Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has come under fire for his service as an Air Force Reserve colonel sitting as a judge on the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. Attorneys for A1C Charles Lane are trying to throw out Lane’s cocaine conviction, arguing that Graham (one of three judges who reviewed Lane’s case) is disqualified to serve due to his being “politically accountable” to his constituents for his decisions and cannot therefore be impartial. According to USA Today, Lane’s attorneys requested that Graham recuse himself, but he did not and joined the other two judges in upholding the airman’s sentence. Now, Graham’s position is up to the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The decision could have ramifications for the few other lawmaker-reservists.
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…