WSJ: CIA Blocking Cunningham Investigation

[cascadiance]

Well it looks like the Congress has a new job of trying to force the CIA infrastructure's hand in doing proper oversight of the criminals.

Wall Street Journal's article is subscription based.

From TPM/Muckraker:
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002305.php

WSJ: CIA Blocking Cunningham Investigation
By Justin Rood - January 9, 2007, 10:01 AM



The CIA is refusing to cooperate with federal prosecutors investigating the Duke Cunningham scandal, the Wall Street Journal's Scott Paltrow reports today.

Before getting caught in 2005, Cunningham was involved in a sprawling corruption ring between Congress and the national security community. The scandal allegedly enjoyed the participation of current and former CIA officials, including Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the executive director of the agency. Foggo would be the highest-ranking CIA official to be prosecuted in the agency's history, according to Paltrow.

Prosecutors had expected to indict Foggo several months ago, but the Agency's refusal to declassify important documents has hampered their efforts, Paltrow reports.

Of course, prosecutors haven't received much help from Congress with their investigation, either. Last month they were forced to serve subpoenas to several powerful committees in an effort to force them to turn over documents.

...

From Wall Street Journal (for those with subs):
http://online.wsj.com/google_login.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB116830637791570873.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj

CIA Digs In Its Heels
By Scot J. Paltrow
Word Count: 1,050

A federal criminal investigation of the Central Intelligence Agency's former third-highest official has stalled because of CIA reluctance to turn over classified documents requested by prosecutors, people close to the investigation say.

The U.S. attorney's office in San Diego has been investigating former CIA Executive Director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo to determine whether he committed illegal acts in influencing the awarding of CIA covert contracts. Mr. Foggo resigned from the CIA in May 2006, shortly after The Wall Street Journal disclosed the investigation.

Among the contracts under investigation is one the CIA awarded to the company of a lifelong friend of ...

[acmavm]

1. What does anyone expect? The CIA is a wholly owned

subsidiary of the BFEE.

[Roland99]

4. Esp. after the Porter Goss purging of objective analysts/mgmt

[maddezmom]

2. unbelievable

Once again the CIA is above the law. :puke:

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. They're trying to stop the kidnapping trial

in Italy too.

Looks like we're heading for a showdown in Congress soon.

[cascadiance]

10. In light of this story, TPM's headline here is so on the mark!

... in their critique of Michael Hayden!

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002306.php

CIA Chief on Openness: Do As I Say, Not As I Do
By Justin Rood - January 9, 2007, 11:37 AM



Tell them everything they want to know. Even if I don't.

CIA director Michael V. Hayden is said to be pushing his subordinates facing congressional inquiries to come clean on all activities, according to an agency-wide email obtained by Congressional Quarterly's Tim Starks (sub. req.):

In a Jan. 5 e-mail, Gen. Michael V. Hayden said the intelligence agency “must be as responsive as possible to all members of Congress and as proactive as possible in our dealings with congressional leaders and oversight committees.”

. . . The day before, Hayden told a “town meeting” of CIA employees to expect an aggressive oversight effort in the 110th Congress from Democrats on both the House and Senate Intelligence committees.

“Frankly, I welcome it,” Hayden said, according to one attendee. “I actually think the more they know about us, the better it is for our agency.”

It's a refreshing new policy, if Hayden is at all serious. One could be forgiven for doubting his sincerity, however. Hayden himself may have broken the law by misleading Congress about the administration's warrantless wiretapping program, as former NSC staffer Mort Halperin pointed out a year ago.

...

[goforit]

3. Officials refusing to turn over documents deserve life impprisonment.

[MindPilot]

5. Another action item on the 110's agenda:

declassify the entire US government. Not one document excluded, not one word redacted. EVERYTHING. Make it illegal for any government official to hide anything from anyone.

We need a Constitutional amendment to say it very clearly: Individual citizens have an absolute right to privacy; government must be completely open and transparent.

[cascadiance]

7. According to the NY Times they are working on this now...

It sounds like there's a deadline of the 11th for some of these subpoenas. They are trying to negotiate an extension to these deadlines to work out an agreement to disclose relevant documents. Sounds like the CIA is being the stick in the mud here to help keep "putting these off".

From:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/washington/09subpoena.html?ref=politics

House Democrats May Aid Corruption Inquiry

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: January 9, 2007

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 — The new Democratic House leaders are negotiating with federal prosecutors about complying with subpoenas related to former Representative Randy Cunningham’s corrupt sale of military contracts, potentially accelerating a dormant inquiry.

The subpoenas, disclosed late last month in the Congressional Record, request documents from the House Appropriations, Intelligence and Armed Services Committees and demand a response by Jan. 11.

Mr. Cunningham, a California Republican, pleaded guilty more than a year ago to steering tens of millions of dollars in federal money to military contractors in exchange for over $2.4 million in bribes, using his position on the House military spending panel to insert special provisions for contracts into military bills.

