FBI Director Robert Mueller in the East Room of the White House, May 29, 2009.
REUTERS/Larry Downing
By Grant McCool and Martha Graybow
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The FBI is working with other U.S. agencies to prevent wrongdoing related to government bailout money and the economic stimulus package, in what could be the "next wave" of financial fraud cases, Director Robert Mueller said on Tuesday.
Mueller said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York that the FBI, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program were working to track where federal money is going.
"With billions of dollars at stake -- from the purchase of troubled assets to improvements in infrastructure, healthcare, energy and education -- even a small percentage of fraud would result in substantial taxpayer losses," Mueller said....
SEPTEMBER 10, 2003 COMMENTARY By Howard Gleckman
The Neatest Thing about That $87 Billion (click here)
Bush and congressional leaders plan to treat the Iraq spending as if it were off-budget, pretending they're not creating red ink
Time to follow Alice for another quick trip down Washington's rabbit hole. Just take a look at what's about to happen with President Bush's request for $87 billion to continue U.S. military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bush will get the money from Congress, all right. But that's where things will begin to get strange. The President and congressional leaders are going to try to make $87 billion in federal spending disappear. How? By treating it as if it were off-budget spending. Here's how: For fiscal year 2004, which begins on Oct. 1, Bush has insisted that Congress hold discretionary spending -- that is, all expenses except for programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on the debt -- to $784.7 billion, and not a penny more. From now until Thanksgiving, the White House and Congress will do battle over every cent....
