Monthly Archive for July, 2008

It’s the End of CIFA As We Know It…

July 30, 2008, by Seth Hettena. 0 Comments

The Pengtagon has made it official: The Counterintelligence Field Activity is no more.

It’s being rechristened the Defense Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence Center and put under the authority of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Effective August 3, all CIFA personnel and its contractors will start reporting to DIA. CIFA was run by a civilian, but the DCHIC will be run by a  two-star general who reports to Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, the head of the DIA.

In the business world, this would be called a merger and there would be all sorts of talk of synergies. The DIA has its own human intelligence or HUMINT service, which brought us the infamous Iraqi informant known as Curveball who sold a bunch of bs in the hopes of getting a Green card.

But the truth is that CIFA’s days were numbered ever since its director and his deputy resigned in the wake of the Randy “Duke” Cunningham scandal. Duke helped create CIFA, and then allowed it to become a playground for his Rolls-Royce supplier and personal antiques shopper, Mitchell Wade.

But that’s not to say that CIFA is a bad idea. DoD counterintelligence is an important job. Just look at all the spy cases that came out of the Defense Department like the Walker spy ring, Jonathan Pollard, Ronald Pelton, and so on. Somebody needs to guard the henhouse.

It appears that the new agency has authority that CIFA never did. It is being granted “administrative and management oversight of national security investigations (e.g., espionage) and related activities conducted by DoD CI organizations.” Contrast that with CIFA, which was a “single coordination focal point” for these matters. Whatever that means.

The Candidate Who Wasn’t

July 28, 2008, by Seth Hettena. 0 Comments

The Delicia Holt story keeps getting better!!!

Delicia may or may not be a candidate for Congress in my district (California’s 53rd) who sells “youth juice” on her website. She says she’s raised nearly a quarter million dollars but her name isn’t on the ballot.

She has posted the answers to all 36 questions she received from Martin Wisckol, a reporter at the OC Register, who has been asking questions about Delicia because our local scribes are too busy sending out resumes.

Here answers are just…Well, see for yourself. (The site is found here.)

Q. Is it true and accurate that you raised $216,778 from donors as documented on your FEC documents?

A. Over the years and all of which will be used for my campaign in 2010 as has been fully noted on my website and we sent out press releases to certain organizations when that decision was made.

Translation: I’ve raised tens of dollars for my campaign.

Q. I wrote all 217 of your donors at the addresses listed on the FEC documents, inquiring about their support for your campaign. None responded that they had given you money. Eight responded that they definitely had not given you money. Can you explain this discrepancy?

A. I believe everyone has the right to privacy and I respect that right.

Translation: I’m preparing for office by swindling voters before I get elected.

Q. Where are you keeping the balance — $239,476 according to your FEC forms – of your contributions?

A. in a bank, which with the closure of the recent banks may not be the wisest decision.

Translation: It’s in my closet.

Q. Are you aware that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is investigating your real estate dealings?

A. No, but I am not hard to locate, so if they need access to me they know where to find me, especially since I have interviewed for positions in their office.

Translation: Delicia who?

Q. Is there anything else you can say to help explain the concerns raised in any of  the above questions?

A. Approximately a month or so ago, I spoke to (conservative talk show host) Roger (Hedgecock) and he told me to “watch my back”. I guess he knows how cruel people can be to one another, better than anyone.  I was also told that sometimes people strike at others when they are attempting to deflect scrutiny of themselves.  I have faith that no matter what people attempt to do to discredit me and my efforts, which no man can be against me, as long as God is for me!

Translation: Spoken like a true politician!

Brent Wilkes’ Secret Admirer

July 28, 2008, by Seth Hettena. 0 Comments

Just got back from court. For the Cunningham junkies: The judge shot down Brent Wilkes’ request to have his secret admirer bail him out of prison.

For the rest of you: Wilkes, a former defense contractor, was sentenced in February to 12 years for bribing former Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham with hookers, cash, and meals at DC’s Capital Grille. But Wilkes has been eating daily specials at Terminal Island FCI in San Pedro for weeks because he can’t come up with $1.4 million in collateral to secure release.

