at Hotline Blog. (Here’s a full run-down of the various initiatives being decided.)
VIDEO: Frist Leak Probe Backfires
This morning, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) wrote a letter to intelligence committee chairmen about the recent leak of information to the Washington Post about secret CIA detention centers in Europe.
In the letter, Frist and Hastert claimed the leaks “could have long-term and far-reaching damaging and dangerous consequences” for the security of the United States, and warned of a “dangerous trend” of leaking “that, if not addressed swiftly and firmly, likely will worsen.”
But today, in an off-camera meeting with reporters, Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) revealed that the leak likely came from a Senator or Senate staffer who attended a GOP-only meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney last week, where the detention centers were discussed.
CNN’s Ed Henry has the full report:
Fox News: “Why All The Fuss About Torturing People?”
Just now on Fox News:
Marc Jacobson, who served on the Defense Department Prisoner Policy Team from 2002-2003, explains what all the fuss is about:
[The problem is] the perception that we tossed off [the Geneva Convention] and said, “We’re going to have nothing to do with this; we’re going to create our own set of rules,” that not only created a perception to the world that we are not going to adhere to the rule of law, but from a functional standpoint, I think it may have put our own troops in danger. You have a situation now where other nations can say: “Because of the different nature of this war, we are not going to treat U.S. troops as prisoners of war. They are enemy combatants. I’m sorry — military necessity. We’re following the precedent you’re setting.”
Backfire:
Sen. Trent Lott says the leaks about CIA detention centers that Majority Leader Bill Frist wanted to investigate were probably leaked by Frist’s own Senate colleagues.
36%
Percentage of Americans who “believe that Bush has lived up to his campaign pledge to restore integrity to the White House.” Also, the percentage of people who approve of how Bush is doing his job, according to a poll released today by Pew.
Durbin: Don’t Be Surprised If “The Chalabi Motorcade Speeds Up When They Pass the Department of Justice”
Sen. Dick Durbin on the Senate floor this afternoon:
I don’t understand this. While the Department of Justice is actively investigating this man for wrongdoing that could have endangered American troops and American lives, the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury are hosting him like some sort of dignitary. So don’t be surprised if you watch the Chalabi motorcade speed up when they pass the Department of Justice. I guess they’re concerned whether an FBI agent will come out and pursue this so-called active investigation.
It is very difficult to track how this man, who gave us such misleading information before the invasion of Iraq, now under active investigation for endangering American troops is now under active investigation for endangering American troops is now the toast of the town at the Department of Treasury and the Department of State
More information on Mr. Chalabi here.
UPDATE: More from Rep. George Miller.
UPDATE 2: Arianna has the full text of Durbin’s remarks.
Another Titanic Mistake
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has given the defense contracting agency Titan more than a half million dollars in brand-new contracts for Hurricane Katrina. Here are the top five reasons this was a very bad idea:
TORTURE: Titan is under two different federal investigations for its role in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal. The Taguba report – the official government report into the prison abuse — found a Titan employee committed “indecent acts” and was involved in “cruelty and maltreatment” of Iraqi prisoners.
NEGLIGENCE: Titan bilked the U.S. government out of millions of dollars by sending hundreds of unqualified interpreters to Iraq. On top of that, Pentagon auditors recommended withholding $4.9 million from Titan’s Iraq translator contract due to questionable billing practices.
ESPIONAGE: Another Titan employee working at the prison in Guantanamo Bay was sentenced to 20 months in prison for espionage against the United States.
BRIBERY: In March 2003, Titan admitted guilt in an “international bribery scheme.” The company had to pay $28,500 to the SEC for trying to influence the presidential election of the West African nation of Benin.
CHEATING: A federal inspector general report last year found Titan overcharged American taxpayers for a troop counseling contract. The company gave nearly all of the work to a subcontractor, yet added its own fee to each of the invoices. The report charged: “We believe that Titan’s fee could represent largely unnecessary costs to the government.”
Barnes: CIA Leak “Pretty Minor Scandal,” “Merely a Perjury Charge,” Only “Elites” Care
Weekly Standard contributors Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes have been among the most passionate White House water carriers in recent weeks. Barnes gave an especially hacktacular performance this morning, saying of the leak scandal, “most people don’t care about it, nor should they.”
Most Americans don’t share Barnes’ perspective. A recent ABC News poll found that 70 percent of Americans considered the charges against Libby to be serious, 60 percent believe Karl Rove should resign, and a majority of Americans believe the Libby indictment “indicates broader problems with ethical wrongdoing in the Bush Administration.”
Transcript below: Read more
“The rest of the world simply can’t afford
an American government this bad for that long.” — The New York Times, on Bush’s remaining term in office (Via Wake Up Call)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
has filed a federal suit against Fox News, “claiming it harassed and discriminated against its female employees, creating a ‘hostile work environment because of their sex.’”
