Good morning

Good morning Christy!

g’mornin cristy…guess what?

http://corner.nationalreview.c…..JiZGVjZDk=mccain is toast

his media team resigns enmasse…some by email even

Good morning, Christy.
Great post, as always.

In 1973-4, there were at least some honorable Republics.
Now, there seem to be none.
Thus the HJC vote.
It’s going to be a hard row.

Bush Crime Family–the Sopranos writ large.

Great post this a.m., Christy!

Knowledge is power. Long past time the knowledge were open to the people.

Wigwam brought a WaPo piece on BushCo and War Crimes to the late stage of the previous thread. Ties right in.

Good morning Christy! Legal question for you: will principled members of the Justice Dept stay if the crooks direct them not to enforce the law? Isn’t this, by definition, a great excuse for a mass resignation? (Now, I realize that the President and his minions are so desperate to cover their #sses they may not care, but…)

Yes, they serve at the pleasure of the president, but they do not prosecute at the pleasure of the president….

they’re hired at the pleasure of the president, the president is not entitled to obstruct justice

let’s remind the ag and the president every time they claim sonmething as juevenile as “they work at the pleasure of the president”;

the president works at the pleasure the people

the people are the boss of him, he is not the boss of the people

and by proxy the president works at the pleasure of of congress and the senate, they are the boss of him not the other way around

the ag works at the pleasure of congress and the senate by that exact same token

congress has to start acting like the boss of the president, and they have to assert their bossy ness [errr]…bossosity [errr] boss hood [errr]

whatever, they need to exert that bossivousity

Jon Stewart is a very bright man – not to be trifled with or written off as being merely a comedian, as shown by the above clip, or in several instances on TDS, where he occasionally forgoes the funny, and tears somebody a new one.

I didn’t say that terribly well…not that it’s a “great excuse” to resign. It should be their duty and honor to do so, given the expectation they would break their oath to the law and the constitution. (more coffee needed…)

Are there any republicans with a working knowledge of our constitution.

I know there are only a few select democrats that understand this document.

FWIW, the message about triggering a Constitution Crisis is more spin. The crisis is now and the only remedy is impeachment. Our leaders must be held accountable for their actions.

If Cindy Sheehan starts to poll at 30% or above, do you think Nancy “impeachment is off the table” Pelosi will change her tune?

Politics always gets in the way of Justice.

Christy,

2 questions:

What does it take to name a special prosecutor and doesn’t DOJ get to name him, now that the law has lapsed?

If so, given the resignations, conflicts of interest and recusals, who would be left at DOJ to name him/her? Or is it the USA DC who does?

Which suggests a 3rd, Marcy’s belief that USA Taylor is a white hat. Your view and how would that help (which is question 2, restated, I guess)

And a 4th:
If AGAG has perjured himself, what about the lowersdown who testified? Any reason to hope for a chain reaction of perjury charges?

Nuf already. thanks again and again for educating and explaining so well. You should come out of this a prof of law at GWU. There are precedents for legal analysts to do so, and we respect precedents even if the presshit does not.

jayt @ 8

Jon Stewart is a very bright man – not to be trifled with or written off as being merely a comedian, as shown by the above clip, or in several instances on TDS, where he occasionally forgoes the funny, and tears somebody a new one.

I find him almost scary. How can anyone be that quick and say that much in so few words, or just a facial expression?

oddball @ 10

Are there any republicans with a working knowledge of our constitution.

Only in the sense that the 9/11 conspirators had a working knowledge of our air transport system.

Prairie: Did you get big storms in your Fargo area? From looking at the radar, I suspect you did & we are on the verge of that front now. It is non-stop rumbling here & the dogs have run for basement cover.

I would question why Congress is solely focusing their contempt citations on those who assert it, as opposed to those who are directing that the privilege be (improperly) invoked.

Why not haul Fred Fielding in for a chat?

I guess my conclusion is:

Don’t bitch about the politicization of the Justice Dept if you can’t get your political aspirations (i.e. the emergence of a stronger majority if we don’t rock the boat)out of the way.

Nancy, you are just as guilty as ABU, Bush and Voldemort (Cheney).

here’s a vital question leahey needs to ask abu torture the very next time he’s on the stand;

“when you say “we don’t torture”, are you using your new definition of what YOU consider is and isn’t torture?”

a follow up with;

do you think we might get some differant answers from you if we used these “non torture” techniques you advocate?”

be fun to watch his face

Christy,
It is way past time for Abu to go. Like you I am sick and tired of the spinless congress allowing the destruction of the Constution, The Justice Dept and Excutive branch of our country.If the Senate cannot ask for the appointment of a special procescutor to investigate what will it take. I cannot believe that the Republicans after Abu’s shamless performance continue to support him to the detrement of thier party. I have voted for many Republicans and am embarassed that I supported those people who now gleefully revel in destroying the principals of democracy.Boggles the mind doesn’t it.

FWIW, Olbermann did an excellent job of covering the discovery of this document and its significance on last night’s Count Down.

darclay @ 19

Christy,
It is way past time for Abu to go. Like you I am sick and tired of the spinless congress allowing the destruction of the Constution, The Justice Dept and Excutive branch of our country.If the Senate cannot ask for the appointment of a special procescutor to investigate what will it take. I cannot believe that the Republicans after Abu’s shamless performance continue to support him to the detrement of thier party. I have voted for many Republicans and am embarassed that I supported those people who now gleefully revel in destroying the principals of democracy.Boggles the mind doesn’t it.

I can’t believe they want to wait till after recess to site contempt charges

I want to see these crimnals jailed for their contempt and I don’t want them enjoying some august

I also can’t believe they’re contemplating some kind of recess…this is unacceptable, they KNOW there will be in your face appointments for the very purpose of pissing them off

Let’s get a move on folks. We have a Constitution to save!

Indeed!
Support our troops’ safety — No August Recess!
Support our country’s future — Stay in Session!

While we’re at it, maybe we ought to start counting the days from the delivery of the “What Needs to Be Done to Care for Our Wounded Soldiers” recommendation and when the president actually moves on the recommendations.
July 26: 1 day

/work, back later

Morning all — just got back from the preschool drop-off and am sitting dow with my first cuppa coffee. You’ll have to give me a minute or two on the questions… *g*

Also, now the Intelligence Committee has to get someone to tell them about this “other program.”

“Don’t make me pull over this blog.”

LOL.

wigwam @ 25

Also, now the Intelligence Committee has to get someone to tell them about this “other program.”

they also have to get comey back on the stand

Perris, you would almost think that Nancy is colluding with them to block action on the contempt charges. I wonder if Spector will vote for special proc.?

Woodhall Hollow @ 26

“Don’t make me pull over this blog.”

LOL.

an insta-classic!
.

Good Morning!

Christy, thank you, I just love your meaty posts — and the video’s exceptional!

perris @ 21

I can’t believe they want to wait till after recess to site contempt charges

I want to see these crimnals jailed for their contempt and I don’t want them enjoying some august

I also can’t believe they’re contemplating some kind of recess…this is unacceptable, they KNOW there will be in your face appointments for the very purpose of pissing them off

i suspect that the dem leadership is trying to delay as much as possible. looks like most of them are thinking about elections and not the constitution. the last thing they seem to want is confrontation… although they seem willing to do just enough to keep the base from open rebellion.

if this is the case, then the question is how to convince our congress critters that waiting is not a good strategy?

According to the Prince of Darkness,
the Congessional investigations and subpoenas are all about political payback.

While outing a NOC is of course good government.

Christy, can we do anything to get congress to stay in session.

i think christy must be pissed – her post is spiked with so many links.

darclay @ 32

Christy, can we do anything to get congress to stay in session.

This is a GREAT question! Add to that, “Can we do anything to get Bill Moyers to advise Congressional Dems?”

Christie – Well this old lawyer’s now with you on the AG. Yup, the docs did it. There it is, right in black and white. And from this old memory, I can tell you that it was less than this that had the Congress AND the media yelling ’smoking gun’ back in 1974. We’ve got the cards, it’s time to go all in.

And yet…AND YET…Leahy’s now talking about possibly referring the matter to the IG to DETERMINE whether Abu perjured himself? Are you kidding me? Congress is STILL playing this, “let’s let him stick around cuz it’s gonna help us” game?

Clue, fellas. YOU’RE IN THE MAJORITY NOW!!!! This whole thing about the big bad GOP lying to you doesn’t cut it when you have the power to do something about it and choose not to. The AP gave you a gun and there’s smoke coming out of it. If you choose to ignore it, or to say “gee is that really smoke?” you have no business being in the majority.

selise at 33 — I’m beyond pissed. But I thought the links were better than dragging the post on forever. That way, the folks who want to read a lot more have all the supporting info at their fingertips.

at 9am the House Armed Services Committee is having a hearing on “Upholding the Principle of Habeas Corpus for Detainees”

at 1:30pm the House Judiciary Committee is having a hearing on NSLs – and FBI director Mueller is testifying.

The contempt citations for Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten had better just be the tip of a very well-thought-out, well-planned series of steps toward overall accountability and restoration of the rule of law and balance of powers. Or this is going to be one pissed off citizen.

I don’t see the citations (going judicial route) as well-thought-out. On a slightly bright note, the recess which we all know *will* be taken, will find D’s getting their ears blistered by constituents, which *might*, possibly, it’s conceivable – convince the D’s to get serious. I’m not convinced that they really want to do much of anything, but the public, and its collective checkbook, could force it.

Harriet Miers should have been thrown into the inherent contempt process, as refusing to show up is contempt per se. I would liked to have seen that one safely in the bank pre-recess.

Then send Bolten through the judicial process, and take the administration up on its taunting – “so you wanna fight? – bring it on” stance.

selise @ 37

at 9am the House Armed Services Committee is having a hearing on “Upholding the Principle of Habeas Corpus for Detainees”

at 1:30pm the House Judiciary Committee is having a hearing on NSLs – and FBI director Mueller is testifying.

