The Daily MuckThe White House has begun to float a short list for the attorney general spot privately among members of Congress. Roll Call (sub. req.) has a rundown on the six names currently being bandied about, but the big surprise is that the early front runner Michael Chertoff is not being seriously considered for the position. (Roll Call)
The GAO isn’t making any friends these days. In addition to releasing a report saying that Iraq has met only three of eighteen benchmarks, the independent watchdog agency yesterday criticized the Department of Homeland Security for failing to meet over half of its performance expectations; in other words, DHS is only half protecting us from terrorists. And, in case they hadn’t annoyed enough bureaucrats for one day, the GAO chided the federal government for not doing a good job of acknowledging and addressing the effects of global warming. By the way, in all three cases the government has blamed the GAO for writing inaccurate reports. (NY Times, Washington Post)
Vanity Fair undergoes an exhaustive search to trace the path of $9 billion in cash lost in Iraq. Their search takes them all over the world, but make sure you read through page 5, when it takes them to a Bahamas P.O. Box that represents NorthStar, the organized face of public accounting for Iraq contractors. Bonus question: who has more accountants on staff, the company charged with overseeing billions in federal reconstruction money, or the burgeoning TPM empire? (Vanity Fair)
This is fun. Last week, Democratic presidential candidates scrambled to return the donations of a star fundraiser Norman Hsu after it came to light that Hsu was facing an arrest warrant. Hsu didn’t show up for his original hearing, but he’s finally seen the light (15 years later) and turned himself in. Then yesterday, in what might be the best in-your-face moment since Vince Carter jumped a Frenchman, Hsu skipped out on his court date again! (ABC’s The Blotter)
At the Watergate, everything must go! That’s why there is going to be a one-time-only, chance-of-a-lifetime auction of all the knick-knacks from Washington’s favorite hotel. Who knows, that coffee mug you buy might have been used by Brent Wilkes himself! On the plus side, this could spawn the greatest episode of Antique Roadshow ever. (ABC’s The Blotter)
The White House is facing another lawsuit over missing emails. This one is coming from the independent National Security Archive, which wants to know why the administration abandoned an automatic archiving system in 2002 and didn’t see fit to replace it. (Associated Press)
He’s got rhythm. He’s got music. Unfortunately, what the new watchdog for the city of New Orleans–who’s tasked with ensuring the city appropriately spends federal funds–don’t got is staff, an office, or even a moderate budget that would let him, you know, oversee. (Associated Press)
DHS has scrapped a data mining program which, in addition to proving cumbersome and ineffective, was also tested on real citizens without any concern for privacy rights. (Associated Press)
Prosecutors say Oscar Wyatt, Jr. paid kickbacks to Saddam Hussein in order to profit from Iraq’s then UN Oil-for-food program. Wyatt says that he is the victim of a vindictive government… scratch that — that he is the victim of a vindictive President Bush (it is his government, after all) who is angry over critical comments made by a fellow Texas oilman. (NY Times)
A district judge has criticized the administration for making blanket claims of exemption when it comes to providing documents regarding the NSA warrantless surveillance program. The judge said that even though many of those documents should not be made public, the onus is still on the government (particularly the FBI) to explain what kind of documents are being withheld and why. (Associated Press)
The Citizens Club for Growth has been ordered to pay $350,000 in fines to the FEC. Despite claiming that it is not an election organization, the “Club” spent almost all of their resources on polling information and supporting candidates. Which is pretty much exactly what election organizations do, except they have to register themselves. (Associated Press)
