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 […]
‘I’m not going to talk about it’
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 […]
Comey single-handedly reignites White House scandal
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, […]
‘Our resources must match our rhetoric’
The Bush administration and congressional Democrats are at odds over a pay hike for U.S. troops. Take a wild guess who “supports our troops” more. Troops don’t need bigger pay raises, White House budget officials said Wednesday in a statement of administration policy laying out objections to the House version of the 2008 defense authorization […]
Thursday’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: * New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will formally kick off his presidential campaign on Monday, after months of campaigning. He will make his announcement in Los Angeles, instead of his home state. * […]
‘We just want it to be over’
Robert Novak breaks a little news in his column today, noting that Susan Ralston, Karl Rove’s former executive assistant (and disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s former secretary), is “requesting immunity to testify before Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman’s investigating committee.” If accurate, this could be a fairly big deal. Last fall, we learned that Abramoff had […]
It’s his story and he’s sticking to it
James Comey’s testimony this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee has caused all kinds of headaches for Attorney General [tag]Alberto Gonzales[/tag], but Peter Swire touched on one of the more notable problems yesterday — [tag]Comey[/tag] seems to have pointed to an instance in which Gonzales lied under oath. In a 2006 hearing, Gonzales, during a […]
How does Giuliani offend? Let us count the ways
If media coverage is any indication, Rudy Giuliani scored big in this week’s GOP debate when he took Ron Paul to task for suggesting U.S. policies in the Middle East helped cause 9/11. But Greg Sargent caught an even more striking Giuliani comment shortly after the debate, when the former NYC mayor appeared on Fox […]
‘It looks like the process was out of control’
Somehow, this scandal manages to keep getting worse, while Alberto Gonzales’ lies manage to become even more troubling. The Justice Department considered dismissing many more U.S. attorneys than officials have previously acknowledged, with at least 26 prosecutors suggested for termination between February 2005 and December 2006, according to sources familiar with documents withheld from the […]
Wednesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * It looks like Paul Wolfowitz’s resignation from the World Bank is imminent: “Embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is negotiating an agreement to resign, according to an official familiar with the talks. His departure would include an acknowledgment from the bank that he doesn’t bear sole responsibility for the […]