NJ gov says challenger crossed line as US Attorney; challenger says Dems’ outrage is ‘fake’

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey GOP gubernatorial contender Chris Christie accused Democrats of “fake outrage” over a $46,000 loan he made to a federal prosecutor he supervised.

Gov’t Official: Justice office says administration should pursue CIA prisoner-abuse cases

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s ethics office has recommended that Attorney General Eric Holder reopen and pursue several CIA prisoner-abuse cases, a government official said Monday, amid a report that President Barack Obama has approved creation of a special unit of interrogators reporting directly to the White House.

Ensign trying to move past affair, but comparison to Clinton makes it difficult

FERNLEY, Nev. — Two months after a weary looking John Ensign hastily confessed to having an extramarital affair with a former campaign aide who was his best friend’s wife, the Nevada senator set out to reconstruct his image before a forgiving crowd in the Fernley Community Center.

Former congressman who sponsored Sarbanes-Oxley regulations named chairman of ethics center

ARLINGTON, Va. — Michael G. Oxley, a former congressman known for the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley anti-fraud legislation, has been elected chairman of the board of directors of the Ethics Resource Center.

As refugees increase, Israel struggles between Holocaust memory and reluctance to open doors

JERUSALEM — Five years after a mounted militia stormed his village, torching houses and killing his relatives, Ibrahim Saad el-Din, a refugee from Sudan’s Darfur region, gazed at remnants of another slaughter: hundreds of shoes worn by Jews killed in a Nazi death camp during the Holocaust.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd undergoes surgery for prostate cancer at New York hospital

WASHINGTON — Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd underwent surgery for prostate cancer on Tuesday and was recuperating at a New York hospital.

AP INVESTIGATION: SC’s philandering governor used state planes for personal, political trips

COLUMBIA, S.C. —South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford used state aircraft for personal and political trips, often bringing along his wife and children — contrary to state law regarding official use, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Ethics panel clears Dodd, Conrad of breaking Senate rules with VIP mortgages from Countrywide

WASHINGTON — The Senate ethics panel cleared Sens. Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad Friday of breaking rules by getting mortgages through a VIP program, but it scolded them for not being more careful to avoid the appearance of sweetheart deals.

Feeney says Justice has told him he won’t be charged for Abramoff golf trip

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Tom Feeney says the Justice Department has told him it has dropped a criminal investigation relating to a golf trip he took to Scotland with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Report: daughter of scandal-plagued Berlusconi says politicians are called to high morality

ROME — Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian premier engulfed in a sex scandal over alleged encounters with young women, has been taken to task by his daughter, who is quoted as saying in an interview that public officials should enhance moral values.

Former top NASA official goes on trial on charges of steering $9.6 million to client

WASHINGTON — A former high-ranking NASA official went on trial Monday on charges that he steered nearly $10 million to a consulting client and lied about it.

Democratic chairman won’t sign subpoena for Countrywide VIP mortgage records

WASHINGTON — House Democrats have declined to subpoena available records that might reveal whether other members of Congress got discounted VIP mortgages from subprime lender Countrywide Financial Corp. similar to the sweetheart deals given Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad.

Loan official: Sens. Conrad and Dodd informed they were getting VIP home loan deals

WASHINGTON — Two influential Senate committee chairmen were told they were getting special VIP deals when they applied for mortgages, an official who handled their loans told Congress in closed-door testimony. Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad had denied knowing they were getting discounts when they negotiated their loan terms.

AP IMPACT: Loan official says Dodd, Conrad were told they were getting VIP home loan deals

WASHINGTON — Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the nation’s largest lenders, the official who handled their loans has told Congress in secret testimony.

Sarah Palin formally steps down as Alaska governor, with her future plans unclear

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has resigned from office.

Palin steps down as Alaska governor, future plans unclear

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Sarah Palin stepped down Sunday as Alaska governor to write a book and build a right-of-center coalition, but she left her long-term political plans unclear and refused to address speculation she would seek a 2012 presidential bid.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s resignation day arrives, future plans still unclear

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin steps down Sunday giving few clues about a political future clouded by ethics probes, mounting legal bills and dwindling popularity.

Ensign defends silence over affair with former campaign aide

LAS VEGAS — Republican Sen. John Ensign is apologizing for the pain his extramarital affair has caused but is withholding detailed comment on the issue.

Questions won’t stop as Palin exits Alaska politics, promises to keep speaking her mind

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin gained fame — and to some infamy — since she embarked on a vice-presidential bid less than a year ago.

SPIN METER: Few health CEO visits to White House involved photo ops, contradicting Obama

WASHINGTON — Despite President Barack Obama’s promise of transparency on his health care overhaul, few White House meetings with medical industry representatives on a list recently released by his administration were made public at the time, an Associated Press review found.

New Jersey Gov. Corzine selects state Sen. Loretta Weinberg as running mate for Nov. election

TRENTON, N.J. — Gov. Jon Corzine has chosen northern New Jersey state Sen. Loretta Weinberg as his running mate for the November election.

Palin’s mid-term resignation comes with costs to Alaska residents

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she is quitting Sunday to save the state the cost of investigating what she says are frivolous ethics complaints against her, but even her mid-term resignation comes with a price tag for taxpayers.

Clarification: Reid-Financial Disclosure

WASHINGTON — In a story June 23, The Associated Press reported that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., filed 42 pages of amended disclosure reports for 2000 through 2006 providing a fuller accounting of a property deal in Nevada.

Reid files amended financial disclosure reports for 2000 through 2006

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed 42 pages worth of amended financial disclosure reports Thursday for the years 2000 through 2006 to more fully account for a land deal in Las Vegas and to more accurately reflect the value of some other properties he owns.

White House gave early invitations to medical industry execs to discuss health care overhaul

WASHINGTON — Administration officials began talking privately to major players in the health care industry within a few weeks of President Barack Obama’s inauguration, a newly released list of White House visitors shows.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin implicated in ethics investigation of legal defense fund

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Days before Gov. Sarah Palin is scheduled to leave office, the former vice presidential candidate is facing yet another legal distraction: An independent investigator found evidence she may have violated ethics laws by trading on her position as she sought money for lawyer fees.

AP NewsBreak: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin implicated in ethics investigation of legal defense fund

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by trading on her position in seeking money for legal fees, in the latest legal distraction for the former vice presidential candidate as she prepares to leave office this week.

Lithuania adopts censorship law targeting information about homosexuality

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuania’s Parliament on Tuesday approved a censorship bill that aims to keep information about homosexuality away from children, angering gay rights activists who called the measure homophobic.

What lawmakers disclose in ethics probes can’t be used to build criminal cases, court rules

WASHINGTON — What a lawmaker divulged to a Capitol Hill ethics probe about a golf trip with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff cannot be used against him in a criminal investigation, an appeals court has ruled in a case that could make it harder to prosecute misconduct in Congress.

What lawmakers say in ethics probes can’t be used to build criminal cases, court rules

WASHINGTON — What Congress members divulge in Capitol Hill ethics probes about their own behavior can’t be used against them in federal criminal investigations, an appeals court ruled in a case arising from the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.