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Politics
States progress in reform of lobbying laws
Leah Rush and David Jimenez of The Center for Public Integrity report that 24 states have worked to strengthen or improve electronic disclosure systems since the Center’s 2003 report, “Hired Guns.” Meanwhile, federal lobbying disclosure laws have not changed in the past eight years. Political scandals, in many cases, were the catalyst for changes in…
Read MoreAide might have violated ethics rules
Thomas Peele of the Contra Costa Times used congressional financial disclosure statements, state and federal campaign finance reports, IRS records, congressional committee and staff disbursement records and other documents to show that Rep. Richard Pombo’s top aide, Steven Ding, might have violated congressional ethics rules by not correctly reporting all of his outside political work…
Read MoreCongressmen tried to stop investigation
Richard A. Serrano and Stephen Braun of the Los Angeles Times used documents to report that “Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz.” The lawmakers inserted regulatory…
Read MoreAlito takes hard line on crime, immigration
Amy Goldstein and Sarah Cohen of The Washington Post, with a team of reporters and researchers, categorized Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito’s rulings and compared them to other federal appeals court judges, finding that “Alito has taken a harder line on criminal and immigration cases than most federal appellate judges nationwide, including those who, like…
Read MoreGa. voter registration system unreliable
Alan Judd, with data help from David A. Milliron, of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution compared a statewide voter registration database with a list of more than 100 commercial mailbox outlets in metro Atlanta, as well as voter registrations in the downtown business district and at government facilities, to identify flaws in the state’s voter registration system.…
Read MoreFrist’s votes benefit HCA
Todd Pack of The Tennessean examined the voting record of Sen. Bill Frist (R) over the past 11 years, finding the senator has a pattern of supporting bills friendly to HCA Inc., the Nashville-based hospital company that is the foundation of the Frist family’s wealth, and to hospitals in general. Frist has faced criticism in…
Read MoreBush’s re-election campaign contributers reap benefits in Ohio
James Drew and Steve Eder with contributions from Mike Wilkinson, Christopher D. Kirkpatrick, Jim Tankersley, and Joshua Boak of The Blade report that the Ohio business leaders and lobbyists who contributed at least $4.1 million to President Bush’s re-election campaign last year collected more than $1.2 billion in taxpayer dollars for their companies and clients.…
Read MoreSuburbs pay for St. Paul’s mayoral race in Minn.
Tim Nelson and MaryJo Sylwester of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press analyzed nearly 12,000 campaign contributions to show that St. Paul, Minn., suburbs are paying for most of the mayoral race. According to the analysis, suburban residents have made 52 percent of the campaign contributions to the two general election candidates so far whereas donations…
Read MorePrivate foundation sponsored international travel of congressman
Bob Williams of The Center for Public Integrity and Steve Henn of Marketplace examine the organizational structure and business activities of the International Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources, or the IFCNR in their “Power Trips” series. IFCNR has alienated mainstream environmental groups and its tax documents show its major financiers include the Japan…
Read MoreLobbyist Abramoff used aide, attacks to influence Congress
Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi, with contributions from Alice Crites and Julie Tate, of The Washington Post report that lobbyist Jack Abramoff used an aide to Tom DeLay and attacks on allies to defeat the anti-gambling bill. Details of that campaign, reconstructed from dozens of interviews as well as from e-mails and financial records…
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