ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. We strive to foster change through exposing exploitation of the weak by the strong and the failures of those with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.
Budget Office Estimates Bailout Costs to Exceed $64 Billion
In a report today, the Congressional Budget Office tried to put a price tag on the bailout (PDF) through the end of last year. The answer: $64 billion.
That's what the office projects the "subsidy cost" of the Treasury Department's actions through Dec. 31 to be. As of Dec. 31, the Treasury Department had invested or lent $247 billion. The subsidy cost, according to the report, is "the difference between what the Treasury paid for the investments or lent to the firms and the market value of those transactions."
Scrutiny of Doctor-Pharma Ties Leads to Change
This past weekend, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a slew of articles about dozens of doctors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who have side jobs with drug companies. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has also trained his eye on UW, where federally mandated disclosure forms don't require doctors to specify the amount of any industry pay exceeding $20,000.
As a result, patients are often left in the dark about potential conflicts of interest: Fourteen of the 20 doctors interviewed by the Journal Sentinel said they "did not tell patients about their financial relationships with drug companies when they prescribed drugs made by those companies." And critics say doctors are more likely to prescribe drugs made by companies they take money from, even if there are less expensive ones available or they're not approved for the problem at hand.
Brooklyn Minister, Target of Racist Comments by Former Pardon Attorney, Waits For a Second Hearing
A year ago this month, President Bush sent a letter to Chigozie Okorie, the 10-year-old son of a Nigerian-born Presbyterian minister, who was seeking a pardon for his dad. The letter, on White House stationary, didn’t acknowledge the request. Instead, Bush wrote: "Laura and I hope the coming year brings joy and peace to you and your family."
Five days later, the Okories learned that Roger Adams, Bush’s pardon attorney at the Department of Justice, had been removed from his job for making racist statements about the older Okorie while reviewing his case and recommending that his application be denied.
As the Bush administration enters its final days, Chibueze Okorie and his son are hoping for a last-minute change of heart from the outgoing president. Okorie’s lawyer, who served as the U.S. Pardon Attorney under Bush’s father, believes the case, tinged by charges of racism, deserves to be reconsidered.
This Week in Scandals: Secret Treasury Deals, Torture, and More
Every week, we take stock of how the week unfolded for the top stories we're tracking in Scandal Watch (see the right sidebar). Here is how we do it. And, as always, feel free to suggest new scandals.
Obama has gotten his hands on the second half of the bailout funds amid complaints that the plan violates the Constitution and effectively nationalizes banks. It’s lucky Congress released those funds, because the Treasury Department had already started promising them out, mostly to Bank of America as part of a secret December deal. Meanwhile, the AP reports that those bailout profits touted by some Republicans are nothing more than an "illusion," and TPMMuckraker notes that the Treasury officials in charge of doling out the bailout funds don’t inspire much confidence.
You Don’t Know Burris
Politicians and the media largely have portrayed Sen. Roland Burris as an upstanding public official. As Barack Obama described his replacement in the Senate, Burris is a "good man and a fine public servant."
But Burris' record as state attorney general contradicts this squeaky clean image. It shows Burris to be more like a stereotypical Illinois politician: He steered state business to friends, gave state jobs to family and later, as a private lobbyist, benefited from his political ties.
"They're not necessarily the most egregious actions, but it's very indicative of a way of doing politics that's been the norm for a long time in Illinois," said Cindi Canary, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.
Midnight Regs: Nearing the End Game
With just a few days left, the Bush administration is still implementing midnight regulations -- and we're still bird-dogging them. Today's update includes two additions to our chart and a decision from the Environmental Protection Agency that concerns a rule on a contaminant found in drinking water.
But first an update on more rules that went into effect this week. The Interior Department's rule that removes a provision requiring scientific review by the Fish and Wildlife Service before federally approved construction projects, such as road-building, went into effect yesterday. So did a rule from the Department of Defense mandating that certain government contractors and subcontractors use E-Verify, a system operated by Homeland Security that determines employees' eligibility to work in the United States.
Two more midnight regs go into effect tomorrow: (1) A regulation for the leasing of public land to produce oil shale and (2) the changes to the guest worker program for the agricultural industry.
Quick Picks: AIG Doles out Dough While Doctors Rake It In
Quick Picks focuses on a select few of the day's stories from "Breaking on the Web."
- Taxpayers balked in November when AIG -- the recipient of an ever-expanding $150 billion credit line from the U.S. government -- reported that it was doling out $469 million in "retention" bonuses to thousands of its employees. Now, Bloomberg reports that AIG is actually giving more than that -- $150 million more. According to the firm, the bonuses are necessary to hang on to its staff, but Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said AIG is overpaying and accused the firm of being less than forthright about the pay. An AIG spokesperson told Bloomberg, "Ed Liddy [AIG's CEO] clarified various details about those plans in answer to Congressman Cummings's questions."
BofA and Gov’t's Secret Deal
In mid-December, Bank of America struck a deal behind closed doors with top U.S. financial officials: BofA could count on all the help it needed to cover the losses at Merrill Lynch, whatever they turned out to be. The important thing was for the deal to go through. The Treasury Department disclosed overnight that it would be investing $20 billion more in BofA and was teaming up with the Federal Reserve and FDIC to backstop losses on a $118 billion pool of troubled assets.
According to today's Wall Street Journal, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson made the guarantee because they feared that if BofA were to pull out, it would shock the fragile financial system. But the deal has angered some of BofA's shareholders, who wonder why the troubles at Merrill weren't disclosed before the Dec. 5 shareholder vote to consummate the merger.
Scandals are selected by our editors and ranked in order of our assessment of intensity of coverage. How we do this. Are we missing something? .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
To contact us with concerns and corrections, e-mail us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). All e-mails may be published unless you tell us otherwise. Read our corrections.
© Copyright 2010 Pro Publica Inc.
FREE REPRINTS
Unless otherwise noted, you can republish our articles and graphics (but not our photographs) for free. You just have to credit us and link to us, and you can’t edit our material or sell it separately. (We're licensed under Creative Commons, which provides the legal details.)