I was just going to ask you for recommendations!

selise at 37 — The FBI hearing will be on CSpan-3 this afternoon, according to the website. But I can’t find any link for the habeas hearing — still checking on that one. It’s House Armed Services, and they don’t have the best streaming set-up as I recall from the last hearing I tried to follow…

Christy, What happens if Gonzo resigns in August because the dems are mean to him?

sorry i didn’t include links to the hearings (you can get the weekly list by clicking on my name).

the house armed services has a stream, but i think it is only audio. i wasn’t planning on listening to the whole thing, but thought it might be of interest to firepups. will check it out.

Get real folks. Stewart is correct. They just don’t care what you and I think anymore. Brass. Pure brass. Lie, cheat, steal. Used to do it in the dark, now they do it in the light. The Negroponte memo shows Abu lied. Clearly and unequivocally. Open and shut case, I would think. Who has the cajones to bring the charge???

Bill Moyers and Jon Stewart discussing AG Gonzales?

Are you joking? That is a Comedy Central show, right?

JPL @ 41

Christy, What happens if Gonzo resigns in August because the dems are mean to him?

Then Bush recess-appoints an old friend.

JPL at 41 — They cannot recess appoint an AG, from what I understand, because it is a Constitutional office which requires advice and consent in order to be filled.

jayt @ 38

The contempt citations for Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten had better just be the tip of a very well-thought-out, well-planned series of steps toward overall accountability and restoration of the rule of law and balance of powers. Or this is going to be one pissed off citizen.

I don’t see the citations (going judicial route) as well-thought-out. On a slightly bright note, the recess which we all know *will* be taken, will find D’s getting their ears blistered by constituents, which *might*, possibly, it’s conceivable – convince the D’s to get serious. I’m not convinced that they really want to do much of anything, but the public, and its collective checkbook, could force it.

Harriet Miers should have been thrown into the inherent contempt process, as refusing to show up is contempt per se. I would liked to have seen that one safely in the bank pre-recess.

Then send Bolten through the judicial process, and take the administration up on its taunting – “so you wanna fight? – bring it on” stance.

I would do the reverse. Send Harriet through the courts as I would think she is in a far less defensible position as a private citizen ignoring the subpoenas and would be a far more sympathetic figure than Bolten going through the Inherent Contempt.

Let Bolten be the one frog marched by the Sgt at Arms. It would achieve the same results with better PR visuals. And we know this admin is all about the PR spin.

and this is interesting from (of all people Bill Frist):

“I recall being briefed with the others about the program and it was stated that Gonzales would visit with Ashcroft in the hospital and that our meeting was part of the administration’s responsibility to discuss with the leadership of Congress,’ Frist said in a statement. (AP)

This is the first time anyone else (besides Gonzo) has directly linked that meeting with the hospital visit. They knew he was being sent! Are we getting this yet?

Anyone who’s read my rantings postings here knows that I think the single most important thing before this nation is the impeachment of the crime family now running the country. Be that as it may, I am not convinced that postponing things until Sept is bad. Here are my reasons:

1) The criminal, but good marketer, Andrew Card had it right that you don’t launch a new product in August. You loose the nations attention and we need people paying attention.

2) I suspect there are still lots of congress-critters who want to move forward but are scared shitless. The recess is a chance to here from their constituents. We need to make sure they do hear from us then. Go to their events and be vocal. Visit them, stand out side their offices with signs. Make August the month they realize it will be safe to do the right thing and dangerous to ignore us.

I might think differently if there was a chance that Congress would not take the recess. That would make the country pay attention but there just isn’t any way they will do that.

So we wait, but not quietly.

house armed services audiocast is down. i just called the committee to confirm it was them (and not me). they are working on the problem and hope to have it fixed soon – but not for this morning’s hearing.

sorry about that!

Why did the villains wait until the program was about to expire before they sought “approval”?

martha at 6 — You know, that is a really tough question to answer. The AUSAs and the career Justice folks are the backbone of the entire system. And, in general, they have a lot of discretion about what cases do and do not go forward because, traditionally anyway, the political folks stay fairly hands off. We know that hasn’t been true for the Bush Administration — but honestly, that is a HUGE anomoly in scope from prior years from what I know.

Because they have so much discretion, the key is to get people with a high level of integrity and a commitment to justice and the rule of law into those positions. What the Bushies have tried to do is game the system — and get politically committed folks in those slots by driving out the long-term ethical people either through pressured early retirements, promotions to get them out of the way in key departments (this has happened a LOT in the public corruption unit and civil rights, for example) or through other means. When this happens, they can put in a loyal politico into a position that should never, ever have politics as its first and foremost consideration.

You know, I ought to do a whole post on this, huh? *G*

Christy, this piece is exactly on target. Perhaps we can wake up in time to save ourselves from the impending nightmare of our values being snatched from us while we worried about how to buy more “stuff”. The Bush administration has been very clever in very many ways. Cheney’s secret administration, pulling the strings from behind the curtains comes to mind. The “volunteer” army, fueled by the newly swelled ranks of Americans impoverished by trickle down economics. The systematic replacement of competent middle managers at the DOJ, out of the sight of all of use until the dismissals came to light. When you put the pieces together, it is a compelling and chilling story.

I sense that an awakening is in progress. Maybe there is still time for impeachment to save us. I hope that people like Jon Stewart and Keith Olbermann and Christy can keep the pot boiling until we are ready to tackle the hard work ahead. Impeachment. Now. It’s the only thing that can save us.

I keep asking myself, “What if Bush and Co. isn’t incompetent and bumbling? What if this was all a planned event to distract us? What if they are really just PLAIN EVIL and deceptive?” We have made the assumption all along that deep down, they fundamentally believed in the same American values as the majority of Americans. What if we were wrong?

Sally @ 50

Why did the villains wait until the program was about to expire before they sought “approval”?

Had they not sought approval, or had they sought approval but were not given it?

Republicans failure to acknowledge the problems at the DOJ & with Gonzo in particular, reveals a party steeped in hypocrisy.

The fact that Congress intends to vacation in August shows they have no sense of urgency about any of this. I’m afraid if we are waiting for them to do something, we have a long wait. They are like the fraternity pledge who on being wacked by a paddle says, “Thank you sir, may I have another.” This administration will certainly accomodate them.

BlueStateRedHead @ 12

Christy,

2 questions:

What does it take to name a special prosecutor and doesn’t DOJ get to name him, now that the law has lapsed?

If so, given the resignations, conflicts of interest and recusals, who would be left at DOJ to name him/her? Or is it the USA DC who does?

Which suggests a 3rd, Marcy’s belief that USA Taylor is a white hat. Your view and how would that help (which is question 2, restated, I guess)

And a 4th:
If AGAG has perjured himself, what about the lowersdown who testified? Any reason to hope for a chain reaction of perjury charges?

Nuf already. thanks again and again for educating and explaining so well. You should come out of this a prof of law at GWU. There are precedents for legal analysts to do so, and we respect precedents even if the presshit does not.

Pat Leahy said last night on Countdown that Congress could name a special counsel but it would take too long for some reason. The Solicitor General is the only one empowered to name a special counsel in this case. And since he is a diehard Republican (worked for Scalia, etc.), I’m not holding my breath on that one.

Christy, well, it’s an interesting, ethical question isn’t it? And it can be applied across all industries. What illegal behavior will you condone? Until it lands on your doorstep and affects you only personally?

What interests me about all this is that most Rethugs have completely forsaken the Constitution–they’ve sworn an oath to the Rethug party and the President. (Conservative? meh…) Not exactly what we were taught in good ol’ public school, right? ;)

darclay @ 32

Christy, can we do anything to get congress to stay in session.

I am also wondering how these people can just go home and let things lie. My note to elected officials: Please PLEASE I am sorry you might need to get home, but there is some very serious work to do that no American can ignore and YOU are the only ones that can do it!

Oh I wish the legislative branch had my third grade teacher Mrs. Wright. She may have been tiny and she may have been almost 80, but she would just have to look over her glasses and that was IT, the biggest, most stubborn bully MOVED!

Cat In Seattle

Christy Hardin Smith @ 45

JPL at 41 — They cannot recess appoint an AG, from what I understand, because it is a Constitutional office which requires advice and consent in order to be filled.

Christy I read Article II sec. 2

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

as saying he can do this. Why would this not be true?

perris @ 21

darclay @ 19

Christy,
It is way past time for Abu to go. Like you I am sick and tired of the spinless congress allowing the destruction of the Constution, The Justice Dept and Excutive branch of our country.If the Senate cannot ask for the appointment of a special procescutor to investigate what will it take. I cannot believe that the Republicans after Abu’s shamless performance continue to support him to the detrement of thier party. I have voted for many Republicans and am embarassed that I supported those people who now gleefully revel in destroying the principals of democracy.Boggles the mind doesn’t it.

I can’t believe they want to wait till after recess to site contempt charges

I want to see these crimnals jailed for their contempt and I don’t want them enjoying some august

I also can’t believe they’re contemplating some kind of recess…this is unacceptable, they KNOW there will be in your face appointments for the very purpose of pissing them off

this can’t wait! we need to get on Nancy and all of our reps to see that someone brings this up on the House floor ASAP!

Good Morning, Christy and Blazing Pups!

Two days away (for a job interview – finger crossing is welcome) and trying to keep up via dead wood newspapers, and here’s Christy’s call for action all laid out for Congress!

I’m going to email this post to my reps and senators, and I’ll call all of the offices again.

I also would like to propose everyone writing their comments on Pelosi’s Speaker’s blog, The Gavel. I think that would be a good central source to consolidate a campaign calling for impeachment and taking action based on the will of We, the people.

OK – much reading to do – will be in major lurk and learn mode.

The Dems have to act! They have to act now! As far as the Miers and Bolton contempt citations go, they are planning to bring it for a vote this fall.

The 22-17 party-line vote _ which would sanction the pair for failure to comply with subpoenas on the firings _ advanced the citation to the full House. A vote there is possible this fall.

