Corruption

Sheriff Michael Shumate, former Chief Deputy Ken Farren face public corruption charges

October 17, 2007 -- AMARILLO – A Potter County, Texas grand jury today issued public corruption charges against three suspects, two of whom were indicted for illegally using their senior positions at the Potter County Sheriff’s Department for personal gain.    » read more »

October 16, 2007 -- "If the government in Iraq is so corrupt that our State Department won’t even tell us about it…if it’s so corrupt that it is undermining any chance of political progress, then how can we ask our brave men and women to risk their lives there? We are putting them in an impossible situation."

Today the House overwhelming passed the Iraq corruption resolution, H.Res. 734, which condemns the State Department for withholding information about Iraqi corruption from the Congress and the American people. The strongly worded rebuke passed by a vote of 395-21.    » read more »

16 October 2007 -- The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly (395 to 21) approved a resolution crafted by majority Democrats criticizing the State Department for withholding information on corruption in the Iraqi government.

In a recent hearing, U.S. House lawmakers heard a former judge, Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, detail corruption that he asserts permeates every level of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.    » read more »

October 15, 2007 -- Today Chairman Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Kucinich wrote to Hunt Oil CEO Ray Hunt and Ambassador Ryan Crocker requesting information about a recent oil exploration contract Hunt Oil signed with Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government.

Letter to Hunt Oil CEO Ray Hunt

Letter to Ambassador Ryan Crocker

Source: House Oversight Committee

October 12, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today urged General Michael V. Hayden, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to halt his investigation of the CIA’s Inspector General, which she says creates a clear conflict of interest. In her letter, McCaskill expressed her concern with reports that the CIA Director has launched an internal review of the CIA Inspector General’s (IG) office, led by John L. Helgerson.    » read more »

October 12, 2007 -- H.Res. 734 expresses the sense of the House that the State Department has abused its classification authority by withholding from Congress and the American people information about the extent of corruption in the Maliki government.    » read more »

October 12, 2007 -- House Chairmen Waxman, Lantos, Skelton, and Obey write the Secretary of State to express their concern about endemic corruption in Iraq and the refusal of State Department officials to answer basic questions about the impact of corruption within the Maliki government on the chances of success in Iraq.

Letter to Secretary Rice (pdf file)

Source: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

October 09, 2007 -- Documents obtained by the Oversight Committee depict widespread defects in fire detection systems, fire service mains, fire sprinklers, fire-proof construction materials, and electrical wiring throughout the Iraq Embassy complex.

Other documents implicate the Managing Partner of First Kuwaiti, the prime contractor, in an illegal kickback scheme to obtain subcontracts under the Army’s multi-billion logistical support contract.

Letter to Secretary Rice (pdf)    » read more »

04 October 2007 -- A key Democratic lawmaker says the State Department risks an escalating confrontation with his committee over the issue of U.S. government assessments of Iraqi anti-corruption efforts. The warning came during a hearing in which a former anti-corruption judge said rampant corruption is blocking progress in Iraq.

In his first appearance before U.S. lawmakers, Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi described corruption as rampant, affecting virtually every government ministry, and involving some of the most powerful officials in Iraq.    » read more »

04 October 2007 -- Family members of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet have been arrested on corruption charges.

Judge Carlos Cerda Thursday ordered the arrest of Pinochet's widow, Lucia Hiriart, as well as the couple's five adult sons and daughters. Arrest orders were also issued for 17 other people, including Pinochet's former secretary, retired military generals and other former associates.    » read more »

Iraq Reconstruction, Defense and Security

October 01, 2007 -- Previously undisclosed information reveals (1) Blackwater has engaged in 195 “escalation of force” incidents since 2005, an average of 1.4 per week, including over 160 incidents in which Blackwater forces fired first; (2) after a drunken Blackwater contractor shot the guard of the Iraqi Vice President, the State Department allowed the contractor to leave Iraq and advised Blackwater on the size of the payment needed “to help them resolve this”; and (3) Blackwater, which has received over $1 billion in federal contract    » read more »

Court Finds Bush Order Impedes Access, Violates Presidential Records Act

Oct. 1, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal district court today struck down part of an executive order issued by President Bush in 2001 to limit public access to the records of past presidents. The ruling by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in American Historical Association v. National Archives and Records Administration (No.    » read more »

September 25, 2007, Anchorage, Alaska - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin issued this statement following today’s guilty verdicts in the federal corruption trial of former state Representative Pete Kott.

“The process was fair and the jurors should be commended for their careful consideration of the compelling evidence that was before them. I was shocked by some of the revelations that came out in the trial and I can understand why many Alaskans feel betrayed. But I am confident that this conviction is also a step forward to restoring the public’s trust.    » read more »

September 21, 2007 -- Today, District Attorney David Soares concluded not only that there was no illegal conduct in the collection and distribution of information regarding Senator Bruno’s use of state aircraft, but that, to the contrary, all the participants were acting within their authority.    » read more »