DOUBLE STANDARD? Pols question WH review of prostitution scandal

While government investigators interviewed hundreds of personnel to get to the bottom of the Secret Service prostitution scandal in Colombia in 2012, congressional Republicans suggest the White House barely lifted a finger to investigate similar allegations involving one of their own.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, in an interview with Fox News on Thursday, questioned how seriously the White House handled claims that a member of their team may have been “intimately involved with a prostitute.”

He said he’s concerned, further, about a “cover-up.”  

But even as far back as November 2012, in a letter obtained by FoxNews.com, another top Republican pointedly accused the White House of conducting a flimsy review into the allegations.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., charged at the time that documents reviewed by his committee staff showed the White House review was “woefully inadequate.”

Issa, in his Nov. 2, 2012, letter to then-White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, claimed the Secret Service director had given Ruemmler records from the Hotel Hilton Cartagena that “suggested” someone on the White House advance team signed in a 28-year-old female guest. Issa said documents show the guest entered at 12:02 a.m. and left at 9:46 a.m. (This claim appears to align with details reported late Wednesday by The Washington Post, which identified the advance team “volunteer” as Jonathan Dach, then 25, whose father Leslie is a consistent Democratic donor.)  

But according to Issa, “the initial White House review” of this incident – before that information was turned over — “appears to have consisted of talking to one person,” the advance team member in question, who was asked whether he had engaged a prostitute. 

“Like several Secret Service agents who subsequently failed polygraph tests, the White House staff denied that he had,” Issa wrote.

But even after then-Director Mark Sullivan handed over the additional details, Issa said the White House claimed to have simply “re-interviewed the staff member” and interviewed several colleagues, “who vouched for his character.”

By contrast, the Secret Service interviewed “dozens of hotel staff and female foreign nationals,” while the DHS inspector general’s team interviewed 251 Secret Service personnel. The investigation included a review of hotel records, polygraphs and even drug tests, Issa wrote.

But Issa claimed there is, by contrast, “no indication” that Ruemmler’s office interviewed hotel staff or the woman said to be involved.

The letter from Issa was sent after he initially questioned the internal review on Oct. 11, 2012. In that letter, he noted that then-White House Press Secretary Jay Carney had claimed in April 2012 “there have been no specific, credible allegations of misconduct” by a White House team member, and their review likewise produced “no indication” of any misconduct. 

Ruemmler eventually wrote back to Issa, on Nov. 9, 2012, asserting the same: “We did not identify any inappropriate behavior on the part of the White House advance team.” Even after learning additional information, she wrote, “our conclusion did not change.”

Issa said the individual in question had done advance work for President Obama on “eight prior official overseas trips,” including in Tokyo, Brazil and Baghdad. He said correspondence attached to his request for a passport reflected him as “White House staff with the Executive Office of the President.”

The White House says he was a volunteer. The Post reports he was not paid a salary but was paid a per diem and reimbursed for expenses. 

White House visitor logs for 2012, meanwhile, recorded several visits to the White House by people named Jonathan Dach and Leslie Dach in 2012. The records show a Jonathan Dach visited the White House in March 2012 – the records say he was visiting “POTUS,” which is short for president of the United States.

The records show that shortly after the Colombia controversy in April 2012, a Leslie Dach visited on April 24 for a meeting with Alan Krueger, then chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

The records also reflect a June 3, 2012 visit by Jonathan, Leslie and Elizabeth Dach. (Eliza Dach is apparently the name of Leslie Dach’s daughter.) Other key details about that visit, though, were not entered into the official White House log.

Leslie Dach’s name shows up in the logs for other visits during the rest of the year.  

After The Washington Post reported that senior White House aides had information about these allegations and never thoroughly investigated them, the White House stuck by its claims.

“As was reported more than two years ago, the White House conducted an internal review that did not identify any inappropriate behavior on the part of the White House advance team,” spokesman Eric Schultz said.

Schultz said the White House counsel asked the Secret Service for information at the time, which turned up a hotel log. But the White House previously has claimed the volunteer was wrongly implicated based on inaccurate hotel records.

Questioned by reporters on Air Force One, Schultz reiterated Thursday afternoon that the White House reviewed the evidence and stands by the conclusion of that inquiry. He said it was a careful review, and noted that a Secret Service agent similarly implicated through a hotel log was later exonerated.

Richard Sauber, an attorney representing Jonathan Dach, also denied the allegations in a statement to Fox News and said his client was not even standing with the woman in question when she presumably put down her information in the hotel log. He said his client did not sign the paper with the woman’s information on it.

“The allegations about any inappropriate conduct by Jonathan Dach in Cartagena are utterly and completely false. Anyone who knows Jonathan knows how ludicrous these allegations are,” Sauber said.

“The Post bases its allegations almost exclusively on a hotel log with the name of a prostitute and a room number. Yet neither Jonathan Dach’s name nor his signature appears on the hotel log or any piece of paper with a foreign national,” he said.

