Corruption

08/13/2007 -- WASHINGTON D.C. - “It’s a tragedy that an Administration that promised to unite Americans has instead left us more divided than ever before,” Senator Kerry said.

“Without doubt the architect of that political strategy was Karl Rove, who proved the politics of division may win some elections but cannot govern America.    » read more »

August 13, 2007 -- THE PRESIDENT: Karl Rove is moving on down the road. I've been talking to Karl for a while about his desire to spend more time with Darby and Andrew. This is a family that has made enormous sacrifices not only for our beloved state of Texas, but for a country we both love.    » read more »

August 13, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – RNC Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan released the following statement today on the resignation of Karl Rove:    » read more »

August 13, 2007 -- "I welcome these new requirements -- similar to reforms I have repeatedly proposed -- but they are baby steps when giant strides are needed. This and any other reforms should be enacted into law to assure they cannot be undermined or undone on a whim.    » read more »

August 09, 2007 -- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Waxman releases a GAO report analyzing the Defense Department’s decision to pay KBR nearly all of the $221 million in costs that the Defense Contract Audit Agency questioned during its audits of the Restore Iraqi Oil contract for reconstruction work on Iraq’s oil infrastructure. The report finds multiple violations of federal acquisition regulations and procedures, placing millions of taxpayer dollars at risk and leaving questions unanswered.

Report Introduction:

DEFENSE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT    » read more »

August 3, 2007 -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., received a letter from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales late today in response to Senator Leahy’s request that the Attorney General clarify or correct the testimony he provided to the Committee on July 24, 2007.

Below is Chairman Leahy’s comment on the Attorney General’s attempt to clarify his testimony.    » read more »

Orlando woman faces up to 25 years in prison for defrauding the Department of Transportation

August 1, 2007 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that an Orange County jury returned a guilty verdict against an Orlando contractor and her company on several charges of organized fraud and communications fraud. Dawn Carter, the president of a contracting business for small construction and maintenance jobs, faces up to 25 years in prison for a fraud scheme perpetrated against the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).    » read more »

August 3, 2007, Juneau, Alaska - Saying Alaskans must have confidence in the integrity of the state’s oil tax structure, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today announced her intention to call the Legislature into special session starting October 18, 2007, to reconsider the Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT) it passed last year.

Due in part to the public corruption probe, Governor Palin directed the Department of Revenue to review the performance of PPT. The department has completed a Status Report on the Implementation of PPT, released today. The report concludes:    » read more »

July 17, 2007 -- At the request of Sara Taylor, the former White House Director of Political Affairs, John Walters, the nation’s drug czar, and his deputies traveled to 20 events with vulnerable Republican members of Congress in the months prior to the 2006 elections. The trips were paid for by federal taxpayers and several were combined with the announcement of federal grants or actions that benefited the districts of the Republican members.    » read more »

July 17, 2007 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Reps. Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Artur Davis (D-AL), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, asking him to provide documents and information about several prominent prosecutions and convictions of Democratic officials or operatives across the country.    » read more »

July 13, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), issued a subpoena for documents from the Republican National Committee (RNC) as part of ongoing congressional investigations into the targeted purge of US Attorneys and related matters. The Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law authorized Conyers to issue the subpoena yesterday.    » read more »

Allegedly Traveled, Spent Lavishly on Newark Credit Cards, and Engaged in Fraudulent Land “Flipping” with Companion

July 12, 2007 -- NEWARK – Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was charged in an Indictment today with using city-issued credit cards to spend lavishly on himself, eight female companions and others during personal trips and vacations to such places as Martha’s Vineyard, Rio de Janeiro, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie and New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2007 — The report, Governance Matters, 2007: Worldwide Governance Indicators 1996-2006 being launched today by the World Bank Institute and the World Bank Development Economics Vice-presidency, shows that a number of countries - including in Africa - are making progress in improving governance and fighting corruption. This is encouraging given that good governance and corruption control are fundamental for long-term growth and reducing poverty.    » read more »

July 11, 2007 -- Oversight Committee Chairman Waxman writes to Secretary Leavitt requesting documents related to political interference with the work of the Office of the Surgeon General.

Former Surgeon General Carmona testified before the Oversight Committee on July 10 that political appointees edited his public remarks, blocked him from developing or issuing several reports or calls to action, and denied travel requests on political grounds.

* Letter to Secretary Leavitt (PDF file)    » read more »

Judiciary Panel to Consider Privilege Claims Tomorrow

July 11, 2007 -- ( Washington, DC) - Today, an attorney for former White House Counsel Harriet Miers rescinded his prior confirmation that Ms. Miers would attend the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on Thursday in response to a subpoena and would assert executive privilege to certain questions posed by the committee, as directed by the president.    » read more »