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The N.Y. Reporter Who Exposed Abuses at Kosher Plant
On May 26, 2006, the venerable New York-based Jewish weekly The Forward published a hard-hitting story by reporter Nathaniel Popper that detailed appalling labor practices at the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant, Agriprocessors. Since then, the Forward‘s sustained coverage of the kosher food industry has roiled the religious Jewish community. Almost two years after his initial report, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided Agriprocessors, catapulting Popper’s story onto the front pages of newspapers everywhere.
What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation with Popper.
What were some of the challenges in covering undocumented workers in a tough labor situation?
Obviously the biggest thing which any writer in this sort of context will tell you is that these workers are scared out of their minds in so many ways. And so they are not going to want to talk to somebody who says they are going to put their name in a newspaper. Even when you say that you are going to be anonymous.
For me—and I think this is something probably that a lot of reporters in this field deal with—there was the moral difficulty of contending with the fact that by writing about somebody or some group of people you may alert the government to their presence and get them deported, if not worse. In this case, it was in fact worse than just getting deported.
Abramoff Gets 4 Years in Prison
A federal judge sentenced Jack Abramoff to four years in prison today for corrupting lawmakers and their staff, swindling Indian tribes and cheating on his taxes.
Abramoff has been serving time since November 2006 for defrauding investors in a casino boat venture, but today’s sentence would not count that time, meaning that Abramoff could serve until 2012. That’s more than even prosecutors asked for.
While a top lobbyist in the 90s and early 00s, Abramoff ran an elaborate favor system for Republican lawmakers and officials involving free meals at his restaurant, sports and event tickets, hundred-thousand-dollar junkets and sometimes cash. He pleaded guilty to a public corruption scheme, along with defrauding his tribal clients and tax evasion.
Breaking on the Web: September 4, P.M. Edition
Updated 4:25 pm EDT
- Terror Claims Against N.J. Muslim Leader Rejected - AP
- Ex-Alaska AG: Palin’s Legal Strategy is Bogus - Zachary Roth, TPMmuckraker
- Taxpayers Off the Hook for GOP Convention Lawsuits - Ryan J. Foley, AP
- Judge: Oracle CEO Withheld E-Mail Evidence - Ben Worthen, Wall Street Journal ($)
- Stevens Wants to Show Witnesses’ Convictions - Bart Jansen, CQ
- Judge: Gov’t Must Produce Waterboarding Memos - AP
- Britain to Disclose Iraq Intel Memos - AP
- Palin’s National Guard Faces a Crisis in Personnel - Richard Lardner, AP
- Environmentalists, Palin Clash on Polar Bears, Climate - Dina Cappiello, AP
- Prosecutors File More Motions Against Stevens - The Hill ($)
- 3,400 Ballots Missing in Fla. Election - Kim Zetter, Wired
- Ethics Commission Clears Nev. Gov - Brendan Riley, AP
- Watchdog: Wisc. Gov Softened Stance After Cash Influx from Power Co. - AP
- More Turmoil Roils Administration Office as Top Deputy is Fired - Robert Brodsky, Government Executive
- Labor Dept. Leaves Whistleblowers Dangling - Jennifer Levitz, Wall Street Journal ($)
- Poorly Maintained Power Lines Blamed for Wildfires - Randal C. Archibold, New York Times
- Fire Retardant Chemicals Found in Toddlers’ Blood - Liz Szabo, USA Today
- Bone Graft Product Linked to Surgery Problems - David Armstrong and Thomas M. Burton, Wall Street Journal ($)
- Study: Vaccine Not Linked to Autism - Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post
- Chemical in Plastic Is Connected to Health Problems in Monkeys - Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post
- Breakthrough in DNA Testing Prompts Privacy Concerns - David Ewing Duncan, Portfolio
- Ex-Prof Guilty of Passing Military Data to China, Iran - Duncan Mansfield , AP
In the Eye of the Storm
Editor’s note: This story was originally published Tuesday on Salon.
When residents of New Orleans began drowning three years ago, the city’s director of Emergency Medical Services, Jullette Saussy, faced a devastating crisis. Radios failed. Ambulances were trapped. She needed boats and high-water vehicles to respond to the increasingly frantic 911 calls from people threatened by the rising waters.
