The Daily MuckThe wife of the governor of North Carolina is catching heat recently for taking first-class trips to Europe at the expense of the state. She has also received a questionable 88 percent pay increase for her job at North Carolina State University. (McClatchy)
State legislators in Alaska are considering hiring a special investigator over Governor Sarah Palin’s firing of Public Saftey Commissioner Walt Monegan. Palin faces accusations of pressuring Monegan to fire Palin’s sister’s ex-husband from a government job. (Alaska Daily News)
William Mercer, who infamously was simultaneously a senior adviser at the Justice Department and a U.S. attorney for Montana, is one of the few U.S. attorneys to make it through all eight years of the Bush DOJ. Mercer had to resign from his job at the Justice Department, and now is only the U.S. attorney for Montana. (LA Times)
A federal jury convicted former Tennessee State Sen. John Ford of accepting money from government contractors and lobbying for them while in the Senate. Ford, who was once one of the most powerful politicians in the state, was previously convicted of corruption for taking bribes. (AP)
Bin Laden’s driver’s military trial is set to begin today after seven years at Guantanamo. Salim Hamdan’s trial is the first test of the military commissions system since World War II. (Washington Post)
The new Office of Congressional Ethics is still in limbo as House leaders are yet to nominated board-members. Recent reports state that at least a third of the office will be made up of former lawmakers. (Roll Call)