The Daily Muck

The FBI is looking to clean up its act after repeated allegations that the agency abused its newfound Patriot Act powers. Instead of the agency illegally holding information about American citizens, the FBI wants to pay private firms to hold it for them. Additionally, the FBI is now using its data-mining software to sort through records on identity theft, real estate transactions, car accidents, etc. to profile Americans as potential terrorists. Sen. Leahy has already expressed that such a database is “ripe for abuse”. (ABC’s The Blotter, USA TODAY)

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) is keeping his options open. A spokesman for Calvert said the lawmaker will not rule out selling his illegally procured land back to the company that originally sold him the land. A grand jury concluded that water and sewer company Jurupa Community Services District violated California law when it sold four acres of public land to Calvert and investment partners before offering it first to public agencies. (The Hill)

Louisiana senator and marriage advocate David Vitter (R) has been keeping a low profile since yesterday’s announcement that he was once a patron of the D.C. Madam. But now the “Canal Street Madam” is rising to defend him, claiming that the Senator occasioned her New Orleans brothel and was nothing but a gentleman. (The Hill, Times-Picayune)

Two senior officials at the Justice Department confirmed yesterday that they personally kept the Attorney General informed about all allegations of FBI abuse regarding privacy safeguards and civil liberties. (Washington Post)

The good old days. Congressional members and staff can now nostalgically look back at glamorous trips paid by private companies in a convenient searchable database created by internet company LegiStorm. The database details $57 million worth of travel paid by private interest groups for lawmakers and their staff since 2000. Destinations included the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, London, Amsterdam, golf resorts and casino hot spots.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ upcoming testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee has been pushed back from July 18th to July 24th. (The Hill)

A Congressional Research Service report released this week concluded that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will continue to cost taxpayers billions of dollars in the future, no matter how quickly troops are withdrawn from the area. The report noted that the cost of the Iraq war is increasing rapidly, but making estimates was difficult as the Department of Defense did not give specific details as to how war funding was spent. (Washington Post)