Saussy and other city, state and federal officials vowed the next time would be different. So as Hurricane Gustav bore down on New Orleans this weekend, I went with Saussy to the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, the city’s designated evacuation point, to get a first-hand look at how much progress had been made.
At 9:00 p.m. on Saturday night, two hours after Gustav’s first squall drenched New Orleans, she and other first responders had already spent days helping the city brace for a long, ugly fight with the storm.
The city’s mandatory evacuation program had ended hours earlier, but Saussy was receiving reports that several dozen of the city’s sick and elderly were still stranded in their homes. They and their families were calling 911, insisting they had registered for the city’s special needs transport program, but that help had never arrived. The program was officially over, but Saussy and her EMS teams pledged to keep it going.
‘Troopergate’: E-mails Emerge, Palin Slow-Rolls Investigation
All eyes were focused last night on Gov. Sarah Palin’s speech at the convention. But in the background—page A27 to be exact—details have continued to drip out about so-called Troopergate.
Palin, of course, has been accused of firing Alaska’s top cop for refusing to do the governor’s personal bidding and fire a trooper who was involved in a nasty divorce with Palin’s sister. (For those looking to catch up, here’s a backgrounder we’ve done.)
The governor has always denied that she pressured anybody or knew that anybody on her staff did. Today’s Washington Post (on page A27) has some e-mails from Palin that complicate the governor’s story.
Palin sent the e-mails in 2007 to Walter Monegan, Alaska’s top law enforcement official whose firing set off the scandal. She wrote that Mike Wooten, her former brother-in-law, “continues to harass and intimidate his ex.—even after being slapped with a restraining order that was lifted when his supervisors intervened.”
Breaking on the Web: September 4, A.M. Edition
- Nearly 300 Protesters Arrested at GOP Convention - Martiga Lohn and Jon Krawczynski, AP
- GOP Convention Protesters Charged with Terrorism - P.J. Huffstutter, Los Angeles Times
- Abramoff Admits Fault, but Says He’s ‘Not a Bad Man’ - Matt Apuzzo, AP
- Ex-Official Faults Politics for Rendition of Canadian to Syria - Ian Austen, New York Times
- Reuters Freelance Photographer Detained in Iraq - AP
- U.S. ‘Mistaken Fire’ Kills 6 in Iraqi Security Forces - Amit R. Paley, Washington Post
- GAO Report: Radiation Detector Plan Falls Short - Robert O’Harrow Jr., Washington Post
- $55.6 Million Awarded in Fatal Marine Helicopter Crash - Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
- Former KBR Exec Pleads Guilty to Bribery - Clifford Krauss, New York Times
- Justice Asked to Weigh Charges in Utah Mine Deaths - AP
- Heavy Trucks Barred from Using Big Dig Bridge - AP
- Oil-Supply Data Probed for Manipulation - Ann Davis, Wall Street Journal ($)
- Gonzales’ Best Defense is Memory Lapse - Lara Jakes Jordan, AP
- Warning over Bassinet Safety Is Widened - Melanie Trottman, Wall Street Journal ($)
- Gov’t Report: HHS Secretary’s Office Doesn’t Use Discounted Airfares - Elizabeth Newell, Government Executive
- Scientists: Shrinking Arctic Ice Shelf is Sign of Global Warming - AP
- Study: Strongest Storms Grow Stronger - Kenneth Chang, New York Times
- Gas Prices Confine Sick People - Emily Bazar, USA Today
Breaking on the Web: Special Palin Edition
- Palin E-Mails Show Intense Interest in Trooper’s Penalty - James V. Grimaldi and Karl Vick, Washington Post
- Fired Alaskan Official: Palin Hasn’t Been Truthful - Brian Ross, Joseph Rhee and Len Tepper, ABC News
- Palin Aide Bails on Talking to Legislature - Lisa Demer, Anchorage Daily News
- Focus Turns to Palin Record - Wall Street Journal ($)
- Palin’s Record Shows Little Foreign Experience - Bryan Bender and Sasha Issenberg , Boston Globe
- Some of Palin’s Remarks Stretch the Truth - Anchorage Daily News
- Palin’s Record Tarnishes ‘Reformer’ Image - Kate Klonick and Zachary Roth, TPMmuckraker
- Official: Palin Never Issued an Order to Alaska Guard - George Bryson, Anchorage Daily News
- Palin Pressured Librarian on Book Ban - Rindi White, Anchorage Daily News
Report: Kilpatrick to Step Down, Plead Guilty, Serve 4 Months
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has struck a plea deal with prosecutors and will step down.
