The Daily Muck

The Daily Muck

tvahora | July 2, 2007, 9:58AM

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said yesterday that he was prepared to go to court if the White House did not comply with subpoenas the committee issued for information pertaining to the firing of US attorneys. The White House has claimed executive privilege over documents and over testimony from former White House counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor. (Associated Press)

While the Environmental Protection Agency was considering a waiver that would allow California to implement restrictions on vehicular greenhouse gas emissions, the Transportation Department lobbied against granting the waiver by phoning lawmakers. Emails provided by the Transportation Department show that its employees called lawmakers from states reliant on auto industries and recommended contacting the EPA to say the waiver would hurt the domestic auto industry. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) said that the Transportation Department’s actions were inappropriate and possibly illegal. (USA Today)

The transcript for plea hearings for Thomas Kontogiannis, who pled guilty to bribery charges for his involvement in the Duke Cunningham scandal, will remain sealed following a decision by a federal appeals court on Saturday. Federal prosecutors filed to keep the hearings classified. Kontogiannis is expected to be a witness in the trials of his nephew John Michael and defense contractor Brent Wilkes. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A federal judge ruled last Friday that the chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Noxubee County in Mississippi, which is in charge of administering Democratic primaries in the county, violated the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against whites. It was the first such action by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in the history of the act. (Washington Post)

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