Sen. Burns (R-MT) is considering having his reelection campaign pay for his Abramoff investigation lawyer “due to the partisan nature of it.”

Patrick Fitzgerald will decide Rove’s fate in the next “two to three weeks,” according to the NY Times. That and other news of the day in today’s Daily Muck.

Oh, the rakes are straining under the sheer weight of muck today. More on the Brent Wilkes-Mitchell Wade prostitution ring here and here – and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has made his entrance into the New Hampshire phone jamming case.

In with a bang, out with a bang. Lots more on the emerging congressional prostitution scandal this over at TPMmuckraker.com.

So where is this congressional prostitutes proto-scandal going?

As you know, we’ve been following the Duke Cunningham scandal pretty much since day one. And from the beginning there were rumors — let’s say, more than rumors but less than anyone was willing to go into print with — of parties over on Duke’s yacht with prostitutes and various illicit substances. Later there was more concrete information that Wilkes and Wade (the two key bribers in the case) not only gave cash gifts and antiques to Cunningham but also women in exchange for performing his earmark magic. Nor was Duke the only member of Congress alleged to be in the mix.

At least two and I think three media organizations were on the story of the Wilkes-Wade defense contracting bacchanals. And the story even, very elliptically, made it into print with mentions of the “hospitality suite, with several bedrooms,” as the San Diego Union-Tribune put it in one story.

When the Journal went into print with the Duke Cunningham part of the hooker story that opened the floodgates and the Union-Tribune followed up today.

Wilkes was deep into the CIA — particularly with his high school pal, Dusty Foggo, who Porter Goss made the number three man at the Agency — as well as being very deep into Duke Cunningham. And the stories that are swirling now are not just about things that happened in the last few years — they stretch back into the early 1990s.

At the moment we’re waiting for word back from the CIA in response to our queries about the latest run of allegations about Foggo and Goss. We’ll let you know when we hear more.

Isn’t there something more than vaguely pathetic about the president trying to position himself as the champion of raising fuel efficiency standards?

I mean, it’s bad enough to lose public support. But this amounts to betraying what has to be one of the guy’s few core principles — free rein for the oil companies.

Late Update: TPM Reader SC chimes in …

I don’t think the President’s statement has anything to do with finding religion about fuel efficiency standards. Please note that he doesn’t ask Congress to present legislation for him to sign, he is asking for the authority to set those standards himself. It is just one more effort on his part to consolidate any and all power within the presidency.

Cincy Enquirer: “A unanimous Ohio Elections Commission voted to issue U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt a public reprimand Thursday for “false statements” – claiming she had a second undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati that she never received.”

Porter Goss responds to Wilkes-Wade-Cunningham ‘hospitality suites’ allegations.

ABC News: Limbaugh arrested on prescription fraud charges.

Late Update: This apparently stems from a final resolution or settlement agreement of the on-going investigtion. Limbaugh turned himself in, put up bail, left.

Even Later Update: TPM Reader DK checks in …

Don’t get bamboozled. In criminal cases we don’t call them “settlement agreements.” They are plea bargains.

And while the prosecutor’s recommendation to the court will carry great weight, the judge is not obligated to ratify the plea agreement.

Oh, and the money being paid is called a fine. Black can call it reimbursement, but that’s BS.

FBI opens investigation into Missouri Governor Matt Blunt’s administration. Blunt is the son of Roy Blunt, House Majority Whip.

NYT: “Dr. Lester M. Crawford, the former commissioner of food and drugs, is under criminal investigation by a federal grand jury over accusations of financial improprieties and false statements to Congress, his lawyer said Friday.”