Can we afford to wait that long? While everyone is upset about Bush’s lying, obfuscation, cronyism, Bush has achieved his goal — he has absolute control on DOJ . . . and is only half a vote short on the Supreme Court to do whatever the fuck he wants!!! I ask again: Can we afford to wait?

If we were waiting pre-WWII, at what point should the fascists have been stopped? In the fall, after Summer Recess? I am not so appalled by the Iraqi government taking August off, it is the US Congress’ August I am worried about.

I’m getting more pissed, like you are, about how the media is treating this. I’m so sick of them presenting “two sides” of an issue as left and right, when it’s really right and wrong, especially when the facts are right there.

If Tony Snow (or any other Repug/thinktanker) comes out and says that Oversight is a Democratic political ploy, why do they print it? The Republicans are desperate to make the case, as with Libby, that there is no underlying crime here, so the fact that the Attorney General would lie before Congress isn’t really a crime. That is disgusting and disingenuous.

When Gonzales lies before Congress, and can be immediately called out by documented facts, then the headline should be “Attorney General Lies to Congress”, because that’s a huge fucking deal.

Booman has an excellent analysis of the warrantless searches over at his Tribune this morning. Pulls together all the threads of the testimony. He conjectures that the part of the project that Comey and others objected to was probably an automated data-mining operation that had the capacity to pull in just about everyone in the US without a warrant. It’s a kind of seven degrees of separation process that gets all of us a list that any ambitious Joe McCarthy can run with.

Some other good comments on that thread — about Yoo being a Cheney mole in DOJ, setting up a legal frame for a true Presidential dictatorship under cover of War Powers. Scary stuff, but not so far off the wall as to be non-credible.

And yes. No vacations for Congress this year. It might be their last, like Paula Zahn’s and Aaron Brown’s.

Under Good Stuff at Josh’s:

Harry Reid Rips Washington Post Editors As “War Cheerleaders” Unconcerned About Facts

In an unusually confrontational move towards a major news organization, Harry Reid has come out swinging against The Washington Post, accusing the paper’s editorial writers of being “eager cheerleaders” for Bush’s Iraq War and slamming them for a “disregard for the facts.”

Oh….and good morning Christy & fellow pups!

Christy -

Here’s another link (ThinkProgress): AP Reveals New Document Demonstrating ‘Clear Case’ Of Gonzales Perjury On Spying Program

perris @ 27

wigwam @ 25

Also, now the Intelligence Committee has to get someone to tell them about this “other program.”

they also have to get comey back on the stand

and Mrs. Ashcroft (who called you that night, my dear?) and Bob Mueller (did you really order FBI agents not to allow Comey to be dragged from the room? did you really threaten to resign over this issue?)

martha at 57 — In this particular job, though, it isn’t just a question of what you will condone. It’s also a question of leaving your cases to be managed by someone who will look at them with an unjust, politically motivated, improper eye. It’s leaving the investigators with whom you work closely on really important criminal cases — knowing that your priorities will not be put forward most likely, but will be dropped in favor of politicized enforcement of the law.

It really is being stuck between a rock and a hard place. You don’t condone the illegal behavior, not by a long shot — but do you walk away and allow someone to step into your workload and your department knowing that they will then skew everything you have done to a politicized fashion and get a career job where they will then be able to do that for a lifetime? Or do you try and stick it out and protect justice and the Constitution where you can with every little decision you can control for the next year and a half until the political hacks are out of the DOJ?

Think about how hard that would be. Day in and day out. My instinct would be to stay and fight every damn battle I could fight from within — because I would be damned if they were going to stick some unqualified political hack on my case load and my investigative team to pervert the work that needs to be done. But that’s just me…and it’s me looking from the outside in, and having no idea what these folks are facing right now because I’m not there.

It’s a really tough call, in my book. Because of the career nature of a lot of these jobs. You walk away from your spot, it gets filled by a hack, rooting that hack out later may be impossible. Then what have you done to the DOJ for the rest of your life?

TiredFed @ 60

perris @ 21

I can’t believe they want to wait till after recess to site contempt charges

I want to see these crimnals jailed for their contempt and I don’t want them enjoying some august

I also can’t believe they’re contemplating some kind of recess…this is unacceptable, they KNOW there will be in your face appointments for the very purpose of pissing them off

this can’t wait! we need to get on Nancy and all of our reps to see that someone brings this up on the House floor ASAP!

Isn’t it just as important to get in touch with Senator Reid’s office to determine what can be done to keep the Senate in session in August?

Christy Hardin Smith @ 45

JPL at 41 — They cannot recess appoint an AG, from what I understand, because it is a Constitutional office which requires advice and consent in order to be filled.

Christie – I’m not so sure that that’s a correct reading. IIRC, Brennan was initially appointed to the Supreme Court by a recess appt. and his position certainly required advice and consent.

What LESS does Gonzales have to do before he is charged? Those of us on the left have seen this administration’s ineptness with regard to the war, both Afghanistan and Iraq, Katrina, Walter Reed and the Veterans Affairs Administration. Why would Congress think their legal acumen would be any better? I recall during the Nixon debacle winning legal battles over ‘Executive Privilege.” During the Clinton impeachment they also defeated it except Clinton permitted members of his staff to testify before the claim got to the Supreme Court. Were those Congresses more able? More legally knowlegeable? Bruce Fein (Is it a relation who works in the DOJ?) was a legal pundit during the Cliton whose prognistications were correct. I didn’t particularly appreciate his editorializing but he was smart enough to know what to do. He may be the man to advise both Conyers and Leahy/Specter. Especially Specter. He is a class ‘A’ WINO>

On postponing August recess. I was not sure this was even possible because canceling it would require a rules change but if I read this correctly, that may not be true since this is not an elections year. Any Senate rules mavens out there who really know?

selise @ 33

i think christy must be pissed – her post is spiked with so many links.

yeah, talk about multitasking. is there a word for multidimensional multitasking?

EDIT for 72…. before he is charged. NOT ‘because…’ I missed it on re reading. Sorry. [Mod: fixed]

Christy Hardin Smith @ 51

martha at 6 — You know, that is a really tough question to answer. The AUSAs and the career Justice folks are the backbone of the entire system. And, in general, they have a lot of discretion about what cases do and do not go forward because, traditionally anyway, the political folks stay fairly hands off. We know that hasn’t been true for the Bush Administration — but honestly, that is a HUGE anomoly in scope from prior years from what I know.

Because they have so much discretion, the key is to get people with a high level of integrity and a commitment to justice and the rule of law into those positions. What the Bushies have tried to do is game the system — and get politically committed folks in those slots by driving out the long-term ethical people either through pressured early retirements, promotions to get them out of the way in key departments (this has happened a LOT in the public corruption unit and civil rights, for example) or through other means. When this happens, they can put in a loyal politico into a position that should never, ever have politics as its first and foremost consideration.

You know, I ought to do a whole post on this, huh? *G*

Good morning from L.A. A whole post on this? Yes, please.

BushCo’s politicization of DOJ has demoted its standing, to paraphrase David Iglesias @ the Seattle CLE conference, from the A Team to a C or D Ring status.

JPL @ 41

Christy, What happens if Gonzo resigns in August because the dems are mean to him?

Fred Fielding becomes recess-appointed Acting AG. Worst nightmare?

I would not expect the career attorneys at the DOJ to quit over Gonzales. But, I have been expecting that they would come together and in some dramatic way bring this matter to a head.
For instance, requesting an open hearing with Senator Leahy’s committee where literally hundreds show up and register their collective outrage.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 45

JPL at 41 — They cannot recess appoint an AG, from what I understand, because it is a Constitutional office which requires advice and consent in order to be filled.

well, someone once upon a time recess-appointed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I’m thinking it can be done, but I’m gonna run and check that real frick like.

TiredFed @ 47

and this is interesting from (of all people Bill Frist):

“I recall being briefed with the others about the program and it was stated that Gonzales would visit with Ashcroft in the hospital and that our meeting was part of the administration’s responsibility to discuss with the leadership of Congress,’ Frist said in a statement. (AP)

This is the first time anyone else (besides Gonzo) has directly linked that meeting with the hospital visit. They knew he was being sent! Are we getting this yet?

Or is Frist lying his ass off?

N=1 @ 61

I also would like to propose everyone writing their comments on Pelosi’s Speaker’s blog, The Gavel. I think that would be a good central source to consolidate a campaign calling for impeachment and taking action based on the will of We, the people.

speaker pelosi’s blog does not permit comments.

Senator Rockerfeller has looked deeply concerned and worried for quite some time. When Republican Senator Pat Roberts was doing everything he could to dilute, divert and delay Phase II of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. When Roberts was doing everything he could to protect the Office of Special Plans, the White House Iraq Group and everyone else who was involved with the creation and dessimination of false pre-war intelligence, Senator Rockerfeller looked very worried.

We have yet to witness the completion of all of the parts of Phase II. We have yet to witness anyone held accountable for the false pre-war intelligence and its use that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dead, injured and displaced.

Holding those responsible for creating and dessiminating this false intelligence ACCOUNTABLE is the very least, the very least that our Reps can do for those who have needlessly lost their lives in this war of choice!

We are waiting Senator Rockerfeller and other Reps. We are waiting and pushing hard for justice and accountability.

Think Progress has an amazing rundown of all of Sen. Pat Roberts mostly successful efforts to water down the Phase II investigation

…and it’s time to hit that PayPal button again to support the fine work by all here @ FDL…

Done :-)

They’ll probably cut a deal with the WH by the end of the year, when it looks like they’ve dragged it out as long as they can. And the deal will probably be something like, under oath, but no transcript, or something like that.

