The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog

A Little Texas Sunshine

When John Cornyn was attorney general of Texas under Governor George Bush, he mounted a comprehensive initiative to make the Texas government less secret. Now as U.S. Senator John Cornyn, he is once again pushing the agenda of open and transparent government under the Bush Administration.

This week, the Senate approved a bill sponsored by Cornyn and Senator Patrick Leahy that would prevent attacks on open government from flying under the radar. These days, monstrously long bills are usually voted on within days or hours after being made publicly accessible, giving little time for lawmakers to properly scrutinize the contents. A sentence or a few words here and there can wreak havoc. Industry lobbyists have figured out that one way to get the public off their back is for the Congress to create exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), something they have actively encouraged. An excellent article by Rebecca Carr of Cox News noted that Congress has created such exemptions to FOIA in this way 140 times. This piece of legislation--which was originally part of the OPEN Government Act--by Cornyn and Leahy would require that obvious language signaling when legislation would Swiss cheese FOIA would be included in the bill text.  Congress may decide to tamper with FOIA, but it will have no excuse that it didn't know what it was doing.

Let’s hope the House undertakes approving this bill and that the Congress finishes the common sense FOIA reforms in Cornyn and Leahy’s OPEN Government Act.

Partying with Defense Contractors

One of the interesting highlights of Marcus Stern’s latest installment on the “Duke” Cunningham real estate controversy is the article’s section concerning the Duke’s social life.

According to the article: “When Copley News Service asked Cunningham two weeks ago whether he was friends with Wade [the defense contractor who bought Cunningham’s house], he answered, ‘No more than I am with (Qualcomm founder) Irwin Jacobs or (Titan Corp. founder) Gene Ray or any of the other CEOs.’ He painted a different picture yesterday. ‘Mr. Wade and I have been friends for many years and continue to be friends today,’ he said. ‘Though I first met Mr. Wade in connection with his work as a defense contractor, Nancy and I came to know Mitch and his wife Christiane personally over the years. My family and I have socialized with the Wades on numerous occasions.’”

One might reasonably wonder if or perhaps even assume that the Duke socialized with the heads of other major defense contractors. Isn’t that how Representatives raise money for their political campaigns?

Beach Dude Testifies

If you read just one article on yesterday’s hearings on the Abramoff/Tribal Gaming scandal, this one by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post should be it. Beach dude David Grosh washed up on the shores of Capitol Hill this week -- innocent, honest, unconcerned about appearances, uninhibited by the advice of “say nothing” lawyers -- a peculiar curiousity in our nation’s capital. The swirl of the Jack Abramoff scandal has sucked in Tom Delay, Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed, and others…prompting a normally-jaded news media to find renewed interest in the inappropriate influence of lobbyists whether it be the increased hordes descending upon Washington, DC or the special flights for members of Congress. Let’s hope Senator McCain’s hearings and investigations help clean up our money soaked political process.

Taxpayers AKA The Contractor Legal Fund

After an initial win, reversal, then finally a win on appeal, the University of California and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will pay plaintiff Dee Kotla over $2 million.  She was wrongly terminated from the Lab for testifying in a sexual harrassment case.  Kotla originally won $1 million in March 2002.

This case highlights the fact that the contractors of national labs have their legal fees reimbursed by the government carte blanche and thus have no check on the amount of money or time spent in court battles.  This allows contractors to wear down whistleblowers or other persons in never-ending legal battles fueled by the government's deep pockets.  Here's what POGO recommended to the Energy Department on the Los Alamos contract, but is applicable to Livermore and other lab contracts as well:

The Department of Energy should not reimburse any legal fees incurred by the contractor in whistleblower legal disputes subsequent to an adverse administrative determination by DOE or Department of Labor, or an adverse final judgment by any State or Federal court, unless the determination or judgment is reversed upon further administrative or judicial review.

Tell all the Truth but tell it...slat?

Two POGO staffers spent a day at Fort Lewis, Washington, with Stryker Armored Vehicle Brigade soldiers and officers earlier this week for insight into two recent reports by the Army’s Center for Lessons Learned (CALL) that raised significant deficiencies of  the $4 million-a-copy Stryker. POGO has been monitoring the development and deployment of the Strykers since 2003, but our interest was heightened earlier this year when we obtained a copy of the first CALL report.

