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TRANSITION WATCH

November 18, 2008

The senator overseeing President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony introduced legislation yesterday to criminalize scalping tickets to the historic event. House offices swamped with demand were being limited to just 198 tickets apiece and most had stopped taking requests. Senate offices were expecting a larger allotment - 300 to 400 each - but they, too, had many more requests than they could handle. "This is going to be a major civic event of our time. Excitement is at an all-time high," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said on the Senate floor. Feinstein, who chairs the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, introduced a bill she aims to speed through the Senate this week that would make it illegal to sell or attempt to sell tickets to the Jan. 20 ceremony.

Barack Obama's incoming administration is unlikely to bring criminal charges against government officials who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists during the George W. Bush presidency. Obama, who has criticized the use of torture, is being urged by some constitutional scholars and human rights groups to investigate possible war crimes by the Bush administration. Two Obama advisers said there's little - if any - chance that the incoming president's Justice Department will go after anyone involved in authorizing or carrying out interrogations that provoked worldwide outrage. The advisers spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans are still tentative. A spokesman for Obama's transition team did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden spoke with several world leaders by phone yesterday. Biden has been reaching out to foreign leaders as he and Obama prepare to take over the White House in January. Yesterday's calls included Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.