Sen. Kit Bond’s office implicated in Missouri U.S. Attorney removal.
Sen. Kit Bond’s office implicated in Missouri U.S. Attorney removal.
Yesterday’s DOJ/OPR report on the U.S. Attorney firings implicated Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) in the firing of U.S. Attorney Todd Graves. “Graves faced opposition from the staff of his home-state senator, Kit Bond, which we concluded likely led to his removal,” the report said. Today, CREW filed an ethics complaint against Bond, citing the following:
Sen. Bond’s office became dissatisfied with Mr. Graves after he refused to intervene in a dispute between Sen. Bond’s office and that of Mr. Graves’s brother, Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO). Mr. Graves told investigators that a member of Sen. Bond’s staff had called him to insist that he use his influence to force Rep. Graves to fire his chief of staff. When Mr. Graves refused, the Bond staffer told him “they could no longer protect his job.”
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Rep. Steve King: McCain Was Right When He Said The Fundamentals Of The Economy Are Strong
Rep. Steve King: McCain Was Right When He Said The Fundamentals Of The Economy Are Strong
Earlier this month, on the same day that two of Wall Street’s major banking institutions collapsed, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told a Florida crowd that he “still” believes “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.” Since then, Congress has worked with the White House to put together bailout legislation for the financial system, but it failed to pass the House yesterday.
Speaking to Rep. Steve King (R-IA) today about his vote against the bailout legislation, right-wing radio host Mike Gallagher argued that the financial situation isn’t “as bad” as people say because “we live in an era of exaggeration.” When Gallagher asked King if he agreed, King said that he did because he thinks “the fundamentals of the economy are sound” like McCain said:
GALLAGHER: But I would maintain that none of this is as bad as the pundits and some of the prognosticators have said it is. Would you agree with that?
KING: Well, I would agree from an economic standpoint. When John McCain said the fundamentals of our economy are sound, really, our unemployment is fairly low.
GALLAGHER: Right.
KING: And that’s one of the indicators. We are, our trade deficit has diminished some, it’s way too much yet it’s diminished some. People out there have jobs, they’re working, the economy’s flowing.
Listen here:
In fact, the fundamentals of the economy, as defined by economic experts, are not strong. Though King claims that “unemployment is fairly low,” the reality is that the unemployment rate is at a five-year high. King also says “people out there have jobs,” but this ignores the fact that the U.S. lost a total of 605,000 jobs in the first eight months of 2008.
As Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Christian Weller notes, America’s “employment growth has been the weakest since the Great Depression.”
Transcript: More »
Palin on which newspapers she reads: ‘Um, all of them.’
Palin on which newspapers she reads: ‘Um, all of them.’
Tonight on the CBS Evening News, host Katie Couric asked Sarah Palin which sources she relies on for her news consumption. Three separate times, Couric tried to elicit a response from Palin about which specific newspapers she reads. Seemingly caught off guard, Palin could not name a single news source:
COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay informed and to understand the world?
PALIN: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media —
COURIC: But what ones specifically? I’m curious.
PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.
COURIC: Can you name any of them?
PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news.
Watch it:
Conservatives try to dodge responsibility for financial crisis by blaming poor people, minorities.
Conservatives try to dodge responsibility for financial crisis by blaming poor people, minorities.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, conservative commentators have blamed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), low-income people, minorities, and past Democratic administrations for the sub-prime mortgage meltdown:
- Laura Ingraham: “When Bill Clinton decided to tell Robert Rubin to re-write the rules the Community Reinvestment Act and push all of these institutions to lend to minority communities.”
- Neil Cavuto: “I don’t remember a blaring call that said, Frannie and Freddie are a disaster, loaning to minorities and risky folks is a disaster.”
- Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR): “It was their harsh regulation under the Community Reinvestment Act that started this ball rolling down the hill.”
Watch a video compilation:
While most economists blame the current crisis on market failure and sparse regulation, conservatives are attempting to elude responsibility by smearing the victims of predatory lending. The Wonk Room has more here.
Former ambassador to Pakistan responds to McCain: Pakistan was not a ‘failed state’ in 1999.
