The Daily Muck

House Committee Asks for More Records of Political Briefings
Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif) of the House Oversight and Government reform Committee “asked 27 federal departments and agencies yesterday to turn over information related to White House briefings about elections or political candidates, substantially widening the scope of a congressional investigation into the administration’s compliance with the law that restricts partisan political activity by government employees. (Washington Post)

Special Council Steps Up White House Investigation
“Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch met with White House Counsel Fred F. Fielding on Thursday as he pushed ahead with an ambitious inquiry into White House political operations.” Bloch and Fielding “set up procedures that his agency would use to investigate the firing of at least one U.S. attorney, missing White House e-mails and the distribution of political information to Cabinet agencies.” (LA Times)

Frist Escapes Insider-Trading Charges
“The Securities and Exchange Commission has decided not to file insider-trading charges against former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in connection with the sales of stock in the hospital chain his family owns, The Washington Post reported Friday. An 18-month investigation by the SEC staff and the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York ended without action against the Tennessee Republican, the Post reported.” (USA Today)

Administration Targeted Minnesota US Attorney
“The Bush administration considered firing the former U.S. attorney in Minnesota, but he left his job voluntarily before the list of attorneys to be ousted was completed, two congressional aides said Thursday. Congressional investigators probing the firings of eight U.S. attorneys saw Thomas Heffelfinger’s name on a version of the list that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, began assembling in early 2005. Heffelfinger left in February 2006, more than nine months before the Justice Department agreed on a final list of prosecutors to remove.” (McClatchy)

Rep. Feeney’s Scotland Trip Linked to Abramoff
“U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney’s controversial golf trip to Scotland in 2003 apparently was paid for by a foundation that Senate investigators described as a “slush fund” used by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The foundation’s connection is included among thousands of pages of Senate records and is the first evidence of who apparently paid for the trip, which has sparked an FBI probe. (Orlando Sentinel)

Earmarked $10 Million Linked to Rep’s Campaign Cash
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, may have earmarked $10 million in the federal transportation bill for a study of an obscure Florida interchange in part due to some well-timed campaign contributions. In just one day, two weeks after a fundraiser in Estero, Young recorded $41,750 in donations, including at least one from a land-owner who stands to benefit from the interchange. (Naples Daily News)

Ex- US Attorney Carol Lam Wins Bar Award
“Carol Lam, one of eight former U.S. attorneys across the country whose dismissals have ignited a political firestorm and calls for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, has been named outstanding attorney of the year by the San Diego County Bar Association, the organization announced Wednesday afternoon. Andy Albert, the association’s immediate past president, said the decision to give Lam what the association calls its “most prestigious” award was not a political one.” (North County Times)

Witness Turned Down Request to Kill Gus Boulis
“A potential witness in the Konstantinos ”Gus” Boulis gang-like slaying case said he was offered $100,000 to gun down the Miami Subs founder and SunCruz owner, court records show.” The witness declined the offer, but the Miami Subs founder and SunCruz owner was later murdered while leaving his Fort Lauderdale office. Boulis had sold SunCruz to Jack Abramoff and Adam Kidan — both are in prison. (Miami Herald)