Remember, Bush and Cheney testified behind closed doors with no transcript for the 9/11 commission. I’m sure they were very helpful.

selise @ 30

perris @ 21

I can’t believe they want to wait till after recess to site contempt charges

I want to see these crimnals jailed for their contempt and I don’t want them enjoying some august

I also can’t believe they’re contemplating some kind of recess…this is unacceptable, they KNOW there will be in your face appointments for the very purpose of pissing them off

i suspect that the dem leadership is trying to delay as much as possible. looks like most of them are thinking about elections and not the constitution. the last thing they seem to want is confrontation… although they seem willing to do just enough to keep the base from open rebellion.

if this is the case, then the question is how to convince our congress critters that waiting is not a good strategy?

A couple of days ago, Conservative Republican & former Reagan Deputy AG Bruce Fein discussed why Bush must be impeached with Olbermann. He points out that those in Congress who stayed loyal to Nixon were ousted big time. Contrary to the Democrats’ fears.

realworld @ 73

On postponing August recess. I was not sure this was even possible because canceling it would require a rules change but if I read this correctly, that may not be true since this is not an elections year. Any Senate rules mavens out there who really know?

that was an interesting history of the recess. Plus a look inside the bureaucracy through some of the little cogs and wheels that clog or wield it.

TiredFed @ 79

Christy Hardin Smith @ 45

JPL at 41 — They cannot recess appoint an AG, from what I understand, because it is a Constitutional office which requires advice and consent in order to be filled.

well, someone once upon a time recess-appointed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I’m thinking it can be done, but I’m gonna run and check that real frick like.

not fast enough to edit. from CRS report on recess appointments:

“When the Senate is in recess, the President may make a temporary appointment, called a recess appointment, to any such position without Senate approval (Article II, Section 2, Clause 3).”

“There is no qualification to the President’s “Power to fill up all Vacancies…” in the
constitutional provision. Neither is there a statutory constraint on this power.”

realworld at 59 — See here:

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

Just above the section you quoted from article 2. The AG is an officer of the United States and, thus, subject to Senate approval, as I understand it. He is not an inferior officer, so that cannot be delegated. At least, that’s the argument that I have heard on it for cabinet officials.

Christy -

Another idea comes to mind: How worthwhile would it be to get in touch with Senator Byrd and other senators whose knowledge of Senate rules is comparable to Senator Byrd’s knowledge of those rules?

TiredFed @ 77

JPL @ 41

Christy, What happens if Gonzo resigns in August because the dems are mean to him?

Fred Fielding becomes recess-appointed Acting AG. Worst nightmare?

Or Lieberman (shudder)

selise @ 81

N=1 @ 61

I also would like to propose everyone writing their comments on Pelosi’s Speaker’s blog, The Gavel. I think that would be a good central source to consolidate a campaign calling for impeachment and taking action based on the will of We, the people.

speaker pelosi’s blog does not permit comments.

see Contact Us. she takes comments from everyone at Gavel, not just CA constituents.

Woodhall Hollow @ 80

TiredFed @ 47

and this is interesting from (of all people Bill Frist):

“I recall being briefed with the others about the program and it was stated that Gonzales would visit with Ashcroft in the hospital and that our meeting was part of the administration’s responsibility to discuss with the leadership of Congress,’ Frist said in a statement. (AP)

This is the first time anyone else (besides Gonzo) has directly linked that meeting with the hospital visit. They knew he was being sent! Are we getting this yet?

Or is Frist lying his ass off?

that was my first reaction, too

ironranger @ 15

Prairie: Did you get big storms in your Fargo area? From looking at the radar, I suspect you did & we are on the verge of that front now. It is non-stop rumbling here & the dogs have run for basement cover.

weather’s hunkered down just outside of our metro, just a few trickles. Desperately need rain in tall timber country–lakes are way low.

What will the Democrats find when they return? Will they have been outmaneuvered?
Will they apppear to have put personal and
party considerations above their Constitutional
responsibilities? Will they just simply appear
pathetic?

How should we feel about this? Won’t the
Democratic Party just say, ‘Tough, ain’t it?
Who else are ya gonna vote for?’

As Jayne(nyc) pointed out in a thread last evening, ‘There’s a subtle condescending
air among politicians (of both parties}.’ Her
comment regarded secrecy and its use ‘as a
way to hold onto their power.’

To that we might add, that there is a NOT
subtle attitude that proclaims that the political class knows best. That perpective
does not serve us well. Wisdom is never con-
veniently collected in one place o one person.

I am very concerned that Pelosi has said
that we don’t know the half of it. I wonder,
do Nancy and her fellow politicians believe
that we shouldn’t know?

It is my fervent hope(?} that Leahy and
Conyers do have substasntial information and that they will use it. But ANY assertion that
it’s ‘business as usual’ is dangerously short-
sighted.

Democrats must understand that this (now)
IS their watch. Neither history nor the people
will forget what happens now. The Democrats have no choice, they must stand up, whatever
the cost. Otherwise they are finished as a
party. Neither party (wow! Two whole parties} has eternal sinecure.

The past sixty years have revealed many
problems with our political system, as a people, we would be very foolish indeed to
ignore those problems.

I propose, therefore a change in the motto we place on our coinage, instead of
‘In God We Trust’ it were better put as
‘It’s Up to Us’.

dead last at 62 — I explained this yesterday when the question came up: I don’t think they have the votes for the full House. They’ve likely done a whip count, and are coming up shy of the margin they need to pass it, so it’s being deferred until they can build consensus. Which means we have work to do during the recess. I’ll have a post up on that today or tomorrow.

I just spoke to an aide in Ted Kennedy’s office. Her understanding was that since this is a non-election year this would be Reid’s call. However, she also got really impatient with me when I started to discuss why it should be canceled this year.

Elliott @ 86

realworld @ 73

On postponing August recess. I was not sure this was even possible because canceling it would require a rules change but if I read this correctly, that may not be true since this is not an elections year. Any Senate rules mavens out there who really know?

that was an interesting history of the recess. Plus a look inside the bureaucracy through some of the little cogs and wheels that clog or wield it.

linky to CRS report (pdf) CRS Report on Recess Appointments

Arab league makes first visit to Israel
http://rawstory.com/showarticl…..6/256.html

dakine01 @ 46

jayt @ 38

The contempt citations for Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten had better just be the tip of a very well-thought-out, well-planned series of steps toward overall accountability and restoration of the rule of law and balance of powers. Or this is going to be one pissed off citizen.

I don’t see the citations (going judicial route) as well-thought-out. On a slightly bright note, the recess which we all know *will* be taken, will find D’s getting their ears blistered by constituents, which *might*, possibly, it’s conceivable – convince the D’s to get serious. I’m not convinced that they really want to do much of anything, but the public, and its collective checkbook, could force it.

Harriet Miers should have been thrown into the inherent contempt process, as refusing to show up is contempt per se. I would liked to have seen that one safely in the bank pre-recess.

Then send Bolten through the judicial process, and take the administration up on its taunting – “so you wanna fight? – bring it on” stance.

I would do the reverse. Send Harriet through the courts as I would think she is in a far less defensible position as a private citizen ignoring the subpoenas and would be a far more sympathetic figure than Bolten going through the Inherent Contempt.

Let Bolten be the one frog marched by the Sgt at Arms. It would achieve the same results with better PR visuals. And we know this admin is all about the PR spin.

I agree completely. Also, far fewer arguments in Harriet’s favor (former official, failed to even show up, pretty straightforward case). Bolten can raise all kinds of issues that a conservative court may side with.

Think Progress on delays of Phase II

http://thinkprogress.org/roberts-coverup

selise @ 81

N=1 @ 61

I also would like to propose everyone writing their comments on Pelosi’s Speaker’s blog, The Gavel. I think that would be a good central source to consolidate a campaign calling for impeachment and taking action based on the will of We, the people.

speaker pelosi’s blog does not permit comments.

It has a comment section on the contacts page – thanks for pointing that out.

dratty at 71 — It was a temporary appointment for a period of weeks — he had to be confirmed immediately upon resumption of the Senate schedule once break ended, as I recall my history on that. And it has never been repeated that I know of, either…

TiredFed @ 87

“When the Senate is in recess, the President may make a temporary appointment, called a recess appointment, to any such position without Senate approval (Article II, Section 2, Clause 3).”

“There is no qualification to the President’s “Power to fill up all Vacancies…” in the constitutional provision. Neither is there a statutory constraint on this power.”

I think that Bush would like to fill those 17 postitions that are still open. I doubt that Fredo, er Tony, er Gonzo would go. He has done a fine job as a firewall.

I called Pelosi’s office yesterday urging them to cancel the August recess. The staffer was very patient while I ranted about the glacial pace of this process. Forgot to demand that impeachment be put back on the table…

This needs to speed up-the full vote on contempt cannot wait until September.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 88

realworld at 59 — See here:

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

Just above the section you quoted from article 2. The AG is an officer of the United States and, thus, subject to Senate approval, as I understand it. He is not an inferior officer, so that cannot be delegated. At least, that’s the argument that I have heard on it for cabinet officials.

Christy – from wikipedia re: Brennan

Brennan was named to the U.S. Supreme Court through a recess appointment by Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, shortly before the 1956 presidential election. Presidential advisers thought the appointment of a Catholic Democrat from the Northeast would woo critical voters in the upcoming election for Eisenhower, a Republican.

So it would appear that the fact that it’s a constitutional office isn’t an impediment to a recess appt.

The bottom line on all this is, with impeachment off the table, there’s just not enough pressure on Bush and Cheney to obey the law.

If you’re going to stand up to these guys, why take your most powerful weapon you have out of your arsenal altogether? Bush and Cheney are not going to give in to weak threats. If Congress wants to get it’s power back, it’s going to have to take it back.

Emptywheel has a great post last night on Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), who was one of the Gang of 8. IF (and that is a big if in most cases) if Gonzales is to be believed, a majority of the Gang had approved the domestic spying. That means one Dem had to vote in favor. Three Dems have said they didn’t. So Gonzales implicitly let slip that Harmon did.

The post also states that Comey was at the meeting, a fact that Abu G couldn’t seem to remember.

