Did You Know?

I didn't. What week is this?

Courts Rule Portions of GOP Scandals to Stay Hidden

As a regular reader of Laura Rosen's War and Piece, I don't often enough give a shout out to what she's got going on. Here's a couple excerpts that stood out today:

North County Times *: Judge to unseal transcripts from secret hearing for Cunningham co-conspirator, Kontogiannis. Portions of transcripts to remain sealed.

TPMmuckraker has more. I want to know what's the big secret surrounding Thomas Kontogiannis? I find it odd that someone they are now trying to portray as a "small-time crook" could warrant all the hush hush.


Laura also dishes the latest scoop on Nev Gov. Jim Gibbons (R).

A Win for "State Secrets" Protects a Defense Contractor Benefactor of Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons -- and his Air Force Allies.

Reno Gazette-Journal:

In a ruling that could make it difficult for former eTreppid software designer Dennis Montgomery to argue his lawsuit against the company, a federal judge Wednesday granted a Department of Defense request for a protective order to ensure no material involving national security is released. ...

Some background here and here.

Late Update from TPMmuckraker: Tommy K: Intelligence Asset?

Heh, I KNEW it!

More from Laura Rozen here, and background here, here, here, here, and here.

Later Update: Apparently Kontogiannis, while on bail and "forbidden travel outside of federal custody" is currently staying at a "five-star hotel in Greece."

WTF?

Raw Story Roundup

Ex-White House spokesman can't name vet in his own ad
'Full 20% of 9/11 hijackers' weren't from Saudi Arabia: Stewart
MAJOR DEFECTION: TOP GOP SENATOR WANTS BUSHTO START BRINGING TROOPS HOME BY CHRISTMAS
White House: Info office exempt from FOIA requests
GOP lobby firm hired to oust Iraqi PM Bush backs
Fox cancels its Democratic presidential debate
Brutal 'war on terror' weapon sucks air out of lungs
Revealed: Air Force doc outlines how to aid insurgencies

Cunningham Briber Thomas Kontogiannis' Secret Day in Court.

What's the big secret?

TPMmuckraker:

Cunningham Figure in Secret Hearing

... This morning, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hold a completely closed hearing on whether the transcripts of Kontogiannis' prior hearings should remain sealed, something, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports, that's unprecedented in recent history.

This whole part of the Randy 'Duke' Cunningham scandal just doesn't make sense yet with what little we know. First off, he pled guilty we know but why did Kontogiannis bribe Cunningham in the first place? The story pitched so far is it was because he wanted a Presidential pardon. I'm not buying it. Also why did Kontogiannis travel with Cunningham and Ziyad Abduljawad to Saudi Arabia?

Just how did Kontogiannis get into the mix with Wilkes and Wade? What's Kontogiannis's real line of work?

My best guess at this point: he was/is a CIA employee or asset (affiliated with the NIS of Greece perhaps?).

The FBI stated that:

More than $1 million in bribes were laundered by being sent to Kontogiannis instead of going directly to Cunningham. Investigators identified at least 70 separate bank accounts maintained by Kontogiannis at only one bank.

Despite all his many businesses, Kontogiannis has not filed a tax return since 2001.

For the first time, investigators shed light on what Kontogiannis expected to get from Cunningham – help on a potential sale of fighter jets to his native Greece.

I speculate, in fact I believe it's a fairly safe bet, that Thomas Kontogiannis is affiliated somehow with the CIA or similar because of the secrecy surrounding his role in this case and because this case has involved major players at the CIA all along. Cunningham Co-conspirator Wilkes and ex-CIA #2 Kyle 'Dusty' Foggo who resigned and is currently under investigation go way back.

What's clear is that prosecutors really want to keep the details surrounding Kontogiannis' plea secret. The Cunningham case, of course, has reached deep into the CIA with the prosecution of the former executive director Dusty Foggo. Does Kontogiannis have more information to provide about Foggo? Or does the classified information concerning his case run in a different vein?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Late Update Here. (Tommy K: Intelligence Asset?) I told ya!

Keeping Secrets

Bushco refuses to allow Congress to know their plans for what they will do following a terrorist attack.

The Oregonian: Oregonians called Peter DeFazio's office, worried there was a conspiracy buried in the classified portion of a White House plan for operating the government after a terrorist attack.

As a member of the U.S. House on the Homeland Security Committee, DeFazio, D-Ore., is permitted to enter a secure "bubbleroom" in the Capitol and examine classified material. So he asked the White House to see the secret documents.

On Wednesday, DeFazio got his answer: DENIED.

"I just can't believe they're going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack," DeFazio says.

Homeland Security Committee staffers told his office that the White House initially approved his request, but it was later quashed. DeFazio doesn't know who did it or why.

"We're talking about the continuity of the government of the United States of America," DeFazio says. "I would think that would be relevant to any member of Congress, let alone a member of the Homeland Security Committee." ...

Bushco's penchant for secrecy be damned, how the hell can they keep Congress in the dark about how the government is going to continue to function after a worst case scenario cripples the institution? It's at least a recipe for disaster, and at worst a model for imposing martial law or a coup d'etat.

I guess we'll just have to trust Bushco on this too, just like we have to do about everything else this admin can get away with keeping hidden. What could possibly go wrong?