corruption

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Judge Sends Stevens Jury Home, May Declare Mistrial

Prosecutors withheld FBI reports on witness

(Newser) - A federal judge sent the jury in Ted Stevens’ Washington corruption trial home today as he considers declaring a mistrial for the Alaska senator, the AP reports. Stevens’ lawyers claimed that prosecutors attempted to withhold FBI reports about the government’s key witness, former oil exec Bill Allen, that they...

Friend Fingers Stevens at Trial
 Friend Fingers Stevens at Trial 

Friend Fingers Stevens at Trial

Government's chief witness acknowledges giving inappropriate gifts to Alaska sen.

(Newser) - A longtime friend of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens crossed the powerful lawmaker and testified today as the star witness in the Republican senator's gift-giving trial. The fiercely loyal Stevens did not acknowledge Bill Allen when he entered the courtroom. The two men barely looked at each other as Allen prepared...

Palin Turns Over Tainted Donations to Charity

Guv seeks to polish off a smudge in her anti-corruption cred

(Newser) - When Sarah Palin ran for governor, she made a point of not taking any money from VECO, an oil company at the center of a corruption scandal. But she did take, and will now give to charity, donations of $1,000 each from two politicians indicted for their role in...

Judge: Stevens Can Skip Court, But Jury Won't Know Why

Lawyers asked that Senate duty be noted

(Newser) - If Ted Stevens leaves court to attend to the current financial crisis, a federal judge warns he won't relay details to the jury, reports the Anchorage Daily News. Jurors in the corruption trial would simply be notified of the senator's absence and told that there is nothing wrong with it,...

Oil, Politics Swirl in Stevens' Trial

Key witness in Alaskan senator's alleged corruption an oilman who 'owned' pols

(Newser) - As the corruption trial against Alaska Sen.Ted Stevens gets started today, the politician is preparing to face off against a gritty oilman who has bragged about "owning" state lawmakers, reports the New York Times. The chief defense witness in Stevens' corruption trial is Bill Allen, a high-school dropout...

Davydenko Didn't Fix Matches, ATP Probe Finds

Tennis body finds no evidence Russian threw '07 contest for gambling profit

(Newser) - Nikolay Davydenko had nothing to do with any match-fixing, tennis authorities announced today after a lengthy investigation. Davydenko, 27, had been under suspicion after abnormally high betting on a 2007 match from which he withdrew citing injury, the BBC reports. Almost $7 million was placed on Davydenko’s opponent on...

Palin Swings Hard, Lacks Follow-Through
 Palin Swings Hard, 
 Lacks Follow-Through 
ANALYSIS

Palin Swings Hard, Lacks Follow-Through

Record shows her taking bold stances, shying away from follow-through

(Newser) - Those who have worked with Sarah Palin in Alaskan politics—Democrats and Republicans alike—are split on the governor's leadership style. While most praise her bold, tough approach, they also point out her lack of follow-through and seeming disinterest in the details of governing, and her inability to work with...

Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years
 Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years 

Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years

Corrupt lobbyist sentenced 3 years after guilty plea; he's already serving time

(Newser) - Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced to 4 years in prison today for his role in a massive corruption scandal that shook the upper echelons of Washington, the Post reports. The sentence means that Abramoff, who traded ritzy junkets and gifts for political favors, will remain in prison until 2012....

Pakistan's Sharif Faces Charges of Corruption

Prosecutors go after former PM days before presidential vote

(Newser) - Nawaz Sharif, whose party recently pulled out of Pakistan's ruling coalition, is about to face corruption charges, Pakistani prosecutors said today. A two-time prime minister whom Pervez Musharraf deposed in 1999, Sharif will be charged with money laundering and loan defaults, as well as "the accumulation of wealth beyond...

Biggest Convention Donors Usually Need Favors
Biggest Convention Donors Usually Need Favors
ANALYSIS

Biggest Convention Donors Usually Need Favors

No limit to funds given to parties' gatherings

(Newser) - Major donors to the Democratic and GOP conventions this year either have business pending with politicians or have recently received a favorable ruling, the Los Angeles Times reports. From cable companies to a government union to an electric utility, millions of dollars have flowed into party coffers—but both sides...

