Blackwater

The Blackwater Charges: What's Being Alleged?

Zachary Roth | August 6, 2009, 4:14PM

A series of shocking and lurid charges have been made against Erik Prince and Blackwater, the defense contracting behemoth he founded, in sworn statements filed in federal court Monday. Prince and or his company are variously accused of being motivated by an apocalyptic Christian worldview which glorified killing Muslims; of "encourag[ing] and reward[ing] the destruction of Iraqi life;" of illegally smuggling weapons into Iraq; of destroying incriminating evidence; of using child prostitutes; and even of murdering government informants.

The charges -- which come from a former Blackwater employee, and a former US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company -- appear to be largely unsubstantiated. Their existence was first reported by The Nation, and has since been covered by numerous blogs and a few mainstream outlets.

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Lobbyists

Forged Letters Not The First Case Of Coal Industry Group's Bamboozlement

Zachary Roth | August 6, 2009, 2:00PM

A spokesman for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, the coal-industry group on whose behalf those forged letters were sent, has called the episode an "isolated incident."

But it looks like that's -- how to put it? -- a lie. Because the group fought an earlier effort on climate change by making deceptive phone calls to voters, in which at least one caller falsely denied, when asked, that utilities interests were behind the calls. And when it got caught, ACCCE blamed the incident on an individual staffer.

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Jack Bonner

Congressman Calls For Criminal Probe Of Forged Letters

Zachary Roth | August 6, 2009, 12:25PM

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) has added his voice to those of Sierra Club and MoveOn.org by calling for a criminal investigation of the forged letters sent by a lobbying firm on behalf of the coal industry.

It happened last night during an interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. Toward the end of a segment that offered a good rundown of the story so far -- and particularly the crucial point that both Bonner and their coal industry client knew about the forgeries before the House vote on the energy bill, but didn't inform the affected lawmakers until after the vote -- Maddow asked Pallone whether the issue of the forged letters was something that "could potentially be a criminal matter."

Pallone replied:

I think it's possible, and I'm sure they will, and they certainly should investigate. Because, you know, we rely, and I think our democracy relies, on a certain amount of truth -- that when people are writing to you, that they are what they purport to be. And I think it is a form of fraud that should be investigated.

Congress is already probing the issue. Rep. Ed Markey has sent letters to Bonner and Associates and to the coal industry group on whose behalf Bonner was working, asking detailed questions about the episode.

Lobbyists

Politico Covers Coal Industry Group's Lobbying Push -- Without Mentioning Those Forged Letters

Zachary Roth | August 6, 2009, 11:41AM

Try to understand this...

A major lobbying campaign, aimed at making sure that the Senate version of the energy and climate change bill includes subsidies for coal, is being planned by a coal-industry lobbying group, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

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William Jefferson

William Jefferson Convicted On 11 Counts

Zachary Roth | August 5, 2009, 6:18PM

Former Rep. William Jefferson -- the Louisiana Democrat in whose freezer the FBI found $90,000 during a 2005 raid -- has been found guilty on 11 out of 16 federal charges.

The charges against the former lawmaker concerned a web of schemes in which he used political contacts to help American companies win contracts in West African countries. In return, payments or other financial benefits were given to Jefferson family members' companies.

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Lobbyists

Forged Letters: Now Markey Wants Answers From Coal Industry Group

Zachary Roth | August 5, 2009, 3:41PM

Rep. Ed Markey's investigation into those forged climate change letters continues apace. Today, he sent a letter to the coal industry group on whose behalf Bonner and Associates was working when it sent the letters, which urged members of Congress to oppose the recent climate change bill and purported to come from local black and Hispanic groups.

Markey's letter, sent to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, focuses in part on the delay in notifying members of Congress about the forged letters after they were discovered. He notes in a press release accompanying the letter:

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Health Insurer Urged Employees To Fight Reform -- "Our Livelihood" At Stake

Zachary Roth | August 5, 2009, 2:44PM

It looks like Express Scripts isn't the only company that's pressing its employees to take action in opposition to health-care reform.

Last month, as the Post Standard of Syracuse, New York reports, David Klein, CEO of the health insurer Excellus BlueCross BlueShield emailed employees to ask them to fill out postcards to New York's senators, urging them to oppose the creation of a public option.

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Allen Stanford

Rove's Lawyer Insists: I Won't Work for Stanford Without Getting Paid

Zachary Roth | August 5, 2009, 12:20PM

Looks like our old friend Allen Stanford is having some trouble finding a lawyer.