Some unnamed person was willing to bail Wilkes out, but only if he or she can shield their identity from the public. The judge, Larry Burns, said no. Either you step up and say “I’m with Brent the consequences be damned” or Wilkes stays in the clink. Larry stressed that he’s not trying to make Brent’s life hell, even though he did call him a lying sack of shit who’s an “economic danger” to the community. Whatever that means.

The reporters there asked me if I knew who this person is. I have no idea.

Wilkes’ attorney did offer a clue. He talked about how a person at a “publicly-traded company” might have obligations that go beyond him or herself. Such a person has “fiduciary” duties. Here’s the legal definition of a fiduciary duty:

A fiduciary duty is an obligation to act in the best interest of another party. For instance, a corporation’s board member has a fiduciary duty to the shareholders, a trustee has a fiduciary duty to the trust’s beneficiaries, and an attorney has a fiduciary duty to a client….

A person acting in a fiduciary capacity is held to a high standard of honesty and full disclosure in regard to the client and must not obtain a personal benefit at the expense of the client.

Any ideas out there?

San Diego For Sale

July 28, 2008, by Seth Hettena. Closed

From (Not) The Los Angeles Times:

Although San Diego is the nation’s eighth-largest city, it has often endured second-class treatment in its home state. The Los Angeles Times, for example, regularly refers to “Southern California” as a region that doesn’t extend below Orange County.

The truth hurts.

The Candidate Who Wasn’t

July 26, 2008, by Seth Hettena. Closed

My representative in Congress, Democrat Susan Davis, is being “challenged” by a Republican named Delicia Holt. Holt reported raising $216,000 but her name isn’t on the ballot.  The Orange County Register dug in a bit deeper:

The Register wrote each of the 217 donors at the addresses listed on Holt’s federal financial filings, inquiring about their donations. Not a single one responded that they had supported the would-be candidate.

The Register heard back from eight of the listed donors – all said they had not given Holt money, and six said they’d never heard of her….

Most of those listed as donors no longer lived at the addresses listed – 165 of the 217 letters were returned as undeliverable. Records show that at least 96 lost their homes to foreclosure.

Holt ran in 2006 against Randy “Duke” Cunningham as a self-described “intelligence security analyst.” She sells $45 bottles of “youth juice” on her campaign website, which says she’s running.

Why would someone fake their own campaign?

Let Them Eat Wildebeest

July 25, 2008, by Seth Hettena. Closed

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Border Fence, (left) came up with a solution to the Darfur refugee crisis.

According to The Washington Post:

Hunter’s staff contacted the embassy in N’Djamena, Chad, last week to see whether Hunter could distribute food at a camp. Hunter also wanted to put together an outing to hunt wildebeest and distribute the meat to the Darfur refugees.

That’s the Duncan we know and love!

It was left to the State Department to inform the congressman that Chad is a DESERT, big game hunting is prohibited and there are no wildebeest there, outside of game reserves.

Union-Tribune for Sale

July 24, 2008, by Seth Hettena. Closed

It’s the end of an era: Copley Press announced today that it’s exploring a sale of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The U-T’s president and CEO said the newspaper is caught up in a “perfect storm” affecting all media organizations.

“Part of it is secular – that is, brought about by forces that are fundamentally changing our business model and making it impossible for us to continue doing business as usual. The other part is cyclical, brought on by the collapse in the real estate market that is affecting the entire country, but is slamming Sun Belt cities especially hard.”

It’s a big day for San Diego, and for people who resent the old order that Copley represented and the virtual stranglehold that the U-T had on the city, it’s a happy one. Copley and the U-T were the only game in town for many, many years, intimately tied in to the city’s and the GOP power structure in a way that few newspapers ever were.

I’ve written about some of this before: James Copley allowed his news service to provide cover for CIA operatives. Editors like Herb Klein and Jerry Warren moved back and forth from journalism into the Nixon White House.