While we were very impressed with the professionalism and obvious dedication of the soldiers   – and were grateful for their assistance – we frankly came away from our meetings a little perplexed. We’re now seeking some answers.

The soldiers and officers all said they were very pleased with the performance of the Strykers, particularly with their ability to move fast and quietly. However, as you Stryker watchers may remember, the December 5, 2004, CALL report noted that the performance of the Stryker’s 5,000-pound “slat” armor was “less than expected against certain types of rocket propelled grenades (RPG)” used by the Iraqi insurgency. “In the field, soldiers say the slat armor is effective against half of the RPG attacks,” the report concluded.

However, in a video teleconference with POGO, Colonel Robert Brown, Commander of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team currently stationed in Mosul, Iraq, said his troops had sustained 112 RPG hits, but not one had penetrated the slat armor. Other soldiers and officers in the first Stryker brigade deployed for a year in Iraq also said they had no problems with RPGs penetrating the slat armor. We’re asking for Army after action reports to clear up this apparent contradiction.

Progress On Declassification Board

Secrecy News reports that the Public Interest Declassification Board may be funded for the first time since its legislative birth five years ago. Through the 2006 Defense Authorization Act, the House Appropriations Committee directed that $1 million be allocated for the Board for next year. It’s about time. With classification at levels exceeding Cold War heights, there needs to be more voices inside the government reviewing questionable secrecy decisions.

“Get Smarter” with Whistleblower Protections

Will Congress “Get Smarter” with Whistleblower Protections for the FBI?

“Is hummus A) a terrorist organization or B) a delicious chick pea dish?” wonders Jon Stewart in his segment “Get Smarter” on this week’s Daily Show which pokes fun at the FBI. It’s difficult to know where to begin in describing the depositions performed by law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto of FBI officials to determine why their client, Bassem Youssef, a highly qualified counter terrorism expert, was repeatedly passed over for promotions post 9/11. Top FBI officials admit in those depositions that hiring experts in the Middle East and terrorism is not a priority, despite 9/11 and promises to the Congress that they would change their terrorism-neglecting ways. In one deposition, the FBI’s head of counter terrorism for two years after 9/11admits he doesn’t know the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims. According to the Associated Press, “Saudi officials said they regarded Youssef as the most skilled U.S. agent in conducting lie detector tests on Arabic-speaking suspects” but he was passed over repeatedly for headquarters jobs at the FBI.

Youssef joins a long line of FBI whistleblowers and former insiders making similar complaints about the FBI’s incompetence including Coleen Rowley, John Vincent, Bob Wright, Mike German, John Roberts, Fred Whitehurst, and Sibel Edmonds. They have all quit, been fired, or otherwise tortured by an agency with an insular and self-perpetuating culture. The same week that the FBI’s dirty laundry was aired, Henry Hyde persuaded the House of Representatives to provide employees at the United Nations with better whistleblower protections than the FBI has ever had. This week’s dirty laundry makes it hard to believe that Congress’ “intelligence reform” will have much impact on the FBI. Perhaps it’s time for the Congress to “Get Smarter” by creating a safe haven for employees inside the agency who are trying to reform it and prevent another 9/11 catastrophe.

For more on the FBI’s retaliating ways, Mike German, of the newly formed National Security Whistleblower Coalition, offered this stark assessment in a report for GlobalSecurity.org:

Y-12 Confidential

The Energy Department Inspector General found that the forces guarding the Y-12 nuclear weapons plants were no match for a clever band of foreign nationals. 

According to the IG's latest report, the group was able to enter a facility where "official use only" documents were lying out in the open.

Fortunately, no sensitive information was compromised.  The facility happened to be a construction trailer and the group of foreign nationals happened to be 16 construction workers wielding falsified green cards.  While not serious in itself, the report concluded that the situation "represented a serious access control and security problem."

Why were “official use only” documents left unprotected in a construction trailer?  Shouldn’t the plant’s management be more careful with this information?