Medicare Fudged Fraud Figures: Report

Claims to have cut bogus charges overstated

(Newser) - Medicare's boasts of having reduced fraud by billions are misleading, a draft report obtained by the New York Times finds. Auditors were told to ignore procedures that would have accurately measured fraudulent claims for medical equipment, the draft report says.   Proper methods would have revealed an estimated $2.8...

Former Thai PM Skips Bail, Flees to UK

Facing graft charges, Thaksin escapes after attending Olympics

(Newser) - Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed Thai prime minister, has fled with his family to Britain after skipping a hearing on corruption charges, reports the AFP. Thaksin and his wife, who was recently convicted of tax evasion, were both free on bail and had received special permission to travel to China for...

SEIU Local Paid Big Bucks to Relatives' Firm

Fast-rising union prez defends payments to wife's company

(Newser) - California's biggest union local has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on companies owned by its president's relatives, the Los Angeles Times reports. The SEIU local for low-wage caregivers, and a related charity, paid six figures to a video company run by the wife and mother-in-law of union President Tyrone...

Oil Co. Planned Stevens' Home Renovation

Embattled Senator would have known who footed bill: report

(Newser) - The plan to renovate Sen. Ted Stevens’ Alaska home was formed by oil-company employees, participants tell the Anchorage Daily News. The renovation, central to allegations of corruptions against the indicted Republican, was supervised by a Veco employee and paid for by the company, investigators say. Stevens’ home gained a new...

Stevens Pleads Not Guilty
Stevens Pleads Not Guilty
UPDATED

Stevens Pleads Not Guilty

Judge sets pre-Election Day trial date, but defers ruling on venue change to Alaska

(Newser) - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens pleaded not guilty today in federal court in Washington to seven counts of corruption, the Anchorage Daily News reports. At his lawyers' request, the judge set a tentative trial date of Sept. 24, more than 5 weeks before the Nov. 4 general election. He'll rule on...

Nat'l Review: Stevens, Get Out
 Nat'l Review:
 Stevens, Get Out
OPINION

Nat'l Review: Stevens, Get Out

Indicted Republican senator 'disgraced himself and his office'

(Newser) - Newly indicted Ted Stevens should resign as soon as possible, write the editors of the National Review. The Alaskan senator, who is accused of seven counts of making false statements, legally “deserves the benefit of the doubt—but not from an ethical standpoint,” they note. “The facts...

Payback Time for Meanest Man in Congress
Payback Time for Meanest Man in Congress
Opinion

Payback Time for Meanest Man in Congress

Stevens bullied his way into power, and now maybe to disgrace

(Newser) - Few tears were shed on Capital Hill when Ted Stevens was indicted yesterday. Alaska’s celebrated senator spent 4 decades bullying Congress, writes Michael Crowley in the Washington Post, rising ever higher in the ranks by making politics personal. “I'm a mean, miserable SOB,” he’d boast, sporting...

US Ambassador Implicated in China Arms Deal

Envoy to Albania hid aging, illegal munitions bound for Afghanistan

(Newser) - The American ambassador to Albania personally endorsed a plan to disguise the origin of munitions bought by a Pentagon contractor, according to Congressional testimony. The New York Times traveled to Albania during an earlier investigation of a shady 22-year-old arms dealer operating out of Miami Beach. But the Albanian defense...

UK Tennis Officials Get Tough on Corruption

Authorities to set new rules to keep matches legit

(Newser) - With Wimbledon set to start today, tennis officials are cracking down on corruption in light of probes into 45 recent matches, the Independent reports. Four of the matches are from last year’s Wimbledon men’s singles, and top international players are suspected of wrongdoing. Many players said they were...

More White House Links to Abramoff Revealed

Lobbist had closer ties to administration than its report admitted

(Newser) - The White House didn't go far enough in probing its links with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to a new report from a House committee. The report reveals 70 more contacts between Abramoff's team and White House figures than had been previously acknowledged—including four extra meetings with President Bush,...

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