Justice Dept. Used Pregnancy As Excuse To Appoint Griffin
"In a Dec. 26, 2006 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse explained that they 'temporarily' appointed Griffin, rather than Bud Cummins’ deputy Jane Duke, because Duke was pregnant. He noted that often, the first assistant U.S. attorney in the affected district will serve as the acting U.S. attorney until the formal nomination process begins for a replacement. But in this case, 'the first assistant is on maternity leave,' he said." (Think Progress)

Why I Was Fired
"With this week’s release of more than 3,000 Justice Department e-mail messages about the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors, it seems clear that politics played a role in the ousters. Of course, as one of the eight, I’ve felt this way for some time. But now that the record is out there in black and white for the rest of the country to see, the argument that we were fired for 'performance related' reasons is starting to look more than a little wobbly." (NY Times)

Durbin, Specter introduce new campaign-finance bill
"Two senior senators are pressing ahead with a new plan to allow congressional candidates to forgo private contributions as well. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), yesterday introduced a bill to allocate public money to candidates based on the population of their states, the price of TV ad time in their local media markets and their ability to meet minimum fundraising requirements." There's more information on the issue here. (The Hill)

FBI Is Warned Over Its Misuse of Data Collection
"House Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday in warning the F.B.I. that it could lose the power to demand that companies turn over customers’ telephone, e-mail and financial records if it did not swiftly correct abuses in the use of national security letters, the investigative tool that allows the bureau to make such demands without a judge’s approval." (NY Times)

Documents Reveal Personal Side of Showdown With U.S. Attorneys
"The morning folowing McNulty's testimony to Congress, Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse sent out an E-mail to Sampson, conveying Gonzales's displeasure over the testimony. 'The Attorney General is extremely upset,' Roehrkasse wrote, regarding the stories on the U.S. attorneys. 'He also thought some of the DAG's statements were inaccurate.'" (US News)

D.C. Madam Case Leads to Speculation
"High-priced call girls always seem to have their little black books. Deborah Jeane Palfrey, accused of running an illegal escort service in the nation's capital, has 46 pounds of phone records. And her offer -- or threat -- to turn them over to the media has some in Washington playing a guessing game as to whether any Beltway movers and shakers are on her list of up to 15,000 client phone numbers." (Associated Press)

NH Dems Question Timing of Indictment
New Hampshire Democrats say they will ask Congress to investigate whether prosecution of a Republican phone-jamming scheme on Election Day 2002 was intentionally delayed until after the presidential election two years later. In 2002, Republicans hired a telemarketing firm to place hundreds of hang-up calls to phone banks for the Democratic Party and the Manchester firefighters union, a nonpartisan group offering rides to the polls on Election Day. Service was disrupted for about 90 minutes on Election Day." (Associated Press)