The Daily MuckThe House Oversight Committee yesterday questioned Pentagon and KBR Inc. officials over delays in protecting U.S. forces in Iraq from faulty electrical wiring. Oversight Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) interrogated the Pentagon’s inspector general about absolving KBR in the death of a soldier. The faulty wiring has killed at least 16 people. (AP)
A secret government document submitted at the military commission of Osama bin Laden’s driver Salim Hamdan confirms that Hamdan was sexually humiliated by a female government agent. Hamdan’s lawyers claim the document is proof that Hamdan was coerced into making a confession. (New York Times)
Some Army recruiters have been caught lying to recruits in order to keep them from dropping out. One high school student in Houston was threatened with jail time if he left the recruitment program, despite signing up for a non-binding program. (KVUE)
The former head of the Illinois prison system was sentenced to two years in federal prison for taking $50,000 from lobbyists when he was director of the Illinois Department of Corrections. The former director, Donald Snyder, served from 1999 until early 2003. (AP)
Former Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) is accused of urging a witness to lie during a Hurricane Katrina lawsuit as to not implicate Zach and Dickie Scruggs. The accusation was made in a sworn disposition by an attorney for an insurance company. Zach Scruggs is the nephew of the former senator, and Dickie is Lott’s brother-in-law. (AP)
A Wall Street broker who is under federal investigation for sales of mortgage-related securities is suspected of fleeing the country. His disappearance comes as he faced possible federal charges for allegedly lying to investors. (Wall Street Journal)