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Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 9:10AM

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Ben Buchwalter | April 30, 2009, 9:23AM

Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that the U.S. has identified 30 Guantanamo detainees to be released and will ask allies to take the former suspected terrorists within the next few weeks. Holder made the announcement in Berlin, Germany, a country which has so far declined to say whether it will take released detainees. Other European countries, including Britain, France and Portugal, have signaled that they will consider taking former Gitmo detainees to assist in President Obama's stated goal to close the controversial military prison within the year. (Reuters)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 28, 2009, 9:25AM

A federal judge sentenced former Orange County sheriff Michael Carona to five and a half years in prison for attempting to obstruct a grand jury investigation. Carona was convicted in January for asking an assistant Sheriff to lie to a grand jury investigating Carona for using his office to attract cash and gifts for his wife and mistress. In a half-hour lecture during the sentencing, Judge Andrew Guilford told Corona that "lying will not be tolerated in this courtroom, especially by the county's highest-ranking law enforcement officer." Carona was once named "America's Sheriff" by CNN's Larry King for spearheading the investigation into the murder of a five year old girl. (LA Times)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 27, 2009, 9:22AM

The Iraqi government condemned a U.S. military raid targeting an elite Shi'ite militia, allegedly armed by Iran, which killed two civilians Sunday. After hundreds protested in Southern Iraq after the attack, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said that the raid violated the U.S.-Iraqi security pact instituted this year, which stipulates that American soldiers cannot conduct military operations without coordination with the Iraqi government. Al-Maliki asked the U.S. military to release the detainees from the attack to the appropriate domestic courts. According to the pact, U.S. soldiers are immune from prosecution even if the raid is deemed illegal. (Reuters)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 24, 2009, 9:21AM

The Obama administration will ask the Supreme Court to reconsider a 1986 ruling that police officers cannot question a defendant with representation unless the lawyer is present. In a court brief, the solicitor general said that the decision in Michigan v. Jackson should be overturned because it "serves no real purpose" and defendants should speak to police if they so choose. The judges supporting the ruling say it is especially aimed at poor or developmentally disabled defendants who could be tricked into giving incriminating information to prosecutors without a lawyer present. In the aftermath of the administration's invocation of the "state secrets" privilege, and support for the imprisonment of enemy combatants in Afghanistan, this position has further alienated civil liberties groups. (AP)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 22, 2009, 9:25AM

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) called for an investigation into whether AIG and other medical benefits providers denied costly treatment for civilian contractors injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a letter Tuesday to Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who chairs the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy of the House Oversight Committee, Cummings said he was "absolutely disgusted to read about the atrocities that individuals are being forced to endure as they attempt to get treatment for the injuries they received while serving our country." The LA Times and ABC News reported last week that providers of medical benefits were unwilling to fund basic medical needs like artificial limbs, surgery, and psychological counseling. (LA Times)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 21, 2009, 9:30AM

Armed guards who once worked for the defense contracting company Blackwater Worldwide -- now renamed "Xe" -- will remain in Iraq much longer than was previously reported, government officials told the AP Monday. Xe guards will continue work in Southern Baghdad and the company's aviation wing will continue to provide air security for U.S. diplomats through September. After a group of Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians in late 2007, the Iraqi government refused to renew Blackwater's license to operate in Iraq. Last month, the State Department announced that it would replace Xe with Triple Canopy as its primary defense contractor in Iraq. But these statements by government officials show that the change is taking longer than once thought. (AP)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 20, 2009, 9:30AM

A U.N. torture expert said Saturday that the United States has an obligation to prosecute CIA officers who used harsh interrogation tactics to question detainees in the War on Terror. Manfred Nowak, the U.N. special rapporteur in Geneva, told the AP that the U.S. had to abide by the U.N. Convention against Torture to make torture illegal and seek justice against those who used it. Nowak criticized President Obama's logic in the decision announced Thursday not to prosecute CIA officers who used the tactics -- including waterboarding. "The fact that you carried out an order doesn't relieve you of your responsibility," Nowak said. (AP)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 17, 2009, 9:13AM

The Michigan-based Council of Islamic Organizations said Thursday that it asked Attorney General Eric Holder to review complaints that the FBI planted Muslims in mosques to spy on Islamic leaders and community members. Congregation members said that the FBI probes extended beyond alleged spying on Islamic leaders who allegedly supported terrorist acts; some community members were told that the FBI could resolve citizenship cases if they spied on their Mosque. An official in another Michigan Muslim organization said that as Holder revamps the Justice Department "it's extremely necessary for him to take a serious look at this issue." (AP)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 16, 2009, 9:13AM

