Now, which White House scandal is Susan Ralston attached to again? There are so many it’s sometimes difficult to keep up. Oh right, the Abramoff scandal. A former top aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove told Congress she will invoke her right against self-incrimination unless granted immunity to answer investigators’ questions about lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s […]
The White House sees a vast Democratic conspiracy
Following up on the last item for a moment, top White House aide Dan Bartlett was asked by the Washington Post why the president continues to stand up Alberto Gonzales, even in light of bipartisan disgust for his tenure. The response was unusually inane, even by the standards of the Bush gang. “This has been […]
The White House is not above the fray
Dan Bartlett, a top Bush aide (Counselor to the President), sat down with the WaPo’s Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza, and the video of their interview is online and worth watching, if for no other reason that to marvel at Bartlett’s hackish spinning. There were a handful of interesting comments, but here’s one about the […]
It’s Monica Goodling Day on Capitol Hill
We’re already a couple of hours into the House Judiciary Committee hearing featuring testimony from Monica Goodling, the Justice Department’s former White House liaison, who’s there with an immunity agreement. For those die-hard purge-o-philes, you can watch the hearing online here or here, as well catch Christy Hardin Smith’s live-blogging at FDL. How’s it going […]
Wednesday’s political round-up
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * The AP explains today that former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) “already is” running for president, he just hasn’t said so yet: “Thompson is hiring staff, speaking to conservative groups, writing online columns […]
The selective declassifier strikes again
The White House seems to be pushing this story pretty hard. I’m not sure why. Seeking to rally support for the war, President Bush released intelligence asserting that Osama bin Laden in 2005 ordered creation of a terrorist unit to hit targets outside Iraq, including the United States. The information, which Bush was to cite […]
Bomb plot thwarted at Falwell’s funeral
At first blush, this almost seems comical, but it’s actually quite scary. Law enforcement officials yesterday arrested a Liberty University student for having several homemade bombs in his car — which he planned to use at Jerry Falwell’s funeral. The student, 19-year-old Mark D. Uhl of Amissville, Va., reportedly told authorities that he was making […]
With an eye on Iran
ABC News reported yesterday that the Bush administration’s interest in regime change in Iran continues unabated. The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert “black” operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com. The sources, who spoke on the condition of […]
An ugly game of chicken
It was certainly a frustrating afternoon when we learned that congressional Dems had effectively caved to White House demands and would move forward with a war spending bill with no timelines or meaningful benchmarks. Sixteen hours ago, this seemed like an awful move. Dems and Bush were engaged in a three-month-long game of chicken, and […]
Tuesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * As if today’s headlines weren’t discouraging enough: “The Bush administration is quietly on track to nearly double the number of combat troops in Iraq this year, an analysis of Pentagon deployment orders showed Monday. The little-noticed second surge, designed to reinforce U.S. troops in Iraq, is being executed by […]