Concerns abound over voter access in November
excerpt:

The Justice Department pledged Monday to send election monitors around the country to help ensure access to the polls in November, even while acknowledging its limited power to enforce election laws.

From Bloomberg:

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UBS, LGT Helped Hide Assets, Evade Taxes, Senate Says (Update1)
By David Voreacos and Carlyn Kolker

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG and Liechtenstein bank LGT Group aided rich U.S. clients who wanted to disguise ownership of accounts and evade taxes on hidden assets, a Senate subcommittee said.

UBS, the world's largest wealth manager, hid as much as $17.9 billion for 19,000 Americans who didn't declare assets to the Internal Revenue Service, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report released in Washington late yesterday. LGT, owned by Liechtenstein's ruling family, fostered a ``culture of secrecy and deception'' while assigning code names to U.S. clients, the panel said.

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Isn't it nice that banks will bend over backwards for the money of rich Americans?

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Senate investigators got help from former UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld, 43, who pleaded guilty June 19 to helping California billionaire Igor Olenicoff evade taxes. Birkenfeld said he conspired with Liechtenstein banker Mario Staggl, 43, who was indicted with him on April 10.

Staggl is a fugitive.

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Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Mr. Staggl should contact the Justice Department, post-haste -- it appears that they are actually taking this case seriously, as opposed to domestic ones that are looking into multiple instances of malfeasance and criminal conduct by the Bush Administration, and therefore might actually use the information wisely.

Check out the complete article on Bloomberg (linked at the top of the story). It's an eye-opener.

Promoted. -- GH

Just a quick post for those who have been following Spakovsky.

Contested Nominee To FEC Drops Out

A controversial Bush administration nominee to the Federal Election Commission withdrew from consideration yesterday, providing a likely breakthrough to an impasse that has sidelined the political watchdog agency at the height of the primary season.

Hans von Spakovsky, a former Justice Department lawyer whose nomination became entangled in allegations that political considerations influenced decisions by the agency's Civil Rights Division, sent President Bush a letter withdrawing his name.

Senate Democrats had refused for a year to confirm von Spakovsky, torpedoing the nominations of three other nominees and denying the FEC a quorum. Since Jan. 1, only two of the agency's six commissioner slots have been filled. Bush, supported by GOP Senate leaders, had refused to withdraw von Spakovsky's name.

Please give a look at previous posting Chickens Come Home to Roost for Hans