For Y-12, this is only the latest fiasco.  Since the 1980s, the plant’s security record has been marred by negligence and incompetence.  Hopefully this incident will be a wakeup call for the world’s largest repository of highly-enriched metal-form uranium.

Stryker Field Trip

POGO’s investigation into the Stryker is taking on speed. Two POGO staffers are currently on their way to Fort Lewis in Washington State – home to the weapon system. The Army is generously allowing POGO to inspect the vehicles and is also letting the investigators speak via satellite to troops in Iraq who use the Stryker. POGO is funding this trip out of its own pocket. Expect a report on the trip’s findings in a few days.

Business Savi

The revolving door may still be well-oiled, but at least it squeaks loudly whenever global warming revisionists pass through.  Philip Cooney, the White House aide known best for editing government reports on global warming, has joined Exxon Mobil. 

As a former lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, Cooney will fit right in with the company that funded some 40 organizations that “either have sought to undermine mainstream scientific findings on global climate change or have maintained affiliations with a small group of ‘skeptic’ scientists who continue to do so.”

But Cooney isn’t the only one going through the motions.  Practically the entire Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sauntered through the revolving door without making so much as a peep. 

Former Secretary Tom Ridge now serves on the board of Savi Technology.  Savi Technology specializes in radio frequency identification tags.  According to U.S. News, officials plan on implementing these tags in passports.

More recently, Ridge was appointed to the board of Exelon Corp., an organization whose mission is to become “the best and most consistently profitable electricity and gas company in the United States.”  Exelon also happens to be the nation’s biggest supplier of nuclear power, one of the concerns of the DHS.  Hopefully, as instances such as these come to light, the revolving door will be degreased.

You Can't Fail If You're Never Tested

Mr. Arms Control Wonk has some beef with the Missile Defense Agency’s report from its Independent Review Team (IRT).  But the report does have several recommendations that make a lot of sense. The IRT recommends shifting away from a schedule-driven philosophy, establishing an Independent Readiness Review Team to assess readiness for testing throughout the development process, and ensuring that all “open items” are dealt with before moving an interceptor on to the next stage.

All of these measures would help ensure that tests are not conducted when they are certain to fail, saving anywhere from $85 million to $100 million of wasted dollars per failed test.

However, the report also contains language that suggest a shift away from the government being able to hold missile defense development accountable, to know if it is even making progress toward being a working system. The IRT declares mission assurance “the highest priority objective”, and establishes a presumption against testing: “prove why should fly”. Given these priorities, less frequent testing in realistic conditions (and less testing, period) would result in not knowing if missile defense actually works and threatens to lead to billions wasted.

Why the decreased reliance on testing? The IRT believes that unsuccessful tests reduce the deterrent effect of our missile defense system by exposing its inadequacy to the world.  Yet, without proven success (the result of not testing), it’s doubtful that any country would believe the system works anyway.   

To make sure that the IRT’s recommendations improve the development process rather than shield the failures of one of our most expensive programs from view, the Missile Defense Agency needs to ensure effective oversight. Seeking more certainty before testing is admirable, but postponing testing indefinitely is not.

Questions Remain in Hook Case

Throughout our prior work with Hook, we have found him honest and trustworthy.  That said, we are keeping an open mind and are reserving judgment until all the facts are in.

So here's our take on the Tommy Hook story: It should be no surprise that the police claim there is no evidence the assault had anything to do with Tommy's whistleblowing.  The Santa Fe police were initially sent in to investigate a bar fight, and that’s all they have ever indicated they thought it was.

Yet it seems that the Santa Fe police have not adequately investigated what they have been told.  For instance, they didn’t get the phone records that would show whether or not Tommy received a call after 10 pm on Saturday night.

We find it interesting that the FBI is continuing to conduct interviews and is obtaining the phone records from Saturday night, despite the police statement that there was no link to issues at Los Alamos.

Our questions remain: Did Tommy receive a call after 10 pm?  Isn't it an extraordinary coincidence that the attack happened at the bar where he was told to meet an anonymous source, three days before he was scheduled to meet with Congressional investigators?