Her testimony is Rove’s last ditch effort to avoid an indictment, according to the Washington Post. Also, a friend of Rove’s lawyer, Robert Luskin.

He is an honorable man of high integrity.” — Tom DeLay, June 2005 (Via Crooks & Liars)

Today, Duke Cunningham pled guilty to receiving over $2 million in bribes from Mitchell Wade and his company, MZM Inc., in exchange for legislative favors. It’s worth noting that MZM also did some unusual business with the White House:

[O]ver the past three years it [MZM Inc.] was also awarded several contracts, worth more than $600,000, by the Executive Office of the President. They include a $140,000 deal for office furniture in 2002 and several for unspecified “intelligence services.”

Why did the White House hire MZM, a “defense and intelligence firm,” to buy office furniture for the White House?

Beginning today, in a series of speeches along the Mexican border, Bush will call for “a series of border-security measures that will make his guest-worker plan look like an afterthought in his immigration policy.” The right-wing has demanded more concessions from a politically weak President and Bush has complied with a dramatic change in rhetoric on the issue since his first year in office.

Here he is during a 2001 appearance with Vincente Fox of Mexico. Then, undocumented immigrants were “hard-working citizens” looking for a job:

We share values with Mexico. They’re common values — values that unite people, whether they live in the United States or whether they live in Mexico. And what are those values? “¦ The willingness to work hard. America is known for our ability to work hard. Think about the Mexican worker who walks 500 miles across a desert to find work. Those are hard-working citizens. We share that very important value of people willing to roll up their sleeves and work hard. [White House, 9/6/01]

Now undocumented immigrants are “terrorists, drug dealers, and criminals“:

To defend this country, we have to enforce our borders. When our borders are not secure, terrorists, drug dealers, and criminals find it easier to sneak into America. My administration has a clear strategy for dealing with this problem: We want to stop people from crossing into America illegally, and to quickly return the illegal immigrants we catch back to their home countries. [White House, 10/22/05]

Expect more of the later this afternoon at 4.

issued by the Department of Defense, jumps to 2245. That’s an increase of 135 over a few days ago. UPDATE: The document has been changed and now the count is back to 2106. (Via Left Coaster)

after he admitted taking $2.4 million in bribes.

“‘Between the year 2000 and June of 2005 in our district, you conspired to accept bribes in exchange for performance of official duties. Did you do that?’ Judge Burns asked Cunningham. ‘Yes, your honor,’ Cunningham replied.” (Via TPM)

“Earlier this month, attorneys say Fitzgerald received additional testimony from Ralston — who said that Rove instructed her not to log a phone call Rove had with Cooper about Plame in July 2003.” If this checks out, Rove is sunk.

to tax violations, a source close the investigation of the California Republican has told The Associated Press.

Where did White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan go? The last time McClellan gave an on-the-record press briefing from the White House press podium was 19 days ago.

On November 14, PR Week reported that McClellan was on his way out:

A White House correspondent, who asked not to be identified, predicts McClellan, who replaced Ari Fleischer as press secretary in summer 2003, will soon be leaving his post. “I’m expecting very big changes,” the correspondent says.

On November 18, McClellan issued a written statement attacking Rep. John Murtha’s call for a drawdown in Iraq. McClellan said Murtha was “surrender[ing] to the terrorists.” Both Bush and Cheney had to later publicly step back from McClellan’s attacks.

We called the White House to ask whether there would be a press briefing today, and the press assistant checked the schedule and informed us there was not one scheduled. When asked whether there would be a press briefing any time this week, the press office informed us that there was nothing scheduled because the President would be traveling.

Given his long absence, we’re left wondering if Scotty is still on the job.