The House Judiciary Committee has reached an agreement with John Ashcroft securing his testimony at a federal hearing concerning the $27 million to $52 million no-bid contract he received from his former subordinate, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie. The committee was preparing to subpoena Ashcroft if he refused to testify voluntarily. Christie, however, will not appear at the hearing because the Justice Department has decided to send a U.S. Attorney from Georgia instead. (AP)

The Marine Corps, following the lead of senators Joe Biden (D-DE) and Kit Bond (R-MO), has called for the Pentagon's inspector general to investigate delays in the deployment of blast-resistant vehicles in Iraq and whether the delays led to hundreds of unnecessary deaths and injuries. (MSNBC, AP)

Former military prosecutor Col. Morris Davis claims that the plea deal that sent Australian David Hicks - so far the sole detainee at Guantanamo Bay to have been convicted of a crime under the U.S. military tribunal system - to prison was rushed for political reasons. According to Davis "there appeared to be some impetus to try to help" former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who was then facing a difficult re-election campaign. The Pentagon denies the allegations. (Herald Sun)

In 2006 John McCain spearheaded a Senate report that omitted information about Alabama Republican Governor Bob Riley's relation to Abramoff's influence peddling schemes. A 2002 e-mail in McCain's posession when the Senate completed its report, contains details about Abramoff's desire to seek favors from Riley in return for the aid that Abramoff's tribal clients gave to Riley. That information was withheld from the Senate report and McCain subsequently refused to make the e-mail public. (Huffington Post)

Lt. General Carter Ham, the head of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asserts that when President Bush approved orders to send five more brigades to Iraq the total number of US soldiers on the ground was 132,000. By July 2008, the military plans to have 140,000 troops in Iraq and Ham has refused to state whether that number will be drawn down to 132,000 by the time Bush leaves office. (AP)

Former Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) acknowledged that he has spoken to federal agents in relation to the investigation of his brother-in-law Richard "Dickie" Scruggs for judicial bribery, but says that he is only a potential witness, and not a target of the investigation. Lott maintains "that he knew nothing about the bribery allegations when he resigned two days before Scruggs' indictment in November." (Sun-Herald)

The Judge in the corruption case against Chicago developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko named some names yesterday. Previously, court documents referred to "several people who allegedly benefited from Rezko's financial schemes" only by pseudonym, but now it has been revealed that "Public Official A" is Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL). Blagojevich, who had denied that he was Public Official A, "has not been charged with any wrongdoing" in the case. (Chicago Tribune)

A civil case brought by the telecommunications firm iGate against representative William Jefferson (D-LA) will be delayed until the criminal case against Jefferson is completed. Jefferson and his wife are being sued over allegations that they schemed to bilk iGate stockholders by diverting corporate funds to Jefferson, his family, and foreign officials. (AP)

The Environmental Protection Agency is poised to eliminate requirements that factory farms report toxic gas emissions. Livestock industry lobbyists and lawmakers from agricultural states are pushing for the end to regulation despite EPA scientific reports that show that elevated levels of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide produced by animal manure "could cause acute respiratory irritation and effects to the central nervous system." (Washington Post)