U.S. attorney, IRS, FBI investigating Florida GOP, including Marco Rubio

By GottaLaff

Mmm, I love the smell of corruption in the morning.

Back in March, I posted about Marco Rubio's Code Red status. Let's reminisce:

Code Red:

Marco Rubio was barely solvent as a young lawmaker climbing his way to the top post in the Florida House, but special interest donations and political perks allowed him to spend big money with little scrutiny.

About $600,000 in contributions was stowed in two inconspicuous political committees controlled by Rubio, now the Republican front-runner for the U.S. Senate, and his wife.

St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald did a blow-by-blow analysis of Rubio's expenses and wow. A must-read. Here's a teaser:

• Rubio failed to disclose $34,000 in expenses — including $7,000 he paid himself — for one of the committees in 2003 and 2004, as required by state law.

• One committee paid relatives nearly $14,000 for what was incorrectly described to the IRS as "courier fees" and listed a nonexistent address for one of them. Another committee paid $5,700 to his wife, who was listed as the treasurer, much of it for "gas and meals."

• He billed more than $51,000 in unidentified "travel expenses'' to three different credit cards — nearly one-quarter of the committee's entire haul.

Now it seems it's Code Scarlet. The U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI, and the IRS are involved:

Federal law enforcement agencies have launched a criminal investigation into the use of American Express cards issued by the Republican Party of Florida to elected officials and staff, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tallahassee, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service are all involved in the inquiry, which grew out of the state investigation into former House Speaker Ray Sansom.

Oh, but it gets more interesting. Let's play a game. I shout, "Marco!", you answer, "Rubio!" every time you smell a scandal. Ready? Marco!

The IRS opened the so-called "primary'' investigation into Rubio, the leading Republican candidate for Florida's open U.S. Senate seat, and the two former state GOP officials to see if there's enough evidence to support a full-fledged criminal inquiry, according to a source familiar with the IRS examination.

Rubio!

One more time... Marco!

At this stage of the IRS investigation, agents are looking at federal tax records, state financial disclosure forms and other documents to see whether Rubio, Greer and Johnson may have personally benefited from using their GOP American Express cards without reporting or paying taxes on additional income.

Rubio!

Between Crist and Rubio, Florida's getting all kinds of free publicity.

H/t: Markos

Ben Nelson to oppose reconciliation package, cites student lending

Hmm, I wonder why he'd do that?

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said Monday he would vote against a reconciliation package that included changes to healthcare reform and student lending legislation.

Nelson said he opposed the package because the student lending bill would make the federal government the originator of student loans, replacing private lending institutions. Nelson said that would cost 30,000 jobs.

Nelnet, a major student lending company, is based in Nebraska.

Ex-Veco boss Bill Allen's alleged sex-for-gifts with underage girls

By GottaLaff

Bill Allen

I came across this by accident, just scrolling through sites. Why hasn't this been given more attention?

Anchorage resident Lisa Moore says she traded sex with then-Veco boss Bill Allen in 1996 for an apartment, money and jewelry. He was 59; she was 19.

She also says she introduced him to a 15-year-old girl who became his sex partner.

But the next year, an ex-boyfriend of Moore's got into legal trouble and threatened to blow the whistle on Allen's relationship with Moore and other teens, including the 15-year-old, Moore said, triggering a string of alleged cover-ups that now threaten to undermine the Alaska political corruption investigation.

Excuse me?

But long before the authorities got involved, Allen reportedly went to great lengths to keep his sexual activities secret. When Moore told Allen she expected to be called as a witness at her ex-boyfriend's trial and forced to reveal Allen's seamy and possibly criminal private life, Allen immediately sent her, her brother and her fiance on the lam to California to prevent her from being subpoenaed, Moore told an Anchorage police detective and elaborated in recent interviews with the Daily News.

That trip, characterized as a "potential obstruction of justice" when first made public in a federal court filing last month, are among the issues cited by former state House Speaker Pete Kott in his effort to throw out his conviction on corruption charges [...]

Allen has told FBI agents he never asked anyone to lie under oath or tried to hide witnesses to avoid subpoenas. [...]

Allen, after pleading guilty in 2007 to bribery and other corruption charges, was also the key witness in the trials of former state Rep. Vic Kohring and U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. [...]

Defense attorneys in the corruption cases weren't allowed to raise the issue of Allen's sexual conduct. [...]

