The Daily MuckThe trial for representative William Jefferson (D-LA), scheduled to begin next week, will likely be delayed by Jefferson’s recent challenge to the judge’s refusal to dismiss numerous bribery-related charges. Jefferson alleges that the Grand Jury that indicted him last year was presented with tainted evidence. (Times Picayune)
The unfolding financial scandal at the National Republican Congressional Committee continues to shake up the NRCC’s officers. Treasurer Christopher Parana (who had replaced Christopher Ward in 2007) now is being replaced by Keith Davis. The NRCC’s spokesperson explained that “we thought it was prudent during this transition period to bring in an extremely experiences [sic] and highly respected longtime expert.” (Politico)
After Trent Lott (R-MS) announced his resignation from the Senate last fall, he denied that his decision had anything to do with the indictment - which came two days after the announcement - of his brother-in-law Richard “Dickie” Scruggs for allegedly attempting to illegally influence a Mississippi judge. Now federal investigators are looking into whether Lott played a role (sub. req.) in both that case and a separate one in which Scruggs allegedly tried to influence a different state judge “by promising that Mr. Lott would recommend Judge Delaughter for a seat on the federal bench.” (Wall Street Journal)
The Department of Defense dispenses approximately $80 million a month to Pakistan’s Defense Ministry to cover alleged costs for clothes, food, and supplies for the 80,000-100,000 Pakistani troops that support U.S. counterterrorism objectives. Though Pakistan has never supplied receipts or any detailed accounting of its expenses, the US payments have only recently been scrutinized. One U.S. official acknowledges the “padding” and “corruption” inherent in the program and the Bush administration admits that “we may have overpaid” for the Coalition Support Fund but insists that “it’s still a good deal.” (Washington Post)
Congress may have to wait to get details about the huge no-bid contracts awarded by federal prosecutors because a star witness, Christopher Christie (the U.S. attorney for N.J.), may not testify. Lawmakers are eager to hear from Christie because he awarded a no-bid 18-month contract to his former boss, John Ashcroft, that is worth between $28 million to $52 million. (New York Times)
Eight federal prosecutors and FBI agents are returning to the scene of the Blackwater massacre in Baghdad on September 16, 2007 that claimed the lives of 17 Iraqi civilians. The investigators plan to interview approximately 24 witnesses and collect evidence. (AP)
Add this to the list of public information that has disappeared under the Bush administration - the Army recently cut off public access to the Reimer Digital Library, the largest online collection of its publications, by placing it behind a password-protected firewall. The collection includes field and technical manuals, and documents on military operations, education, training and technology. Open government advocates have criticized the Army’s move because all of the documents are unclassified and a majority of them have been approved for public release. (Washington Post)