since last fall's bailout. (Wall Street Journal)
A former employee of the Interior Department was sentenced yesterday to probation and fined $2,000 for his role in a scandal at the Minerals Management Service. Milton Dial received the minimum sentence for one charge of violating federal interest laws and the judge even apologized to Dial for sentencing him at all, saying that, "high executives in our government violate all the time" and go unpunished. Dial's crime is connected to a wider scandal involving the preferential awarding of contracts by DOI that has already ensnared several current or former department managers. (KATC)
A contractor for the U.S. Army pleaded guilty yesterday to manslaughter after shooting a handcuffed Taliban member in Afghanistan. The case was the first in which a contractor working in either Iraq or Afghanistan was prosecuted under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000, a law that allows such prosecutions. The case could set a significant precedent for other contractors working abroad. The contractor acted after he heard that the Taliban man had caused significant and eventually fatal injuries to a colleague. (Washington Post)
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Chris Black | February 4, 2009, 9:56AM
Disgraced Chicago businessman Tony Rezko was quietly moved out of solitary confinement last December, the U.S. Marshal in Chicago confirmed. Rezko, who has been cooperating with prosecutors in a massive corruption investigation, was moved after complaining about the conditions of his imprisonment. The move is something of a reward for his cooperation. (Chicago Sun-Times)
A campaign ad from former Sen. Tom Daschle's 1986 Senate run shows that the South Dakotan once prided himself on driving his own beat-up Pontiac around Washington D.C. Obama's nominee for the Secretary of Health and Human Services withdrew his nomination after tax problems relating to his use of a car and driver provided by a private equity firm came to light. (ABC News)
An upcoming report by the Migration Policy Institute will target a popular program run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The program, designed to capture illegal immigrants with outstanding criminal records, padded its numbers by shifting its focus towards easier targets. (New York Times)
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Chris Black | February 3, 2009, 9:52AM
According to audits by the Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International Development, the government has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to private contractors in Afghanistan that frequently failed to deliver results. Of six different audits conducted in the last year, only one found a rebuilding program producing the desired results. (USA Today)
The federal judge presiding over the bankruptcy case of Lehman Brothers was arrested on domestic violence charges Saturday. James Peck was charged with one count of third-degree attempted assault and one count of second-degree harassment after allegedly striking his wife during an argument at their home. (New York Times)
Financial firms that received bailout funds reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on charitable gifts for members of Congress. Eight firms spent $366,000 in the last six months of 2008. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the largest spenders, contributing more than $330,000, according to a review of congressional lobbying records. (The Hill)
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Chris Black | February 2, 2009, 10:16AM
Despite making some moves toward a different approach to the fight against terrorism, President Obama has issued executive orders recently preserving the practice of rendition. While advanced interrogations have been stopped and Obama has announced his intention to close Guantanamo Bay, the administration has chosen to preserve the rendition program because it, along with missile strikes from Predator drones, allows the U.S. to keep terrorists off the streets, according to intelligence officials. (Los Angeles Times)
An investigation of visa applications by the Associated Press revealed that major U.S. banks, many of which now receive bailout money, sought to get visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers. Applicants were sought for positions ranging from senior vice presidents to legal counsel to junior analysts. Foreign workers are attractive to banks because they can be paid less. (Associated Press)
The union for employees of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is alleging that Border Patrol agents working in Riverside, California were given monthly arrest quotas. Agents were told last month that they had to make 150 arrests, two leading to prosecutions, or supervisors would "change [their] weekends off," according to the president of a local union. A spokesperson for the agency said that quotas run counter to agency policy. (Associated Press)
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