The Daily MuckNancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are hoping to ram through ethics legislation that has become an albatross for the new Congress. Instead of waiting for the traditional conference committee to create a compromise version of the bill, the Democrat leadership is expected to use parliamentary tactics to both block amendments and speed the bill to the Senate, where Reid is hoping that popular sentiment will sway enough lawmakers to ensure a filibuster-proof majority. (Roll Call)
Since the D.C. Madam published her huge client Rolodex, the Washington community has been pawing over the chance to connect a number to the next big embarrassed patron. Four Boston computer programmers are doing their best to speed up that process with their website dcphonelist.com. (The Hill)
Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) is calling for the Navy to directly inform those who lived at Camp Jejune in North Carolina that they may have been exposed to toxic chemicals. As we noted in the Daily Muck two weeks ago, Camp Jejune drew water from contaminated wells for nearly three decades, and a recent government report suggests that over one million individuals, particularly Marines and their families, were exposed. (USA TODAY)
If you can’t find ’em, disappear ’em. Or something like that. The military is now claiming that Abu Omar Baghdadi, a key ally of al-Qaeda and a leader of Iraqi insurgents, is not actually real. The military, which has declared Baghdad has been reported both captured and killed at different times, now believes that he was a hired actor who was used to deliver messages from the organization. (LA Times)
A former military aide to Vice Presidents Gore and Cheney, who later moved on to be an FBI analyst, was sentenced to ten years for spying. Leandro Aragoncillo was found guilty of passing top secret documents with the intent of overthrowing the Philippine government. (Chicago Tribune)
Two former PBS&J officials were sentenced Tuesday, including former CFO W. Scott DeLoach, who pleaded guilty to, among other things, illegally contributing $11,000 to Sen. Mel Martinezâs (R-FL) 2004 campaign. Two former PBS&J chairmen were also charged with conspiring to violate campaign finance laws by reimbursing employees for contributions. (Miami Herald)
“Everybody got a bad taste in their mouth from Louisiana.” Thatâs a furious contractor who was hired by FEMA to clean up after Hurricane Katrina but has yet to be paid. Companies are fuming about the delays in FEMA payments for post-hurricane recovery and are suing the agency for millions of dollars of delayed payments. The delays could discourage bidders from bidding on future rebuilding efforts for New Orleans. (The Boston Globe)
David Wecht’s name has not been at the tip of many tongues in the investigations that have grown out the U.S. Attorney scandal. But now that Wecht’s prosecution is being scrutinized alongside those Georgia Thompson and ex-Governor Don Siegeleman, we might be hearing a lot more from the Allegheny County Coroner. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
