
Smuggling cigarettes in America has become a multi-billion-dollar business, robbing states of desperately needed tax money and fueling organized crime. Yet the federal response to all this is, well, pretty lackluster, according to a newly released report by the Justice Department’s inspector general. Read more
A word of advice to people looking to do overseas business deals: think twice about greasing any palms, especially in China, Nigeria, and Iraq. Read more
CQ Politics reported this weekend that a National Security Agency wiretap picked up Rep. Jane Harman of California, once the ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, “telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department to reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC].” AIPAC is a Washington-based group that bills itself “American’s Pro-Israel Lobby." In exchange for her help, according to CQ’s sources, the Israeli agent was prepared to lobby then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi “to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee” if the Dems won the 2006 elections. Read more
Since President Obama reversed former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s denial-prone directive on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests this year, open government advocates have had plenty to cheer about. But one legacy of the Bush administration may take more time to undo: massive cuts in many executive departments among staff responsible for handling FOIA requests. Read more

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