TiredFed @ 97

Elliott @ 86

that was an interesting history of the recess. Plus a look inside the bureaucracy through some of the little cogs and wheels that clog or wield it.

linky to CRS report (pdf) CRS Report on Recess Appointments

Hey, thank you for that just-bookmarked resource!

Christy Hardin Smith @ 51

martha at 6 — You know, that is a really tough question to answer. The AUSAs and the career Justice folks are the backbone of the entire system. And, in general, they have a lot of discretion about what cases do and do not go forward because, traditionally anyway, the political folks stay fairly hands off. We know that hasn’t been true for the Bush Administration — but honestly, that is a HUGE anomoly in scope from prior years from what I know.

Because they have so much discretion, the key is to get people with a high level of integrity and a commitment to justice and the rule of law into those positions. What the Bushies have tried to do is game the system — and get politically committed folks in those slots by driving out the long-term ethical people either through pressured early retirements, promotions to get them out of the way in key departments (this has happened a LOT in the public corruption unit and civil rights, for example) or through other means. When this happens, they can put in a loyal politico into a position that should never, ever have politics as its first and foremost consideration.

You know, I ought to do a whole post on this, huh? *G*

when you have time ;)

Why this happened is probably the most important issue here. Was it Bush’s decision to fire these guys, based on Karl’s input? If so, that’s an impeachable offense. If not, then Karl did this all on his lonesome (with maybe a little help from Darth), usurping the power of the President, also an impeachable offense for a civil officer.

Inquiring minds want to know.

noen @ 103

TiredFed @ 87

“When the Senate is in recess, the President may make a temporary appointment, called a recess appointment, to any such position without Senate approval (Article II, Section 2, Clause 3).”

“There is no qualification to the President’s “Power to fill up all Vacancies…” in the constitutional provision. Neither is there a statutory constraint on this power.”

I think that Bush would like to fill those 17 postitions that are still open. I doubt that Fredo, er Tony, er Gonzo would go. He has done a fine job as a firewall.

I’ll tell you the restraint and I bet the repukelicans will go along with it too;

get the repukelicans to sign some kind of guarantee that any recess appointment will be sumarily impeached when they return

they will then go through the confirmaiton process for whichever the president wants to re submit

bing…restraint on his power

Prairie Sunshine @ 93

ironranger @ 15

Prairie: Did you get big storms in your Fargo area? From looking at the radar, I suspect you did & we are on the verge of that front now. It is non-stop rumbling here & the dogs have run for basement cover.

weather’s hunkered down just outside of our metro, just a few trickles. Desperately need rain in tall timber country–lakes are way low.

Same deal south (Twin Cities et al). Storms in forecast for today, though. Chanhassen (western suburb) has banned all lawn watering because aquifers are being depleted and a couple of wells have failed. If there is ever another civil war in this country, water is likely to be the issue. Well, unless BushCo drives us to it before then.

wigwam @ 20

FWIW, Olbermann did an excellent job of covering the discovery of this document and its significance on last night’s Count Down.

Yeah, but I thought he didn’t take it quite far enough (unless I missed something; I was out of the room for a bit.)

He talked about Gonzo’s options being to correct his testimony or have committed perjury, but I thought he failed to point out why Gonzo can’t correct his testimony. His lie is his entire defense against Comey’s version of the Ashcroft hospital visit. If he corrects his lie, that whole story falls apart, and the committee progresses to the next lie, which was saying that he wasn’t there to press Ashcroft to sign off on the illegal surveillance.

dratty — See my response on that above. A temproary fill is one thing, but a permanant seat cannot be achieved for a constitutional officer without advice and consent — which Brennan had to undergo, as I remember my court history (which, admittedly, I haven’t exactly been reading nonstop of late!), once Congress was in session.

Gotta love that John Stewart…Again I have to thank the ladies of the lake and all who post and comment here for bringing sanity back into my life. After watching the Re-THUGS on the committee yesterday…hem and haw about nut-tin….I really need to do down about 10 martini’s…..but after spending time with you all yesterday, I felt like there ARE sensible rational and thoughtful people inhabiting our country.

Fern @ 53

Sally @ 50

Why did the villains wait until the program was about to expire before they sought “approval”?

Had they not sought approval, or had they sought approval but were not given it?

they were warned by others in DOJ they weren’t going to get approval any longer. that’s why they tried to get Ashcroft to approve it at the last minute, despite the fact he was hospitalized and no longer legally the AG. that also means they had no “approval” (whatever that means) for the next few weeks while they tried to get it in line with the law so Comey would sign off.

Christy, TiredFed, and dratty -

Who, if anybody, was the most recent recess appointed cabinet member?

Christy Hardin Smith @ 113

dratty — See my response on that above. A temproary fill is one thing, but a permanant seat cannot be achieved for a constitutional officer without advice and consent — which Brennan had to undergo, as I remember my court history (which, admittedly, I haven’t exactly been reading nonstop of late!), once Congress was in session.

Temporary, permanent, who cares? It’s all the same for this Administration.

Redshift @ 112

wigwam @ 20

FWIW, Olbermann did an excellent job of covering the discovery of this document and its significance on last night’s Count Down.

Yeah, but I thought he didn’t take it quite far enough (unless I missed something; I was out of the room for a bit.)

He talked about Gonzo’s options being to correct his testimony or have committed perjury, but I thought he failed to point out why Gonzo can’t correct his testimony. His lie is his entire defense against Comey’s version of the Ashcroft hospital visit. If he corrects his lie, that whole story falls apart, and the committee progresses to the next lie, which was saying that he wasn’t there to press Ashcroft to sign off on the illegal surveillance.

A little fairness to KO. The story had just broken when he went on the air; I’d give him credit for even having the presence of mind to get Shuster (who once again rides in to rescue facts from BS) on the air.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 102

dratty at 71 — It was a temporary appointment for a period of weeks — he had to be confirmed immediately upon resumption of the Senate schedule once break ended, as I recall my history on that. And it has never been repeated that I know of, either…

But in BushCo World, what’s precedent and does it matter to them?

TiredFed @ 109

Why this happened is probably the most important issue here. Was it Bush’s decision to fire these guys, based on Karl’s input? If so, that’s an impeachable offense. If not, then Karl did this all on his lonesome (with maybe a little help from Darth), usurping the power of the President, also an impeachable offense for a civil officer.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Rove is a civil officer?

Christy Hardin Smith @ 113

dratty — See my response on that above. A temproary fill is one thing, but a permanant seat cannot be achieved for a constitutional officer without advice and consent — which Brennan had to undergo, as I remember my court history (which, admittedly, I haven’t exactly been reading nonstop of late!), once Congress was in session.

Christy – absolutely correct, however the term of the temporary position is the current session of Congress, which, in the instant case, would mean until Jan 3, 2009, so for all intents and purposes…

Mod: Lost in formatting hell at 111. Can you rescue me? (sigh)

[Mod: Fixed. No extra charge.]

TiredFed @ 91

selise @ 81

speaker pelosi’s blog does not permit comments.

see Contact Us. she takes comments from everyone at Gavel, not just CA constituents.

oh, yes. i have used the “contact us” function. sorry, i didn’t know that was the reference. have wished there was a way to see everyone’s comments… but, i supposed that’s not realistic.

JPL @ 41

Christy, What happens if Gonzo resigns in August because the dems are mean to him?

He will NEVER leave on his own accord. Gonzo is the firewall for this assministration. Congress will have to arrest him for perjury (or other chrges)

RawStory has another link in the Tilman saga. I fact there are a lot of stories over there today. I will have to check ThinkProgress also. But WashingtonPost and NYTimes are not necessary to be well informed. I think Cheney controls them.
______
“A retired three-star general criticized for misleading investigators probing the controversial death of Cpl. Pat Tillman could be stripped of a star and face a decrease in retirement pension,” Pentagon officials tell CNN.

“Retired Lt. Gen. Phillip Kensinger’s three-star rank could be cut to two stars, according to Army officials,” CNN reported Thursday morning.

Kensinger purportedly misled military investigators when saying he didn’t know until after Tillman’s memorial service that his killing in Afghanistan was the result of friendly fire.

Elliott @ 119

But in BushCo World, what’s precedent and does it matter to them?

Or the Robert’s Supreme Court for that matter.

perris @ 110

I’ll tell you the restraint and I bet the repukelicans will go along with it too;

get the repukelicans to sign some kind of guarantee that any recess appointment will be sumarily impeached when they return

they will then go through the confirmaiton process for whichever the president wants to re submit

bing…restraint on his power

I think that is pretty unlikely to happen. They don’t break ranks.

On a lighter (or perhaps just a somewhat more bizarre) note, Randi Rhodes did a rift on Air America yesterday about Josh Bolten being a collector of photos of GWB’s hands. She was wondering if Bolten were to end up in jail for contempt, would he be allowed to bring his collection of hand photos w/him, etc.

Anyone know more about this?

Stephen Parrish, CPA @ 70

TiredFed @ 60

this can’t wait! we need to get on Nancy and all of our reps to see that someone brings this up on the House floor ASAP!

Isn’t it just as important to get in touch with Senator Reid’s office to determine what can be done to keep the Senate in session in August?

they are about equal Stephen. Moving forward on contempt citations (since we know how that dance is going to end) is at least as important as keeping the Senate in session over the summer. They have to foreclose any possiblity of recess appoinments.

Christy:
“Don’t make me pull over this blog.”
YEAH, Don’t make her pull over this blog!
-a beached fan

allan_in_upstate @ 4

In 1973-4, there were at least some honorable Republics.
Now, there seem to be none.
Thus the HJC vote.
It’s going to be a hard row.

(This will have to be a drive-by — no time to play in the Lake today — and I wouldn’t be surprised if Phoenix Woman or another MN firepup has already pointed this out.)

There don’t seem to be any honorable Republics, but there sure may be some getting desperate enough to find some value in at least appearing honorable, if only as politically expedient.

Relevant news: Senator Norm Coleman, R-MN and A-1 Bush water-carrier, has just had a very bad month. His approval ratings are at an all-time low, slipping from 48 to 43 in one month alone.

