Federal investigators probing military contract fraud and corruption allegations News
Federal investigators probing military contract fraud and corruption allegations

[JURIST] Federal investigators are probing allegations of fraud and corruption related to $6 billion in military contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a Pentagon official testifying before the House Armed Services Committee [official website] Thursday. At the hearing [recorded audio], Principal Deputy Inspector General at the Department of Defense Thomas Gimble [official profile] testified [statement, PDF] that his office is currently conducting 90 investigations and 29 audits related to the money spent on the wars so far. The investigations cover issues like procurement fraud, overcharges, false claims, public corruption, theft of money or property and violations of US export rules. Most of the investigations originated in either Iraq or Kuwait and target military and civilian government personnel, and contractors from the United States and other countries. Agents are also investigating the oversight of the American weapons bound for Iraqi forces and whether weapons destined for the Iraqis were in fact transferred. AP has more.

These are not the first allegations of contract fraud connected with Iraq. In August, the US Department of Defense [official website] announced it was sending an investigative team [JURIST report] headed by Pentagon Inspector General Claude M. Kicklighter [official website] to Iraq to probe incongruities concerning weapons and supplies bought by the US and intended for the use of Iraqi forces. In July, federal authorities arrested and charged [press release; JURIST report] a former school teacher for accepting kickbacks from contractors attempting to obtain military contracts in Iraq. Carolyn Blake was alleged to have been involved in a scheme with her brother, Major John L. Cockerham, and his wife, Melissa Cockerham, in which she received $3.1 million from contractors in 2004 and 2005. The Cockerhams were arrested and charged with money laundering, bribery and conspiracy [DOJ press release] for receiving up to $9.6 million in kickbacks. In June, former US Army Reserve Lt. Col. Bruce D. Hopfengardner was sentenced to 21 months [JURIST report] in prison for taking bribes and defrauding the Coalition Provisional Authority [official website] in Iraq.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US suffragists formed Equal Rights Party, named Presidential candidate

On September 20, 1884, a group of American suffragists formed the Equal Rights Party in San Francisco, dedicated to "equal and exact justice to every class of our citizens, without distinction of color, sex, or nationality" and in support of the proposition that "the laws of the several states be so amended that women will be recognized as voters, and their property-rights made equal with that of the male population, to the end that they may become self-supporting - rather than a dependent class." Read the full text of the first platform of the Equal Rights Party. The party immediately nominated Mrs. Belva Lockwood for US President and Marietta Snow for Vice-President. Grover Cleveland won that election, but Lockwood was included in a number of presidential primaries and is recorded to have won some 4149 votes from the male voters of the time.

Catholic Church tries Galileo for heresy

On September 20, 1633, the Roman Catholic Church tried Galileo Galilei on charges of heresy. Galileo was brought before the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith for his assertion that the Earth orbits the Sun. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his life under house arrest. Read documents from the trial of Galileo.

Suffragists formed Equal Rights Party, named Presidential candidate

On September 20, 1884, a group of suffragists formed the Equal Rights Party in San Francisco, dedicated to "equal and exact justice to every class of our citizens, without distinction of color, sex, or nationality" and in support of the proposition that "the laws of the several states be so amended that women will be recognized as voters, and their property-rights made equal with that of the male population, to the end that they may become self-supporting - rather than a dependent class."
Read the full text of the first platform of the Equal Rights Party.

The party immediately nominated Mrs. Belva Lockwood for US President and Marietta Snow for Vice-President. Grover Cleveland won that election, but Lockwood was included in a number of presidential primaries, and is recorded to have won some 4149 votes from the male voters of the time.