Bush killed inquiry: A U.S. grand jury in Guam opened an investigation of controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff more than two years ago, but President Bush removed the supervising federal prosecutor and the inquiry ended soon after. The previously undisclosed Guam inquiry is separate from a federal grand jury in Washington that is investigating allegations that Abramoff bilked Indian tribes out of millions of dollars.
WH withholds 9/11 files: Members of the now-disbanded 9/11 commission are going public with complaints that the Bush Administration is stonewalling on the release of files that show whether the government is taking action on the commission’s recommendations for preventing new attacks on the United States. The GOP chair of the commission, Tom Kean, says he disappointed and surprised. Well, that’s one of us, Tom.
Financiers pledge liberal dollars: At least 80 wealthy liberals have pledged to contribute $1 million or more apiece to fund a network of think tanks and advocacy groups to compete with the potent conservative infrastructure built up over the past three decades.The money will be channeled through a new partnership called the Democracy Alliance, which was founded last spring — the latest in a series of liberal initiatives as the Democratic Party and its allies continue to struggle with the loss of the House and the Senate in 1994 and the presidency in 2000.
The Trump administration rarely bothers with a strategy or plan,
Preferring to sow chaos and disruption whenever they can.
Every day they must come up with some,
New Epstein-file coverup diversion,
And that, Dear Reader, is why the United States is making war on Iran.
“We’ve spent $8 trillion in the Middle East. And we’re not fixing our roads in this country. How stupid is it? We’re not fixing our highways, our tunnels, our bridges, our hospitals, even.”
“In its war against Iran, the White House has already failed: to offer evidence that the country posed a direct threat to Americans; to provide a consistent justification for the attack; or to explain under what terms the conflict might end. … Now the evidence is piling up that this rather unjustified and thoroughly unexplained war could very likely lead to an energy crisis, just as the US economy is showing new signs of weakness …. Surely, one thing the US economy doesn’t need right now is a war of choice shutting down a major trade route, blowing up oil markets, and driving up the cost of energy for Americans, just as the labor market seizes up.”
G. Elliot Morris: “According to a simple average of new high-quality surveys, 38% of Americans approve and 49% disapprove of U.S. military action in Iran. … When ignoring ‘don’t know’ respondents, 56% disapprove.”
“The U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, a sign that the job market continues to struggle across a broad range of sectors,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The unemployment ticked slightly higher to 4.4%.”
Thousands of files relating to the Epstein case have been taken offline, according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal. The Journal found that more than 47,000 files were missing from documents that had been posted to the Justice Department’s website, including documents that detailed one woman’s unverified allegations of sexual misconduct against President Donald Trump.
A majority of voters disapproves of how President Trump is handling the situation in Iran and believes the U.S. should not have taken military action against the country, 54% to 41%, according to a new NBC News poll. Republican pollster Bill McInturff: “This is a lower level of support than in most of the major military action that we’ve seen.”