The report also says officials violated United Nations competitive bidding rules in hiring contractors for the program.

He said local officials and others had violated the Constitution.

The suit asserts that the officials violated the First Amendment rights of the newspaper and its owners.

The suit says the officials violated the couple's right to privacy, freedom of speech and equal protection of the laws.

The lawyers said the official had violated a pledge not to reveal details of 12 hours of discussions this week on investigation.

That investigation ended without producing evidence that other officials violated the law.

He said officials could not violate that right without suspecting that they would find evidence of a crime.

But it seems clear that he and other officials violated the public trust.

The officials said the deals, even without any exchange of money, interfere with the ballot process and therefore violate state election laws.

The judge also said federal officials had apparently violated a 1946 law by failing to solicit public comment on the plan.