The Daily Muck

DeLay: Did Somebody Say This Was the Blue Room?
Ah, the freedom that comes from leaving elected office.

A few weeks after departing the House of Representatives, Tom DeLay served as charity auctioneer at a fundraiser for Safari Club International, a gun-lobby group defending man’s right to defend himself against unarmed animals.

“Who wants a beaver?” DeLay asked the crowd, hawking a sheared-beaver vest that a lobbyist later won for $1,400.

“Hoots,” reports Roll Call‘s Mary Ann Akers, “and hollers followed.” Probably because the crowd of hunters, hunter-lovers, and those who make their living kissing up to hunter-loving lawmakers understood that “beaver” is a slang term for vagina — although, who knows, maybe they were super-excited about the flat-tailed, dam-building rodents.

“Everybody likes beaver, even women,” DeLay declared happily, with a passion he once reserved for attacking “liberals.” “The best thing about it, it’s a shaved beaver!” he exclaimed — blissfully ignorant, it would seem, of the disturbing psychosexual inference that prepubescence is somehow erotic in a female partner.

Akers noted that observers thought DeLay “looked happier and more relaxed than ever.” I think that’s six-beers drunk, according to our Washington Journalist decoder rings. (“Unusually gregarious” is three beers, “chatty” is two. Any lawmaker’s behavior past “Happier and more relaxed than ever” usually involves falling down in a gutter, visiting a house of ill repute or throwing up, and you’re not supposed to report that.)

But his vagina jokes weren’t used up! He used the occasion to insult either the female genitalia or the wildlife of North Carolina:

At one point, as the bidding went up, DeLay pointed in the crowd to Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) as he held up the fur vest and said, “Sen. Burr, they don’t have beaver like this down in North Carolina.”

Ah, well played, Mr. DeLay. Your rapier wit will be missed. Why didn’t you ever show up “happy and relaxed” for debates on the House floor? It would have done wonders for C-Span’s ratings.

Lewis Probe Expands
“Redlands [Calif.]-based ESRI has received a federal subpoena as part of an ongoing investigation into Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis and his ties to a Washington lobbying firm, a company official said Wednesday night. The company, which specializes in mapping and geographic information system technology, is one of more than 28 Inland companies, local governments and institutions that are clients of Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & White.” (Riverside Press-Enterprise)

White House Chatted Up Domestic Financial Surveillance Program
“Bush administration officials have been lining up to condemn The New York Times for revealing a program to track financial transactions as part of the war on terrorism. But if the Times’ revelation about a program to monitor international exchanges is so damaging, why has the administration been chattering about efforts to monitor domestic transactions for nearly five years?” (Defense Tech)

Reports of US Monitoring of SWIFT Transactions Are Not New
“Reports on US monitoring of SWIFT transactions have been out there for some time. The information was fairly well known by terrorism financing experts back in 2002. The UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Group , on which I served as the terrorism financing expert, learned of the practice during the course of our monitoring inquiries. The information was incorporated in our report to the UN Security Council in December 2002. That report is still available on the UN Website.” (Counterterrorism Blog, War & Piece)

“Loose Lips” Kill Americans, Top Republican Says
“Declaring that “loose lips” kill Americans, [Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL)] said on Wednesday the House of Representatives would debate a resolution condemning the U.S. media for exposing details of secret intelligence programs.” (Reuters)

Archie Jefferson: Read His Pitch to Sao Tome
Deeper into William Jefferson’s web — his brother Archie, “an attorney, has had a number of run-ins with the law involving drugs [and] bad checks,” and he’s been permanently disbarred by the state of Louisiana. But he was apparently working an oil deal in Sao Tome, a small West African island. With, you know, a little help from a certain congressman…. (Harper’s)

Torture Teachers
“An Army document proves that Guantánamo interrogators were taught by instructors from a military school that trains U.S. soldiers how to resist torture.” (Salon)

Four Plead No Contest in Ohio Coingate Ethics Case, Funny Money to Bush Campaign
“In a scandal that has shaken the state’s Republican-dominated government, four Ohio politicians pleaded no contest Wednesday to ethics violations. Lucas County Commissioner Maggie Thurber, Toledo City Councilwoman Betty Shultz, former Toledo Mayor Donna Owens and former state Rep. Sally Perz were fined $1,000 each on misdemeanor charges of failing to report gifts worth more than $75. They were accused of receiving money from prominent GOP donor Tom Noe, then contributing it to President Bush’s re-election campaign in their own names in an alleged scheme by Noe to skirt laws limiting individual contributions to $2,000. The four bring to 14 the number of people charged in the scandal centered on Noe, who was hired by the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Bureau to manage a $50 million investment in rare coins.” (AP)

DHS Grant Allocations Draw Ire, Even from Some Winners
“In Florida — which was the only state to receive basically the same amount of funding overall as it did in 2005 and where major cities saw significant increases — several of the gains came in areas with competitive House races this year.” (The Hill)

Interior Official To Plead in Abramoff Case
“The Interior Department official who oversees the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a key client of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, will plead guilty next month to filing a false financial disclosure report form. . . . Stillwell told Mother Jones magazine last year that he was ‘in awe’ of Abramoff’s ability to kill a House bill back in 2000 that would have imposed federal immigration policy on the CNMI, one of his most lucrative lobbying clients. Abramoff ‘stopped it dead,’ said Stillwell. ‘It could not have been an easy job.'” (Roll Call)