But the new material raises questions about how far Allen would go to protect himself. If Allen schemed to prevent a witness from testifying about his sexual conduct or tried to get two witnesses to lie under oath, that could give defense attorneys new ammunition to attack his credibility.

Allen was sentenced to three years in prison for bribery.

What a catch. Between his nefarious activities and the head shot above, who could resist hooking up with a guy like Bill Allen?

There is a whole lot more here.

The fun never ends.

Rep. Buyer (R-IN) Flounders In CBS Interview About His Iffy Foundation

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Yeah, you really should think these things thru first Steve. Background here.

Subpoenas issued in probe of ex-Interior secretary Gale Norton

By GottaLaff

A grand jury is investigating whether former Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton violated federal laws before going to work for Shell.
(Haraz N. Ghanbari / Associated Press / March 20, 2006)

BushCo just can't seem to avoid the wrong kind of spotlight. Legal problems chase them the way Mark Sanford chases Argentinian lovers:

A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records from Royal Dutch Shell PLC as part of a Justice Department investigation into corruption allegations against former Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton, according to sources close to the investigation.

The subpoenas and the inclusion of a grand jury are signs of escalation in the investigation, which focuses on whether Norton violated a federal law barring government officials from overseeing any process that could financially benefit a company that the official is negotiating with for future employment.

Investigators are also examining whether Norton broke a broader federal law that bars government officials from denying "honest services" -- violating the public trust by, for example, steering government business to favored firms or friends.

Cronyism? A Bushie? Never! Never, I say!

Okay, sometimes.

Okay, often.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Norton was discussing future employment with Shell before she stepped down as Interior secretary in March 2006, when she was in charge of a process that resulted in Shell winning three lucrative leases to research and develop oil shale projects on federal land in Colorado.

Big Oil's involved, too! Who could ask for more?

Nine months after resigning, Norton accepted a job in a Shell division that includes its oil shale efforts.

I may not be a pro, but my sharp, insightful, white hot instincts tell me she shouldn't have done that.

Shell received three of the six leases the Interior Department issued as part of a Bush administration effort to unlock the Mountain West's vast resources of oil shale -- rocks that release liquid petroleum when heated to extreme temperatures -- for commercial development.

Combined, those leases could bring Shell hundreds of billions of dollars' profit at today's oil prices, according to analyses by Shell and a Rand Corp. expert.

Now, now, let's not be hasty. I'm sure it's all some kind of innocent misunderstanding... just as the non-existent WMD in Iraq were. Yeah, that's it.

VIDEO: Private police force APPF Backs Out Of Hardin Jail Deal

By GottaLaff

APPF's Becky Shay: Firm Will No Longer Pursue Hardin Jail Deal

Good riddance:

Controversial private security contractor American Private Police Fore has officially backed out of a deal with Hardin, Montana, to run a local prison, APPF spokeswoman Beck Shay announced this afternoon. [...]

The announcement comes after revelations that APPF's Michael Hilton, who led the negotiations with Hardin, has a history of criminal fraud. And numerous claims made by Hilton about the company's background and experience have been called into question.

Amazing how they skedaddled out of there after a few pertinent facts were revealed.

Buh-bye now.

Chambliss' leadership PAC funds more golf outings than candidates

So basically the big corporations are subsidizing Saxby's golf jones? Nice gig if you can get it.

WASHINGTON -- Over the past two years, deep-pocketed donors to Sen. Saxby Chambliss have helped the Georgia Republican enjoy a quarter of a million dollars worth of golf outings at some of the nation's ritziest resorts.

Through their contributions to the senator's Republican Majority Fund -- a type of leadership political action committee established by a member of Congress to support other candidates -- lobbyists and such industry leaders as Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Lockheed Martin footed the bill for Chambliss' rounds of golf at California's Pebble Beach, with its sweeping views of Monterey Bay. There were tourneys at the fabled Greenbrier in West Virginia and jaunts at the Breakers Palm Beach and Ritz Carlton Naples' sun-kissed fairways in Florida.

Chambliss' affinity for golf is so widely known in political circles that President George W. Bush joked about it during a 2003 golf fundraiser for the Georgia lawmaker. In 2005, the senator missed a highly sensitive Iraq war intelligence briefing to tee off with Tiger Woods.

