One of the curious ambiguities of the commutation controversy is what role, if any, Dick Cheney played in the process. As the recent Washington Post series made clear, not much happens in this White House without the VP’s direct involvement (i.e., dictation), but what did Cheney do about keeping his former chief of staff out […]
Well, this ought to be interesting. From this morning’s Face the Nation: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.): One thing, and I’ve spoken to [Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat] Leahy about this, that we’re thinking about doing is calling Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, before us. You know, he’s not allowed to talk about what happened before the […]
In light of the letter from Sara Taylor’s lawyer to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Atrios asks a question I’ve been mulling over myself. What possible authority does the White House have to try to prevent a former employee from testifying about something? How can they White House “not let her” testify? Obviously if she doesn’t […]
When the president commuted Scooter Libby’s prison sentence, the conventional wisdom told us that the White House was anxious to score a few points with the far-right GOP base, which has slowly distanced itself from Bush over the last several months. Byron York suggests today the commutation, if it was a political ploy, didn’t work. […]
The president’s reckless and corrupt commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence seemed to be a tipping point this week. (Or more accurately, the latest in a series of tipping points.) Bush has done plenty of other offensive things, but this one seemed more blatant than most of the others. It left much of the political […]
Nearly two weeks ago, in the midst of claiming executive privilege on documents relating to the U.S. Attorney purge, the Bush White House also told Congress that lawmakers would not be permitted to see documents relating to former political director Sara Taylor’s work on the matter. It was obviously disappointing (though not unexpected), especially given […]
All of a sudden, pollsters think enough of the impeachment question to start putting the question in the field. The latest comes by way of Rasmussen Reports. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Americans now believe that President Bush should be impeached and removed from office. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 49% disagree while […]
The president decided to lambaste the Democratic congressional majority this morning in his weekly radio address, accusing lawmakers of failing to do their duty when it comes to annual spending bills. “Democrats in Congress are also behind schedule passing the individual spending bills needed to keep the Federal government running. At their current pace, I […]
The discord among Republicans on the Hill over Iraq may be palpable, but Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) just returned from Baghdad, and wouldn’t you know it, he agrees wholeheartedly with Bush, Cheney, McCain, and Lieberman. In contrast with the stalled political progress, Graham said, the surge — the dispatch of 30,000 more U.S. troops that […]
On Tuesday, the National Review’s Iain Murray argued, “The socialization of medicine in the UK is responsible for a lot of problems. The importation of terrorists is just one of them.” On Thursday, Fox News’ Neil Cavuto and National Review’s Jerry Bowyer were more explicit about this painfully stupid argument, insisting that national healthcare systems […]