The Daily Muck

Rep. Henry Waxman still wants emails. This time, he’s asking Fred Fielding for RNC emails from current and former White House officials. He’s asking specifically for email regarding Cheney’s energy task force, but also for any email related to any investigation prior to March of this year. The deadline is August 17th. (Politico)

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who championed the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, said Tuesday that he will personally review Senate testimony of the two justices in order to see if their recent Supreme Court decisions conflict with promises and opinions they made in the Senate. Specter’s inquiry comes after the court has reversed long-standing precedents. (Politico)

Bechtel, an independent contractor with $1.8 billion in Iraq reconstruction contracts, has failed to meet its goals on over half of the projects it agreed to in contract, while several other projects have been canceled or reduced in scope. Guess that’s what happens when USAID assigns only two overseers to a contract with 24 projects and over 150 subcontractors. (NY Times)

Bribery: a family affair. That’s true for a Texas family that has taken millions in bribes from contractors who were hoping to acquire military contracts for Iraq’s reconstruction. The sister of Maj. John L. Cockerham was the third person charged in connection with the case, following the arrests of Maj. Cockerham, an Army contracting and procurement officer, and his wife. No contractors have been named in the case. (AP)

Republican and Democratic leaders alike are hoping to rush through a long-delayed ethics bill before the upcoming August vacation. Before they can do that, they have to clear their biggest hurdle: Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). (Congressional Quarterly)

The U.S. has made it easy for the Iraqis to “stand up” when we stand down in a few years. That’s because we are making sure they aren’t burdened down by any weaponry or body armor. The Iraqi ambassador yesterday lamented the fact that since 2003, Iraq has been willing and eager to update its military arsenal, but the U.S. has been slow to sell. (U.S. News)

Federal Election statues allow candidates to fly charter planes, provided they reimburse the jet’s owner the equivalent of a first class plane ticket. The massive discrepancy in value saves huge amounts of money for the campaigns, but it can sometimes put jet-laden supporters in awkward situations. (NY Times)

A new study released by a West Point think tank has labeled 95% of the detainees in Guantanamo “potential threats” to American interests in a study meant to turn the tide of public dissent against the current detentions. (NY Times)