Lawmakers Question Cybersecurity Chief, CMU Deal
“The Bush administration’s cybersecurity chief is being paid $577,000 under a two-year agreement with the university that employs him and also does extensive business with the federal office he manages. Donald “Andy” Purdy Jr.’s … cybersecurity division has paid Carnegie Mellon $19 million in contracts this year, almost one-fifth the unit’s total budget.” (AP)

Rep. Flake, Don Quixote Tilting at Earmark Windmills
“Since May, the Republican congressman has grabbed the spotlight with the “Flake Hour” — a tradition at the end of debate on spending bills, in which he asks colleagues to come to the House floor and explain why taxpayers should pay for pet projects in their districts.” (WSJ)

Jefferson Exit Spurs New Rules
“Several House Democrats have proposed significant changes to their party’s caucus rules, with at least two of the changes prompted by internal caucus controversy over the recent ouster of a caucus member from the Ways and Means Committee.” (The Hill)

Texas Redistricting: Winners and Losers
Here’s a sampling of winners and losers from the decision yesterday. (The Fix)

The Other Big Winner in Texas Redistricting
“The Supreme Court gave Tom DeLay and the Republicans a major victory. But it also sought to restore power to the state’s Latino voters.” (Time)

Ruling May Incite Redistricting Battles
“The Supreme Court’s decision Wednesday in a controversial Texas redistricting case raises the possibility of congressional districts being redrawn every time a political party gains the upper hand in a state.” (USA Today)

Official Charged in Abramoff Scandal
“An Interior Department official who has acknowledged receiving meals and tickets to sporting events from former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been charged with filing a false financial disclosure report.” (WaPo, TPMm)

Signing the Constitution away
A reader writes to Eric Alterman: “I have collected all presidential signing statements from January 19, 2001, through June 12, 2006, and posted a temporary webpage that provides full text of all the bill signing statements issued by President George W. Bush.” Go to the post for the links. (Altercation)

Ralph Reed’s Race is a Dead Heat
“It’s one of the most exciting down-ballot races of the year, and it’s tightening. Former Christian Coalition Exec. Dir. Ralph Reed (R), an architect of the GOP’s revival in GA, has battled for months against State Sen. Casey Cagle (R). In a Strategic Vision poll out today, Reed leads Cagle by a hair — 44%-41%….With just 20 days to go until the 7/18 primary, the race is deadlocked.” (Hotline)

The Coming Ballot Meltdown
“Anyone wondering where America’s next electoral meltdown will take place–and it can only be a matter of time–might do well to turn back to the scene of the last one. Ohio was, of course, ground zero of the 2004 presidential election, and now it’s the battleground of one of the most hotly contested governor’s races in the country….” (The Nation)

Non-Profit Money-Channeling Reforms Eyed
“In the wake of the Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, chairman of the Committee on Finance, announced several reforms today designed to improve the transparency and governance of tax-exempt groups…. The Finance committee is proposing to double the fines and penalties for non-profit groups engaged in inappropriate political activity.” (NBC News)

Man Behind Anti-Clinton Ad Convicted
“A political consultant whose company was behind a television ad accusing the Clinton-Gore administration of giving away nuclear technology was convicted of child molestation charges.” (AP)

DeLay: Valerie Plame Was Not a CIA Agent
Yep, he’s still banging that drum. From Tom DeLay’s mouth to your ears… (Crooks & Liars)

VA Worker had OK to Access Data from Home
“The Veterans Affairs worker faulted for losing veterans’ personal information had permission to access millions of Social Security numbers on a laptop from home, agency documents obtained by The Associated Press show.” (AP)

Bush Asks for Funds to Protect Vets
“President Bush on Wednesday asked Congress for $160.5 million in emergency funds to help veterans and military personnel whose personal information was on a laptop computer stolen from a Veterans Affairs employee.” (AP)

Senators Criticize Payment Plan for Monitoring Veterans’ Credit
“Two Senate Democrats on Wednesday criticized a White House plan to cut money intended for food stamps, student loans and farmers to pay for credit monitoring for veterans whose personal and financial data was stolen last month.” (NY Times)

“Culture of Corruption” Is Real, Not Just a Campaign Attack Line
“In all my years of watching Congress, I have never seen anything quite like what we have now. It may be a cliché, and it may be a partisan attack term, but it is also true: There is a culture of corruption across Capitol Hill.” (Norman Ornstein)

Ky. Governor Takes Limo across The Street
“When Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s day is over, he leaves his Capitol office, climbs into a Lincoln Town Car driven by a state trooper and returns to the Governor’s Mansion — which is just across the street. Meanwhile, his administration is encouraging Kentuckians to get out and walk more for their health.” (AP)

A Lobbyist Link in Congressmen’s Visits to Cape
“Four Massachusetts congressmen have attended luxurious Fourth of July weekends at Cape Cod’s exclusive Wequassett Inn in Chatham with representatives of various interest groups, courtesy of a little-known nonprofit group started by a longtime lobbyist.” (Boston Globe)

Reed Faces Tough Campaign in his First Shot at Elected Office
The AP reports on Ralph Reed’s hard time… getting elected. (AP)

Jefferson Defense Fund Hits $119,000
“U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, has raised $119,000 for his legal defense fund. Some of his contributors are politically connected.” (The Advocate)

Lawyer: Feds Failing on Hedge Fund Fraud
“A former government attorney told Congress on Wednesday that he was fired for investigating a hedge fund too aggressively and said law enforcement is failing in its duty to protect investors in the growing hedge fund industry.” (AP)