The Daily Muck

No one is manning the bridge at the Justice Department. That’s the latest word from U.S. Attorneys around the country, who say that their regional offices are operating as normal but that Main Justice in D.C. is “crippled.” And with already six resignations, several investigations, a legal struggle over executive powers and 23 U.S. Attorney positions without permanent leadership, things aren’t exactly looking up. (Financial Times)

FEMA, you’re doing a heck of a job. Lawmakers were “infuriated” by subpoenaed documents released yesterday showing the agency, already under fire for not paying companies charged with post-Katrina clean-up, discouraged officials to follow up on reports of toxic chemicals in FEMA trailers. Trailers were not inspected even after occupants complained of respiratory problems, which were later found to result from toxic levels of formaldehyde in trailers. (USA Today)

In an effort to avoid criticism for a mysterious earmark, Sen. John Murtha (D-PA) has claimed that this particular earmark fits a crucial and unmet need for the Department of Energy. Its a good alibi, but one that should have been tested on the DOE, who disputes that the earmarked funds are reserved for a mission critical program. (The Hill)

The State Department may have overstated oil data on Iraq by more than $5.5 billion due to corruption, theft and sabotage, according to a Government Accountability Office report released yesterday. (U.S. News and World Report)

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made a trip to Capitol Hill yesterday for a closed meeting, where the focus was on his 2004 trip to visit an ailing John Ashcroft in the hospital. According to Rep. Reyes (D-TX), Gonzales was very clear about why he visited Ashcroft and expressed no regret for his actions. (Associated Press)

This is old school Jack Abramoff. Benigno Fitial, the governor of the Northern Marina Islands, has acknowledged that he is cooperating with investigators over his relationship with the former lobbyist. The Islands are still trying to recover millions of dollars lost from hiring Abramoff for his lobbying services. (Associated Press)

Congress has stalled funding for a radiation detector program that the Department of Homeland Security would use to screen trucks and cargo containers for potentially dangerous materials. What is Congress’ beef? Apparently, when DHS said the detectors worked 95% of the time, they really meant somewhere between 17-50%. Now Congress wants to know if the mistake was intentional. (Washington Post)

Democratic leaders say they were unaware of a meeting yesterday with Gen. Petraeus. Careful not to suggest that the oversight was malicious, both Sens. Durbin (IL) and Murray (WA) suggested that they would have made time for the opportunity had they been notified. (The Hill)

A former FBI contractor was indicted for stealing classified nuclear equipment from the U.S. Energy Department’s largest science and research facility. Roy Oakley was charged with giving the equipment to another person, according to the indictment released yesterday, but prosecutors said the equipment was not given to any foreign nation or terrorist organization. The facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has recently come under fire from oversight groups for having lax security. (Reuters)