In an op-ed today, former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) declared his opposition to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (after voting for it in 1993) and wrote this:

In World War II, a British mathematician named Alan Turing led the effort to crack the Nazis’ communication code. He mastered the complex German enciphering machine, helping to save the world, and his work laid the basis for modern computer science. Does it matter that Turing was gay? This week, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said that homosexuality is “immoral” and that the ban on open service should therefore not be changed. Would Pace call Turing “immoral”?

Towleroad points out: “Incidentally, plenty of people did call Turing ‘immoral’ at the time, and he killed himself with a cyanide apple a year after being convicted of ‘gross indecency’ after it was discovered he was in a homosexual relationship. Following that conviction he was ordered to undergo hormone therapy or go to prison.”

“The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote Thursday on whether to authorize subpoenas to 14 current and former administration officials,” including Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, former Gonzales aide Kyle Sampson. “Since Rove, Miers and Kelley were just added to the schedule for Thursday’s committee meeting, panel rules allow any member to postpone consideration of the subpoenas for one week.” Will any senator give cover to Rove and Miers?

From Dan Froomkin:

One curious aspect of yesterday’s document dump is that it shows e-mails from J. Scott Jennings, who is Karl Rove’s deputy at the White House, coming from an e-mail address at gwb43.com — a domain owned by the Republican National Committee.

It makes some sense that White House officials might have and use such accounts when they conduct party business, rather than White House business. But the distinction between party and government business seems to have been forgotten here — which I guess is exactly the point.

Eggen and Kane write in The Post: “Democratic congressional aides said they will investigate whether using the private address for government business violated laws against using taxpayer resources for political work or signaled that White House officials considered the firing of U.S. attorneys to be primarily a political issue. Jennings did not return a call to his office seeking a comment.

“‘As a matter of course, the RNC provides server space and equipment to certain White House personnel in order to assist them with their political efforts,’ RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said.”

(HT: First Draft)

ColorOfChange’s James Rucker: “A few hours ago I spoke with a reporter who talked with [Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI)] herself — a CBC member who is on the CBC Institute board. According to him, she said that a debate is still in the works with Fox; it just hasn’t been announced. This is not a time to slow down or to think that the CBC Institute has been moved an inch.” Take action HERE.

“The U.S. military for the first time Wednesday said in a new report that some of the violence in Iraq can be described as a civil war. In its bleakest assessment of the war to date, a quarterly Pentagon report said that last October through December was the most violent three-month period since 2003. … ‘Some elements of the situation in Iraq are properly descriptive of a ‘civil war,’ including the hardening of ethno-sectarian identities and mobilization, the changing character of the violence and population displacements,’” the report says.

Today on CNN’s Situation Room, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) blew off White House signals that Karl Rove and other senior Bush officials may resist testifying before Congress on the U.S. Attorney purge.

“Frankly, I don’t care whether [White House Counsel Fred Fielding] says he’s going to allow people or not. We’ll subpoena the people we want,” Leahy said. “If they want to defy the subpoena, then you get into a stonewall situation I suspect they don’t want to have.” Asked whether he’ll subpoena Rove, Leahy answered, “Yes. He can appear voluntarily if he wants. If he doesn’t, I will subpoena him.”

Leahy also addressed the right-wing talking point that the U.S. Attorney firings are meaningless because there “was no crime.” Leahy said that while President Bush has the authority to fire attorneys at will, “if it is done to stop an ongoing investigation, then you do get into the criminal area.” Regardless, he said, the administration’s politicization of attorneys “hurts law enforcement. That hurts fighting against crime.” Asked if he thinks any Bush officials may have committed perjury, Leahy said, “We’ll find that out.”

Watch it:

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Transcript: Read more

Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) has become the first Republican member of Congress to call for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.

UPDATE: AP:

“I think the president should replace him,” Sununu said in an interview with The Associated Press. …

“We need to have a strong, credible attorney general that has the confidence of Congress and the American people,” said Sununu, who faces a tough re-election campaign next year. “Alberto Gonzales can’t fill that role.”

“I think the attorney general should be fired,” Sununu said.

Today Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) circulated a letter in support of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace: “The question is whether personal moral beliefs should disqualify an individual from positions of leadership in the U.S. military? We think not. General Pace’s recent remarks do not deserve the criticism they have received. In fact, we applaud General Pace for maintaining a personal commitment to moral principles.”

Bernard Kerik, former police commissioner and confidante of Rudy Giuliani, “appears headed for an indictment… Kerik has turned down a guilty plea that would have included federal jail time, Dienst says. The next step is up to federal prosecutors; Kerik has already pleaded guilty to state charges.” Kerik is facing allegations of “mortgage fraud, tax fraud, conspiracy to eavesdrop, and making false statements on his application to become U.S. Homeland Security Secretary.”