The Daily MuckDetroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty have been accused of perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice after lying about their relationship to officials. Text messages the two sent each other on city-owned pagers prove their relationship, as well as Kilpatrick’s role in the firing of a Detroit police officer. Now even more messages have been released. (New York Times)
As federal earmarks continue to be a hot topic in this election season, congressional records show Sen. Hillary Clinton leading the pack in requested handouts for 2009 at nearly $2.3 billion, almost three times more than any other senator. (The Hill)
Former defense contractor Mitchell Wade will finally receive sentencing from a federal judge in December for bribing former Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham. Cunningham is currently serving jail time, as is fellow Cunningham-briber Brent Wilkes who worked with Wade. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Department of Justice has agreed to secretly settle in a case of alleged conflict of interest involving a judge receiving federal grants to boost family courts. (ABC News’ The Blotter)
Weekend inspections at Fort Bragg, NC last week found deficient plumbing, amongst other problems, in Army barracks. Army officials say they will immediately inspect all barracks facilities around the world to ensure proper standards. The 1950s-era building in North Carolina has been repaired, but is not scheduled for demolition until 2013. (Associated Press)
Portfolio looks into the Defense Department’s headaches of monitoring expenses as each branch of the military carefully conceals their budgets and spending from each other. Now new accounting methods seem to only complicate matters worse. (Portfolio)
Leaders of both parties in the House have called out members of the opposite party, promising ethics investigations. But neither Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) nor Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) have taken the next steps to back up their bold claims. (Roll Call)
Sen. Barack Obama is giving away money he received from Aiham Alsammarae to charity. Alsammarae has been connected to indicted Chicago real estate magnate Tony Rezko. Obama has also donated $159,085 in Rezko contributions to charity. (Chicago Sun-Times)
After pressure and accusations from opponents, Senate candidate Al Franken has promised to pay $70,000 in back taxes he owes from money earned for speaking engagements and other appearances. He says he’s paid taxes on the income to the city and state he lived in at the time, but the taxes owed must be sent to the 17 states he appeared in. (Associated Press)
