Subpoenas

Re "A Right-Wing Smear Is Gathering Steam," a July 21 commentary by Joseph C. Wilson IV: I suspect that the intensity of attacks on Wilson is directly proportional to the likelihood of indictments coming down shortly against those who compromised national security. Virgil J. Jose Apple Valley

The federal government is investigating the business practices of the NBA players' union. The union confirmed Friday it has received a subpoena for documents from the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and says it will cooperate with the investigation. The NBPA also said in a statement that it has appointed a special committee to oversee an internal inquiry, including a financial audit. Recent reports have questioned the NBPA's finances and spending practices, largely having to do with the hiring of family members and firms that employ relatives of Executive Director Billy Hunter . Hunter says he will cooperate with the internal inquiry, but will not be in involved in the effort so it remains independent.

The Glendale City Council has voted to issue subpoenas to an affordable housing developer that allegedly bilked the city out of millions in construction overcharges ? laying the groundwork for potential litigation to recover the losses. The developer, Advanced Development & Investment Inc., is under federal investigation for allegedly transferring millions of dollars to personal accounts and submitting fraudulent bills to cities across the state. Glendale's move came in a joint meeting Tuesday with the housing authority and less than a week after The Times reported that ADI was allegedly funneling thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to former and current City Council members through a network of subcontractors.

The nation's top consumer watchdog is investigating one of the largest Buy Here Pay Here used car chains, the latest in a rising tide of scrutiny of the little-known industry. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a subpoena seeking information and business documents from DriveTime Automotive Group in Phoenix, according to a regulatory filing this week. DriveTime, with 90 dealerships nationwide, is the first Buy Here Pay Here company to be investigated by the federal agency that was created in 2010 as part of the overhaul of financial regulations.

The Nichols Institute said Monday that, as expected, it has received a subpoena from federal authorities as part of a nationwide investigation of the clinical laboratory industry. Nichols Institute spokeswoman Lynn Brown said that the San Juan Capistrano company, a provider of laboratory testing services for hospitals, received the subpoena by certified mail. She said she could not immediately comment on the contents of the subpoena. Investigators with the U.S.

The judge in independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's latest prosecution refused to quash subpoenas for the notes and testimony of Newsweek reporter Michael Isikoff and outtakes from CBS-TV's interview with presidential accuser Kathleen Willey. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton said he will wait until the obstruction trial is underway in Alexandria, Va.

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.

Sempra Energy, owner of the largest U.S. natural gas utility, lost a bid to block subpoenas from California regulators investigating whether the company manipulated energy prices during the state's power crisis. U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney on Tuesday refused to grant San Diego-based Sempra an injunction to halt the subpoenas, saying federal courts shouldn't interfere with a state investigation.

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos and his wife, Imelda, to obey subpoenas for foreign bank records and other evidence for an investigation into their activities. The justices refused to block a lower court order requiring the Marcoses to turn in fingerprints, handwriting samples and voice prints and to release their foreign bank records for the grand jury's criminal investigation. A lawyer for the Marcoses said they will comply with the order.

The Senate Whitewater Committee issued another round of subpoenas on Thursday, seeking documents related to the failed real estate venture that has plagued President Clinton for several years. Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-N.Y.), chairman of the committee, announced the issuance of the subpoenas. They were served on both banking institutions and people, including Arkansas Gov.

Federal authorities are seeking information about Jerry Sandusky , the former Penn State assistant football coach facing state charges of sexually abusing children, as well as others involved in the scandal that has shaken the college sports powerhouse. Penn State on Friday acknowledged receiving a federal subpoena from the U.S. attorney's office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania seeking information on Sandusky and others. The school is complying with the request, said Lisa Powers, director of the department of public information, in an email.

The investigation into the death of Whitney Houston is shifting to a new phase, with officials focusing on the prescription drugs found in her hotel room and who prescribed them to her. Investigators are expected in the next few days to serve subpoenas on the doctors, as well as the pharmacies where Houston obtained the prescriptions, as they try to determine her cause of death, according to a source with knowledge of the case. Authorities collected several bottles of drugs from Houston's suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was found dead Saturday.

Investigators with the California attorney general's office have subpoenaed information from mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into lending and foreclosure practices in the state. The subpoenas ask the government-controlled finance companies to answer a series of questions about their activities in California, including their roles as landlords who own thousands of foreclosed properties. The attorney general's office is also seeking details of Fannie and Freddie's mortgage-servicing and home-repossession practices, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena Friday requiring the Department of Homeland Security to hand over the names of thousands of illegal immigrants who were arrested by local authorities over the last three years but not deported by immigration officials. The subpoena is the latest volley in a contentious debate between House Republicans and the Obama administration over its immigration policy, which makes deportation of illegal immigrants with criminal records a priority.

The Republican-controlled House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to issue a broad subpoena demanding more documents from the White House as part of the committee's investigation into a government loan guarantee for the failed solar equipment maker Solyndra. In a vote along party lines, the committee's subcommittee on oversight approved a draft subpoena that calls for all "internal communications" among top White House staff during the period in 2009 when Solyndra sought a $535-million loan guarantee from the government, through its financial troubles in 2010 and, ultimately, during its move toward bankruptcy protection two months ago. "The committee still hopes to work with the White House to obtain relevant communications from key personnel such as former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, former National Economic Council Director Larry Summers and Ron Klain, former chief of staff to Vice President [Joe]

The Republican-controlled House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to issue a broad subpoena demanding more documents from the White House as part of the committee's ongoing investigation into a government loan guarantee to the failed solar equipment maker Solyndra. In a vote along party lines, the committee's subcommittee on oversight approved a draft subpoena that calls for all "internal communications" among top White House staff during the period in 2009 when Solyndra sought a $535-million loan guarantee from the government through its financial troubles in 2010 and, ultimately, during its move toward bankruptcy protection two months ago. "The committee still hopes to work with the White House to obtain relevant communications from key personnel such as former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, former National Economic Council Director Larry Summers, and Ron Klain, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Biden," the Energy and Commerce Republicans said in a statement in preparation for the vote.

Former President Ronald Reagan's attorneys asked a federal judge Wednesday to quash a subpoena demanding that he produce documents for the Iran-Contra trial of John M. Poindexter. The lawyers said the subpoena from the former national security adviser seeking documents on 67 different topics--including personal diaries--is "unreasonable and oppressive" and should be narrowed. Poindexter is seeking "notebooks, diary entries and . . .

Hospital chain Tenet Healthcare Corp. said Monday that the U.S. attorney's office in New Orleans had issued two additional subpoenas to the firm's People's Health Network affiliate and one new subpoena to its Memorial Medical Center. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tenet said People's Health Network, a New Orleans-based health plan management services provider, and Memorial Medical Center, a New Orleans hospital owned by a Tenet unit, received the subpoenas Friday.

Investigators with the state attorney general's office have subpoenaed Bank of America Corp. in connection with the sale and marketing of troubled mortgage-backed securities to California investors, according to a person familiar with the probe. The state is trying to determine whether the bank and its Countrywide Financial subsidiary sold investments backed by risky mortgages to institutional and private investors in California under false pretenses, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested confidentiality.

Federal authorities have widened their misconduct investigation into the Los Angeles County jail system, demanding internal Sheriff's Department documents detailing deputies' use of force on inmates over several years, as well as other records. Sheriff's officials balked at the size and scope of the subpoenas when they were served several weeks ago and are negotiating with federal prosecutors to reduce the number of documents they must produce. A source familiar with the demand said it sought the names of everyone who has worked in the jails since 2009, even janitors, and whether they have been disciplined for misconduct.