U.S. Master Sergeant John Hatley murdered four Iraqi prisoners execution style, a military court ruled Wednesday. The eight-member panel said that after a 2007 firefight with a set of Iraqi insurgents, Hatley acted as "judge, jury and executioner" when he blindfolded the prisoners, shot them one after the other, and dumped their bodies in a nearby canal. Two soldiers in Hatley's unit were convicted in connection to the killings earlier this year and two pleaded guilty and were sentenced to jail last year. If convicted on all counts of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, Hatley could face life in prison. (AP)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 14, 2009, 9:16AM

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich will be arraigned today before a federal court after being indicted on 16 counts of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud earlier this month. Blago is expected to plead not guilty to all the charges, which include allegations that he used pay-to-play politics to sell Barack Obama's vacant senate seat. The four other people charged, Blago's former chiefs of staff John Harris and Lon Monk, his top fundraiser Christopher Kelly and Illinois powerbroker William Cellini will be arraigned in the next ten days. (Chicago Tribune)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 13, 2009, 9:23AM

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector-general assigned to oversee the deployment of TARP funds, will begin to investigate more forcefully whether banks manipulated their books to receive more government assistance. Barofsky told the Financial Times, "I hope we don't find a single bank that's cooked their books to try to get money but I don't think that's going to be the case." At a congressional hearing earlier this month, Barofsky said that his office was involved in up to a dozen investigations into potential wrongdoing. He told the Financial Times that the system for deploying bailout funds was easily manipulated. "Indictments can serve as great deterrents," he said. (Financial Times)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 10, 2009, 9:34AM

A congressional investigation released Thursday into a 2004 NASA study, which interviewed 30,000 pilots and was allegedly shut down by the FAA, failed to elaborate on the pilots' statements. The FAA reportedly stopped the study, claiming that the pilots over-reported instances where they hit large flocks of birds in the air, which caused a US Airways jet to land in the Hudson River in January. The investigation came to light in 2007, when the AP reported that it was shut down to avoid harming the FAA's image and profits. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) told the AP that the study failed partially because it "didn't have the support it needed from the primary customer - the FAA." (AP)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 9, 2009, 9:33AM

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) confirmed that the Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating all connections he had with former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. In a phone conversation that was recorded by prosecutors, Blago said that a staff person for Jackson approached him offering to pay $1 million in campaign contributions if he would appoint Jackson to Barack Obama's vacant senate seat. In an email statement released Wednesday, Jackson said that he is cooperating fully with the probe and added, "I have done nothing wrong and reject pay-to-play politics." The Office of Congressional Ethics has thirty days to investigate the connection, at which point it will refer information to the House Ethics Committee to determine outcomes. (ABC News)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 8, 2009, 9:24AM

A Congressional ethics board opened an investigation last week into Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) to probe the Congressman's role in the scandal of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to sell Barack Obama's vacant senate seat. Investigators have asked parties related to the ex-governor to release documents showing correspondence with Jackson. The head of the Office of Congressional Ethics said that Jackson has not been accused of wrongdoing, and that the probe is only a fact-gathering entity that does not have subpoena power. (Chicago Sun-Times)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 7, 2009, 10:04AM

Dawn Gibbons, the first lady of Nevada, has accused Republican Governor Jim Gibbons of infidelity with two women, including a former Playboy model, in divorce papers filed recently. Mrs. Gibbons also claims that the Governor sent 860 improper text messages to an aide, Kathy Karrasch, from a state cell phone. Gibbons repaid the state $130 for the text messages but says that they were not "love notes" and that he was consulting with Karrasch on state business. In court documents, Mrs. Gibbons said that this claim "is false, and is laughable." Gibbons has been accused of improper relations with women in the past, including Chrissy Mazzeo, a former cocktail waitress who is suing Gibbons for allegedly assaulting her in a Las Vegas parking lot. (LA Times)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 6, 2009, 10:00AM

