Submitted by Conor Kenny on
- Two White House aides central to the U.S. attorney firings controversy were scheduled to appear in Congress, although the extent of the testimony they would offer remained questionable in light of President Bush's invocation of executive privilege. (New York Times story)
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) secured an earmark in the Interior-Environment spending bill that would provide funds for a major air-pollution reduction program in two heavily polluted areas of California. (CQ story)
- The Senate GOP Conference gave Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) the seat on the Senate Finance Committee that emptied due to the death of Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.). (Roll Call story)
- Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) apologized after revealing that his telephone number appeared on the phone records of ''Pamela Martin and Associates'', the so-called "DC Madam" prostitution ring. (Washington Post story)
- In a response to President George W. Bush's recent commutation of "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) requested that White House lawyers testify in Congress to clarify the decision. (The Hill story)
- Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) announced his intention to introduce a measure to increase the gasoline tax by 50 cents. (The Hill story)
- Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) called for the withdrawal of American forces in Iraq, the latest GOP Members of Congress to break ranks with their Republican colleagues and the President over the war. (Editor and Publisher story)
- The House and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairmen, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.)and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), issued a letter to the White House setting a deadline of July 9 for a response regarding the withholding of documents related to the U.S. attorney firings before they would move to issuing a contempt of Congress motion. (The Hill story)
- A bipartisan group of congressmen issued a letter to President Bush urging him to reconstitute the Iraq Study Group, in order to provide an independent perspective to compare with General Petreaus's report due in September. (The Hill story)
- House Democratic leaders issued a statement revealing their intention to postpone consideration of trade deals negotiated under President Bush's "fast track" authority, set to expire at the end of the week. (The Hill story)
- 145 lawmakers signed a letter to President Bush urging him to close the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. (McClatchy story)
- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) threatened to cancel the Senate's August recess if Senators did not resolve disputes and move forward on legislation implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and tightening restrictions on ethics and lobbying. (The Hill story)
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