The Daily Muck

Antoin “Tony” Rezko, the ethically challenged businessman whose thousands of dollars in contributions to Barack Obama have dogged the candidate, has been jailed for violating his bond. According to a federal prosecutor, Rezko “played a shell game” in which he hid millions of dollars from the authorities while claiming to be broke. Rezko’s trial for charges of fraud, money laundering, and attempted extortion begins February 25. (AP, Washington Post)

Republican efforts to make a proposed earmark moratorium a symbol of their new fiscal discipline and ethics has met stiff opposition from Republicans. Meanwhile, the head of the GOP – President Bush – has enjoyed a steady diet of pork by approving approximately 55,000 earmarks worth more than $100 billion. Think Progress has the facts. (Politico, New York Times, Think Progress)

Student protests at the prestigious prep school Choate Rosemary Hall, which boasts alumni such as John F. Kennedy and Adlai Stevenson, have convinced Karl Rove to withdraw his name as the graduation speaker this spring. Rove explained that he “would not want 12 minutes of remarks to be used as an excuse by a small group to mar what should be a wonderful day of celebration.” (Washington Post)

Under investigation by the Justice Department and facing a potentially strong primary challenge, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) has begun airing the first television advertisement in his campaign for re-election. The ad emphasizes Young’s seniority. (The Politico)

Today the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hear testimony from the Government Accountability Office about “weaknesses” in the FDA’s oversight of medical equipment and supplies. Even FDA officials admit that the “riskiest” products are subject to examination only every six years, (sub. req.) while and “moderate-risk” products are inspected, on average – every 27 years. (Wall Street Journal)

Reps. Brad Miller (D-NC) and Nick Lampson (D-TX) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff alleging that FEMA “ignored, hid and manipulated government research on the potential impact of long-term exposure to formaldehyde” on residents of the trailers used to house victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The CDC began testing 500 trailers last month following reports last year of health problems. The letter comes at a time when a new survey has found that the public ranks FEMA last among federal agencies in terms of favorability. (Washington Post)

Christine Beatty, the chief of staff to Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, resigned yesterday, asserting that she could “no longer effectively carry out the duties of chief of staff.” Just days ago, a county prosecutor began investigating whether Beatty and Kilpatrick committed perjury when they misled officials about their affair. Check out the whole sordid affair in our “Sex, Lies, and Text Messages.” (Los Angeles Times)

Two former immigration officials involved in the Zacarias Moussaoui investigation have raised questions about the “obscene” $5 million reward to the flight instructor who snitched on on Moussaoui. One of the officials remarked, “I can understand why the Muslims view us as such a rotten and decadent society when we feel we have to give something like that to an American do his basic responsibility.” (McClatchy)

It looks as if President Bush will nominate Gail Charnley, a long-time consultant to the tobacco industry and opponent of restrictions on coal emissions, to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Charnley has an impressive list of of anti-regulation writings, including her assertions that “government agencies do not know which environmental exposures actually pose risks to children.” (Think Progress)

Private contractors in Iraq are tapping a supply of cheap labor in Latin America. Thousands of Peruvians, Chileans, Colombians, Salvadorans and Hondurans are denied the most desirable $500 a day guard jobs and instead provide “conflict labor” that pays $1000 a month for six day shifts. (LA Times)

A new report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction has found that problems with the construction company Parsons Corporation’s work in Iraq were even more serious than previously reported. The United States terminated 8 of 11 rebuilding orders given to the company because of “weak contract oversight, unrealistic schedules, a failure to report problems in a timely fashion and poor supervision by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.” (New York Times)