The Daily Muck

Washington Executive Skirts Lobbying Regulations
He’s a lobbyist’s lobbyist – a Washington insider whose central concern in past months has been poking holes in the Democratic Congress’ efforts to curtail the influence of lobbying in the capital. And by running a long campaign that successfully eased travel restriction in the new legislation, American Society of Association Executives president John H. Graham IV has been able to do just that. (The Washington Post)

Journalists’ Testimony Opens Libby’s Defense
“Lawyers for I. Lewis Libby Jr. opened their case Monday with a parade of prominent Washington reporters who testified that Mr. Libby never mentioned the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency operative when they interviewed him during the period the officer’s identity was leaked to the news media.” (The New York Times) Defense attorneys are allegedly planning to call Libby’s former deputy and eventual replacement, John Hannah, to the stand, whose testimony some see functioning as a “sit-in” for that of – who else – Libby. (The Washington Post)

House Energy Panel Requests Testimony from White House Official
The White House has been resisting calls from the House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) to have an economic adviser to President Bush testify in front of the panel about the administration’s fuel economy proposal. In a letter responding to Dingell’s request, former White House lawyer Harriet Miers wrote that a “longstanding policy of the executive branch” prevents personal advisers to the president from testifying before congressional committees. (Associated Press)

Bribery Ruling Impacts Federal Corruption Cases
A U.S. Court of Appeals DC Circuit Court trying a former detective on charges of bribery has ruled that the officer’s backroom deal “was not part of his official duties and thus fell outside the federal bribery statute.” By placing the detective’s actions outside of the confines of bribery, the court effectively narrowed the term’s legal definition, which some note could possibly “undermine the efforts to prosecute the cases” of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and other corrupt officials. (The Hill)

Congressional Committees to Hear Testimony from Department of the Interior
The Department of the Interior looks to have a long week ahead, with The Interior and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee examining the DOI’s management of offshore oil and gas royalties, House Oversight Committee conducting oversight hearings, and the Senate Committee on Energy on National Resource looking at the administration’s budget request for the DOI. (Project on Government Oversight)

Inter-departmental Romance Elicits Concern
A romance between a former top prosecutor for the Justice Department and an oil and energy lobbyist being investigated for ties to Jack Abramoff is raising questions of a possible cover-up. Both Sue Ellen Wooldridge and Steven Griles, who is on notice as a target in a federal public-corruption investigation, had kept their relationship secret while holding high-ranking jobs at the Interior Department, even as department investigators began looking into Griles’ contacts with former lobbying clients. (Legal Times)

Report Highlights FBI’s Lost Laptops
“The FBI lost 160 laptops in less than four years, including at least 10 that contained highly sensitive classified information and one that held “personal identifying information on FBI personnel,” according to a new report released yesterday.” (The Washington Post)