The State Department's decision to replace Blackwater Worldwide as its primary defense contractor in Iraq may be little more than a name change. Though Blackwater -- recently renamed "Xe" -- has been widely criticized and investigated on criminal charges for its role a 2007 firefight that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, most of its security guards will return to Iraq next month wearing the uniform of the State Department's new contractor Triple Canopy. Susan Burke, an American lawyer representing Iraqi civilians in civil lawsuits against "Xe" told the New York Times, "They're really all still there, and it's back to business as usual." (New York Times)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 3, 2009, 9:08AM

Attorney General Eric Holder signaled Thursday that the Justice Department will work more closely with state and federal prosecutors to crack down on financial fraud, in response to the recent increase in white-collar crime convictions. To prevent future Madoff-like crimes, Holder said that the Justice Department must work with local and federal officials and consider instituting a task force to investigate fraud and other white-collar crime. (Wall Street Journal)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 2, 2009, 9:10AM

Proven cases of fraud and corruption cases dropped suspiciously among defense contractors even as funds for defense contractors rose dramatically since 1993, according to a Center for Public Integrity study. The study showed that even as defense contracting doubled from the beginning of Bill Clinton's first term to the end of George W. Bush's second term (from $200B to $400B), proven cases of contracting fraud decreased 76 percent. An FBI spokesman said that the terror threat took resources away from efforts to oversee defense contractor fraud. (Center for Public Integrity)

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Ben Buchwalter | April 1, 2009, 9:09AM

A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the ACLU to be decided this week will test the Obama administration's upcoming decision on whether to release more interrogation memos with information about the Bush administration's methods in the War on Terror. Some officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder, have argued that the memos should be released quickly, but former CIA officials oppose the release, saying that could offend active CIA agents. Though President Obama and Holder have both expressed disapproval of the Bush administration's interrogation tactics, they have not yet released documents. But the administration could be pressured to release the documents in response to the ACLU suit. (New York Times)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 31, 2009, 9:03AM

The Obama administration signaled Monday that it would release Aymen Saeed Batarfi, a Yemeni prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay, as part of President Obama's promise to empty the controversial detention facility within a year. Batarfi's lawyers say he was arrested while on a humanitarian mission, but Justice Department prosecutors allege that he participated in a major al Qaeda battle as more than a humanitarian worker. (Associated Press)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 30, 2009, 9:16AM

Immigration courts are too backed up to provide speedy trials for tens of thousands of immigrants, according to a USA Today study released this weekend. Based on a review of court cases between 2003 and 2008, the study found that almost 90,000 accused illegal immigrants had to wait at least two years to have their case heard before a judge and 14,000 had to wait nearly five years. A spokesman for the American Immigration Lawyers Association said that U.S. immigration courts, which only employ 224 judges, simply do not have enough resources. San Francisco immigration judge Dana Marks told USA Today, "you could have a case that would take an hour (to hear). But I can't give you that hour of time for 14 months." (USA Today)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 27, 2009, 9:16AM

Among the hullabaloo surrounding the AIG retention bonus scandal, one thing is certain: speaking before Connecticut lawmakers Thursday, AIGFP exec Stephen Blake did not bend to public opinion. Blake defended the insurance company's $165 million in retention bonuses which have drawn the scorn of taxpayers following the government's $182.5 billion bailout of AIG. "The program did what it was supposed to do, and that was to retain employees," he said. While defending the bonuses, though, he affirmed that no rewards went to individuals who made credit default swaps, which are largely responsible for AIG's failure. (Associated Press)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 26, 2009, 9:19AM

He fought the law, and he lost. Faron White, a former north Alabama police officer, pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing $60,000 from the police department where he was a sergeant, feigning his abduction, and fleeing to Las Vegas. White faked an elaborate struggle in his Alabama office to divert would-be pursuers but was found only three days later in Sin City. White, who was once named officer of the year by the Decatur Police Department, also said that a former citizen volunteer from the organized crime unit that he supervised aided his escape plan. White faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000. (Associated Press)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 25, 2009, 9:14AM

A judge will allow a lawyer for Chrissy Mazzeo to continue to collect evidence in connection to Mazzeo's civil lawsuit against Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons. Mazzeo, a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, accused Gibbons of assaulting her in a parking lot after a night of drinking at a Vegas bar. Though Gibbons was cleared of sexual assault charges by a police investigation, Mazzeo claims that her reputation and constitutional rights were harmed when Gibbons allegedly covered up a the 2006 assault. Gibbons' lawyer Pat Lundvall said that this would amount to nothing more than a waste of time because the suit lacks legitimate federal claims. (Las Vegas Sun)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 24, 2009, 9:20AM