Former ambassador to Pakistan responds to McCain: Pakistan was not a ‘failed state’ in 1999.
During Friday’s presidential debate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) claimed:
I don’t think that Senator Obama understands that there was a failed state in Pakistan when Musharraf came to power. Everybody who was around then, and had been there, and knew about it knew that it was a failed state.
Matt Yglesias contacted William Milan, U.S. ambassador to Pakistan at the time of the 1999 coup, who flatly said that McCain was wrong:
There are a number of interesting books, including a forthcoming one by me, that cover the 1999 coup by the Musharraf-led army. You might want to look at those already published by Steve Cohen, Hasan Abbas, Hussain Haqqani (long before he became the present Pakistani Ambassador), and especially Ian Talbot’s updated history of Pakistan.
I think that all of them would agree that, while there were a lot of things wrong in Pakistan during the years leading up to the 1999 military takeover, Pakistan was not a failed state as we normally define such states. I am on record as stating publicly that, having come to Pakistan from Liberia a year before the takeover, I had a pretty good idea of what failed states look like, and it was not one.
Palin On Rape Kit Accusations: ‘The Entire Notion Of Making A Victim Of A Crime Pay For Anything Is Crazy’
Palin On Rape Kit Accusations: ‘The Entire Notion Of Making A Victim Of A Crime Pay For Anything Is Crazy’
The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman — the hometown newspaper of Sarah Palin — reports that the Governor has replied to a list of 14 submitted questions. Among the queries was a question about the fact that, while she was mayor of Wasilla, her administration’s policy was to “bill victims” for their rape kits:
Q: During your tenure as mayor in 2000, then police chief Charlie Fannon commented in a May 23, 2000 Frontiersman article about legislation Gov. Tony Knowles signed protecting victims of sexual assault from being billed for rape kits collected by police as part of their investigations. Fannon revealed then that Knowles’ decision would cost Wasilla $5,000 to $14,000 a year, insinuating that the department’s policy was to bill victims for this testing. During your tenure as Mayor, what was the police department and city’s standard operating procedure in recovering costs of rape kits? Were any sexual assault victims ever charged for this testing while you were mayor?
A: The entire notion of making a victim of a crime pay for anything is crazy. I do not believe, nor have I ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test. As governor, I worked in a variety of ways to tackle the problem of sexual assault and rape, including making domestic violence a priority of my administration.
It is indeed “crazy,” yet charging sexual assault victims for their rape kits (which cost $300 to $1,200 at the time) is exactly what happened while she was mayor of Wasilla. In a budget-cutting move, Palin’s administration began charging rape victims for exams and the kits containing the medical supplies. (Her signature is on the budget.) USA Today reported:
It is not known how many rape victims in Wasilla were required to pay for some or all of the medical exams, but a legislative staffer who worked on the bill for [state legislator Eric] Croft said it happened. “It was more than a couple of cases, and it was standard practice in Wasilla,” Peggy Wilcox said, who now works for the Alaska Public Employees Association. “If you were raped in Wasilla, this was going to happen to you.”
The practice of charging rape victims got the attention of state lawmakers in 2000, who passed a bill to stop the practice.
In her short tenure as Governor, Palin has come under criticism for presiding over a state where rape is “epidemic.” A March study by a state task force found that level of funding only covered the cost of helping women and children hurt by the epidemic of sexual violence. It was not enough to try to prevent assaults from happening or to ensure “accountability of offenders.”
Peggy Brown, executive director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, said of Palin: “She’s really done a lot of work on oil and gas, but when it comes to violence against women and children…we haven’t been on her radar as a priority.” (HT: E&P)
Rep. McCotter: ‘Terrible mistake’ to blame Pelosi’s speech for GOP opposition to bailout.
Rep. McCotter: ‘Terrible mistake’ to blame Pelosi’s speech for GOP opposition to bailout.
As ThinkProgress noted today, several House conservatives have retracted their talking point attributing their opposition to the bailout on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) “partisan” speech yesterday. Interviewed on the Dennis Miller radio show today, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) admitted that it was a “terrible mistake” to blame Pelosi’s speech:
McCOTTER: I think it was a mistake for House leadership to say that Pelosi’s speech mattered to anybody on our side.