In all, since 2007, Chambliss has used PAC money to golf at roughly a dozen of the nation's top resorts, according to Federal Election Commission records and an analysis by ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization.

New 'Dancing With the Stars' cast includes Tom DeLay

Oh my hellzapoppin' freakazoid wow. I may have to force myself to watch.

NEW YORK – Former Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay will join 15 celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and sports in kicking up their heels on the new season of "Dancing With the Stars.

Other hopefuls include entertainer Donny Osmond; singers Mya, Macy Gray and Aaron Carter; actors Melissa Joan Hart, Debi Mazar and Ashley Hamilton (son of George); models Joanna Krupa and Kathy Ireland; reality stars Kelly Osbourne and Mark Dacascos ("the Chairman" on Food Network's "Iron Chef America"); mixed martial artist Chuck Liddell; professional snowboarder Louie Vito; Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin; former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin and the 62-year-old former congressman from Texas.

Politico Exclusive: Conservative group offers to sell endorsement for $2M

You know, in a real world with real ethics this would put them in the shitter for good. But in our world they'll probably hit the bump and keep on going. Go read the whole thing, it's stuffed full of slime.

The American Conservative Union asked FedEx for a check for $2 million to $3 million in return for the group’s endorsement in a bitter legislative dispute, then flipped and sided with UPS after FedEx refused to pay.

For the $2 million+, ACU offered a range of services that included: “Producing op-eds and articles written by ACU’s Chairman David Keene and / or other members of the ACU’s board of directors. (Note that Mr. Keene writes a weekly column that appears in The Hill.)”

The conservative group’s remarkable demand — black-and-white proof of the longtime Washington practice known as “pay for play” — was contained in a private letter to FedEx that was provided to POLITICO.

The letter exposes the practice by some political interest groups of taking stands not for reasons of pure principle, as their members and supporters might assume, but also in part because a sponsor is paying big money.

U.S. indictment of elected official expected

By GottaLaff

Somethin' big's a-comin'!

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago said it will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today to announce public corruption charges. Sources say it is expected to be an indictment of an elected official.

Details to come.

Judge OKs release of secret recordings between Burris, Blagojevich's brother

Just when you thought The Hair had been forgotten.

A federal judge today authorized the release of audio tapes of secret recordings of coversations between U.S. Sen. Roland Burris and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother to a Senate ethics committee.

Burris’ criminal lawyer, Timothy Wright, federal prosecutors and an attorney for Robert Blagojevich were in court this morning before U.S. Judge James Holderman, who handles grand jury matters.

Reporters were kicked out of the courtroom as the hearing was set to begin.

Before the hearing, Wright said, “the truth will finally come out,’’ in an apparent reference to recordings that took place last November and involve discussions between Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund chair Robert Blagojevich and Burris regarding fund-raising for the ex-governor.

Charges to be Dropped Against Stevens

Wow. The Hulk wins.

NPR has learned that the Justice Department will drop all charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).

"According to Justice Department officials, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has decided to drop the case against Stevens rather than continue to defend the conviction in the face of persistent problems stemming from the actions of prosecutors."

Coleman Donor Ordered Payments

Ooopsy. Now, I'm not a "lawyer", but that doesn't sound very legal to me. Via Taegan-

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that a former CFO of a Texas company controlled by a close friend of Norm Coleman said in a deposition last week that he was ordered to pay $100,000 to a Minneapolis insurance agency where Coleman's wife was employed -- even though their was no indication of any services received.

U.S. graft in Iraq: Overcoming a Hirtle, hearing an alarm Bell

By GottaLaff

Remember all that loose cash in Iraq that floated around and was never accounted for? Bricks and bricks of $100 bills, millions stuffed into sacks that were never subjected to any oversight whatsoever? Millions that could have been put toward more, um, constructive projects? Yeah, me too:

Federal authorities examining the early, chaotic days of the $125 billion American-led effort to rebuild Iraq have significantly broadened their inquiry to include senior American military officers who oversaw the program, according to interviews with senior government officials and court documents.

Court records show that last month investigators subpoenaed the personal bank records of Col. Anthony B. Bell, who is now retired from the Army but who was in charge of reconstruction contracting in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 when the small operation grew into a frenzied attempt to remake the country’s broken infrastructure. In addition, investigators are examining the activities of Lt. Col. Ronald W. Hirtle of the Air Force, who was a senior contracting officer in Baghdad in 2004, according to two federal officials involved in the inquiry.