The IRS has challenged a set of offshore tax deals set up by the now-infamous AIG Financial Products, according to court records. AIG essentially helped U.S. companies benefit from foreign tax laws for isolated tax payments through offshore banks it owned. Last year, AIG paid $61 million in disputed taxes to the government but now requests a refund, according to the lawsuit. Some of the same companies also made credit default swaps with AIG. IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said that the tax transaction "really perverts the foreign tax credit." (Wall Street Journal)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 23, 2009, 9:09AM

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said Friday that she owes more than $500,000 in legal fees to her Anchorage-based lawyer Thomas van Flein for work defending her on ten lawsuits, which she did not name. But Palin specified that the lawsuits start with "the politically motivated Troopergate probe," in which Palin was accused of pressuring a state official to fire a state trooper embroiled in a personal dispute with the Palin family. Palin also said that she could not use public funds to pay her lawyer because "to do so could itself violate state law," but she might establish a legal fund to help pay the debt. (Anchorage Daily News)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 20, 2009, 9:16AM

Four former Abu Ghraib prisoners can sue CACI - the defense contractor responsible for their containment, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The alleged torture victims were held at the military prison in Iraq, which has been widely accused of using harsh interrogation tactics after disturbing images of torture surfaced in 2004, before being released without charges. The Arlington, VA-based defense contractor claimed immunity from prosecution, but U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said he would not accept its claim that interrogation oversight ensured that torture could not have occurred. (Associated Press)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 19, 2009, 9:46AM

It seems Fannie Mae missed the memo: massive bonuses are out of style. The mortgage finance company plans to pay four top executives retention bonuses of $1 million each, more than double the amount paid out last year, according to a document filed with the SEC. Like bonuses paid to executives of Merrill Lynch and AIG, the payments are controversial because Fannie Mae recently received billions of dollars in federal aid and was essentially taken over by the government in September. Fannie Mae said that financial regulators approved the bonuses because keeping top employees "was essential to ensure our viability through 2010." (Associated Press)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 18, 2009, 9:06AM

As outrage swells around massive bonuses paid to executives of bailed out financial institutions, Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) wrote a letter Tuesday to Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis requesting more transparency on $3.62 billion in bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives. Reviewing the record on these bonuses, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will investigate whether Merrill intentionally deceived regulators. Merrill, which has been owned by B of A since January, claimed in a letter on November 24 that it had not made decisions on bonuses. But subsequent testimony given to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo shows that Merrill approved bonuses on November 11. (Reuters)

Felipe E. Sixto, a former aide to President George W. Bush, will be sentenced today for embezzling $579,247 from Center for a Free Cuba, a government-funded nonprofit organization.

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Ben Buchwalter | March 17, 2009, 9:12AM

Former Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez is on trial for promoting politically motivated hiring practices to fill the Streets Department's payrolls. Witnesses in the ongoing hiring fraud trial testified that the city's electric bureau did not even consider applicants without political connections. The electric bureau's personnel liaison, Hugh Donlan, was very clear about where interviewers should file ratings forms for non-political applicants. "I'd put it in the garbage," he said. Prosecutors are charging Sanchez with mail fraud and funneling jobs to workers in the city's Hispanic Democratic Organization. (Chicago Tribune)

Former Pennsylvania senator Vincent Fumo was convicted Monday on 137 counts of fraud and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors said that Fumo inappropriately used more than $2 million in senate resources and $1.5 million from civic organizations. Prosecutors will seek a jail sentence of more than ten years. As part of the lengthy corruption trial, Fumo testified for six complete days, sometimes comparing his crimes to misdemeanors such as spitting on the sidewalk. (Associated Press)

The Justice Department announced Monday that it would withhold a set of 100 unclassified documents containing government allegations and evidence against detainees held at a military prison in Cuba. Although the documents themselves are unclassified, prosecutors say that classified information which could be of value to enemies abroad slipped in. Attorneys of the detainees criticized this decision for significantly complicating their work as hearings approach. And three news organizations say that this is an inappropriate strategic move to keep information from the public. A federal judge will review the matter on March 26. (Washington Post)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 16, 2009, 9:15AM

The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a 2007 report that the Bush administration used torture to question al-Qaeda suspects. The report, obtained by journalism professor Mark Danner, says that captives were taken "to the verge of death and back" in secret CIA prisons. The Washington Post reports that the ICRC's account is the most authoritative to date that shows the Bush administration repeatedly violated international law. (Washington Post)