All these provisions required involvement by the panel’s chairmen and staff as well as military or intelligence officials, so the investigation has the potential to ensnare others. A recent internal report by the House Intelligence Committee, for example, concluded that committee staff had supported Mr. Cunningham’s requests despite many “red flags.”

The subpoenas are also freighted with Constitutional issues, pitting an executive branch investigation against Congress’s claims of immunity and confidentiality for its official business.

...

[happyslug]

20. You can NOT have both Privacy and Open Government.

For the simple reason the Government will always site someone's "Privacy" to keep things "Secret". I have seen this in Child abuse cases, were School Officers site a Child's "Privacy" when it comes to opening up records, where the real concern in the School Administration. I hate to say this the best way to protect Privacy is to accept the fact that one's life must be an open book. As an open book no one can claim it is protecting your :Privacy: when it denies you your records.

I have seen the same with other children base cases, the people actually litigating the case keep the Children out of the Litigation as much as Possible but do mention the children when it is necessary. On the other hand Government Bureaucrat always cite "Privacy" whenever they do NOT want to turn over information to people WHO NEED IT (I have even had cases where people were denied information on themselves on the grounds of "Privacy".

in today's urban society the need for "privacy" is often over rated. If I want information on you I can get it within two weeks (Mostly by just following you which is legal). Within that two week period I can find out about your shopping habits, your friends, your work (and from the people you deal with I can find even more about you). Given that fact, in my opinion, it is better to have your life an open book (that most people will not read) then leave the government control who gets access to your records (Including giving the Government control over YOUR access to YOUR OWN RECORDS).

[mopinko]

8. smash the cia

we have got to smach the cia. burn it to the ground.

[donkeyotay]

9. Power corrupts, and the absolute power of secrecy

in the name of national security has corrupted absolutely.

[donkeyotay]

11. No need to investigate "a sprawling corruption ring between Congress

and the national security community."

Signonsandiego had a couple of great investigative articles. It was Brent Wilkes who was pals with Foggo. They also mentioned that Wilkes "ran a hospitality suite, with several bedrooms, in Washington..."

Union-Tribune "Cunningham pleads guilty to conspiring to take bribes, income tax evasion" Nov. 28, 2005.

[Auntie Bush]

15. I wonder if Jeff Gannon was a frequent visitor?

[cascadiance]

12. AP now has a longer story on this...

A little longer, but it basically reiterates what was earlier said that they are going to extend the January 11th subpoena deadline until January 31st, so that the newer congressional members and staffers have some time to go over the case more before responding.

Interesting Pete Hoekstra's comment that he was concerned that the scope of the subpoenas were "overly broad". Could that mean that we will have a feast when they ultimately get acted upon? One can only hope that we're going to start doing a lot of taking down some criminals soon!

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/politics/16421196.htm

Posted on Tue, Jan. 09, 2007

House panels delay response to subpoenas
ERICA WERNER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Three House committees are delaying responding to grand jury subpoenas issued in connection with the bribery case against jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

The subpoenas were issued to the Appropriations, Armed Services and Intelligence committees by the federal grand jury in San Diego that has been considering evidence in a defense contracting investigation stemming from the Cunningham case.

The subpoenas set a Jan. 11 deadline for compliance but prosecutors and House lawyers have agreed to extend that until Jan. 31, congressional staffers said Tuesday.

The initial deadline was "obviously impossible to meet," said Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis. "I just got the job."

"We essentially have to dig into Republican files. We have no idea what's in there," Obey said.

The subpoenas for documents were disclosed in the Dec. 27 edition of the Congressional Record by the committee chairmen, as required by House rules. Those Republican chairmen have since handed over power to Democrats who now control the House.

Prosecutors in San Diego declined to comment.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, wouldn't say what the subpoenas ask for, but said he was concerned the scope was overly broad.

...

[LiberalFighter]

17. Did Hoekstra forget that the Democrats are the majority now?

[lukery]

13. K&R

[w4rma]

14. Corruption inside the CIA is just as much of a national security threat as terrorism.

Maybe more, since a corrupt CIA will not be able to stop terrorists.

[Wilms]

16. .

[donkeyotay]

18. This story deserves a kick

Will the CIA cooperate or claim itself above review by a mere grand jury. Will the over sight committees actually find something to oversee? Will the press ever buy the Mercan people a vowel? Tune in next week to another exciting episode of "How We Stonewall While Pretending to Investigate".

:popcorn:

[donkeyotay]

19. Connect some dots

Foggo was a Gossling. Porter Goss (who chaired the same committee that Cunningham was on?) was appointed by bush, the same man who never met Abramoff. Abramoff has some strange early history. Didn't I read somewhere that he was working down in Central America? Wonder if he is CIA. Anyway, all these dinky little start up defense contractors got big bucks out of bush's war and the Department of Homeland Security and GOP-Intell Contractor Largess. Billions spent to spy on us and mine data and all that. Connect some dots and Washington looks like a cesspool and the Church Committee looks like a joke.

[Zorra]

21. Democrats are going to have to get rid of all the Bu*h cronies

in the intelligence community, and replace them with professional intelligence personnel.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

22. yes too much politics is being played with our intelligence community