Month: September 2005
DeLay Accuses Dems of Conspiring with Texas D.A.
Smear ‘N Spin: Indicted Republican Congressman TomDeLay accused top Democrats in Washington of conspiring with Travis County, Texas, District Attorney Ronnie Earle to snare him using what he indicates are trumped up charges that he consipred to launder campaign donations.
The conspiracy charges from the former Majority Leader may come off as wild-eyed and paranoic but are in reality a clever ploy to distract attention from himself by smearing his opponents – who, of course, had nothing whatever to do with his own malfeasance. Essentially what DeLay is attempting to do is to throw red meat out to Rush, Hannity and O’Reilly to give the Dittoheads an alternate storyline to run with.
Think Progress has the video clip – here is the transcript:
Libby’s Lawyer Denies Giving Judy Jail Pass
It is unclear this morning what led up to New York Times reporter Judith Miller’s release from prison yesterday. Most observers assumed that she had finally gotten a release from the confidential source she went to jail to protect – and early word had it that the release came from Vice President Cheney’s consigliere, Scooter Libby.
But in today’s Washington Post, Libby’s lawyer gave a different response – “Who? Us?”
Joseph Tate, an attorney for Libby, said yesterday that he told Miller attorney Floyd Abrams a year ago that Libby’s waiver was voluntary and that Miller was free to testify. He said last night that he was contacted by [Miller’s attorney Bob] Bennett several weeks ago, and was surprised to learn that Miller had not accepted that representation as authorization to speak with prosecutors.
“We told her lawyers it was not coerced,” Tate said. “We are surprised to learn we had anything to do with her incarceration.”
Tate said that he and Bennett then asked Fitzgerald whether their clients could talk without fear of being accused of obstructing the investigation, and were assured that Fitzgerald would not oppose them doing so. After the phone call from Libby on Sept. 19 or 20, Tate said, the lawyers wrote a letter to Fitzgerald indicating Miller accepted Libby’s representation that the waiver was voluntary.
Maybe Judy just got tired of jail. She’s scheduled to testify before the Grand Jury looking into the Bush CIA Leak today.
Blunt’s Ethics: New Boss Same as the Old Boss
[New GOP House Majority Leader Roy] Blunt’s ethics issues stem from his abuse of his position for the benefit of his family, including providing legislative assistance to his wife and son and using his clout to solicit contributions for another son’s campaign. Details of Rep. Blunt’s egregious activities can be found at www.beyonddelay.org.
“Rep. Blunt’s appointment is a case of ‘new boss, same as the old boss.’ While Rep. Blunt may be new to the job, he has long followed Rep. DeLay’s pattern of ignoring campaign finance laws and ethics rules,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said today. “Rep. Blunt’s favors for Phillip Morris and United Parcel Service, at a time when both companies were clients of his family members, and his funneling of campaign contributions to his son Matt’s campaign for Governor begs the question ‘with such an ethically-challenged record, is Rep. Blunt an appropriate choice for House Majority Leader’?”
Rep. Blunt also contributed the largest individual donation, $20,000, to Rep. DeLay’s Legal Defense Fund.
Bush Hears Vision
We look forward to working with you. Let me put it another way: We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job. That’s what I’m telling you.
– President George Bush, at Governor’s Commission Briefing, Gulfport, Mississippi, Sept. 2005
SEC Upgrades Frist Investigation
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given subpoena power to investigators looking into the stock sales by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, said sources familiar with the matter on Wednesday.
Moving to protect the Frist inquiry from any future criticism for not being thorough, the SEC changed its status to formal from informal and gave investigators subpoena power to force individuals to talk or to produce documents or e-mails.
Gropinator Vetoes California Gay Marriage Bill
Not a Kennedy: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger – a serial philanderer and adulterer – has quashed the first-ever gay marriage bill passed by a state legislature:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today delivered on his promise to veto legislation that would have given same-sex partners the right to marry, but said he would not support any rollback of the state’s current domestic partner benefits.
The governor passed up a historic opportunity:
The legislature’s passage of AB 849 marked the first time that a legislative body in the United States has approved a bill that legalizes gay marriage.
Ironically, Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has said the ultimate decision about gay marriage in California will be left up to the courts.
Funny how judicial activism is just fine with Republicans when it suits there ends. (Bush Vs. Gore comes to mind.)
BREAKING: Judy Gets Sprung
MSNBC is reporting that Judith Miller has been released from prison. Keith Olbermann just said that she was released from her confidentiality agreement by Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
Pentagon Spying Slush Fund Exposed in Florida
The Pentagon’s brazen diverting of tax dollars and hiding it from Congress is getting scrutiny. Florida Senator Bill Nelson, pitted against GOP orphan Katherine Harris in 2006, is exposing the slush fund and demanding an investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which he is a member. St. Petersburg Times:
In a letter to Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and ranking member Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, Nelson seemed incredulous…
“The fundamental issue appears that the Defense Department believes it is not only legal but accepted practice to operate using slush funds that deceive the Congress,” Nelson wrote. “Indications from the IG report are that the practice is widespread, condoned and even encouraged up and down the levels of management within the DOD.”
The Pentagon’s Special Operations Command, or SOCom, is run from Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base, and is in charge of all the really good spy stuff, according to its web site. The site also offers products, from calendars to SOCom watches, for sale. Doesn’t say where the proceeds go, but that’s along the lines of what Bill Nelson wants to know.
As usual, they’re trying to blame all wrongdoing on the flunkies:
Rumors: Brownie Was Enquirer Source – and President Cokehead?
Here’s a fun one – rumors are aswirl that Michael Brown was the source of the National Enquirer story that President Bush has started drinking again. He certainly has the motive but now we know he’s still on the payroll so it seems unlikely.
– Digby
Also, I missed it last week but apparently President Bush turned up with another scrape on his face. As Digby said, “Falling on your face all the time is simply not normal. ”
At the end of Digby’s post, this caught my eye:
On the other hand, he’s flexing his jaw like crazy in a strange repetitive way. Too much coffee this morning, perhaps.
Coincidentally, we recently heard rumblings from inside D.C. journalism circles that President Bush is doing cocaine again.
Certainly begs the question: If the President wanted to score some blow, where would he get it? Does he call somebody discreet but connected? Or does he just have an eightball sent over from the DEA evidence lockers?
We did some digging around, and found this examination of the theory at Sadly, No!