The Daily Muck

Prosecutors have accused Representative William Jefferson (D-LA) of two more crimes. Both involve soliciting bribes, but no new charges will be filed. (USA Today)

A federal appeals court has sided with the government’s argument that state secrecy laws can be used to preclude
evidence about the NSA’s wiretapping program. But the court also acknowledged that the government’s voluminous public statements in defense of the program mean that many parts of the program may not be secret. (New York Times)

The push has begun in the New Hampshire and Iowa Republican primaries: push polls, that is. New Hampshire’s attorney general is now investigating calls in his state that smear Romney on the basis of his Mormon faith. Opponents John McCain and Rudy Giuliani have denied involvement and the focus is on Western Wats, a Utah-based market research firm. (Boston Globe)

The State Department has launched a “digital outreach team” to spread its message in Arabic blogs. The State Department’s three bloggers will seek to counter misrepresentations of Bush policy and promote moderate views among Islamic youth. But according to high officials, because blogging is “informal” and “chatty,” thus making it “very dangerous to blog,” State will have a senior supervisor checking every post. (Washington Post)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) refused to formally adjourn the Senate for its scheduled two-week Thanksgiving break, instead scheduling “pro forma” sessions where as few as just one Democrat and one Republican will briefly open the chamber for debate twice a week until the full Senate reconvenes in December. The holiday-busting move blocks Bush’s ability to make recess appointments without Congressional approval. (Washington Post)

Despite being under federal investigation, seven incumbent lawmakers are out-raising their opponents by a margin of 3 to 1. These seven (William Jefferson (D-LA), John Doolittle (R-CA), Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Don Young (R-AK), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Alan Mollohan (D-WV), and Ted Stevens (R-AK)) have raised more than $1.2 million while their opponents have netted $425,000. One explanation may be that most of these lawmakers have retained powerful positions and are thus positioned to deliver favors. (USA Today)

A lawyer for Deborah Palfrey, the famous DC Madam, subpoenaed David Vitter (R-LA) to testify at a hearing this month. Vitter’s lawyer has not moved to quash the subpoena yet, and neither he or his client has any comment. (Washington Post)

Mine safety in the U.S. is collapsing under President Bush’s Mine Safety and Health Administration. Government investigators, including the office of the Labor Department’s inspector general, have found that the Mine Safety and Health administration has failed to conduct required investigations of more than 107 mines and that the agency had misstated the number of inspections so that it appeared to comply with rules. (New York Times)