Fearing she will flee the country, federal investigators plan to freeze $93 million of Ruth Madoff's assets, the New York Post reported Sunday. According to a source close to the investigation, the SEC will ask to freeze Madoff's funds because they were likely acquired dishonestly. Mrs. Madoff has denied any wrongdoing associated with her husband's $50 billion Ponzi scheme. But she was implicated because she withdrew $15.5 million immediately before her husband was arrested in December and recently purchased $1 million of jewelry in defiance of a court order. Though Mrs. Madoff has agreed to a voluntary asset freeze, the deal is not legally binding. (Reuters)

The government of Switzerland announced Friday that it would reform its definition of tax evasion to help other nations pursue citizens who dodge taxes with the help of Swiss banks. Since Switzerland did not define tax evasion as a crime until this announcement, it has become a haven for one third of the world's $7 trillion in hidden offshore funds. This is a blow to the Swiss bank UBS, which is accused of helping international investors avoid taxes from their home countries and has hidden behind Swiss law to justify its refusal to disclose the names of approximately 33,000 U.S. tax evaders. (New York Times)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 13, 2009, 9:14AM

Sir Allen Stanford's alleged $8 billion Ponzi scheme doesn't only affect his American investors. In the Antiguan election this week, voters chose between the ruling party and the opposition, which welcomed the Texas financier to Antigua twenty years ago. The economy is the central issue in the election, as Antigua's Stanford International Bank was shut down by Caribbean regulators due to the Stanford fallout.* Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer says his opponent, Lester Bird, tried to "literally give away Antigua and Barbuda to Allen Stanford." In 2006, Byrd used his power as a former Prime Minister to nominate Stanford for a knighthood.* Election results are expected today. (Associated Press)

Sam Zell, the chairman and CEO of the newspaper conglomerate Tribune Co. hired a high-profile lawyer to represent him in an interview with the U.S. Attorney's office about possible connections to former governor Rod Blagojevich, the company said Wednesday. Zell's lawyer, Anton Valukas, specializes in white collar crime and has represented law firm Jenner & Block in a number of major cases. Among other charges, federal prosecutors have accused Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris of threatening to withhold public support from the sale of Wrigley Field, which is owned by Tribune Co., if the company did not fire members of the Chicago Tribune editorial board. (Chicago Tribune)

A report released by the Government Accountability Office today says Medicare home services spending increased 44 percent over five years due partially to fraud and abuse. Medicare home care services include visits by nurses and physical therapists for Medicare patients. Some lawmakers say that lax oversight enabled providers to take advantage of the system to bill for services they did not provide. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, harshly criticized Medicare oversight as it currently stands. "There's no excuse for Medicare officials neglecting payment problems," the Iowa senator told USA Today. The GAO report recommends implementing criminal background checks on home services providers to reduce cases of fraud. (USA Today)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 12, 2009, 9:16AM

Investigating whether Arizona policemen discriminate against Latinos while enforcing immigration laws, the House Judiciary Committee will call Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to testify. Arpaio has become a hero of the anti-immigration movement for leading for a three-year crackdown on illegals in Arizona, which has included controversial tactics like occasional crime sweeps in mostly Hispanic neighborhoods. Arpaio claims that the hearings, chaired by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) are politically motivated. "They want to keep putting the pressure on me, hoping that I go away," he said. "And that is not going to happen." (Arizona Republic)

Speaking before a House appropriations subcommittee Wednesday, SEC head Mary Schapiro warned that the SEC might be forced to make significant operations cuts if Congress didn't increase its funding The SEC was embarrassed this year by multiple failures to prevent several major alleged frauds. "I do not believe it would be wise for the SEC to retrench during such perilous times in our markets," she said. Schapiro asked the committee to make available $17 million from previous budgets that went unspent. (Washington Post)

Howard Richman, a former executive at the medical pharmaceutical company Biopure, pleaded guilty Wednesday to pretending to have cancer to dodge investigations into an alleged fraud. He even admitted to impersonating a doctor in a call to investigators to dodge the trial. Richman faked the illness to avoid an SEC investigation into whether Biopure executives lied to investors about the status of a blood substitute called Hemopure. After clinical trials, the FDA rejected the drug due to safety concerns, but Biopure told investors that the deal had been approved.(Associated Press)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 11, 2009, 9:18AM

