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The documents seized in the FBI raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) remain unread by Justice Department investigators, pending a federal Appeals Court ruling scheduled for August 27. [snip] But we already know a bit about the charges and some of the alleged partners of Congressman Jefferson. Two people have pleaded guilty to bribing him.

The documents seized in the FBI raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) remain unread by Justice Department investigators, pending a federal Appeals Court ruling scheduled for August 27. Jefferson is anxious to overturn the ruling of federal Judge Hogan of the Washington, DC federal District Court, who allowed the raid. One can only surmise that the seized documents contain material even more embarrassing than the discovery of $90,000 in cash in Jefferson’s freezer. But we already know a bit about the charges and some of the alleged partners of Congressman Jefferson. Two people have pleaded guilty to...

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to make a trade mission to Mexico from Aug. 20-22, his press secretary said Tuesday. Schwarzenegger plans to meet with departing Mexican President Vicente Fox in Mexico City. He will also spend time in the economic and intellectual center of Monterrey, about 150 miles from the border with Texas. "We have a robust relationship with Mexico," said Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson. "We share bonds of culture, family and commerce. And the governor has enjoyed previous trips he has taken to Mexico." Thompson said one of the governor's many goals during the trip would be...

GOV. ARNOLD Schwarzenegger is making a high-profile trade trip to China this week. It's supposed to benefit you and me by opening up Chinese markets for California goods. But the guest list is a dead giveaway: Of the 80 businessmen, government officials and others accompanying the governor, about two dozen are big-bucks Schwarzenegger supporters who have together contributed more than $2.5 million to his campaign committees. For many of these Schwarzenegger donors, this China junket is more likely to help their own companies than California. And in some cases, that might actually do the rest of us harm. Consider venture...

HONG KONG — Even in China, where local Communist Party officials asked for his autograph, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could not escape being master of a traveling celebrity opera in which politics frequently gave way to simply being famous. Schwarzenegger ended his six-day trade mission to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong King on Saturday without any substantial business agreements for California firms. A Riverside County pump company could soon have an announcement on expanding its China business. And there may be news from Aeros, a Tarzana blimp maker already established here. That company wants to sell more dirigibles to the authoritarian...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - After a humiliating election loss, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this weekend jets to China and Hong Kong where he'll try to exchange his blistered campaign image for the role of celebrity statesman and retailer. Officially, the Republican governor's long-scheduled, six-day tour will take him to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong to promote trade along the Pacific Rim. He'll arrive Monday with a retinue of nearly 80 corporate and business executives eager to sell products from pharmaceuticals to chardonnay to Mickey Mouse in the world's largest emerging market. A business-connected foundation is picking up part of the trip's...

TOKYO — For some, he’s the action hero that killed the alien in “Predator.” To others, he’s the “Terminator.” To California residents he’s Gov. Schwarzenegger — but to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the men and women of the U.S. military are the true action stars. Jim O’Donnell / S&S California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, greets Capt. Jeff Petersen (at left, in uniform) of Atsugi Naval Air Facility, Japan, and Dustin Wyrick (foreground) during the Marine Security Guard Detachment Tokyo's Marine Corps Ball Friday night. Schwarzenegger expressed that sentiment Friday night at the New Sanno Hotel, where he was the surprise special guest...

Iraq's Trade Mission to Niger: If not uranium, was Saddam looking for cows, or cowpeas, or maybe onions? IAEA has been mum on the subjectIt seems like the, well, almost the whole news and political world has made a leap of faith in interpreting the fake Niger documents. Tony Blair continues to say that the government of the United Kingdom stands behind its previously voiced assessment that Saddam Hussein was actively seeking uranium. Yet the newspapers and TV are filled with tisk-tiskers talking about debunked claims. So it was refreshing to read Terence Jeffrey's cover story in this week's Human...

QUESTION: An autopsy of Paul Wellstone was a given and instantaneous. It is being performed as I write this. Under federal law, Ron Brown's cabinet position mandated an autopsy. Brown died in a plane crash far more -- shall we say ambiguous -- than the crash that took the life of Wellstone. WHY WASN'T AN AUTOPSY PERFORMED ON RON BROWN? AND WHY DID JESSE JACKSON AND THE BLACK CAUCUS SUDDENLY DROP THEIR DEMAND FOR A PROBE OF RON BROWN'S DEATH? ANSWER: Wall Street Project, clinton, Jesse Jackson and the Death of Ron Brown   At least in the case...