Chaffetz, in an Oct. 3 letter to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, has asked for “all documents” related to the White House counsel review.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also sent a letter on Thursday to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson requesting the same documents, saying he’s “concerned” the administration did not “properly investigate or discipline its own staff.”

FoxNews.com’s Jana Winter and Judson Berger, and Fox News’ Catherine Herridge, Kelly Chernenkoff and Lesa Jansen contributed to this report.

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DOUBLE STANDARD? Pols question WH review of prostitution scandal

Guyana authorities question several following discovery of semi-submersible vessel

Self-Propelled Semi-Submersible (SPSS) vessel

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Tuesday September 9, 2014, CMC – The Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) says it has questioned seven people in connection with the discovery of a Self-Propelled Semi-Submersible (SPSS) vessel last month.

“These semi-submersible vessels are built for one reason and one reason only and that is to transport drugs, mainly cocaine. This vessel was more than like going to Europe or Africa not the US…the camp itself has been there for at least five months based on the materials found,” said CANU head, James Singh.

Singh gave no further details about those brought in for questioning, but the authorities believe that the vessel, discovered hidden in a swamp in the Waini River, North West District, was constructed here, given that the odometer reading indicated that the vessel travelled for only three hours.

“This is based on us sharing information with experts, persons who have seized vessels like this before… this now moves us beyond just trans-shipment,” Singh said.

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Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee said the SPSS which is now stored at the Coast Guard Base in Ruimveldt underscores the difficulties law enforcement authorities have in dealing with the illegal drugs trade.

He said that the SPSS is similar to those used by drug smugglers in Latin America and that at the request of the government, experts from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) are assisting local law enforcement officials in their investigations.

“Drug traffickers use rivers, waterways and territorial sea very frequently to conduct their nefarious activities…we hope that this kind of work will continue on the part of the law enforcement agencies with the help of the GDF (Guyana Defence Force),” he added.

Members of the Task Force on Narcotic Drugs and Illegal Firearms recently completed the final draft of the country’s new National Drug Strategy Master Plan which has since been presented to the Cabinet for its approval.

This plan outlines the strategic, tactical and institutional objectives of the Government for the 2013-2017 period with regards to the fight against drug trafficking.

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Guyana authorities question several following discovery of semi-submersible vessel

MOCA to question former NWA officer shortly

Attorneys representing a former senior official of  the National Works Agency (NWA) and at least three other men are making arrangements for a question and answer session. It will be carried out by detectives assigned to Major Organised and Anti-Corruption Task Force (MOCA).

The former NWA official and his brother, an Inspector of Police, remain in custody as MOCA continues its probe into a major fraud and conspiracy racket.

The former NWA executive and two directors of  his company were detained on Friday morning during operations which stretched to Portland where his brother was held. The police also went to five locations in the Corporate Area.

According to MOCA, the operations resulted from investigations into suspected cases of  forgery and conspiracy, which began several months ago.

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MOCA to question former NWA officer shortly

Patrick Hoyos: Mia Mottley settles the Barbados leadership question

Leader of the Barbados Labour Party, Mia Amor Mottley (Credit: Mia Mottley/Facebook)

Patrick Hoyos

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Monday July 28, 2014 – Last week proved to be a turning point in the career of Mia Amor Mottley, both as Opposition Leader and potential next prime minister of Barbados.In short, there is no doubt now who leads the Barbados Labour Party, not just in name, but in deed.

Some people (including me, if someone were to have asked me) may have advised her not to lead last Thursday’s march from Parliament to Government Headquarters, where the increasingly embattled cabinet of the Freundel Stuart administration was having its regular meeting, but Ms. Mottley did as her leadership instincts advised, and went ahead anyway.

Even the rain accommodated her, falling late in the evening as the sun went down so as not to disturb the sunshine-filled midday event.

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Her brief speech from the back of the lead truck at the Bay Street-Beckles Road stoplight – the march been made to end there by the police in an over-abundance of caution – was a metaphorical victory lap for Ms. Mottley, as she surveyed the thousands who had followed her and her parliamentary colleagues, but she displayed no unseemly pride in her new unchallengeable status.

She can now move forward with confidence in taking the fight to the government without looking over her shoulder all the time.

Even on the day of Mia’s complete ascension to the title of undisputed leader, Owen could not resist asking for attention. 

What a difference a day makes, goes the lyric to an old jazz standard. And that difference is Mia Mottley. You might think I am making a big thing of this, but I say – knowing nothing about politics and all of its strategies – to give credit where its due.

The announcement of the demonstration, the first held by one of the two major political parties in a very long time, was openly criticized by one MP, who went on the air – as if he were her equal in party status – to say he wasn’t going to take part and that it was a bad idea. Something about raising the expectations of the people too high, which would only disappoint them and turn them against the party, if the hated Solid Waste Tax was not repealed as a direct result of the march.

It was an argument that was a solid waste of broadcast time. Nobody in their right mind who takes part in a demonstration is crushed if they don’t get their way. They accept that they may not achieve their goal, but they want those in power to understand how they feel. They know that cumulatively this may in time tip the balance in their favour.