(Why even 43% are still snowed by this guy is a whole ‘nother and very good question.)

Anyway, a little reason to take heart this morning?

I’m just never gonna catch up to you guys this morning. Gonna keep reading after a nature break and more coffee.

Frank33 @ 125

RawStory has another link in the Tilman saga. I fact there are a lot of stories over there today. I will have to check ThinkProgress also. But WashingtonPost and NYTimes are not necessary to be well informed. I think Cheney controls them.
______
“A retired three-star general criticized for misleading investigators probing the controversial death of Cpl. Pat Tillman could be stripped of a star and face a decrease in retirement pension,” Pentagon officials tell CNN.

“Retired Lt. Gen. Phillip Kensinger’s three-star rank could be cut to two stars, according to Army officials,” CNN reported Thursday morning.

Kensinger purportedly misled military investigators when saying he didn’t know until after Tillman’s memorial service that his killing in Afghanistan was the result of friendly fire.

CNN.com has this as the lead story on their site this AM.

dead last @ 107

Emptywheel has a great post last night on Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), who was one of the Gang of 8. IF (and that is a big if in most cases) if Gonzales is to be believed, a majority of the Gang had approved the domestic spying. That means one Dem had to vote in favor. Three Dems have said they didn’t. So Gonzales implicitly let slip that Harmon did.

The post also states that Comey was at the meeting, a fact that Abu G couldn’t seem to remember.

DING!

If Comey was at the meeting, then Frist IS lying!

Because the way Comey told the story is that he did not know that Abu and Josh were going to Ashcroft’s room until Mrs Ashcroft recieved a call from ’someone’ at the WH.

It’s important to remember that a recess isn’t just a vacation (though I’m sure most of them do take some time off, especially in the summer.) It’s time for them to go to their states or districts and speak with constituents. Every time the Republicans go home, they go from the Beltway media chortling about how approval ratings show that the people hate the “Democratic Congress” to the reality that Democrats’ approval is at or a little below the historic level for Congress generically (as opposed to “my congressman”), and that Congress’ overall ratings are really low because the people really hate the Republicans in Congress.

I agree that the August recess is probably better skipped under the current circumstances, but currently a recess is a pressure tactic on Republicans.

perris @ 110

noen @ 103

I think that Bush would like to fill those 17 postitions that are still open. I doubt that Fredo, er Tony, er Gonzo would go. He has done a fine job as a firewall.

I’ll tell you the restraint and I bet the repukelicans will go along with it too;

get the repukelicans to sign some kind of guarantee that any recess appointment will be sumarily impeached when they return

they will then go through the confirmaiton process for whichever the president wants to re submit

bing…restraint on his power

What is the justification for summarily impeaching someone who has just been recess appointed? Utilizing the Constitution’s phraseology, with what high crimes and/or misdemeanors could someone be charged upon assuming office?

Marie Roget @ 128

On a lighter (or perhaps just a somewhat more bizarre) note, Randi Rhodes did a rift on Air America yesterday about Josh Bolten being a collector of photos of GWB’s hands. She was wondering if Bolten were to end up in jail for contempt, would he be allowed to bring his collection of hand photos w/him, etc.

Anyone know more about this?

No, but I think they are going to have to start a whole new fetish subsection in the DSM for this crew.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 94

dead last at 62 — I explained this yesterday when the question came up: I don’t think they have the votes for the full House. They’ve likely done a whip count, and are coming up shy of the margin they need to pass it, so it’s being deferred until they can build consensus. Which means we have work to do during the recess. I’ll have a post up on that today or tomorrow.

wow. i never would have guessed that.

but you have contacts i don’t… so, i defer to your judgememt.

how profoundly sad.

selise @ 123

TiredFed @ 91

see Contact Us. she takes comments from everyone at Gavel, not just CA constituents.

oh, yes. i have used the “contact us” function. sorry, i didn’t know that was the reference. have wished there was a way to see everyone’s comments… but, i supposed that’s not realistic.

Can you imagine all the virulent hate filled comments and messages she must receive? I wouldn’t begin to want to wade through them all to get to reasonable comments.

Must the US Attorneys follow Bush & his Lawyers directives? After all THEY, too, swore an oath to the Constution. what if they decided to follow the Law?

Poor Gonzo. I can see him on the corner, selling matches, saying

“Where is my magic pony?”

On a bright note–I read in a local political column that an opponent for Michelle Bachmann has emerged. Bob Olsen? He was in the contest to run against Normie and was persuaded to run against the dragon lady instead.

Morning Christy!

Good thing we finally got some rain around here.
You’re startin’ some lil’ grass fires here & there wavin’ yer HP wand around like that.

Where do we line up? I’m writing thanks notes to some Judic. Comm. mbrs, unfortunately all Dems so far. But the panic on the other side of the aisle is palpable, and the stench from the whitehouse overpowering.

Fun to read your screed turnin’ up the heat.

You GO GRRRRLLLL! *g*

barbara @ 123

Mod: Lost in formatting hell at 111. Can you rescue me? (sigh)

[Mod: Fixed. No extra charge.]

*smooches!*

dratty @ 118

A little fairness to KO. The story had just broken when he went on the air; I’d give him credit for even having the presence of mind to get Shuster (who once again rides in to rescue facts from BS) on the air.

Oh, certainly. And I’m sure he’s not done with the story, so he has more shows to get to that.

At the hearings yesterday, Gonzales’ claimed “clarification” to Dan Eggen at the Washington Post through his spokesman (Roerkase)to correct his misspeaking at the press conference following his last testimony, was obviously a matter of great import. So, why didn’t Dan Eggan report on the substance of that “clarification” in his front page article in today’s WP. All he does is say that Roerkase made a clarification, and then he refers to a link (”The Washington Post”) which does nothing to shed light on the substance of the supposed clarification. Why can’t the reporter report on his own direct conversation? Oh, I remember, because it might hurt Bushco. Sheesh!

Christy Hardin Smith @ 114

dratty — See my response on that above. A temproary fill is one thing, but a permanant seat cannot be achieved for a constitutional officer without advice and consent — which Brennan had to undergo, as I remember my court history (which, admittedly, I haven’t exactly been reading nonstop of late!), once Congress was in session.

Hi Christy, but a temporary fill is as good as a real one. I think the more interesting question is, Why would Gozo resign? The only reason I can think of is to avoid impeachment. The cost to him of being impeached would be that it would be a blot on his honor since he has no honor, is that there would be a real question as to whether he could then be pardoned. There are grounds to argue that you can not be pardoned if you are first impeached and convicted by the Senate, and then convicted in a court of the same charges for which you were impeached. No precedents here but some scholarship seems to say you get a pardon for what you were impeached for. Boy would I like to see him in the big house.

Marie Roget @ 83

…and it’s time to hit that PayPal button again to support the fine work by all here @ FDL…

Done :-)

mine is by snail mail, but I wholeheartedly agree!

Prairie Sunshine @ 142

On a bright note–I read in a local political column that an opponent for Michelle Bachmann has emerged. Bob Olsen? He was in the contest to run against Normie and was persuaded to run against the dragon lady instead.

Have you heard if Patty Wetterling plans to try again?

noen @ 128

perris @ 110

I’ll tell you the restraint and I bet the repukelicans will go along with it too;

get the repukelicans to sign some kind of guarantee that any recess appointment will be sumarily impeached when they return

they will then go through the confirmaiton process for whichever the president wants to re submit

bing…restraint on his power

I think that is pretty unlikely to happen. They don’t break ranks.

YET

Can you believe Gonzo Senate Hearing was buried on page 10 of the NYT ? Enough said. The press is complicit in the fact the curtain has not come down on this clown. He lied with total abandon and impunity for 4 hours. He does not even blush. Nor do his “enablers”, sitting right behind him. It is really scary we have come to this. Impeach, fire, arrest, put behind bars and throw away the key. Traitors, all o f them.

dead last @ 107

Emptywheel has a great post last night on Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), who was one of the Gang of 8. IF (and that is a big if in most cases) if Gonzales is to be believed, a majority of the Gang had approved the domestic spying. That means one Dem had to vote in favor. Three Dems have said they didn’t. So Gonzales implicitly let slip that Harmon did.

The post also states that Comey was at the meeting, a fact that Abu G couldn’t seem to remember.

I remember that Harman was very hawkish about anything to do with terrorism at the time, so I’m not at all surprised that she went along with it.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 94

dead last at 62 — I explained this yesterday when the question came up: I don’t think they have the votes for the full House. They’ve likely done a whip count, and are coming up shy of the margin they need to pass it, so it’s being deferred until they can build consensus. Which means we have work to do during the recess. I’ll have a post up on that today or tomorrow.

ah. now that makes sense. thanks for that heads up Redd. or should that be Hedd’s Up?

TiredFed @ 149

Marie Roget @ 83

…and it’s time to hit that PayPal button again to support the fine work by all here @ FDL…

Done :-)

mine is by snail mail, but I wholeheartedly agree!

Thanks for the reminder. Hope to you can all stay in business. We need you!

re:Below:
the YouTube question from the ‘Tennessee gents’ about Al Gore.
I think Biden showed his deep ability to connect with the average viewer in his response.

Suddenly I have a strange desire to begin collecting photos of Joe Biden’s hands.

TiredFed @ 99

dakine01 @ 46

I would do the reverse. Send Harriet through the courts as I would think she is in a far less defensible position as a private citizen ignoring the subpoenas and would be a far more sympathetic figure than Bolten going through the Inherent Contempt.

Let Bolten be the one frog marched by the Sgt at Arms. It would achieve the same results with better PR visuals. And we know this admin is all about the PR spin.

I agree completely. Also, far fewer arguments in Harriet’s favor (former official, failed to even show up, pretty straightforward case). Bolten can raise all kinds of issues that a conservative court may side with.