Texas state lawmakers considered a GOP-backed bill Tuesday that would require voters to present photo identification at the polls, what Democrats call "a modern-day poll tax" because it disproportionately impacts minorities. Republicans claim that this law is necessary to prevent voter fraud, but have offered little evidence that such fraud is a problem. Dems, in the minority, called Attorney General Greg Abbott -- who spent $1.4 million probing voter fraud claims without finding a single vote -- to testify. But, backed by a GOPer, Abbott didn't show up. (Dallas Morning News)

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating whether the massive bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives were designed in part to give traders and incentive to mark down their shares, the Financial Times reports. That might suggest that B of A pressured Merrill to understate its fourth quarter earnings in order to make the companies subsequent gains under B of A appear larger. (Reuters)

E-mails released Monday indicated a number of previously unknown links between the Chicago-based Tribune Co. and the Governor Rod Blagojevich. Tribune Co. retained Marc Ganis as a sports business consultant to work with the Blagojevich administration to broker the sale of Wrigley Field. Ganis spoke to Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris about the declining state of the Chicago Tribune and openly expressed his desire for a spot on the 2016 Olympic Committee. Federal agents also allege that members of the Blagojevich administration pressured Nils Larson, an executive vice-president of Tribune Co., to fire members of the Tribune editorial board in exchange for the Governor's assistance in the sale of Wrigley Field. (Chicago Tribune)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 10, 2009, 9:14AM

The Texas Senate will decide today whether voters should be required to present photo identification at the polls. Texas Republicans argue that this is a necessary step to protect against voter fraud, but have produced little evidence that such fraud is a significant problem. Democrats criticize the measure, which will have an undue impact on minorities and the elderly, both key Democratic constituencies. Laws requiring photo identification at the polls have been approved in seven states, but State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso) said that its only an effort by Republicans to scare off "enough eligible elderly, disabled, blacks and Hispanics to stay in power four more years, plain and simple." (Chron.com)

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in a letter Monday that he would continue to seek information on bonuses that Merrill Lynch paid to its employees. In a recent interview, Bank of America's CEO Ken Lewis refused to reveal information about these bonuses. But Cuomo maintains that as a recipient of bailout funds, B of A is obligated to disclose how they spent taxpayer money. Refusal to do so, he said, "fuels distrust and cynicism at a most sensitive time." (New York Times)

Documents released by a group of California Democrats indicate that they received thousands of dollars worth of gifts from lobbyists the day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared California's fiscal emergency last December. Lobbyists for lawyers, firefighters and carpenters hosted a two-day retreat to influence lawmakers on California's budget passed in February. The lobbyists also paid for international travel, tickets to sporting events, and tens of thousands of dollars in restaurant tabs. The L.A. Times reports that each of the lobbyists' goals was represented in the budget. (L.A. Times)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 9, 2009, 9:17AM

A federal grand jury indicted a former high-ranking NASA official Friday for using a government position for his own profit. After playing an important role in George W. Bush's 2000 campaign, Courtney Stadd served as NASA's chief of staff and White House liaison until 2003. The indictment charges Stadd, after being named as "special government employee" for NASA in 2005, with diverting $9.6 million earmarked for earth science to one of his clients, Mississippi State University's GeoResources Institute. If convicted, Stadd could face 15 years in prison. (Washington Post)

Employees of Allen Stanford's companies won't avoid the fallout from his $8 billion Ponzi scheme, a court-appointed lawyer confirmed this weekend. The U.S. receiver assigned to oversee Stanford Financial Group announced he would lay off 1,000 employees immediately and without severance packages. Only 15 percent of the firm's current employees will remain to help draw down operations. A federal judge also froze the assets of 12,000 Stanford investors effective Monday. (Associated Press)

FDA scientists expressed concern this week about the recent approval of Menaflex, a device that treats a variety of knee injuries. The scientists claimed that the FDA approved Menaflex without proper clinical trials under fast-track rules that "apply to products that are similar to already-existing products." But FDA sources told the Wall Street Journal that Menaflex does not mirror any pre-existing knee treatment available in the United States and should have been considered more carefully. A former head of the FDA said that this is indicative of a fast-track system for the $200 billion per year industry that "has gotten out of control." (Wall Street Journal)

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Ben Buchwalter | March 6, 2009, 8:50AM