The newspaper was a kingmaker in this law-and-order town, and it was part of what kept San Diego the lone conservative bastion on the Left Coast. It nurtured people like Bill Kolender, the city’s former police chief and current sheriff. He was hired on as an assistant to the publisher while he pondered his next political move. Lately, the U-T has tangled with progressive City Attorney Mike “We’re Marching On” Aguirre.

Copley was once a chain of newspapers in the Midwest and Southern California. All were sold in the hopes, I suppose, of saving the Union-Tribune, the crown jewel. Even in its weakened state, the newspaper remains a powerhouse. Its estimated revenues in 2006 of $387 million were more than all the local TV stations in town combined.  But the company can’t limp along any more.

In the end, it was the mortgage and real crisis that pushed Copley to this. Which is ironic, because the Union-Tribune, like the old L.A. Times under Colonel Otis and the OC Register, were relentless promoters of growth. Think big.  Build it and they will come.

But what goes up must come down.  San Diego just can’t expand any more because nobody wants to live in Temecula and pay $4 gas for the privilege of driving hours back and forth to work every day. Something’s gotta give.

Gene Bell, the Union-Tribune president and CEO, says newspapers aren’t dying. Maybe, maybe not. But the once mighty newspaper will never be the same.

Ten reasons people run for president

July 24, 2008, by Seth Hettena. Closed
  1. Jesus told me to.
  2. It’s my turn.
  3. Earth would be better off if I ran it.
  4. Because I can.
  5. Congress is boring.
  6. The other guys suck.
  7. Nothing else can satisfy me.
  8. Why the hell not?
  9. I dream big.
  10. Sense of duty.

I Have a Castle

July 23, 2008, by Seth Hettena. Closed

Rep. Mark Souder, a Republican from Indiana who looks like Radar O’Reilly from M*A*S*H*, has just introduced a bill with the noble goal of preventing another Duke Cunningham.

Souder wants members of Congress, federal candidates, and top admininstration officials to disclose the mortgages they hold on their castles, mansions, compounds, and beach homes. “Transparency,” Souder says, “is fundamental to public trust.”

He took the first step by disclosing that he has eight years left on his mortgage, owes $75,000 and is paying 6.875 percent interest.

As insanely greedy as Duke was, even he would have thought twice before listing that he owed $0 on a $2.55 million mansion he had bought the previous year. But what prompted this wasn’t Duke, but the low-cost loans two senators got from the “Friends of Angelo” program. Souder and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, one of the wealthiest representatives, are calling for a House investigation.

It’s a good first step, but the bill doesn’t go far enough. A survey by Politco.com found more than one of four senators have no mortgages.

How about requiring members of Congress to disclose the values of their homes?

Who’s buying?

July 22, 2008, by Seth Hettena. Closed

The story of Duke’s clemency application seems to have  touched a nerve. I was on KUSI-TV this morning to discuss the Cunningham pardons. People seem to be outraged at the possibility that Duke might wriggle off the hook.

Well, I don’t think there’s much chance of that. George W. Bush has granted clemency a total of SIX times since he took office. Yes, one of those cases was Scooter Libby. But the rest were nobodies, small-time drug dealers you’ve never heard of. By contrast, Clinton granted clemency 61 times — half of which came on his last day in office.

But the bigger problem — and the more meaningful one for Duke — is the huge backlog of 2,300 cases that is overwhelming the system. The Justice Department’s Office of Pardon Attorney, which has to review and make a recommendation on each request, is drowning in paper. There are thousands of people equally, if not more deserving of clemency than Cunningham.

So, who’s representing Duke? It’s not Cunningham’s criminal attorneys at the firm of O’Melveny & Myers, as I’ve previously noted. But who is? And why?

I’m assuming here that Duke didn’t file his own application. It’s possible, but unlikely. As Duke’s former commanding officer pointed out, the man can’t write a simple declarative sentence.

Hiring an attorney at $500/hour is tough for an ex-congressman who had to forfeit all his ill-gotten gains and owes a $1.8 million fine. Then again, he is still collecting his congressional pension.