Right around the time Senate Republicans were voicing their support for an open-ended commitment to the war in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus was preparing to ask for an even bigger escalation than had been previously advertised. The top US commander in Iraq has requested another Army brigade, in addition to five already on the way, […]
‘How would you define ‘political decision-making’?’
The new email revelations in the prosecutor purge scandal aren’t the only key updates from the last half-day. How about a round-up? * The White House is hedging on Gonzales’ future. “I’ve thought he could survive up until now,” said a senior Bush political strategist. “But if he’s shown to be a liar by these […]
The straw that breaks Gonzales’ (and Rove’s) back?
In a week in which each passing day has revealed more damaging details, this ABC News report from late yesterday afternoon ratchets the prosecutor purge scandal up a notch — to a level that may seal Alberto Gonzales’ fate, and implicate Karl Rove in a more serious way. New unreleased e-mails from top administration officials […]
Thursday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Debate over the war in Iraq dominated both sides of the Capitol this afternoon. In the House, the House Appropriations Committee passed a Democratic measure mandating a troop withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008. In the Senate, Republicans defeated a proposal to begin a phased withdrawal within 120 days […]
‘Every tree that we’ve barked up so far has had a cat in it’
The Politico’s Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen suggest in an interesting piece today that the [tag]prosecutor[/tag] [tag]purge[/tag] scandal has helped “transform” Washington politics. Republicans are fretting, and Democrats are fantasizing, about what the debacle foretells for the next year and half. “We’ve only had subpoena power for the last six weeks and every tree that […]
House to investigate wounded troops being sent back to Iraq
Mark Benjamin reported in Salon this week about developments at Ft. Benning, Ga., where he found the military “deploying troops [to Iraq] with serious injuries and other medical problems, including GIs who doctors have said are medically unfit for battle. Some are too injured to wear their body armor, according to medical records.” It had […]
Gonzales blocked probe — that would have implicated him
You know what Attorney General Alberto Gonzales really needs? Another scandal bringing his integrity and honesty into question. Oh wait, here’s one now. (thanks to S.W. for the tip) Shortly before Attorney General Alberto Gonzales advised President Bush last year on whether to shut down a Justice Department inquiry regarding the administration’s warrantless domestic eavesdropping […]
Tony Snow prevaricates on prosecutor purge
As the prosecutor purge has transitioned from simmering controversy to full-fledged scandal, the one thing I’ve missed is White House Press Secretary Tony Snow’s unique brand of mendacity. While the president has been traveling throughout Latin America, Snow’s been with him. As a result, Snow has barely talked to the press corps since March 8. […]
Judiciary Committee approves subpoenas — for some administration witnesses
The good news is the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a big batch of subpoenas this morning as part of the investigation into the prosecutor purge scandal. The bad news is some of the administration officials who need to appear before the committee weren’t on today’s list. The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday cleared the way for […]
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: * Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama yesterday offered tepid — but not full-throated — criticism of Gen. Pace’s attack on gays, prompting some criticism from the Human Rights Campaign. As a result, […]