What's not exactly clear yet are the terms: Kilpatrick's case is complicated, involving the perjury and obstruction of justice case brought by city prosecutors and the assault case brought by state prosecutors. But from recent reports about the plea negotiations, it seems likely that Kilpatrick will in fact do jail time. We'll have more in a bit.
Update: Here’s the deal:
The deal calls for Kilpatrick to plead guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice by committing perjury, agreeing to serve four months in jail, pay up to $1 million in restitution, and serve five years' probation. He also agreed not to run for office during that five-year span.
The deal accounts for both the city and state case and calls for Kilpatrick to step down later this month.
Video of Palin and Stevens: The ‘Big Difference Between Reality and Perception’
As reporters continue to raise questions about Gov. Sarah Palin’s “reform” mantle, the McCain campaign continues to tout her reformer credentials.
Here’s another area where the reality is more complicated than the official storyline. The supposed bad blood between Palin and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), the state’s most eminent Republican, is part of her appeal. As David Brooks wrote in the New York Times, Palin “risked her career taking on the corrupt Republican establishment in her own state” and “made mortal enemies of the two people McCain has always held up as the carriers of the pork-barrel disease: [Rep. Don Young] and Stevens.”
But it turns out Palin’s campaign touted Stevens’ endorsement in her 2006 run for governor. (The ad was quickly taken down from the Web site after Palin was named as the pick.) And the two appeared almost chummy sitting together in a press conference two months ago.
The Anchorage Daily News has some video of the joint appearance. (Stevens was indicted later that month.)
Does Palin Really ‘Command’ Alaska’s National Guard?
The McCain campaign has made much of Gov. Sarah Palin’s role as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard. A spokesman claimed, now infamously, that “any decision that she has made as the commander of the National Guard that’s deployed overseas, is more of a decision than Barack Obama has been making as he’s been running for president.”
The Alaska National Guard has served in a number of military operations overseas. They were deployed alongside Mongolian troops in Iraq, and worked at the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan. They have also trained with Japanese troops in a program called North Wind 2008, and participated in the humanitarian Operation Pacific Angel in Cambodia.
But as a number of news organizations have pointed out, Palin was not in command of any of those operations.
NYC Council to Hold Hearing on Gas Drilling Near City Water Supply
Sept. 4: This post has been corrected.
New York City officials who last month called for a ban on natural gas drilling near the city’s upstate reservoirs have taken the next step in what they argue is a fight to protect the city’s drinking water from contamination. Yesterday, City Council Environmental Protection Committee Chairman James Gennaro announced (PDF) that his committee will hold an emergency public hearing next week to discuss the safety of the drilling and hear public concerns.
Gennaro’s hearing follows an Aug. 6 letter (PDF) the New York City Department of Environmental Protection sent to state environmental officials challenging the state’s assertion that drilling in the Marcellus Shale would not contaminate the city’s unique, unfiltered water system, which serves 9 million New Yorkers. The letter demanded a one-mile protective buffer around each of the city’s reservoirs. At the time, Gennaro argued for even tighter regulation, calling for a total moratorium on drilling in the Catskill watershed, an area that supplies most of the city’s water and covers most of the shale.
