Bush says at one point, "Lewis Libby was held accountable", but of course, we all knew that Libyy wan’t held accountable. Bush pardoned him. On the subject of Gonzales, members of Congress from both parties have called Gonzales’ credibility and leadership of the Justice Department into question after congressional testimony on a number of issues. Bush, it seems, doesn’t think … Read More
Contempt!
MSNBC: WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Committee voted contempt of Congress citations Wednesday against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and President Bush’s former legal counselor, Harriet Miers. The 22-17 vote, which would sanction the pair for failure to comply with subpoenas on the firings of several federal prosecutors, advanced the citations to the full House. The full House … Read More
Gonzales Follies
Hearing, watching or reading Gonzales’ tragically comical performance yesterday is painful. TPM Muckraker has a good Youtubed roundup. The best part, everyone seems to agree, is this exchange with Sen. Schumer. Schumer is pointing out how Gonzales in his previous testimony — um — basically lied to the committee. Watch how Gonzales, the Attorney General of the United States — … Read More
The Imperial Presidency And War Powers
This op-ed in the New York Times gets it right, both morally and historically: The nation is heading toward a constitutional showdown over the Iraq war. Congress is moving closer to passing a bill to limit or end the war, but President Bush insists Congress doesn’t have the power to do it. “I don’t think Congress ought to be running … Read More
Pray There Are No International Incidents Tomorrow
USAToday tells us that Bush is undergoing a 2-1/2 hours colonoscopy tomorrow, and during that time, Lord Voldemort Dick Cheney will be "Acting President". I can see it now — Saturday headline: Bush briefly transfers Presidential power to Cheney. Sunday headline: The U.S. starts bombing Tehran.
I Caught About 30 Seconds Of The Bush Press Conference On Iraq
Man, does our president smirk a lot! And he smirks on all the wrong words. "Sectarian violence" — he smirked on that phrase. "Send more troops" — he smirked on that phrase. It’s really kind of creepy. But according to MSNBC, the White House report on Iraq cites success on 8 goals, failure on 8, mixed effort on 2, which … Read More
Gonzales Lied — Blatently Lied — Under Oath, To Congress
Lying to Congress is a crime: As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse," Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005. Six days earlier, the FBI sent … Read More
How Low Can You Go?
Gallup has Bush at his lowest ever: President Bush’s job approval rating — now at 29% — has fallen to the lowest point of his administration and is within seven percentage points of the lowest job approval rating in Gallup Poll history. Bush’s job ratings have dropped 61 percentage points since the all time high point of 90% in September … Read More
Public Desire For Impeachment Of Bush/Cheney Grows
From a new poll conducted by American Research Group, a non-partisan outfit: * Do you favor or oppose the US House of Representatives beginning impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush? Among all U.S. adults, 45% support the House initiating impeachment proceedings against Bush. Among all U.S. voters, impeachment enjoys 46% support, a plurality. In all, 69% of Dems, 50% … Read More
The Sleaziness Of The Libby Clemency
How can this be viewed as anything other a brazen admission that Bush & Co. feels they are above the law? Scooter Libby was convicted by a jury consisting of the American people who heard all the evidence, and concluded that he committed purjury and obstructed justice. Even Bush admits that he respects the jury’s verdict; his only issue was … Read More
Bush Looking For Answers Or Grasping At Straws?
WaPo: At the nadir of his presidency, George W. Bush is looking for answers. One at a time or in small groups, he summons leading authors, historians, philosophers and theologians to the White House to join him in the search. Over sodas and sparkling water, he asks his questions: What is the nature of good and evil in the post-Sept. … Read More
Cheney Flip-Flops, But Still Says He’s Not Subject To Executive Order
Dick Cheney’s office is abandoning a justification for keeping classified docouments from the auditors of the National Archives. Cheney had tried to claim he is separate from the executive branch, but they will no longer pursue that defense, senior administration officials now say. That original claim had been met with widespread derision from the right and the left: White House … Read More
The Extraconstitutional Beast
Following the revelation that Cheney believes he is not part of the Executive Branch of government (and therefore not subject to rules and oversight when it comes to classified information), legislation is being sponsored in both houses of Congress whicih will cut off all funding to the Vice President — at least until he comes forward and says what branch … Read More
Must-Reads On Cheney
From the Washington Post: Part I and Part II. The articles focus on the incredible growth of power of Cheney, and his influence. From Part One: Waxing or waning, Cheney holds his purchase on an unrivaled portfolio across the executive branch. Bush works most naturally, close observers said, at the level of broad objectives, broadly declared. Cheney, they said, inhabits … Read More
Cheney Needs A Civics Lesson
Unbelieveable. Executive Order 12958, amended and endorsed by Bush, requires the National Archives to oversee a uniform system within the executive branch for protecting classified information. Under that order, the Information Security Oversight Office of the National Archives is charged with the task of inspecting federal agencies and the White House with making sure that safeguards regarding classisfied information are … Read More