MILLER: Yeah, me too, me too.McCOTTER: Because we yell at each other like this all the time. And so, what they’ve actually done is a victory for the American people, a victory for the institution of Congress, and a victory for Republicans and Democrats who voted against it. It’s being counter-messaged by their own leadership, who didn’t get it through. That is a terrible mistake and it’s hopefully not going to impact our ability to get this done more quickly than we, as quickly as we need to.
Listen here:
Bloomberg plans to seek re-election by rewriting term limit law.
Bloomberg plans to seek re-election by rewriting term limit law.
On Thursday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg reportedly plans to announce that he will be seeking a third term, arguing that “the financial crisis unfolding in New York City demands his steady hand and proven business acumen.” The New York Times reports:
The move represents an about-face for Mr. Bloomberg, who has repeatedly said he supports term limits and once called an effort to revise the law “disgusting.” He will apparently try to do so through legislation in the City Council, rather than the ballot box.
Mr. Bloomberg’s gambit carries significant political risk. The city’s term limits law was passed twice by voters, in 1993 and 1996, and several polls show widespread popular support for keeping it in place. Under the plan Mr. Bloomberg has outlined to associates, those voters will have no say in the matter, raising the possibility of a backlash.
After 9/11, Rudy Giuliani also considered running for a third term, citing national security concerns. The Albany Project has more.
White House: It’s not a ‘bailout,’ it’s a ‘rescue.’
White House: It’s not a ‘bailout,’ it’s a ‘rescue.’
Countdown to Crawford notes that White House spokesman Tony Fratto took issue today with journalists using the term “bailout” to describe the $700 billion package. “It’s really unfortunate shorthand for a very complicated issue,” he said. The White House prefers the word “rescue.” For insight into why the White House is playing semantic word games, consider what Fred Barnes said last week on Fox News:
We would be in a better situation, or at least the Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson would if this were known as a “rescue” rather than a “bailout.” “Bailout” sounds terrible. Who is for a bailout? A lot of people are for a rescue.
UPDATE: This morning, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) made a similar a comment:
Well I think what happened is we didn’t convince enough Republicans and Democrats…that this was a rescue package and not a bailout.
Watch it:
UPDATE II: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) today: “When you call it a bailout, nobody’s in favor of a bailout.”
McCain: ‘You Don’t Announce That You’re Going To Attack Another Country’
McCain: ‘You Don’t Announce That You’re Going To Attack Another Country’
Last night, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) sat for an interview with CBS’s Katie Couric. Couric asked Palin about a comment she made last week in Philadelphia in response to voter’s question about combating terrorism inside Pakistan.
Appearing to endorse Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) position on the matter, Palin had said, “the United States should ‘absolutely’ launch cross-border attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan in the event that it becomes necessary to ’stop the terrorists from coming any further in.’” McCain said in reference to Obama’s position during last week’s debate that “you don’t say that out loud.”
Last night, Palin defended her remarks. McCain dismissed the Palin matter as “gotcha journalism,” before concluding, “Governor Palin and I both agree, you don’t announce that you’re going to attack another country.” Watch it:
In the days and weeks following the 9/11 attacks, McCain said multiple times to national audiences that he believed the U.S. would soon attack Iraq and several other countries:
PAULA ZAHN: And as you know, Senator, the U.S. and Great Britain notified the U.N. Security Council yesterday that they reserve the right to strike against other countries in this campaign. What countries are we looking at?
MCCAIN: Well, I think very obviously Iraq is the first country, but there are others — Syria, Iran, the Sudan, who have continued to harbor terrorist organizations and actually assist them.
October 2001, on the Late Show with David Letterman:
LETTERMAN: How are things going in Afghanistan now?
MCCAIN: I think we’re doing fine …. I think we’ll do fine. The second phase — if I could just make one, very quickly — the second phase is Iraq.
January 2002, on the deck of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt:
MCCAIN: Next up, Baghdad!
More recently, in response to a hypothetical question about authorizing a military strike on Iran during a Republican primary debate, McCain said, “I believe that this is a possibility that is maybe closer to reality than we are discussing tonight.”
