Subpoenas

Government officials have subpoenaed documents from 15 lenders whose Federal Housing Administration-backed loans have high default rates, including a failed Missouri bank that was owned by an Orange County financial firm. Many of the FHA-backed loans issued by the lenders went bad almost immediately, said Kenneth M. Donohue, inspector general for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which includes the FHA. At a news conference Tuesday, he called the action a review that was not yet an investigation.

Dov Charney, founder and chief executive of casual fashion giant American Apparel, acknowledges that he has appeared in his underwear many times in front of male and female employees. And yes, on a few occasions during work meetings, he donned a skimpy garment that barely covered his genitals. But those events, he said, have to be understood in the context of the fashion industry.

Federal prosecutors investigating possible corruption in city contracting have subpoenaed Mayor James K. Hahn's e-mails, moving their investigation closer to the mayor and all but ensuring that Hahn will be forced to campaign for reelection under the shadow of the criminal investigation. The U.S.

Investors defrauded of $255 million by EarthLink Inc. co-founder Reed Slatkin are hoping to recover funds from the Church of Scientology International and six affiliated organizations that allegedly wound up with tens of millions of dollars from the investment scam, their attorneys said Tuesday.

President Bush's decision to defy congressional demands for documents and testimony in the U.S. attorneys case leaves Democrats with a difficult choice of lowering their sights in the investigation or facing a long and uncertain court fight. The White House told congressional leaders Monday that Bush was asserting executive privilege in refusing them access to senior officials and documents about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year.

Under pressure from Republicans, a House committee has subpoenaed documents related to Countrywide Financial Corp.'s VIP program, which offered preferential treatment to well-connected or powerful mortgage customers. The subpoenas were issued Friday as part of a broad investigation into the role of the nation's largest mortgage companies in the financial crisis, said Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The probe -- which involves demands for information from Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp.

The FBI issued thousands of subpoenas to banks, phone companies and Internet providers last year, aggressively using a power enhanced under the Patriot Act to monitor the activities of U.S. citizens, Justice Department data released late Friday showed. The report given to members of Congress was the first to detail the government's use of a controversial form of administrative subpoena that has drawn fire because it can be issued by investigators without court oversight.

The FTC has subpoenaed the owners of a partnership making a $2.7-billion hostile takeover bid for Interco Inc. in connection with an investigation of possible antitrust violations, the partnership disclosed. Steven M. Rales and Mitchell P. Rales, City Capital Associates Limited Partnership and others were served with subpoenas on Oct. 24 requiring the Raleses to produce documents, said Cindy Carpenter, a spokeswomen for the brothers. The Rales brothers lead a group that controls about 8.

Personnel files of 14 more Los Angeles priests have been subpoenaed, widening the investigation and setting the stage for another confrontation between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and prosecutors over evidence in the clergy sex scandal. The Los Angeles County Grand Jury subpoenas, issued over the last week, are the first this year and attorneys say they almost double the number of files on individual priests and church officials that are being sought by prosecutors.

A key congressional leader Thursday subpoenaed more than 39,000 tobacco industry documents that the cigarette companies have been vigorously fighting to keep secret for months--documents believed to contain dramatic information about industry marketing practices and scientific research. Rep. Thomas Bliley (R-Va.), chair of the House Commerce Committee, demanded that the industry turn over the material by March 12.

Government officials have subpoenaed documents from 15 lenders whose Federal Housing Administration-backed loans have high default rates, including a failed Missouri bank that was owned by an Orange County financial firm. Many of the FHA-backed loans issued by the lenders went bad almost immediately, said Kenneth M. Donohue, inspector general for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which includes the FHA. At a news conference Tuesday, he called the action a review that was not yet an investigation.

Under pressure from Republicans, a House committee has subpoenaed documents related to Countrywide Financial Corp.'s VIP program, which offered preferential treatment to well-connected or powerful mortgage customers. The subpoenas were issued Friday as part of a broad investigation into the role of the nation's largest mortgage companies in the financial crisis, said Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The probe -- which involves demands for information from Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp.

NEW YORK -- The New York Attorney General's office subpoenaed five members of Bank of America Corp.'s board of directors Wednesday as part of an investigation into the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., according to a personal familiar with the investigation. The board members are expected to be questioned about what they knew regarding the mounting losses and bonus payments at Merrill ahead of the deal's completion on Jan. 1, said the person, who asked for anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

California and three dozen other states formed a task force Friday to investigate whether the abuses alleged at a New York state retirement fund are taking place at public pension agencies across the country. The announcement marks the latest expansion of a pay-to-play probe that has increasingly revealed California connections. New York Atty. Gen.

The House Judiciary Committee chairman subpoenaed former White House advisor Karl Rove to testify about the Bush administration's firing of nine U.S. attorneys and its prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, a Democrat. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) said the legal battle to get Rove and other former Bush aides to testify may succeed with a new president in the White House. Former President George W. Bush supported Rove and two other senior aides who asserted they did not have to testify before Congress about their actions in the executive branch.

Tribune Co. acknowledged Thursday that it had been subpoenaed in the federal criminal case against Illinois' governor, Democrat Rod R. Blagojevich, and sources confirmed that the FBI had interviewed a close associate of company Chairman Sam Zell. The associate, Nils Larsen, is the financial advisor who allegedly was asked to help get Chicago Tribune editorial writers fired. (None were fired.) Larsen, a Tribune Co.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband refused to testify in the investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power, and key lawmakers said Thursday that uncooperative witnesses were essentially sidetracking the probe until after election day. Todd Palin, who participates in state business in person and by e-mail, was among 13 people subpoenaed by the Alaska Legislature. His lawyer sent a letter to the lead investigator saying he objected to the probe and would not appear today to testify.

Amgen Inc., the world's largest biotechnology company, said Friday that it received a second subpoena from the U.S. attorney's office in Washington state in connection with the company's anemia drugs. Amgen received the "supplemental" subpoena July 18 for documents regarding "the sales and marketing of our products, and our collection and dissemination of information" on the drugs' efficacy and safety, the Thousand Oaks company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

White House chief of staff Joshua B. Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers asked a federal judge to delay an order to cooperate with Congress while they appeal the ruling. The court filings indicate that Bolten and Miers will continue to resist subpoenas from the House Judiciary Committee as the Bush administration heads into its final months. Lawmakers are seeking testimony and documents related to the controversial firings of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006.

A federal judge Thursday rebuked the Bush administration for making the "unprecedented" claim that senior White House officials were beyond the reach of congressional subpoena power, and ordered two top officials to cooperate with the politically charged probe of U.S. attorney firings. The ruling by U.S. District Judge John D.