The Daily Muck

The Justice Department released a broad legal opinion on the issue of the White House ignoring Congressional subpoenas for information on fired U.S. attorneys. Guess which side Attorney General supports. (LA Times)

CIA Director Michael Hayden reported to the Iraq Study Group last November that the Iraqi government inability to govern seemed “irreversible,” which set the tone for the group’s eventual recommendations for Iraq. (Washington Post)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency responsible for ensuring the safe distribution of nuclear material in the United States, gave a company radioactive material after a short, cursory review of the company’s background. Which is unfortunate, because the company was actually a dummy operation run by the Government Accountability Office; apparently, the GAO is less than pleased to discover how easy it is to obtain enough radioactive material to make a dirty bomb. (Reuters)

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona refused to name individuals who instructed him to privilege politics over science, but the hunt is on to uncover the culprit. Vegas odds point to Dr. Cristina Beato, Carmona’s former boss and now the deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization. (NY Times)

Sen. Specter (R-PA) is calling the Senate Judiciary Committee to task for delaying the confirmation vote of one of the President’s judicial nominees, despite his earlier assurance that a vote would be held before Memorial Day. (The Hill)

Dr. James Holsinger will travel to the Senate today for his confirmation hearing where he’ll find out if he gets to be the next Surgeon General. Holsinger faces an uphill battle from critics who worry that his personal disagreements with homosexuality will bias his work. (Associated Press)

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) denied allegations yesterday that he and Rayethon Co. colluded to get the Justice Department to launch investigation into the defense company BAE. (Boston Globe)