Transcript: More »
Glenn Beck, Jonah Goldberg fantasize about violently cutting open Harry Reid’s stomach.
Glenn Beck, Jonah Goldberg fantasize about violently cutting open Harry Reid’s stomach.
Today on Glenn Beck’s radio show, right-wing columnist Jonah Goldberg and Beck railed against the bailout proposal and blamed congressional Democrats for creating the entire financial crisis. They gleefully joked about jailing Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), putting him in stockades, and ripping apart Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV):
BECK: I can’t look at Barney Frank any more. I can’t take it.
GOLDBERG: I almost think he should be in jail! I almost think the guy should be in jail!
BECK: Oh I do too! I absolutely do. I think — honestly, I think we should have at least, bare minimum, we should have stockades in front of the Capitol building. Some of these people are out and out criminals on what they have done. [...]
GOLDBERG: It is an incredibly poisonous situation. You know in the middle ages, Harry Reid would have his stomach cut open and a half-starved weasel thrown in, for the kinds of things he’s doing. It’s outrageous!
Listen here:
Did Gingrich Give Marching Orders To House GOP To Vote Against Bailout?
Did Gingrich Give Marching Orders To House GOP To Vote Against Bailout?
Now that House Republicans are insisting their vote against the bailout yesterday had nothing to do with Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s supposedly “partisan” speech, some are wondering what in fact turned at least 10 Republican votes Blunt thought he had against the bill.
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported this morning that conservatives may have been taking their marching orders from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who “was whipping against this up until the last minute” — despite issuing a statement supporting the bill as the vote was taking place:
MITCHELL: I’m told reliably by leading Republicans who are close to him, he was whipping against this up until the last minute when he issued that face-saving statement. Newt Gingrich was telling people in the strongest possible language that this was a terrible deal, not only that it was a terrible deal, that it was a disaster, it was the end of democracy as we know it, it was socialism. And then at the last minute comes out with a statement when the vote is already in place.
Watch it:
Reacting to the news, NBC’s Mike Barnicle said he had been told by congressional conservatives that the move was “the opening salvo of Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign four years hence.” Speaking at the National Press Club today, Gingrich denied Mitchell’s claim, saying MSNBC is wrong and probably “wrong deliberately” because its a “stunningly dishonest network.” “I was actually reluctantly trying to help it get through,” he said.
Even throughout yesterday, Gingrich’s position was nearly impossible to pin down. On Glenn Beck’s radio show, he admitted, “I’m not sure if I were in the Congress I could vote against it” while also declaring that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson “should be fired” and that the bailout plan “is still a bad bill.” On Fox News last night, he seemed to praise the House’s rejection of the bill: “The vote today indicated that even when they’d worked for five days to try to improve what was really a pretty terrible original plan that [Paulson] sent up, it still couldn’t get a majority in the House.”
Apparently, Gingrich was against the bailout before he was for it — before he was against it again.
GOP backs off claim that Pelosi’s ‘partisan’ speech made them vote against the bailout.
GOP backs off claim that Pelosi’s ‘partisan’ speech made them vote against the bailout.
Yesterday, after the proposed bipartisan bailout package failed to pass, the House Republican leadership declared in a press conference that a “partisan” speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was to blame for GOP opposition to the bill. But after being ridiculed by Democrats, media observers, and even some conservatives, Republicans are now walking back that claim:
– Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN): “We are not babies who suck their thumbs.”
– Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO): “I think you don’t want to give too much blame to that speech.”
– Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ): “It was embarrassing for leadership on both parties to lose the bill, so they went out and made a stupid claim.”
– Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “That speech was not the reason I voted against the bill.” [MSNBC, 9/30/08]
Watch a compilation:
Peter Wehner, a former adviser to President Bush, wrote at the Corner this morning that the effort to “blame the outcome on the Pelosi speech was an embarrassment.”
Palin gives only ’silence’ when asked to name a SCOTUS decision besides Roe v. Wade.
Palin gives only ’silence’ when asked to name a SCOTUS decision besides Roe v. Wade.