Two high-profile white-collar crime attorneys, including the man who represents Karl Rove, are trying to make sure they don't get roped into defending the cricket-loving billionaire -- who's accused of orchestrating an $8 billion fraud -- without a guarantee of payment.

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Express Scripts

CEO Urges Employees To Send Emails Against Health-Care Reform

Zachary Roth | August 5, 2009, 11:49AM

It's happened in earlier Washington battles where powerful business interests have been threatened: corporate executives pressuring their employees into taking action on behalf of the firm's perceived political interests.

And now it's happening on health-care reform.

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Jack Bonner

Behind The Forged Letters: Jack Bonner's "White-Collar Sweatshop"

Zachary Roth | August 4, 2009, 5:54PM

Last week, Jack Bonner blamed a "bad employee" for the fact that his lobbying firm had sent forged letters, purporting to be from local minority groups, urging a member of Congress to oppose climate change legislation. (It's since been revealed that Bonner's firm was working on behalf of the coal industry.)

But a closer look suggests a culture at Bonner and Associates that makes such deception all but inevitable. As one former employee put it, at Bonner, distortion "was the norm rather than the exception."

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John Ensign

Emails Show Santorum Was Tipped To Affair The Day Before Ensign Went Public

Zachary Roth | August 4, 2009, 12:53PM

The John Ensign story just won't go away -- and that's not good news for the Silver State philanderer.

Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun has obtained emails sent by Doug Hampton which show two interesting things:

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Media

Olbermann: Wolffe Won't Be On Countdown Until We Know What Else He's Doing

Zachary Roth | August 4, 2009, 11:20AM

MSNBC may have agreed to disclose Richard Wolffe's gig with a major corporate P.R. firm -- but that's not good enough for Keith Olbermann.

The Countdown anchor -- for whom Wolffe filled in last week as a guest host -- wrote on Daily Kos yesterday evening that Wolffe would not appear on the show even as a guest "until we can clarify what else he is doing," and suggested that the former Newsweek reporter had not been straight with the network about his duties for the P.R. firm, Public Strategies.

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Jack Bonner

Bonner's Forged Letters Were Sent On Behalf Of Coal Industry

Zachary Roth | August 4, 2009, 11:05AM

Bonner and Associates was working on behalf of the coal industry when it sent forged letters -- purporting to come from local Hispanic and black groups -- to a member of Congress, urging him to oppose the recent climate change bill.

Bonner's client was the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a top coal-industry advocacy group, reports Greenwire, the environmental and energy news service. And a total of twelve letters went not just to Rep. Tom Perriello of Virginia, but also to two other Democrats, Reps. Kathy Dahlkemper and Chris Carney, both of Pennsylvania.

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Media

On Wolffe P.R. Firm's Client List: Exxon Mobil, Northrop Grumman, Republic of Georgia

Zachary Roth | August 3, 2009, 5:03PM

It's pretty questionable for anyone who works for a lobbying or public relations firm to also host a news show on which issues of interest to those clients' are likely to be discussed -- as we told you MSNBC's Richard Wolffe does.

But to get a sense of just how compromised Wolffe really is on this, it's worth taking a look at the clients of the P.R. firm he works for -- Texas-based Public Strategies Inc.

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Jack Bonner

Congress To Bonner: We Want Answers On Forged Letters

Zachary Roth | August 3, 2009, 4:52PM

Last week, we told you about Bonner and Associates, the D.C. lobby firm that was caught sending forged letters -- purporting to come from local Hispanic and black groups -- to a U.S. congressman, urging him to vote against the recent climate change bill.

Rep. Ed Markey, who was one of the lead sponsors of that bill and is probing the issue of the forgeries, has sent a letter to the firm's founder, Jack Bonner, which asks for responses to fourteen detailed questions about the incident.

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Media

MSNBC: We'll Disclose Wolffe's P.R. Ties

Zachary Roth | August 3, 2009, 3:33PM

MSNBC says it will now tell viewers that Richard Wolffe -- who is a regular commentator on the network, and last week guest-hosted Countdown -- works for a corporate P.R. firm.

Network spokesman Jeremy Gaines told TPMmuckraker in an email:

We should have disclosed Richard's connection to Public Strategies. We will do so in the future.

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Media

Richard Wolffe's Two Hats: MSNBC Guest Host, And Corporate Spin-Meister

Zachary Roth | August 3, 2009, 11:48AM

Oh, that liberal MSNBC...

Last week, Richard Wolffe, the former Newsweek White House correspondent who's been a frequent commentator on MSNBC's Countdown, guest-hosted the show while Keith Olbermann was on vacation.

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