Transparency News 1/6/15

Tuesday, January 6, 2015


State and Local Stories

Sixteen months after a Fairfax County police officer shot and killed a Springfield man, officials for the first time Monday identified the officer as Adam D. Torres, and made a new claim that the man had a loaded gun nearby and threatened to use it. Fairfax police declined to answer any questions about the statement or clarify when Geer displayed or threatened to use a gun. The handgun found inside the house was loaded and holstered, the statement said. Fairfax officials did not notify Geer’s family or their lawyers that they planned to release the officer’s name and new details about the case, Lieberman said.
Washington Post

Newly sworn in Petersburg City Councilman John Hart Sr. will start his term after paying only about 1.5 percent in fines for campaign finance filing violations that amounted to over $30,000 in civil penalties. The campaign finance report violations for elections in November 2010 resulted in Hart owing the city more than $30,000 in civil penalties for filing or correcting the reports late. The civil case against him was settled in January 2014 with Hart having to pay only $500 to the city. Hart, who now represents Ward 7 and is due to attend his first City Council meeting this week, also got into more campaign report hot water during the 2014 election cycle for failing to provide a correct address for where he lived and operated his campaign. Virginia Code states that willfully providing false information on campaign finance reports is considered election fraud, and is punishable as a Class 5 felony.
Progress-Index

The Fairfax County School Board is seeking to double the salary paid to board members beginning in 2016 — in what it says is a bid to attract top candidates to the field in an election year — despite the budget challenges faced by the district. The 12 members of the School Board each currently earn $20,000 a year, with the chair of the board, elected by the members, making $22,000. The proposal, which is scheduled to be introduced as new business Thursday and is set for a vote Jan. 22, calls for School Board members to earn $40,000 annually and for the chair to earn $42,000.
Washington Post

National Stories

A member of the grand jury that declined to indict Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson has filed a federal lawsuit against the prosecutor handling the case, saying the public has been misled about the grand jury's deliberations. Represented by the Missouri chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the anonymous grand juror - identified only as "grand juror Doe" - sued St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch on Monday for the right to speak publicly about the case. It is the first time the public has heard from a juror in the case. The grand juror hints that he or she may have voted to criminally indict Wilson. The six white men, three white women, one black man and two black women who served on the grand jury have been ordered under Missouri law to stay silent about the inquiry into Wilson's Aug. 9 shooting in Ferguson of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American.
McClatchy

New York Times reporter James Risen refused on Monday to answer all but a few basic questions in court about his book detailing a failed CIA effort to undermine Iran's nuclear weapons program, in a case that has become a flashpoint for press freedom. Risen testified in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, as part of the U.S. government's case against former Central Intelligence Agency officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is charged with leaking classified information to Risen. Risen, appearing under oath on the witness stand for the first time, declined to identify what information confidential sources provided for his book, where or when he met with unnamed sources, or who had not served as a source. The terse, and at times combative, testimony prompted a lawyer for Sterling to question whether prosecutors could even proceed with their case.
Reuters

The 18th century German leader Otto von Bismarck once remarked that “laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” Figuring what a law means can be no less problematic. This adage is particularly applicable to the latest court cases involving lawsuits claiming retaliation in violation of the whistle-blower provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The vagaries of the law have left much room for interpretation in what protections Congress intended to provide whistle-blowers. One of the central questions of the provision has been whether a whistle-blower has to first report information about questionable practices to the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to be protected from firing, demotion or harassment. The federal courts have been split on this question. That there is ambiguity in the law should not come as a surprise. The Dodd-Frank Act covered 2,300 pages and was the product of numerous last-minute changes to its wording.
New York Times

Efforts continue to boost transparency in the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association fund, which assesses Michigan motorists a $186-per-vehicle fee as part of the state's no-fault insurance system. Groups trying to force the insurance industry body to open its books have appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court after receiving a legal setback at the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Detroit Free Press

Former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice for illegal surveillance allegedly conducted while she was reporting on the government, multiple sources reported Monday. Attkisson told Fox News’ Howard Kurtz she and her attorneys have evidence tying the government to various surveillance attempts including monitoring the audio on her Skype account and refreshing “software to steal data and obtain passwords on her home and work computers.”
Poynter

Federal regulators want to make it easier for people to file complaints and fix problems with a telephone, cable, Internet or radio company. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unveiled a new website that “should help consumers better hold companies accountable,” according to Sen. Bill Nelson (Fla.), the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee.
The Hill
 

Editorials/Columns

Independent commissions would allow voters to choose their candidates, instead of vice versa. It's no wonder state Republicans, who control both legislative chambers, fear losing clout. But politicians of every stripe - especially incumbents - won't go down without a fight. Like snapping turtles, they cling to their office with a certain tenacity. Nor are redistricting panels a panacea. Several forms operate across the country, from mere advisory ones to those with real power. What are Virginia voters willing to fight for, and what are politicians willing to accept?
Roger Chesley, Virginian-Pilot