The Daily MuckA new report from the Government Accountability Office says that the Iraqi government may finish the year with a $79 billion surplus. The majority of the excess funds come from unspent money since 2005, as well as oil revenues and the Iraqi government’s general inability to execute budgets. In response to the report, many U.S. senators complained that the Iraqi government should being paying for their own reconstruction efforts. (AP)
An attorney for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman called Monday for a Justice Department oversight office to investigate U.S. Attorney Leura Canary’s role in Siegelman’s prosecution and belated recusal. Siegelman’s attorney wants to know why Canary, who has connections to Karl Rove and Siegelman’s successor Gov. Bob Riley (R), ever became involved in the prosecution, in light of the obvious conflict of interest. Canary says she welcomes the investigation. (AP)
After the first day of deliberations by jurors in the military commission of Osama bin Laden’s driver Salim Hamdan, the judge presiding over the case admitted he may have made errors by not properly instructing the jury about war crimes. Despite the possibility of a mistake, the judge ruled out a mistrial, saying it was too late for such action. (Reuters)
Dickie Scruggs began his five year federal prison sentence on Monday in Kentucky. Scruggs was sentenced in June for trying to bribe a judge with $50,000 in exchange for a favorable ruling in a dispute over legal fees for Hurricane Katrina insurance cases. (Legal Newsline)
Embattled Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) will not be attending the Republican National Convention in September. He will however be attending a trial in late September related to his indictment for felony charges in late July. Senator Larry Craig will also be skipping the convention (R-ID). (AP)
A controversial Mississippi pathologist had his contract terminated by the state. The pathologist faced criticism this year after revelations that two prisoners who were convicted, largely based on his autopsy, were in fact innocent. Mississippi state officials refused to say that these complaints were the cause of the pathologist’s dismissal. (AP)