Ms. Mottley seems to be succeeding in stirring up a national whirlwind of countrywide opposition

A couple of hours after it ended, I spoke to one of the people who took part in the demonstration. She was at work keeping the dining area of a popular mall clean and tidy for patrons. For her, she said, it was more a victory for Barbados than for the BLP. She felt so good that she had been able to let the government know her view on the tax and how hard they had made life in general, even if nobody knew that she was there individually. It was good for her psychologically, she told me, to actually go out and peacefully protest against what you thought was unjust in your country.

That was why it was a good day for Barbados, as the people didn’t do enough of these kinds of demonstrations, she said. And then she went back to work.

Ms. Mottley, I realised, had reached past all of the intellectual ‘long talk’ about political strategy and gone out on a limb. She might have failed, but she would have done so with her heart in the right place. Many people (yes, including you-know-who) have wondered about her overall strategy, which is reflected in the public sessions which the Bees have been hosting all over the country of late, and in her speech from the back of that lorry on Thursday.

Ms. Mottley, I realised, had reached past all of the intellectual ‘long talk’ about political strategy and gone out on a limb. 

There she read from her letter to the prime minister, offering ideas for the way forward and calling on the administration to bring the Opposition into its confidence and work towards a bipartisan approach to getting us out of the economic whirlpool dragging us to the bottom.

Ms. Motley has take an all-inclusive approach and while I would never have come up with it myself (which is why I am no politician) I have to admit that it finally seems to be gaining traction.

Instead of just trying to stir up a political storm, Ms. Mottley seems to be succeeding in stirring up a national whirlwind of countrywide opposition to an administration whose policies may leave the country bankrupt, given a little more time.

Two opponents of Ms. Mottley were swift to harden their positions. Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler said essentially that you could march wherever you liked, but you will eventually have to march over to your bank for money to pay the solid waste tax anyway.

And Owen Arthur, the sole MP not to take part, whose lack of support for Ms. Mottley was as much in evidence as much as it was unmissed, however lost no time in calling up a newspaper to try to re-direct the spotlight on himself. He hinted at an early resignation from Parliament, claiming he was tired of always being made the centre of controversy, or words to that effect.

Even on the day of Mia’s complete ascension to the title of undisputed leader, Owen could not resist asking for attention. Like Winston Churchill, the great man can not concede that his era of leadership is over. (Source: Broad Street Journal)

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Pat Hoyos. Pat Hoyos is a business writer and publisher of the Broad Street Journal.

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Patrick Hoyos: Mia Mottley settles the Barbados leadership question

Leading Barbados economists question Central Bank’s outlook

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Thursday July 17, 2014, CMC - Two leading economists Wednesday said that contrary to the Central Bank’s prediction of growth in economy from this year, there’s no sign of expansion in the near future and upward movement may begin in three years.

The Central Bank on Tuesday released its second-quarter report for the year, predicting growth in 2014 of 0.3 per cent based on expected performances in the foreign exchange earning sectors. The bank also stated that the economy is expected to pick up by 1.2 per cent in 2015, and 2.5 per cent in 2016.

“We at least believe at best a flat performance, but the realistic scenario would be that we expect a drop off at the end of the year,” said Jeremy Stephen, President of the Barbados Economic Society (BES).

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“I stick by the prediction that growth would be at least three years off… around 2017 you would see significant recovery.”

Stephen, an economic consultant and part-time lecturer at the University of the West Indies, said his disagreement with the Central Bank’s forecast is based on the quarterly report pointing to government’s continued heavy borrowing from the commercial banking sector.

“So the challenges we expect would remain going forward, particularly in arresting the fiscal deficit, using fiscal consolidation as a major strategy,” he said.

The Central Bank had stated that as of March this year, fiscal adjustment measures started last August, appeared to be restoring a balance of inflows and outflows of foreign exchange.

Those adjustments are part of an 18-month programme.

But Stephen cautioned, “We’re still in the middle of the 18-month adjustment programme…so we still have six months to go to see whether the fiscal consolidation would have been successful, but with where we are going right now it is very hard to say that it’s been significantly successful, I would say that at best it has been tepid”.

Ryan Straughn, immediate BES past president said, “I don’t really see where this growth is going to come from”.

“The government spent more in the period of September 2013 to March this year, so one would have to see some more significant cuts coming on stream this year if they are to meet any of the targets. They are looking to raise an additional $300 million (One BDS dollar = 50 US cents) in revenue this year, and I find that hard to achieve and obtain that growth which is being projected to the end of the year as well.”

He said more government fiscal adjustment measures are going to be necessary, “because the deficit was meant to be around eight per cent the end of March, 2014, but it turned out to be nearly 12 per cent.

“Therefore one would have to see a considerable adjustment, certainly between now and the end of March next year, if we are going to achieve any of the targets that would have been highlighted in the budget of last year.”

Although Barbados’ budget statement is presented in August, the financial year begins March 31 of the following year, hence the 2014-2015 fiscal period ends in March 2015.

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Leading Barbados economists question Central Bank’s outlook