Last week, ThinkProgress noted that an anonymous senator had placed a hold on a bill that would restore public access to Presidential records, which President Bush had sealed indefinitely with an executive order in 2001.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) was originally suspected of being the senator behind the secret hold until a member of his staff contacted ThinkProgress to “state for the record that” Sen. Coburn “is not holding this bill related to presidential records“:

The office of Sen. Tom Coburn would like to state for the record that he is not holding this bill related to presidential records. It is true that he placed a hold on the bill following its passage through the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in June, but has since worked out his minor concern with the office of Sen. Joseph Lieberman at which time he lifted his hold.

With Coburn out of the running, the mystery of who was attempting to block public access to Presidential records continued. But now, the Sunlight Foundation has revealed that the senatorial hand behind the secret hold is Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY):

Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) now has an objection to moving forward with HR 1255, the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007. The bill would overturn an outrageous Executive Order that would keep presidential records hidden from public view indefinitely. [...]

Now, whether or not he has had the hold all along, Senator Bunning has been forced to take responsibility for the objection. That makes us happy.

Tell Bunning to let the bill come to a vote here or call his office at 202-224-4343.

Prosecutors have subpoenaed Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) and five of his staffers, seeking “virtually every record including legislative records” for the past 11 years, according to Doolittle’s attorney David Barger. Prosecutors are probing connections between Doolittle and disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is currently serving time in jail. Josh Marshall has more on Doolittle’s legal problems here.

Yesterday, right wing radio host Rush Limbaugh callously referred to American service members who favor withdrawing from Iraq as “phony soldiers.” Also yesterday, 341 members of the House voted to condemn MoveOn.org and any effort to attack the honor and integrity of all members of the United States Armed Forces. On the floor of the House today, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) asked whether those who condemned MoveOn would now “hold Rush Limbaugh to the same standard“:

Soldiers may question the war, but it does not mean that they’re any less committed to their mission, and now I wonder if Republicans who showed so much outrage towards MoveOn.org yesterday will hold Rush Limbaugh to the same standard — and I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Watch it:

UPDATE: Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), an Iraq war veteran, released a statement slamming Limbaugh too:

Someone should tell chicken-hawk Rush Limbaugh that the only phonies are those who choose not to serve and then criticize those who do. I served proudly, so did two of my fellow paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne who spoke out and died just weeks ago. Generations of American veterans have worn the uniform with pride and we know it is no contradiction to serve your country and still disagree with the Bush-civilian leadership that mismanaged this war.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) forcefully responds here.

On September 20, 72 Senators voted for the highly politicized, “bait and switch” resolution that condemned a newspaper ad by MoveOn.org. The amendment, offered by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), expressly stated that the Senate would condemn “any effort to attack the honor and integrity” of “all members of the United States Armed Forces“:

(b) Sense of Senate.–It is the sense of the Senate–

(1) to reaffirm its support for all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, including General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq;

(2) to strongly condemn any effort to attack the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all the members of the United States Armed Forces; and

(3) to specifically repudiate the unwarranted personal attack on General Petraeus by the liberal activist group Moveon.org.

On his radio show yesterday, right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh attacked the “honor and integrity” of some members of the Armed Forces. Limbaugh attacked troops who hold a different viewpoint than his own as “phony soldiers.” Iraq war vet Jon Soltz writes that Limbaugh’s comments are directed at “the majority of troops on the ground in Iraq” because they “do not back the President’s failed policy.”

For all the Senators who rushed to make political hay over an empty resolution, the spotlight is on them. Will they now enforce their “sense of the Senate” and condemn Rush Limbaugh?

Yesterday, 341 members of the House voted to pass a companion resolution to that of Cornyn’s. They, too, face the same question.

UPDATE: Crooks and Liars and Dave Johnson have more.

UPDATE II: Greg Sargent notes that during the same radio show, Limbaugh also callously declared “Keep the troops safe. Or whatever.”

UPDATE III: Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) has issued the following statement: Read more

A recently-unearthed video from 1992 shows Vice President Dick Cheney predicting the mess that occupying Iraq would create:

If you get into the business of committing U.S. forces on the ground in Iraq, to occupy the place, my guess is I’d probably still have people there today instead of having been able to bring them home…The bottom line question for me was: How many additional American lives is Saddam Hussein worth? The answer: not very damn many.

Watch it:

In 1994, Dick Cheney said deposing Saddam Hussein would have created a “quagmire” that would not be worth the loss of American life. In 2000, when asked why the U.S. didn’t topple Hussein in the Gulf War, Cheney said, “I thought the decision was sound at the time, and I do today.”