A federal grand jury indicted Bruce Karatz, the former CEO of real estate company KB Home, on Thursday for manipulating stock options to earn more than $230 million in three years. The indictment estimated that the backdating made Karatz's stock options $1.63 to $4.56 more valuable per share. Karatz has already paid a fine of $20 million to KB Home and the federal government for backdating stock options between 1999 and 2006. If convicted of all twenty counts of fraud and making false statements, Karatz will face 415 years in prison. (LA Times)

Darrell Dochow, an official at the Office of Thrift Supervision, retired quietly last Friday while under investigation for fraud. The U.S. Inspector General claims that Dochow allowed IndyMac to deceive its investors by reporting an $18 million deposit in a March 2008 financial disclosure document though the funds were not transferred until May. IndyMac filed for bankruptcy protection four months later. To investigators, writes ABC News, Dochow's retirement shows "how cozy government regulators have become with the banks and savings and loans they are supposed to be checking on." (ABC News)

The FEC will instiute a new fundraising rule designed to reduce the impact of lobbyists on elected leaders. Effective March 19, the rule requires PACs to disclose the names of lobbyists who collect contributions of more than $16,000 (sub. req.) from multiple sources. Currently, lobbyists can curry favor with lawmakers by collecting bundles of political contributions from personal and professional contacts. Disgruntled lobbyists tell Roll Call that they plan to dodge the restriction by hosting fundraisers registered under the names of multiple co-hosts, who could each raise $15,000. (Roll Call)

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The Daily Muck

Ben Buchwalter | March 5, 2009, 9:00AM

U.S. lawmakers suffered a minor setback Wednesday in their ongoing effort to close offshore tax havens. Mark Branson, an executive at the powerful Swiss bank UBS, apologized to a Senate subcommittee for helping Americans dodge taxes but he refused to disclose the names of the estimated remaining 33,000 U.S. clients accused of evading taxes with the help of UBS. Branson argued that he could not cooperate because full disclosure would violate Swiss criminal law, and told lawmakers, "the IRS is attempting to resolve this diplomatic dispute in a courtroom, which is neither productive, nor proper." (Associated Press)

The Treasury Department Inspector General reported on Wednesday that bank regulators knew in 2002 about financial instability at several banks owned by First National Banking Holding Co. but failed to act before it was too late. Those banks - in Arizona, California and Nevada - crashed last year because their management favored "growth and profits over appropriate risk management," according to the audit report. This follows the IG's criticism last month of the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision for their insufficient oversight of IndyMac bank. In each of these cases, the IG's actions indicate the potential for increased government regulation of financial institutions. (Financial Week)

Franklin D. Raines, a prominent Democratic businessman, took advantage of a special program reserved for friends of a former Countrywide Financial CEO, claims Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA). Issa released documents Wednesday which indicate that Raines, the former CEO of Fannie Mae, received discounts including a 4.125 percent rate on his mortgage compared to the 5.1 percent prevailing rate for comparable loans. Raines also did not have to pay application or processing fees common for Countrywide's ordinary clients, according to Issa's documents. (Washington Post)

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The Daily Muck

The Daily Muck

Ben Buchwalter | March 4, 2009, 8:42AM

The infamous Allen Stanford hired a lawyer Tuesday to defend him against SEC charges that he defrauded investors out of $8 billion. The Dallas-based lawyer, Charles Meadows, specializes in tax litigation and white collar crime. The SEC has accused Stanford and two top aides of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that it called a "massive ongoing fraud." We'd advise Meadows to keep a receipt. (Reuters)

Lawmakers are stepping up their efforts to go after offshore taxhavens. An executive of UBS, Mark Branson, will appear before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations today. Reuters reports that the Subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), will urge Branson to disclose the names of American investors accused of dodging U.S. taxes. Last month, UBS admitted to protecting clients from U.S. taxes and agreed to turn over 19,000 names to U.S. investigators, who are seeking information on nearly 52,000 concealed UBS clients. (Reuters)

Former California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim received $900,000 in salary and benefits during the 2007-2008 election cycle, according to reports filed with the IRS. Sundheim received this money, including more than $43,000 per month for medical and automobile expenses, while launching the 527 political group California Republicans Aligned for Tomorrow. Sundheim's earnings drew criticism from state Republicans, including the former chairman of CRAFT, Jon Fleischman, who said, "It would appear from these filings that the sole purpose of CRAFT is to pay Sundheim's salary." (Sacramento Bee)

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