The relentless Rep. John Conyers subpoenaed Karl Rove again to testify about the White House's political influence on the Justice Department's U.S. Attorney firings and the prosecution of Don Siegelman, but when, if ever, will Rove testify? Not Monday, the day for which the subpoena originally compelled his testimony. Conyers rescheduled the deposition to February 23 to give Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, "time to consult with the Obama administration and learn whether the new president would uphold Bush's order against testifying."

This comes in the wake of Fred Fielding's letter (pdf) advising Luskin that President Bush was directing Rove "not to provide information" to Congress about "the U.S. Attorneys matter" and not even to appear before Congress if subpoenaed. Larisa Alexandrovna asks what authority Fielding has to direct Rove to break the law by disregarding the subpoena's command to appear (as opposed to its command to answer questions upon appearance). Good question.

Here's another good question: [more ...]

When government entities or private companies (particularly insurance companies) (cough*Allstate*cough) adopt a blanket "we won't settle this kind of claim" policy, they usually say their intent is to discourage frivolous litigation. In many cases, the true intent is to discourage all litigation, legitimate or otherwise. Many victims with legitimate claims won't pursue them if they know they'll have to go to trial. Sometimes -- if the "no settlements" policy is recommended by a law firm that happens to represent the company or agency -- the intent is to assure more billable hours for the firm.

Albuquerque follows a "no settlement" policy with regard to claims of police misconduct. Perhaps the city believes its officers are incapable of using excessive force or engaging in other civil rights violations. It's more likely the city takes a tough stance to discourage claims.

Albuquerque made an exception this week by settling a lawsuit alleging that the police ignored four 911 calls, and that an off-duty police officer refused a request to assist, resulting in the death of a 21-year-old woman who was murdered by her estranged boyfriend, a Los Alamos County firefighter. [more ...]

Good riddance to Wayne Tucker, who until this morning was the chief of police in Oakland. Tucker resigned before the city council had a chance to hold a planned no-confidence vote. Just yesterday, Tucker said he wouldn't resign.

Tucker's four year reign as police chief has been a disaster. Tucker promoted Edward Poulson to head the department's internal affairs division, despite Poulson's interference with an internal affairs investigation in 2000. [more ...]

Here's the headline:

"America's Sheriff" Found Guilty of Witness Tampering

The (former) sheriff in question is Orange County's Mike Carona. Larry King described him as "America's Sheriff" during the investigation of Samantha Runnion's disappearance.

The rest of the story is brighter for Carona than the headline suggests. [more ...]

Speaking of police officers who find it easier to lie than to conduct honest investigations:

Oakland intends to fire 11 police officers for allegedly lying to obtain search warrants in drug cases, officials said Thursday. ... At least 12 [suspects] have already had their cases dismissed because warrants that police used to obtain evidence were obtained on the basis of lies by officers, according to attorneys involved in the cases.

It's so much easier to invent crimes than it is to solve them honestly.

Two undercover narcotics officers have been charged with lying about a sting operation in Queens after one of the men they accused of selling drugs produced video evidence showing the officers had had no contact with him or three other men they arrested.

The officers allegedly bought cocaine from two men but claimed they bought it from six, resulting in the arrests of four innocent men.

It's bad enough that the police conduct sting operations -- often creating crimes that wouldn't have happened but for the sting. How lazy does an officer have to be to arrest four innocent people when it's so easy to find actual drug dealers willing to sell their product? And what ever happened to good old fashioned police work: investigating and sometimes solving actual crimes that actually occurred? [more ...]

Former Oakland Transit Officer Johannes Mehserle was charged with the murder of Oscar Grant yesterday. (Background here.)

If you missed the video of the killing, you can watch it here:

A news version is here. More at Alternet and here's an Action Alert at the Nation.

The Inspector General's report on the civil rights division of the Department of Justice is out. The findings: Bush appointee Bradley Schlozman broke the law.

Among the newly hired lawyers whose political or ideological views could be discerned, 63 of 65 lawyers hired under Schlozman had Republican or conservative credentials, the report said.

[More...]

Is Troy Aikman a "dignitary" in need of protection? A U.S. Marshal claims government resources were not misused when Aikman, Joe Buck, and Joseph Band, a lawyer for the Marshals Service who happened to be a part-time statistician for Fox Sports, were driven to the 2008 Super Bowl by a deputy marshal.

Investigators found that in at least three cities (Boston; Tampa, Fla.; and Phoenix), United States Marshals granted Band’s request for vehicles and drivers, even though it should have been clear that he was not at the games on official business, the [Inspector General's] report said.

Band arranged for Marshals Service escorts to an NFL playoff game and to a couple of World Series games. Instead of coming clean and admitting that Band misused governmental resources for his own purposes, and that the marshals who signed off on his requests made mistakes, the marshal for Arizona claimed transporting Aikman and Buck "could be considered 'dignitary protection.'" Aikman was a fine quarterback and Buck is a stellar announcer, but dignitaries they are not. As excuses for poor judgment go, this one is awfully lame.

Andrew Collins, the narcotics officer for the Benton Harbor (Michigan) Police Department, didn't bother to turn over drugs he seized from dealers and users. He just kept them for himself. But that's not the worst.

Collins also reported fictitious drug sales he made as an officer to improperly gain search warrants and embezzle funds from the police department.

Collins has been arrested and indicted. After meeting with the FBI, Berrien County Prosecutor Arthur Cotter decided to reopen and dismiss seven cases that resulted from "perjured testimony, planted evidence, or false information contained in affidavits which were used to obtain warrants." More unlawfully obtained convictions may be vacated as the review of Collins' work continues.

Radley Balko at Reason has a story you won't want to miss.

KopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing marijuana. When faced with a suspected marijuana grow, the police usually use illegal FLIR cameras and/or lie on the search warrant affidavit claiming they have probable cause to raid the house. Instead of conducting a proper investigation which usually leads to no probable cause, the Kops lie on the affidavit claiming a confidential informant saw the plants and/or the police could smell marijuana coming from the suspected house.

[More...]

FBI Agent Mark T. Rossini of New York has been charged in Los Angeles with illegally accessing FBI computers in 2007 to help the once-famous, former private investigator, Anthony Pellicano, who was facing illegal wiretapping and racketeering charges. Pellicano was convicted and is in prison.

In May, Pellicano was convicted by a federal jury in Los Angeles of conspiring to run a criminal enterprise that employed illegal wiretaps to dig up dirt on the rich and famous on behalf of his elite Hollywood clients. Pellicano is awaiting sentencing for convictions on those 76 counts, as well as for convictions in August in a separate trial for wiretapping and conspiracy to commit wiretapping.

It looks like Rossini has already made a deal: the charges were filed by information and consist of five misdemeanors of illegal access to computers. [More...]