For all the excitement surrounding James Comey’s testimony this week, there’s been one missing element: a counter-argument. A couple of days ago, Tony Snow said, “Jim Comey gave his side of what transpired that day.” And what’s the other side? No one knows; the Bush White House and its allies have been surprisingly quiet. Finally, […]
Sure, we’ve known for quite some time that the Bush White House takes an expansive view of executive branch power. But as a defense against the Plame civil suit, Cheney’s legal team has managed to push the envelope to surprising degree. (And given these guys’ track record, that’s saying something.) Attorneys for Vice President Cheney […]
In January, Focus on the Family’s James Dobson ruled out Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as a Republican presidential candidate he’d even consider. “Speaking as a private individual, I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances.” Yesterday, Dobson added another name to the list: the other leading GOP candidate. A prominent Christian leader said […]
It’s kind of amusing to think that literally just a week ago, it seemed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was, facts be damned, going to keep his job. He believed he had “weathered the storm.” He was caught in the midst of a massive scandal he still can’t explain, his Justice Department is divided and dysfunctional, […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Congressional and White House negotiators agreed this afternoon on the provisions of a new immigration reform measure. The AP reports, “Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, his party’s lead negotiator on the deal, hailed it as ‘the best possible chance we will have in years to secure our borders […]
Just two days after several Republican presidential hopefuls seemed almost desperate to brag about their appreciation for torture — as Slate’s John Dickerson put it, “Some candidates appeared ready to do the torturing themselves” — an important WaPo op-ed tries to set the record straight. Charles C. Krulak, commandant of the Marine Corps from 1995 […]
A few weeks ago, Gen David Petraeus told reporters about an important upcoming milestone in the administration’s war policy. “During Secretary Gates’ recent visit to Iraq,” Petraeus said, “we agreed that in early September, Ambassador Ryan Crocker and I would provide an assessment of the situation in Iraq with respect to our mission and offer […]
About a month ago, after the White House refused to even consider replacing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Roll Call reported that Senate Dems were “seriously considering bringing a resolution to the floor expressing no confidence in Gonzales.” A senior leadership source told Roll Call the measure would be non-binding — Congress can’t force the president […]
The NYT noted today that “someone at the White House (and Americans need to know who) dispatched Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Card to Mr. Ashcroft’s hospital bed.” Was it the president? He doesn’t want to talk about it. From a White House event this morning: Q: Thank you, sir. There’s been some very dramatic testimony […]
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week seems to have sent a shockwave through much of the political world, renewing interest in a scandal that was never resolved. All of a sudden, questions that were unanswered months ago are being asked again, and thanks to Comey’s dramatic insights, […]