The Daily MuckVia Think Progress: The Office of Special Counsel has asked 18 government agencies to preserve all records so that the office can adequately investigate accusations of Hatch Act violations because of presentations given by White House staffers (Scott Jennings, Iâm pointing in your general direction). (Government Executive)
After embarrassing statements about performance, Attorney General Gonzales is looking to improve the evaluation process of U.S. prosecutors by including annual evaluations at which the attorney general can air the grievances of politicians with the prosecutors. It seems a gutsy call to combat claims of departmental politicization by actually enhancing the politicization of evaluations, but there you go. (Chicago Tribune)
Meanwhile, federal courtrooms are beginning to hear defense lawyers impugn the motives and integrity of U.S. attorneys who brought charges against their clients, citing the recent scandal as evidence that politics is interfering with impartial justice. (LA Times)
It is hard to imagine how Walter Reed could get any worse, but a backlog on letters and packages revealed last week shows that some items with post dates over a year old have still not been delivered to injured troops. (USA TODAY)
If Bush wants his base to like him again, he might do well to pardon Scooter Libby. But true friends should like you for who you are, not for who you release from federal prison. (The Politico)
Some legal experts see the Bush administrationâs recent legal rebuffs on Guantanamo as only the beginning of an uphill struggle. Still others claim that the Guantanamo legal system can be salvaged, although they acknowledge that the roughly 300 prisoners whom the government has no plans of prosecuting would likely have to be released. (LA Times)
The White House has been noticeably quiet about recent subpoenas authorized for former officials Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers, and with good reason. The administration doesnât want to establish a precedent that might likely lead to a subpoena for Karl Rove, but stonewalling Congress on the issue could effectively kill Bushâs domestic agenda. (NY Times)
Sen. Webb (D-VA) finally fesses up: the gun was mine. (Associated Press)
Two senators have reported improvements in the assigning of contracts in Iraq, where early in the war an egregious lack of oversight led to unaccounted waste of billions of dollars. Sens. McCaskill (D-MO) and Carper (D-DE) suggested that the military had a long way to go in improving oversight, though dangerous ground conditions make effective oversight difficult. (Associated Press)
The search may finally come to an end. The US and Britain are circulating a proposal to the UN Security Council that would have weapons inspectors give up the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. (New York Times)
In the past three election cycles, over seventy House members have paid family members or their companies using campaign funds. (USA TODAY)