An aide to Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) told Politico’s Jonathan Martin that a yet-to-be-released portion of Katie Couric’s interview with Palin contains yet another embarrassing gaffe, this time about the Supreme Court:
The Palin aide, after first noting how “infuriating” it was for CBS to purportedly leak word about the gaffe, revealed that it came in response to a question about Supreme Court decisions. After noting Roe vs. Wade, Palin was apparently unable to discuss any major court cases. There was no verbal fumbling with this particular question as there was with some others, the aide said, but rather silence.
Palin also offered little more than silence when asked to name specific examples of times Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) pushed for more Wall Street regulation.
House members who voted ‘yes’ on bailout received 54 percent more from banks/securities firms.
House members who voted ‘yes’ on bailout received 54 percent more from banks/securities firms.
According to research produced by MAPLight.org, House members who voted yes on the proposed bailout package received 54 percent more money from banks and securities than members who voted no:
[O]ver the past five years, banks and securities firms gave an average of $231,877 in campaign contributions to each Representative voting in favor of the bailout, compared with an average of $150,982 to each Representative voting against the bailout – 54 percent more money given to those who voted Yes.
Democrats who voted yes received “an average of $212,700 each, about twice as much as those voting No, $107,993.” Republicans who voted yes “received an average of $273,181 each, 50% more than those voting No, $181,688.”
Media: Bush Is The ‘Picture Of A Beaten Dog’
Media: Bush Is The ‘Picture Of A Beaten Dog’
In the wake of yesterday’s congressional meltdown over the bailout bill, President Bush gave a speech this morning, meant to reassure the public and the volatile financial markets. Just four minutes long, the address expressed disappointment in Congress and warned that “the consequences will grow worse each day if we do not act.”
Bush’s speech is unlikely to have much of an effect. Immediately following the address, MSNBC turned to New York Magazine’s John Heilemann, who commented:
I don’t think that comforts anybody. I don’t think that moves a single vote. With due respect and sympathy for the man, that was the picture of a beaten dog. That was the picture of presidential impotence right there. He looked terrible like his bell had been rung. He looked drawn to me.
The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan added, “It strikes me lately, when the President talks about the economic crisis, that he seems like a commentator upon the crisis as opposed to the leader in the crisis. There is the sense that he is watching it saying we need to do something, as opposed to we will do something.” Watch Bush’s speech, followed by MSNBC’s commentary:
As the Washington Post writes today, yesterday’s failed bailout vote “marked the biggest legislative defeat of Bush’s tenure and underscored the vanishing influence of a president who could once bend a pliant Congress to his will on wars, taxes, surveillance and a host of other high-profile initiatives.”
Coinciding with these developments, Gallup has released a new poll today showing that Bush’s approval rating has dropped to the lowest point in his tenure:
ThinkFast: September 30, 2008
ThinkFast: September 30, 2008
Nearly 90 percent of Americans are concerned that the failure of the Wall Street bailout package “could lead to a more severe economic decline,” according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. In all, 45 percent supported the failed bill and 47 percent opposed it. 61 percent said that “there was insufficient assistance for the general public.”
“Sometime between Election Day and early December,” NBC News will make a final decision about who will permanently replace Tim Russert as the host of “Meet The Press,” the New York Times reports. Though the decision has yet to be finalized, the network is said to be “leaning toward an ensemble of hosts that would be led by Chuck Todd, NBC’s political director, and include David Gregory.”
Corinne Weber, a GOP county chairwoman in upstate New York, has resigned over a chain e-mail that she forwarded “to more than two dozen Republicans on Friday night that makes a veiled reference to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and suggests he is the Antichrist.” One county official pressing for Weber’s resignation said that the e-mail “didn’t reflect the views of the Republican Party.”
According to data from across 11 networks, the first presidential debate on Sept. 26 drew 52.4 million viewers, roughly 16 percent less than the 62.5 million viewers who watched the first debate between President Bush and John Kerry during the 2004 election.
