The Daily Muck

Based on guidance by Bill Clinton and his reliance on President Bush’s November 2001 order that expands former presidents’ ability to keep internal White House records private, federal archivists will prevent public access to Clinton’s papers on the 140 pardons he issued in his last days – including his granting of clemency to fugitive millionaire Marc Rich. The decision has blocked USA Today’s Freedom of Information Act Request for information about White House pardon communications and pardon requests rejected by the Justice Department. (USA Today)

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee issued a report calling for Murray Energy – the company in charge of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah where six miners were buried alive – to be “fully investigated” because it ignored crucial warning signs and maintained an illegal agreement with federal regulators. The Senate’s blistering report called upon the Department of Labor to refer the case to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation of Murray Energy, but the Mine Safety and Health Administration alleges that it is wrong for the Senate to call for an investigation before it has concluded its probe. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has asked a federal judge to order the White House to explain “alleged inconsistencies between testimony at a congressional hearing last week and what the White House told a federal court in January” concerning the controversy over missing White House e-mails. (AP)

In the opening day of the Antoin “Tony” Rezko trial prosecutors described Rezko as ““the man behind the curtain, pulling the strings” in the administration of former Governor Rod R. Blagojevich (D-IL). Barack Obama’s name surfaced at the trial when Rezko’s lawyer told jurors that his client tried to hire Obama after he graduated from Harvard Law School but Obama refused the job. (New York Times, ABC’s “The Blotter”)

Appearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff got tripped up on a question about the composition of his staff. Asked by Rep. Melvin Watt (D-NC), who noted that the aides accompanying Chertoff to the committee meeting all appeared to be white males, to reassure him that his staff was more diverse than “reflected here,” Chertoff said “I wouldn’t assume that the ethnic background of everybody behind me is self-evident.” At which point Watt asked the staff members that if any of them were African American or female, to “stand up and volunteer” that information. (Washington Post)

Dennis Troha, a Wisconsin “trucking tycoon” who has pled guilty to violating campaign finance laws, may be given a relatively light sentence Friday because he has provided “substantial assistance” to prosecutors investigating his associates. Troha was leader of a “scheme to funnel illegal contributions to politicians who could help him reach his goals of bringing a casino to Kenosha and securing favorable federal trucking legislation.” There is no indication that Troha, who was a contributor to Rep. Don Young (R-AK), will be implicating Young. (Wisconsin State Journal)

The Senate moved yesterday to restore the efficacy of the Consumer Product Safety Commission by boosting funding and increasing personnel. Under the Bush presidency, the agency has functioned with antiquated testing facilities and fewer than half employees it had in 1980. (Washington Post)

Though David Walker is vacating his position as comptroller general at the Government Accountability Office, he is once again asking Congress to probe the finances of the CIA and other intelligence agencies. In the early 1990s the Justice Department enacted a rule that allows only the House and Senate select committees to exercise oversight over the CIA. (Washington Post)