I’d say that it’s not too terribly important as to who gets the Inherent Contempt treatment, and who goes through the judicial. I do wish, however, that they would break the cases apart and attack from two different directions. In both cases, the administration has directed that duly issued subpoenaes be ignored. Bolten’s argument is really not any stronger than is Miers’, with the exception that he is still currently employed at the WH.

The visual, however, of the empty chair where Harriet was supposed to be, seems to me to constitute such a visible and visceral, in-your face type of contempt that, were I a member of Congress, I would prefer to take that one on myself; that one’s personal.

realworld: “Yet”

My three favorite words: egregious, incomprehensible [suggesting that no one can ever understand], and yet. So much potential in that word.

Off topic, but I haven’t heard this before:

Did Romney ignore Mormon covenant?

As an active and practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (The Mormons) I cannot support Mitt Romney for president, even though he also claims to be a practicing member of the Mormon Church.

link: http://www.thenewsstar.com/app…..14/OPINION

Where did the AP get the documents? Did I miss that?

What was the phrase Gonzo used to justify his lying?

“Linguistic confusion”?

Wasn’t that it?

Everyone commenting here is preaching to the choir. This has been posted here before, but at the risk of repeating what has appeared previously:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – 202-225-4965

ceci @ 151

Can you believe Gonzo Senate Hearing was buried on page 10 of the NYT ? Enough said. The press is complicit in the fact the curtain has not come down on this clown. He lied with total abandon and impunity for 4 hours. He does not even blush. Nor do his “enablers”, sitting right behind him. It is really scary we have come to this. Impeach, fire, arrest, put behind bars and throw away the key. Traitors, all o f them.

I saw that, too – why is the “National” section WAYYYYY back there and under so much other dead wood?

Stephen Parrish, CPA @ 137

perris @ 110

I’ll tell you the restraint and I bet the repukelicans will go along with it too;

get the repukelicans to sign some kind of guarantee that any recess appointment will be sumarily impeached when they return

they will then go through the confirmaiton process for whichever the president wants to re submit

bing…restraint on his power

What is the justification for summarily impeaching someone who has just been recess appointed? Utilizing the Constitution’s phraseology, with what high crimes and/or misdemeanors could someone be charged upon assuming office?

I think you couldn’t impeach the person put in office directly, what would happen is the person that installed them would be open to public disapproval (and impeachment) for trying to cover something up. Kind of like when Nixon (using Robert Bork) fired Archibald Cox.

ceci @ 152

Can you believe Gonzo Senate Hearing was buried on page 10 of the NYT ? Enough said. The press is complicit in the fact the curtain has not come down on this clown. He lied with total abandon and impunity for 4 hours. He does not even blush. Nor do his “enablers”, sitting right behind him. It is really scary we have come to this. Impeach, fire, arrest, put behind bars and throw away the key. Traitors, all o f them.

NYT editorial via Truthout: Defying the Imperial Presidency

Thursday 26 July 2007

The House Judiciary Committee did its duty yesterday, voting to cite Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel, and Joshua Bolten, the White House chief of staff, for contempt. The Bush administration has been acting lawlessly in refusing to hand over information that Congress needs to carry out its responsibility to oversee the executive branch and investigate its actions when needed. If the White House continues its obstruction, Congress should use all of the contempt powers at its disposal.

The committee really had no choice but to hold Ms. Miers in contempt. When she was subpoenaed to testify about the administration’s possibly illegal purge of nine United States attorneys, she simply refused to show up, citing executive privilege. Invoking privilege in response to particular questions might have been warranted – the courts could have decided that later. But simply flouting a Congressional subpoena is not an option.

Mr. Bolten has refused to provide Congress with documents it requested in the attorney purge investigation, also citing privilege, and he has been equally unforthcoming about why he thinks it applies. Together, Ms. Miers’s and Mr. Bolten’s response to Congress has simply been: “Go away” – a position that finds no support in the Constitution.

If these privilege claims make it to court, it is likely that Ms. Miers and Mr. Bolten will lose. The Supreme Court has held that a president’s interest in keeping communications private must be balanced against an investigator’s need for them. In this case, the president’s privacy interest is minimal, since the White House has said he was not involved in purging the United States attorneys. Congress’s need for the information, though, is substantial. It has already turned up an array of acts by administration officials that may have been criminal.

(snip)

Congress must not capitulate in the White House’s attempt to rob it of its constitutional powers. Now that the committee has acted, the whole House must vote to hold Ms. Miers and Mr. Bolten in contempt. The administration has indicated that it is unlikely to allow the United States attorney for the District of Columbia to bring Congress’s contempt charges before a grand jury. That would be a regrettable stance. But if the administration sticks to it, Congress can and should proceed against Ms. Miers and Mr. Bolten on its own, using its inherent contempt powers.

It is not too late for President Bush to spare the country the trauma, and himself the disgrace, of this particular constitutional showdown. There is a simple way out. He should direct Ms. Miers and Mr. Bolten to provide Congress with the information to which it is entitled.

Redshift @ 135

It’s important to remember that a recess isn’t just a vacation (though I’m sure most of them do take some time off, especially in the summer.) It’s time for them to go to their states or districts and speak with constituents. Every time the Republicans go home, they go from the Beltway media chortling about how approval ratings show that the people hate the “Democratic Congress” to the reality that Democrats’ approval is at or a little below the historic level for Congress generically (as opposed to “my congressman”), and that Congress’ overall ratings are really low because the people really hate the Republicans in Congress.

I agree that the August recess is probably better skipped under the current circumstances, but currently a recess is a pressure tactic on Republicans.

Republican congresspeople don’t get that message unless the rest of us show up to give it to them.

I got a kick out of this from ThinkProgress writeup on Pat Roberts

Roberts Claimed Other Senators Believe Bush Is A Greater Threat Than Osama Bin Laden. “I am concerned that some of my Democrat colleagues used this unique public forum to make clear that they believe the gravest threat we face is not Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, but rather the president of the United States,” Roberts said.

And, drumroll… They were right.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 94

dead last at 62 — I explained this yesterday when the question came up: I don’t think they have the votes for the full House. They’ve likely done a whip count, and are coming up shy of the margin they need to pass it, so it’s being deferred until they can build consensus. Which means we have work to do during the recess. I’ll have a post up on that today or tomorrow.

You really don’t think there is a House consensus on contempt charges?

Unbelievable. To the Phones!!

Stephen Parrish, CPA @ 116

Christy, TiredFed, and dratty -

Who, if anybody, was the most recent recess appointed cabinet member?

The mustache? (Bolton at the UN)

Mabel’s Wig Shack @ 156

re:Below:
the YouTube question from the ‘Tennessee gents’ about Al Gore.
I think Biden showed his deep ability to connect with the average viewer in his response.

Suddenly I have a strange desire to begin collecting photos of Joe Biden’s hands.

You’re aiming to become his chief of staff?

noen @ 150

Prairie Sunshine @ 142

On a bright note–I read in a local political column that an opponent for Michelle Bachmann has emerged. Bob Olsen? He was in the contest to run against Normie and was persuaded to run against the dragon lady instead.

Have you heard if Patty Wetterling plans to try again?

I’ve read she’s not planning another run.

GeorgeSimian @ 160

What was the phrase Gonzo used to justify his lying?

“Linguistic confusion”?

Wasn’t that it?

That was before he remembered what he forgot to forget but after he couldn’t remember what he had already forgot.

GeorgeSimian @ 161

What was the phrase Gonzo used to justify his lying?

“Linguistic confusion”?

Wasn’t that it?

I like the term someone here coined a while back (I forget who exactly – sorry)

“Semantic Illusion”

karnak12 @ 162

Everyone commenting here is preaching to the choir. This has been posted here before, but at the risk of repeating what has appeared previously:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – 202-225-4965

karnak12. A lot of information and idea sharing goes on here but this is also a great rallying spot. (But thanks for the reminder to call.)

Kevster @ 167

Christy Hardin Smith @ 94

dead last at 62 — I explained this yesterday when the question came up: I don’t think they have the votes for the full House. They’ve likely done a whip count, and are coming up shy of the margin they need to pass it, so it’s being deferred until they can build consensus. Which means we have work to do during the recess. I’ll have a post up on that today or tomorrow.

You really don’t think there is a House consensus on contempt charges?

Unbelievable. To the Phones!!

In your forthcoming post on this, could you please try to figure out who the “undecideds” are? Those are the ones we’ll need to call & write.

Kevster @ 167

Christy Hardin Smith @ 94

dead last at 62 — I explained this yesterday when the question came up: I don’t think they have the votes for the full House. They’ve likely done a whip count, and are coming up shy of the margin they need to pass it, so it’s being deferred until they can build consensus. Which means we have work to do during the recess. I’ll have a post up on that today or tomorrow.

You really don’t think there is a House consensus on contempt charges?

Unbelievable. To the Phones!!

MSNBC says they voted to go ahead with the contempt charges…

Woodhall Hollow @ 134

dead last @ 107

Emptywheel has a great post last night on Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), who was one of the Gang of 8. IF (and that is a big if in most cases) if Gonzales is to be believed, a majority of the Gang had approved the domestic spying. That means one Dem had to vote in favor. Three Dems have said they didn’t. So Gonzales implicitly let slip that Harmon did.

The post also states that Comey was at the meeting, a fact that Abu G couldn’t seem to remember.

DING!

If Comey was at the meeting, then Frist IS lying!

Because the way Comey told the story is that he did not know that Abu and Josh were going to Ashcroft’s room until Mrs Ashcroft recieved a call from ’someone’ at the WH.

maybe there were 2 meetings, one with everyone in the room and another with only Republicans (and no Comey, since they knew where he stood anyway).

We NEED a back up plan.
What happens if all the on-going investigations
get sidewacked?
What happens if two weeks from now, the Congress adjourns and we are at the same point?
We have to plan a COUP d’etat-rat-a-ta.
We need to hire Fine and pursue this misery.
I wish Thomas Merton and the Berrigan Brothers
were around….