Breaking on the Web: September 3, P.M. Edition
Updated 5:40 pm EDT
- Detroit Mayor Expected to Plead Guilty - Detroit Free Press
- In Depth: U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan - Sebastian Junger, Vanity Fair
- U.S., Afghan Troops Kill 20 in Pakistan - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post
- Russia’s ‘Evidence’ of U.S. Involvement in Georgia Battle Debunked - Gordon Fairclough and Gregory L. White, Wall Street Journal ($)
- Bush Announces $1 Billion in Aid for Georgia - AP
- Mayor: New Orleans Residents Can Return Immediately - David Zucchino and Stephen Braun, Los Angeles Times
- In Depth: Extraordinary Rendition - Sangitha McKenzie Millar, Foreign Policy In Focus
- Alaskan Independence Group: Palin was Never a Member - Kate Klonick, TPMmuckraker
- Ex-Police Chief: Mayor Palin Fired Me for Challenging Her Contributors - Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee, ABC News
- Ex-Credit Suisse Brokers Face Criminal Charges - Chad Bray and Kerry E. Grace, Wall Street Journal ($)
- K Street Helps Out at the GOP Convention - Alan K. Ota, CQ
- Court Hands NY Gov Gay Marriage Victory - Elizabeth Benjamin, New York Daily News
How to Boot a Mayor
Breaking Update: The Free Press is reporting that Kilpatrick is expected to plead guilty tomorrow morning.
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm opened a hearing this morning over whether to oust Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick faces charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, misconduct in office and assault, but only the charge of misconduct in office will be taken into consideration at the hearing. So how is it that a governor can fire a mayor?
The Governor’s Authority
Michigan’s constitution (PDF) allows for the removal of an elected official, and a 1954 state law spelled out how the process works. The power to remove an officeholder is fairly typical of state constitutions, says James Gardner, an expert on state constitutional law. What is unusual in this case is the law itself, which gives the governor the power to both investigate and remove the elected official.
Usually the responsibility would be divided. For instance, the attorney general would investigate and then seek a court order for the official’s removal. Involving more than one branch of government ensures that there are some checks and balances in play. Instead, the governor is judge, jury and executioner in Michigan.
Kilpatrick Hearing Gets Under Way
Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) revved up public hearings on Kwame Kilpatrick's fate this morning. First up was a law expert to testify about the secret side deal Kilpatrick struck to keep the text messages private, and now testifying is the city's attorney in charge of Freedom of Information Act requests. Kilpatrick himself will not attend, his attorney has said.
The Detroit Free Press is streaming the hearing on its Web site.
Palin’s Pork History
An Alaska politician with an uncompromised reputation as an anti-pork crusader? Turns out it is too good to be true.
As we noted last week, Gov. Sarah Palin’s reformer credentials are one of her main selling points as John McCain’s running mate. As she trumpeted in her speech last Friday, Palin is the governor who “told Congress thanks, but no thanks, on that bridge to nowhere.... I have championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.”
Except, as quite a few news outlets have pointed out, Palin had actually supported the project while campaigning for governor. And though she opted not to use the $200 million originally earmarked to build the bridge to tiny Ketchikan’s airport, that money still went to Alaska for use on other projects. Her ultimate opposition to the project seemed practical, rather than principled. She explained that it seemed unlikely that Congress would approve any more funds to complete the $398 million bridge.
Breaking on the Web: Special Palin Edition
- McCain Aides: Team Interviewed Palin Late in the Process - Dan Balz, Washington Post
- McCain Criticized Earmarks From Palin - Tom Hamburger, Richard Simon and Janet Hook, Los Angeles Times
- Palin Files Ethics Complaint Against Self - Lisa Demer, Anchorage Daily News
- Palin Lawyer, Legislator Tangle over ‘Troopergate’ Probe - Lisa Demer, Anchorage Daily News
Breaking on the Web: September 3, A.M. Edition
- FBI Taped More Than 100 Sen. Stevens Calls - Matt Apuzzo, AP
- Stevens’ Lawyers May Ask That Wiretaps Be Barred - Erika Bolstad, McClatchy
- Sen. Grassley Seeks Records from Michelle Obama’s Employer - Joe Stephens, Washington Post
- Pastors’ Web Electioneering Attracts Review of Tax Exemptions - Paul Vitello, New York Times
- Chamber of Commerce to Dump Millions in Senate Races - Paul Bedard, U.S. News & World Report
- Evidence of Gonzales Perjury in DOJ Report? - Jeff Stein, CQ
