Following up on an item from this morning, this McClatchy article reported that Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, told one of the fired U.S. attorneys that if the purged prosecutors “continued to criticize the administration for their ousters, previously undisclosed details about the reasons they were fired might […]
One of those days
I’m trying to imagine what the mood is like in the West Wing right now. Scooter Libby, the first high-ranking White House official to face criminal charges in over a century, has been convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, stemming from a smear campaign he and the Vice President worked on together. Nine Americans […]
No shortage of questions
Will Bush pardon Libby? I’d be surprised if he didn’t. Between various appeals and motions, Libby’s legal team can drag this out for a while, and if the delays can go past Election Day 2008, Bush can pardon him during his lame-duck waning days and Libby will never see a prison cell. Have White House […]
Reactions come in
Senate Majority Leader [tag]Harry Reid[/tag] responds to the [tag]Libby[/tag] [tag]guilty[/tag] [tag]verdict[/tag] by emphasizing the possibility of a pardon: “I welcome the jury’s verdict. It’s about time someone in the Bush Administration has been held accountable for the campaign to manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics. Lewis Libby has been convicted of perjury, but his trial […]
Libby guilty on four of five counts
Just announced… Count One — Obstruction of Justice — Libby found guilty Count Two — False statements to the FBI (re: discussion with Tim Russert) — Libby found guilty Count Three — False statements to the FBI (re: discussion with Matt Cooper) — not guilty Count Four — Perjury — Libby found guilty Count Five […]
Tuesday’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: * Wesley Clark, appearing before a friendly audience yesterday, was asked whether there was any chance he’d launch a presidential campaign within the next three months. Clark said he wouldn’t, because he believes […]
Better smears, please
It’s not at all surprising that the right would be going after Democratic leaders with enthusiasm, but I’m a little surprised at just how weak conservatives’ complaints have been lately. The right got all worked up about Nancy Pelosi’s military plane, which turned out to be nothing. They were really excited about the elementary school […]
Coulter gets hit in the pocketbook
I’m genuinely torn about even mentioning Coulter’s name; it’s probably a waste of pixels to give her the attention she craves. On the other hand, Coulter, much to my dismay, has become an important part of the political landscape, elevated by a conservative movement that she not only helps lead, but helps represent. To ignore […]
Prosecutor worried ‘gloves would come off’
One more prosecutor-purge story before we move on to other subjects today. McClatchy has an important piece about a top Justice Department official allegedly threatening one of the fired U.S. Attorneys. A high-ranking Justice Department official told one of the U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration that if any of them continued to criticize […]
Wilson’s ‘brief and professional’ chat with a purged prosecutor
When it comes to former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, two lawmakers allegedly pressured him over a local corruption case and pushed for his ouster when he was unresponsive. Yesterday, we talked about Sen. Pete Domenici’s (R) unpersuasive defense; today it’s Rep. Heather Wilson’s (R) turn. Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.) acknowledged yesterday that […]