Maryland TV station WUSA9 reports on “allegations from a former inspector at Walter Reed of widespread and dangerous problems in nearly all the buildings at the Army’s premier hospital. Burst steam pipes near electrical cables, rats, mold, and holes in floors and walls — all of that extends far beyond the well-publicized problems at the notorious Building 18.” A photo from Building 40:

“Multiple suicide bombings struck the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar province, and about 350 Iraqi civilians and six U.S. troops were treated for exposure to chlorine gas, the military said Saturday. At least two policemen also were killed in the attacks.”

Percentage of Americans — including 45 percent of Republicans — who “say the ouster of the federal prosecutors was driven by political concerns. … The NEWSWEEK poll results offer little good news for Gonzales, who faces pressure to resign from Democrats and a handful of Republicans. Fewer than one third (32 percent) of those surveyed want him to stay remain in his job.”

“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales apologized to the nation’s 93 U.S. attorneys in a conference call Friday as he tried to hold on to his job amid the scandal over the firings of eight federal prosecutors. … Across the country, morale within U.S. attorneys’ offices deteriorated, leaving many feeling misled by the Bush administration. ‘They feel a strong sense of betrayal,’ said a former Bush administration Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his friends in the administration.”

UPDATE: “Two New Mexico lawyers with strong ties to the state Republican Party met last summer with a top aide to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and complained about then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias,” the AP reports. One of the lawyers, Pat Rogers, “has represented the New Mexico GOP in legal matters for several years,” and “was among the names that Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., submitted to President Bush for consideration as Iglesias’ successor.”

gets to keep her front-row seat.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said that his chief of staff Kyle Sampson had resigned because Sampson had provided “incomplete information” to senior members of the Justice Department who had testified to Congress about the White House role in the U.S. Attorney purge:

Obviously I am concerned about the fact that information, incomplete information, was communicated or may have been communicated to the Congress. I believe very strongly in our obligation to ensure that when we provide information to the Congress, it is accurate and that it is complete and I am very dismayed that that may not have occurred here.

But last night, Sampson’s lawyer Bradford Berenson released a statement contradicting Gonzales. Berenson claims Sampson resigned because he failed to “organize a more effective political response,” not because he misled anyone:

Kyle did not resign because he had misled anyone at the Justice Department or withheld information concerning the replacement of the U.S. Attorneys. He resigned because, as Chief of Staff, he felt he had let the Attorney General down in failing to appreciate the need for and organize a more effective political response to the unfounded accusations of impropriety in the replacement process.

Now why would he do that? As CREW pointed out in its letter to Gonzales calling for a special prosecutor, Sampson’s misleading may have been a federal crime:

According to press reports, Sampson has acknowledged that he did not tell DOJ officials about the extent of his communications with the White House regarding the firings. Justice officials who testified before Congress, including the attorney general, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty and Principal Associate Attorney General William Moschella, all told Congress that the White House, though consulted, was not deeply involved in the firing decisions.

Federal law provides that if Sampson knew that he was causing DOJ officials to make inaccurate statements to Congress, he can be prosecuted for the federal crime of lying to Congress even though he did not personally make any statements to Congress. The Special Prosecutor should investigate not only Mr. Sampson’s conduct but whether anyone else was involved in formulating the incomplete and erroneous congressional testimony or whether the officials who testified were aware that they were providing imperfect information to Congress.

Huffington Post notes this exchange yesterday in Iowa:

Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

But can you contract HIV from tears?