- Protest Group Clashes With Police at GOP Convention - Bryan Bender, Boston Globe
- Gov Opens Historic Hearing to Decide Detroit Mayor’s Fate - Jim Shaeffer, Detroit Free Press
- La. Officials Tell Evacuees It’s Too Early to Return Home - Jacqueline L. Salmon and Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post
- Gustav Exposed New Orleans’ Vulnerabilities - Alan Levin and Peter Eisler, USA Today
- Unneeded Gustav Evacuation Could Taint Future Warnings - Howard Witt, Chicago Tribune
- EPA Vetoes Large Flood-Control Plan - Chris Talbott, AP
- Medical Journal Raises Concern About Cholesteral Drug - Alicia Mundy and Jared Favole, Wall Street Journal ($)
- The Housing Bubble, Still Burst - Zachary Goldfarb, Washington Post
- Indictment Hints of Plan to Attack Landmarks - Benjamin Weiser, New York Times
- Ex-Prof in Palestinian Case is Freed After 5 Years - AP
- 3 Gitmo Detainees Sent to Afghanistan, Pakistan - Carol Rosenberg, Miami Herald
- Controversy Snarls Upgrade of Terrorist List - Robert O’Harrow Jr., Washington Post
- Chicago Students Protest School Financing - AP
- Sen. McConnell Takes Funds From Horse Industry, Opposes USDA Inspectors - John Cheves, Lexington Herald-Leader
- Unions Seek Stronger Ethics Rules - Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
- Calif. State Budget Sets Record for Tardiness - Jennifer Steinhauer, New York Times
Scandal Watch Update: Palin, Kilpatrick Jump In
There are two new additions to Scandal Watch today.
First, after a weekend of intense coverage following John McCain's pick of Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP, the allegations surrounding Palin's dismissal of Alaska's top cop makes the list. Here's our backgrounder on the "Troopergate" allegations. Also, we're tracking the ongoing coverage around the Web.
Second, we’ve added Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's ongoing saga. Tomorrow, Kilpatrick will face his first day of reckoning when the governor holds a hearing on whether he should be booted from office. Even if he survives, Kilpatrick still has two criminal trials on the horizon.
Also, following some reader questions about the feature, we've recently refined our methodology for choosing which scandals make the list. First on our checklist: Is there a clearly identifiable alleged act of wrongdoing by a person with power?
As always, you can keep track of these and other scandals down on the right side of the page, and don’t forget to check back on Friday to catch our weekly roundup of the major developments.
Coming This Week…
Wednesday, September 3
Sen. John McCain's pick for running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, will speak at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday evening, according to news reports. The official schedule is still blank. (Palin's "Troopergate" has just earned the top spot in our Scandal Watch.)
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will hold a hearing into accusations of corruption and perjury against Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick. Granholm, a fellow Democrat, has the power to dismiss Kilpatrick if she finds he enriched himself by endorsing a multi-million dollar settlement with three fired police officers, or that he perjured himself over allegations that he was having an affair with his then chief-of-staff. Kilpatrick also faces assault charges and broke his bail conditions by going to Canada for a meeting. (The mayor's problems are now ranked at number two on our Scandal Watch.)
Thursday, September 4
Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff faces court for sentencing for tax evasion, fraud and corruption of public officials. Abramoff has been in prison on a separate fraud conviction since November, 2006. Prosecutors are asking for a sentence of five years and four months, which would be served concurrently with the earlier sentence.
Breaking on the Web: September 2, P.M. Edition
- In Depth: Palin’s Record as Mayor - Nathan Thornburgh, Time
- Troopergate Investigator: McCain Camp Pushing to Delay Report Until After Election - Brian Ross and Len Tepper, ABC News
- In Depth: Wounded, Troubled Soldiers Sent Back to War - Erin Emery and David Olinger, Denver Post
- Activists Ask Congress to Investigate Calif. Police Killings - Jason Song and Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times
- Judge Allows Hearing of Detroit Mayor to Proceed - Zachary Gorchow and Joe Swickard, Detroit Free Press
- Court: DHS Can’t Use Wikipedia to Decide Asylum Cases - Ryan Singel, Wired
- Race Gap Found in Milwaukee Pothole Patching - Keegan Kyle, Grant Smith and Ben Poston, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Federal Plan Would Halve Habitat for Endangered Sheep - Leslie Carlson, Los Angeles Times
- Police Arrest Radio Host and Staffers - Sasha Aslanian, Minnesota Public Radio