The Daily Muck

In papers filed Monday, the prosecuting attorney in the Larry Craig toe-tapping case insists that Craig’s plea was “accurate, voluntary and intelligent.” The “real basis for the defendant’s motion,” he added, is politics. As Greg over at EC notes, Craig even penned a thank you note to the prosecutor in his case. (Politico)

D Dock: it’s like a floating Tammany Hall. This marina, part of the D.C.’s Capital Yacht Club has recently been home to Duke Cunningham, Ted Stevens, and Larry Craig (who acted as Stevens’ reference to get into the club). Says one clubmember of his political peers: “We used to think they were great. They could lobby on our behalf. Now it’s spinning the opposite way.” (New Yorker)

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has said he will be sure to inquire into the case of U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose, who has come under serious scrutiny for her job performance twice in the few months since her coronation. (AP)

Meanwhile, The Legal Times notes that Alberto Gonzales’ fiddling with interim U.S. attorneys faces a major backlash next month; the terms of 11 of the 15 interim USAs will simultaneously expire, and their fate is back in the hands of those judges who the AG sought to cut out of the nomination process. (Is this a good time to point out that most of the U.S. attorneys who were summarily fired have not found permanent replacements?) (Legal Times)

Shirlington Limo’s back, and this time, they’re getting support from Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who helped lead the charge against them in the first place. You may recall Shirlington as the transportation service that shuttled around Duke Cunningham, allegedly drove prostitutes to Brent Wilkes’s pokers parties, was given an inside look at a $21 million Homeland Security bid despite not meeting the standards in the contract. Thompson claims that despite the cloud hanging over the company, DHS acted illegally when it terminated the contract. (The Hill)

Army snipers have been trying to root out insurgents in Iraq by baiting them with fake weapons and bomb making material. According to details of the classified “baiting program,” weapons are left in areas where insurgents are thought to be and when someone comes to pick up the material, that individual is “engaged” (ie:shot). The controversial technique was exposed at the murder trial of three members of a Ranger sniper team. (NY Times, WaPo)

Lobbyists, feeling the competition from pollsters, have begun complaining about the ways in which pollsters (sub. req.) exploit loopholes in lobbying laws. Though pollsters enjoy extremely close relationships with members of Congress, provide access to Congress for clients, and often engage in advocacy, they do not need to register as lobbyists unless they spend more than 20 percent of their time advocating a specific agenda for a client. Maybe there’s a lobbying opportunity here to get the loopholes eliminated. (Roll Call)

Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has posted e-mails on his committee’s site that document lobbying efforts by the Bush administration aimed at preventing California from enacting tough new restrictions on green house-gas emissions. States are permitted to implement standards that exceed federal ones if the EPA approves them, but Waxman asserts that Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters led a behind the scenes effort to “stack the deck” against California’s efforts. (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, LA Times)

Under Alaska campaign laws, it is legal for an organization to pay for for the cost of an opinion poll, which can run around $20,000. Curiously, the oil-services firm VECO decided to pay for all or part of polls for various politicians; a former exec testified that the company had paid for over 100 polls over the years. And those politicians were probably happy to note that they did well in VECO-endorsed polls, particularly because the questions were none too neutral. (Anchorage Daily News)