The Daily MuckHouse Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) has deferred Wednesday’s vote of contempt for Attorney Gen. Michael Mukasey. The vote was over the Department of Justice refusing to hand over subpoenaed documents to the committee. The deferral came in light of a letter from the Justice Department requesting the deferral along with some of the documents in question. (House Judiciary Committee)
Sen. Larry Craig’s (R-ID) lawyers yesterday asked a Minnesota Court to void Craig’s guilty plea last year to disorderly conduct after he was arrested in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport bathroom. Craig’s lawyer claimed that the complaint against Craig was not enough to prove him guilty. Sen. Craig is not seeking re-election for his senate seat which expires in January. (Reuters)
House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent letters yesterday to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart requesting documents related to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The documents in question are related to the severance compensation for the former CEOs of Freddie and Fannie. (House Oversight Committee)
After months of conflict, the Pentagon canceled its competition Wednesday for a new Air Force aerial refueling tanker. The contract, worth billions, was initially awarded to Northrop Gruman and its European partner, but later revoked after Boeing protested the bid as being unfair. Defense Secretary Gates blamed the cancellation on a “highly charged environment,” leaving the decision to the next administration. (McClatchy)
The Alaskan Division of Elections delayed Wednesday the count of final outstanding ballots from the Republican primary for representative, leaving Rep. Don Young’s political future unknown. The race between sitting embattled Rep. Don Young and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell is incredibly tight, with Young up by just 239 votes. The final count will take place on September 17th, with the target certification date set for the next day. (AP)
British prosecutors are seeking a retrial against seven of the men accused of attempting to detonate liquid explosives on board trans-Atlantic flights. The initial trial ended Monday with only three convictions for conspiracy to murder and no convictions on the more serious terrorist conspiracy charges. If the new case occurs, it is not expected to be heard until 2009. (AP)