It is not clear what specific evidence exists against the two men, and both said they had nothing to hide from investigators. Yet officials say that several criminal cases over the past few years point to widespread corruption in the operation the men helped to run.

What kind of corruption? Why, thank you for asking. This kind:

[T]ens of thousands of dollars stuffed into pizza boxes and delivered surreptitiously to the American contracting offices in Baghdad, and payoffs made in paper sacks that were scattered in “dead drops” around the Green Zone, the nerve center of the United States government’s presence in Iraq...

And guess what? They're inching up the military hierarchy to find answers:

Prosecutors have won 35 convictions on cases related to reconstruction in Iraq, yet most of them involved private contractors or midlevel officials. The current inquiry is aiming at higher-level officials, according to investigators involved in the case, and is also trying to determine if there are connections between those officials and figures in the other cases.

But wait! What's this I hear about blaming the failures in Iraq on poor planning and unforeseen violence? Not necessarily so, you say?

The reconstruction effort, intended to improve services and convince Iraqis of American good will, largely managed to do neither. The wider investigation raises the question of whether American corruption was a primary factor in damaging an effort whose failures have been ascribed to poor planning and unforeseen violence.

Come on, how bad could it really be? Hint: Trick or treat!

The investigations, which are being conducted by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Justice Department, the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command and other federal agencies, cover a period when millions of dollars in cash, often in stacks of shrink-wrapped bricks of $100 bills, were dispensed from a loosely guarded safe in the basement of one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces.

Former American officials describe payments to local contractors from huge sums of cash dumped onto tables and stuffed into sacks as if it were Halloween candy.

“You had no oversight, chaos and breathtaking sums of money,” said Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat who helped create the Wartime Contracting Commission, an oversight board. “And over all of that was the notion that failure was O.K. It doesn’t get any better for criminals than that set of circumstances.”

Brick by brick...

Newly released documents show Defense Department involved with secret prisons

By GottaLaff

President Obama better damn well call for change on this one:

The Department of Defense’s involvement in the CIA’s “ghost” detention program is certain, according to three human rights groups -- Amnesty International USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. They released documents today from the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of State that, they said, prove the existence of secret prisons at Bagram and in Iraq as well as the Department of Defense cooperation with the CIA ghost detention program. They also said the documents show one case where the Defense sought to delay the release of Guantanamo prisoners. [...]

“It is astonishing that the government may have delayed releasing men from Guantánamo in order to avoid bad press,” said Center for Constitutional Rights attorney Gitanjali Gutierrez, who represents many of the men held in Guantánamo and has made 30 trips to the base since 2004. “Proposing to hold men for a month and a half after they were deemed releasable is inexcusable. The Obama administration should avoid repeating this injustice and release the innocent individuals with all due haste.”

This is the first time the Defense Department has provided any documents in response to the 2007 lawsuit based on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests dating back to 2004, the groups said.

Through their lawsuit, the human rights groups seek the disclosure of government documents that relate to secret detention, extraordinary rendition and torture, they said.

Here are links to the documents: 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6., 7., 8.

As more information comes out, more evidence of war crimes is revealed, and as a consequence, the odds that there will be prosecutions increases.

Official who tried to block 'troopergate' probe resigns

By GottaLaff

Interview-Me Palin says it's all about that "harsh political environment". And who was part of that, I wonder:

Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg has resigned in the wake of state legislators blasting his performance during the "troopergate" investigation.

"He just explained that it is a tough environment right now," said Gov. Sarah Palin, who appointed Colberg to the job just over two years ago.

In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News this morning, Palin said Colberg did a great job as attorney general. [...]

"It is a harsh political environment right now. You saw what he went through these last couple of weeks with speculation that a couple of the lawmakers wanted to continue to grill him, a couple of the lawmakers not believing, it seems, what he had to say," Palin said. "I just hope this political environment doesn't deter others who want to make a positive difference."

Positive difference. Uh-huh. Now here's The Mudflats' take:

[W]e’ve got one interesting behind closed doors deal between Sarah Palin, Senate President Gary Stevens, and House Minority Leader Mike Chenault. It goes something like this.

Talis Colberg did not resign. He WAS resigned by Palin. (kerthunk…under the bus)

The Alaska Legislature and the governor can conveniently blame him for any and all wrongdoings in the Troopergate investigation, tie it up in a nice little bow, and transport it far far away from anyone with the last name Palin.