Kevster @ 167

Christy Hardin Smith @ 94

dead last at 62 — I explained this yesterday when the question came up: I don’t think they have the votes for the full House. They’ve likely done a whip count, and are coming up shy of the margin they need to pass it, so it’s being deferred until they can build consensus. Which means we have work to do during the recess. I’ll have a post up on that today or tomorrow.

You really don’t think there is a House consensus on contempt charges?

Unbelievable. To the Phones!!

There is a very good diary on Kos by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

Conyers Outfoxes Bushie in Contempt Showdown

Lays everything out.

Shorter MSNBC:
nine Army officers to be scapegoats for BushCo coverup and PR scam of Tillman friendly fire story.

TiredFed @ 133

I’m just never gonna catch up to you guys this morning. Gonna keep reading after a nature break and more coffee.

coffee? there’s coffee?

be a dear & grab a cuppa for me too, thanks much!

New Christy upstairs on rule of law as an American Issue.

selise at 138 — Think Blue Dogs and work the math from there.

realworld @ 148

Christy Hardin Smith @ 114

dratty — See my response on that above. A temproary fill is one thing, but a permanant seat cannot be achieved for a constitutional officer without advice and consent — which Brennan had to undergo, as I remember my court history (which, admittedly, I haven’t exactly been reading nonstop of late!), once Congress was in session.

Hi Christy, but a temporary fill is as good as a real one. I think the more interesting question is, Why would Gozo resign? The only reason I can think of is to avoid impeachment. The cost to him of being impeached would be that it would be a blot on his honor since he has no honor, is that there would be a real question as to whether he could then be pardoned. There are grounds to argue that you can not be pardoned if you are first impeached and convicted by the Senate, and then convicted in a court of the same charges for which you were impeached. No precedents here but some scholarship seems to say you get a pardon for what you were impeached for. Boy would I like to see him in the big house.

impeachment is not a bar to further criminal or civil action and a pardon can still be employed in the criminal case. the pardon power can’t be used “in cases of impeachment” but can surely be used to keep loyal Bushies out of jail thereafter. impeachment simply means you’re out of a job, not out of jail.

Woodhall Hollow @ 135

dead last @ 107

Emptywheel has a great post last night on Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), who was one of the Gang of 8. IF (and that is a big if in most cases) if Gonzales is to be believed, a majority of the Gang had approved the domestic spying. That means one Dem had to vote in favor. Three Dems have said they didn’t. So Gonzales implicitly let slip that Harmon did.

The post also states that Comey was at the meeting, a fact that Abu G couldn’t seem to remember.

DING!

If Comey was at the meeting, then Frist IS lying!

Because the way Comey told the story is that he did not know that Abu and Josh were going to Ashcroft’s room until Mrs Ashcroft recieved a call from ’someone’ at the WH.

Harmon was complicit in the wiretaping.

Fresh thread, up and running.

prairie@94
barbara@112
MN & ND are parched. Got a little rain here. Hoping for a lot more through the day.
If Frist is not lying about knowing of the Ashcroft visit before hand, then other repugs knew too & I bet none of the Dems. Either way, they show their usual slimebucket ethics. They make mobsters look principled.

TiredFed @ 116, gracias.

The piecemill information we get is almost impossible for me to make whole. For instance, what is the actual story on the before, during, and after of the hospital story?

Adie @ 180

TiredFed @ 133

I’m just never gonna catch up to you guys this morning. Gonna keep reading after a nature break and more coffee.

coffee? there’s coffee?

be a dear & grab a cuppa for me too, thanks much!

you like hazelnut Adie?

Sally @ 187

TiredFed @ 116, gracias.

The piecemill information we get is almost impossible for me to make whole. For instance, what is the actual story on the before, during, and after of the hospital story?

absolutely. I want the truth, the WHOLE truth, and nothing but the truth. My reaction to Gonzo’s latest tidbit about the meeting with the gang of 8 just before going to the hospital was: wtf? is he really that dumb to tell us this now? I was astounded. Thank goodness he is really that dumb.

LS at 176 — The House Judiciary Committee did. I liveblogged the hearing yesterday. But it then has to go to the full House for a vote…which won’t be scheduled until September we heard yesterday.

Christy @ 70

The rationalization of keeping your powder dry keeps people from doing much of anything other than what they have been doing. The concentration camp guard justifies his remaining on the job because he doesn’t hit as hard as the other guys. Besides that’s not the kind of job one quits. Honor sometimes requires more guts than most of us have.

Suppose, for example, Bush and Cheney decide to bomb Iran, an action I believe puts our personnel in Iraq at risk of a total wipeout. Would our generals tell the administration to pound sand or would they order the attack? Past behavior is not hopeful. Most high ranking generals thought the Iraq invasion ill advised, but they went along anyhow. What would you do were you a general? What would I do? I know what I hope I’d do, but I’m not sure I would.

Gonzo was bound to slip up. The Stasi agent in The Lives of Others explained it this way: if you are telling the truth, you can tell it many different ways from many angles but it is always the truth and the story is always consistent. When you’re lying, you can only tell the story *one* way. The repetition is what gives away the liar. Once they have been forced to go over the story from many different angles, over and over again, the repetition gets harder and harder to maintain. Eventually, the liar slips up.
He slipped up a LOT yesterday. The clips that Jon Stewart played yesterday featuring Gonzo and Diane Feinstein were just as devastating.
It was inevitable.

And you are right about the conditions the WH is offering for the testimony of Miers, Bolten and Taylor. There is a lack of consistency here as well. If executive privelege is so sacrosanct, then the offer of any cooperation at all would seem to be unnecessary from the White House POV. There’s no reason why Miers et al should talk to the Judiciary committee at all. So, why make the offer? I think it’s because they know they can’t win the executive privelege argument so they are trying to make it look like the only way to get info before the clock runs out is for Leahy to take a worthless deal.
But it’s really all or nothing. If you’re interested in the truth, the WH condidtions are unacceptable. So, force them to defend themselves in court or skip the formalities and charge them with inherent contempt.

Imavehmontah @ 53

Christy, this piece is exactly on target. Perhaps we can wake up in time to save ourselves from the impending nightmare of our values being snatched from us while we worried about how to buy more “stuff”. The Bush administration has been very clever in very many ways. Cheney’s secret administration, pulling the strings from behind the curtains comes to mind. The “volunteer” army, fueled by the newly swelled ranks of Americans impoverished by trickle down economics. The systematic replacement of competent middle managers at the DOJ, out of the sight of all of use until the dismissals came to light. When you put the pieces together, it is a compelling and chilling story.

I sense that an awakening is in progress. Maybe there is still time for impeachment to save us. I hope that people like Jon Stewart and Keith Olbermann and Christy can keep the pot boiling until we are ready to tackle the hard work ahead. Impeachment. Now. It’s the only thing that can save us.

I keep asking myself, “What if Bush and Co. isn’t incompetent and bumbling? What if this was all a planned event to distract us? What if they are really just PLAIN EVIL and deceptive?” We have made the assumption all along that deep down, they fundamentally believed in the same American values as the majority of Americans. What if we were wrong?

What if????

I never operated from the belief that a Bush, any Bush, had America’s best interests at heart.

I have detested the Bush family since Poppy was a congressman. Snivelling, whining, wimpy, opportunistic fucks.

And that’s the men.

realworld @ 148

Christy Hardin Smith @ 114

dratty — See my response on that above. A temproary fill is one thing, but a permanant seat cannot be achieved for a constitutional officer without advice and consent — which Brennan had to undergo, as I remember my court history (which, admittedly, I haven’t exactly been reading nonstop of late!), once Congress was in session.

Hi Christy, but a temporary fill is as good as a real one. I think the more interesting question is, Why would Gozo resign? The only reason I can think of is to avoid impeachment. The cost to him of being impeached would be that it would be a blot on his honor since he has no honor, is that there would be a real question as to whether he could then be pardoned. There are grounds to argue that you can not be pardoned if you are first impeached and convicted by the Senate, and then convicted in a court of the same charges for which you were impeached. No precedents here but some scholarship seems to say you get a pardon for what you were impeached for. Boy would I like to see him in the big house.

There are a number of Op Atty Gen that address recess appointments and what does and does not constitute a recess. According to 33 Op. Att’y Gen 20, 25 (1921) short adjournments “for 5 or even ten days” do not “constitute the recess intended by the Constitution. Also see 3 O.L.C. 311, 314 (1979).

I would feel much more comfortable given this administration’s proclivity for provocative behavior in the area of recess appointments, if Reid would keep the Senate in session during August even if it means just keeping enough Dems around to keep the body functioning.

Late as usual to thread:

Last night Olberman had a great idea and implemented it:

big, loud graphic: “Crisis in the White House”

did anybody else notice? Part sarcasism, part truth.

I’m reminded of the cartoon with the buzzard sulking in a tree and the caption “Patience my ass, I want to kill something.” Nancy P. is wrong about impeachment. Democrats must stand for what they believe in. Sweet Jesus, if not not now when? There’s a serious fight brewing in this country and we need to have it. Go along to git along won’t do.

Here’s a tip for Bush Administration cronies: if you are going to lie under oath, on the record, with a video camera in your face, don’t lie about something for which there is documentary evidence directly contradicting your statements. It makes you look unprepared, panicked and sloppy.

Just a quick comment on this (probably dead) thread. IMO this isn’t a matter of being “unprepared”, Abu just didn’t care. In his mind(and mine also) why should he. Far from being “panicked”, he was sneeringly lying his ass off. That’s where the “omerta” comes in, he’s sure(as am I) that there’ll be few consequences. If there is the Neo-con family will take care of him and his. “Sloppy”, yeah probably but why not, these thugs have suffered no problems from anything they’ve done(yet). After seeing them commit breathtaking shit since day one, with no ill affects, I tend to think they’re right. That was the reason lil’ Abu sneered his way through those questions from those pesky peasants in Congress. He holds them in complete contempt. And since they’ve let this kind of mockery go on, and on, ad nausiam, I don’t think much better of them myself. Neither does most of the rest of America. We’ll see.