On the trail today: Barack Obama will be in Reno, NV where he will discuss the current economic crisis. John McCain has scheduled a small-business round-table in Des Moines, IA. More »
On Day Of U.S. Attorney Scandal Report, Senate Lauds Domenici’s ‘Honesty’ And ‘Bipartisanship’
On Day Of U.S. Attorney Scandal Report, Senate Lauds Domenici’s ‘Honesty’ And ‘Bipartisanship’
Today, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) gave his farewell address to the Senate, mostly talking about his loyal staff, his work on nuclear issues and mental illnesses, and memories of times with fellow lawmakers. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) singled out Domenici’s “honesty,” stating, “In six terms, Pete has built a reputation for honesty that is second to none.” Domenici himself said that he learned that “the best way to solve a big problem is to do it bipartisan.” Watch it:
Domenici’s departure coincides with the release of a report on the U.S. attorney scandal by the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Justice Department Inspector General. Domenici is mentioned 201 times throughout the 392-page report for his involvement in the firing of former U.S. attorney David Iglesias.
The report concludes that Iglesias’s removal was purely political. Last year, Iglesias revealed that both Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) separately called him in October 2006 and inappropriately pressured him to bring an indictment in a pending corruption case before the November election. When Iglesias failed to cooperate, Domenici complained to Bush administration officials.
According to the report, Domenici has failed to cooperate with investigators:
In addition, Senator Domenici and his Chief of Staff, Steve Bell, also declined to be interviewed by us. Domenici initially told us through his counsel that he would be “pleased to assist” our investigation once a pending Senate Ethics Committee investigation of his phone call to Iglesias was completed.
We renewed our requests for interviews after the Senate ethics inquiry was concluded. … Domenici also declined to be interviewed, but said he would provide written answers to questions through his attorney. We declined this offer because we did not believe it would be a reliable or appropriate investigative method under these circumstances. In contrast, Representative Wilson cooperated with our investigation and was interviewed by us three separate times.
Former deputy attorney general Paul McNulty testified in June 2007 that Domenici’s complaint about Iglesias was “a significant factor” in why the U.S. attorney was fired.
Iraqi gay leader gunned down.
Iraqi gay leader gunned down.
LGBT publication EDGE writes that in Iraq, “for gays and lesbians at least, times have never been worse.” Peter Tatchell of Outrage! reported on the most recent atrocity on Sept. 25, when an LGBT leader was gunned down:
This morning, I received news from Iraq that the coordinator of Iraqi LGBT in Baghdad, Bashar, aged 27, a university student, has been assassinated in a barber shop.
Militias burst in and sprayed his body with bullets at point blank range.
He was the organiser of the safe houses for gays and lesbians in Baghdad. His efforts saved the lives of dozens of people.
“Homosexuality was generally tolerated under Saddam,” Hali, founder of Iraqi LGBT, said in 2007. “There certainly was no danger of gay people being assassinated in the street by police. … Life in Iraq now is hell for all LGBT people; no one can be openly gay and alive.”
White House Press Corps Fails To Ask A Single Question On U.S. Attorney Investigation
White House Press Corps Fails To Ask A Single Question On U.S. Attorney Investigation
Today, the Office of Public Responsibility and the Department of Justice Inspector General released the culmination of an 18-month investigation: a report finding that the firing process of the nine U.S. Attorneys was “fundamentally flawed” and in some cases, governed by politics. The investigation also found that former attorney general Alberto Gonzales, Justice Department aide Kyle Sampson, and other Justice officials made “inconsistent, misleading, and inaccurate” statements about their reasons for firing the attorneys.
The investigators also noted that its report was in many ways incomplete, due to the White House’s stonewalling:
[T]here are gaps in our investigation because of the refusal of certain key witnesses to be interviewed by us, including former White House officials Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, and William Kelley, former Department of Justice White House Liaison Monica Goodling, Senator Pete Domenici, and his Chief of Staff. In addition, the White House would not provide us internal documents related to the removals of the U.S. Attorneys.
Today, Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed a special prosecutor to continue the investigation into Gonzales and other officials “to determine whether any prosecutable offense” was committed in the attorney firings. Despite this action, the White House press corps made no mention of the investigation during the 40-minute briefing with spokesman Tony Fratto.
Reacting to the report today, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said the abuses documented in the report “are corrosive to the very foundations of our system of justice.” He also warned President Bush that “any misuse of the pardon power” to the benefit of administration officials involved will be seen “as an admission of wrongdoing and misuse of power.” Watch it:
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