The Daily MuckAn Alaskan road that would have connected the small Gravina Island to the infamous and non-existent Bridge to Nowhere has been opened. The road, built with $25 million in federal tax dollars, was pushed by Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R-AK) administration despite sizable opposition. Palin has highlighted her supposed opposition to the Bridge to Nowhere on the campaign trail for the vice presidency. (AP, Pro Publica)
Vice President Dick Cheney was ordered by a federal judge Saturday to preserve records of his time in office. Lawyers for the Bush administration had attempted to curtail Cheney’s responsibilities under the Presidential Records Act, arguing in part that Cheney is not covered by the law as he is not in the executive branch. The decision follows a suit filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. (AP)
Sen. Ted Stevens’ (R-AK) federal corruption trial begins this week with jury selection starting today. On Friday, Stevens said that he plans on testifying at his trial if his lawyers approve. Stevens also has a busy week ahead of him in Congress where he will have to defend his roughly $215 million in earmarks in the new defense bill. (Anchorage Daily News)
The Pentagon official assigned to oversee the Guantanamo Bay trials has been removed from his assignment and reassigned. The move came after three military judges barred Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann from participation after they ruled he improperly influenced prosecutors, urging them to move the trial quickly and use evidence obtained by questionable coercive techniques. Hartmann’s deputy will now oversee the trials. (Washington Post)
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) has formed a legal defense fund titled the Fund for Justice. The fund will help Craig pay for legal fees involved with his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea after being arrested in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport bathroom. The Senate Ethics Committee recently signed off on the fund. (AP)
Two investigators in the Jack Abramoff corruption probe from the Interior Department have been removed in protest of the Justice Department’s decision not to charge two former Interior officials in the separate scandal at the Minerals Management Service. Many at the Interior Department, including the inspector general, were disappointed by the Justice Department’s decision not to charge the two officials. This action follows a letter sent to the attorney general from Sens. Pat Leahy (D-VT) and Ken Salazar (D-CO) inquiring as to why the officials are not being prosecuted. (Washington Post)
Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-LA) lawyers will go to court this week to appeal a federal judge’s decision to reject the defense’s motion to throw out the charges against Jefferson. Jefferson’s lawyers believed that his indictment was unconstitutional due to supposed overstepping of powers by the grand jury. Jefferson, who was indicted in June 2007 for accepting bribes, is set to begin his federal trial in December. (Times-Picayune)