And in exchange for Stevens & Chenault ensuring that there is no further investigation of the Palins or their cohorts regarding the firing of Walt Monegan, the Branchflower Report, or the inconsistencies in the Petumenos report, what do they get from the governor?

In exchange, Stevens and Chenault will not receive vetoes to projects - yet to be named - in their districts.

Typical Alaska GOP politics. I wonder if Palin had Randy Reudrich help broker the deal. Here we have Mike Chennault, the sole remaining Alaska legislator who was a very big player in the VECO handouts, together with Stevens and Palin, both of whom received thousands from Bill Allen’s company, working together to hide the truth.

Palin's stuck in the mud clear up to her rimless eyeglasses.

GOP leader Steele's campaign spending questioned

Tsk tsk. The ink is barely dry on his GOPer King certificate.

WASHINGTON - Michael S. Steele, the newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, arranged for his 2006 Senate campaign to pay a defunct company run by his sister for services that were never performed, his finance chairman from that campaign has told federal prosecutors.

Federal agents in recent days contacted Steele's sister, a spokesman for Steele said yesterday.

The claim about the payment, one of several allegations by Alan B. Fabian, is outlined in a confidential court document. Fabian offered the information last March as he was seeking leniency for himself during plea negotiations on unrelated fraud charges. It is unclear how extensively his claims have been pursued.

Surprise! Fraud, waste cited in war contracts

By GottaLaff

I'm stunned. How could this be true? BushCo would have told us if things weren't A-OK, I just know they would have!

Poor planning, weak oversight and greed combined to soak U.S. taxpayers and undermine American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, government watchdogs tell a new commission examining waste and corruption in wartime contracts.

No way! The troops got screwed over? By the very Amurka-loving administration who sworetogod that they loved our soldiers nearly as much as they loved apple pie, hot dogs, and perchance-maybe-possibly-perhaps even booze? Well, okay, no, not their booze. That's sacrosanct.

Since 2003, the Pentagon, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development have paid contractors more than $100 billion for goods and services to support war operations and rebuilding.

$100 billion?! Why, bless my sould, that's a lot of money that could, ohIdunno, go toward an... economic recovery package?

There are 154 open criminal investigations into allegations of bribery, conflicts of interest, defective products, bid rigging and theft stemming from the wars, said Thomas Gimble, the Pentagon’s principal deputy inspector general.

Nothing says BushCo like bribery, conflicts of interest, theft, and bid-rigging. There's your legacy, George.

Blago Talks (And Talks) To Rachel

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Personally, I'm over this clown, but I hear Rachel made some news last night. Transcript here.

Some Iraqis already skeptical of democracy

By GottaLaff

Wasn't "democracy" the reason one of the kazillion reasons that Bush illegally invaded a sovereign country that hadn't attacked us first? Why yes. Yes it was:

Some are so soured on the government's ability to get things done, they've already turned apathetic in Iraq's early days of democracy.

"I won't participate in the upcoming elections," said Nahar Fakhri Sadoon, 58, of the southern city of Basra. [...]

But Iraqis said it is difficult for them to have faith in government when they don't see it working for them. In the nearly six years since the U.S. invaded Iraq, the government has been unable to fix major infrastructure problems, leaving the majority of Iraqis without reliable running water and continuous electricity. [...]

And unemployment remains high, with Iraqis seeing little or no improvement in their personal economic situations, the report states.

In a nationwide survey, only 16% of Iraqis reported being "somewhat" or "very" satisfied with the amount of electricity they were receiving.

On the bright side, 16% is higher than Cheney's final approval rating.

Abu Abdullah, 52, a mechanical engineer:

"These are things in touch with your everyday life. . . . At least what I want to see in the future is that we return to the same level of infrastructure as before 2003." [...]

Many Iraqis also cited corruption as an ongoing problem in Iraq. Leaders rise to positions they don't deserve and relatives are awarded lucrative contracts, several said.

Khazraji Ali, 35, who runs a clinic in the southern city of Diwaniya and teaches at a medical school said...

...most of the people he knows plan on voting for a friend or relative who can benefit them once in office.

Just like BushCo and their Bestest Big Biz Buds! See what a swell model Bush's America is for Iraq? Democracy in action.