Hail to the Leaker-in-Chief
To cap off a long weekend of leak stories, the NY Times goes front page Monday with confirmation of President Bush’s role, and news that he authorized the declassification of the National Intelligence Estimate in order to rebut critics, but “did not designate Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., or anyone else, to release the information to reporters.” So it was to be a secret declassification? Or is this the “get-it-done-but-don’t-tell-me-how” defense? (NYT)
The AP has a similar, but more explicit, version: A “lawyer knowledgeable about the case said Bush instructed Cheney to ‘get it out’ and left the details about disseminating the intelligence to him.” (AP)
Earlier this weekend, we also learned from the Times that Libby was lying to reporters when he said that it had been a “key judgment” in the NIE that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger. (NYT)
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said that Bush owes an explanation to the American people about the leak. (USA Today, WaPo)
And the Post reported that Libby’s lawyers were arguing that the NIE leak had nothing to do with the leak of Valerie Plame’s identity. (WaPo)
Steve Clemons discusses the effect that Bush’s leak has on other leak cases, such as Lawrence Franklin’s. (TWN)
GOP Calls on Top House Ethics Dem to Step Down
After reports came out late last week that Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) was under investigation by the Justice Department for alleged financial shenanigans, House GOP leaders called on him to resign from his seat as Ranking Member of the House Ethics Committee. (Roll Call)
Tom DeLay – His Memory Lives On
As was widely noted after his decision to bow out, Tom DeLay will soon be able to transfer his campaign funds to his legal defense fund. But some lobbyists are hopping mad that DeLay, their longtime friend, fooled them into helping pay his lawyers. They thought they were making a worthwhile investment and want their money back:
“If I wanted to give to a legal fund, I would’ve done it directly,” snarled one GOP lobbyist who refused to have his name attached to such callous-sounding sentiments, even if DeLay is leaving Congress.
Another lobbyist who gives to Members on both sides of the aisle said, “It’s nauseating to think about” his campaign contribution going to fund DeLay’s legal team. “I’m realistic about it. He wouldn’t resign for no reason,” this lobbyist said, noting that the timing of DeLay’s departure came awfully close to the announcement of a plea agreement by his former aide Tony Rudy. “That all this money will go to the legal defense fund, it sickens me,” he added. “I have to pay for that?”
Another Republican lobbyist and past participant in DeLay fundraisers also declined to speak ill of ‘the Hammer’ on the record, but said, “It’s interesting that he’s been fundraising up a storm and now he’s not going [to run]. I didn’t know we were going to support a legal fund.” He added, sarcastically, “Glad we can help him out with it.”
The Post points out that Republicans are in much the same predicament of the Democrats in 1994. Many GOPers (“more than a dozen GOP lawmakers and aides”) are chagrined that “it took a little more than a decade for DeLay and House Republicans to succumb to many practices they railed against in the 1990s. From stifling congressional dissent to the raw use of power, they say, Republicans have become like the Democratic barons they ousted in 1994. (WaPo)
When DeLay resigns, he’ll, along with Duke Cunningham, be immediately eligible for a $67,000 per year pension for his service in Congress. (Houston Chron)
Rep. Don Sherwood (R-PA) gives some perspective on DeLay’s reign:
“That’s a lot of malarkey,” Mr. Sherwood said of the ‘culture of corruption’ claim. “He (Mr. DeLay) could be persuasive. But you’ve got to remember. Everybody is responsible for their own vote. And if anybody says, ever, that they did the wrong thing because the leadership twisted their arm then they shouldn’t be there.”
And the Post does a profile on Rio Bend, the community for foster families built mostly with money from DeLay’s charity. (WaPo)
Finally, the Washington Times asks DeLay who should be the next Hammer. His picks? Rep. Adam H. Putnam (R-FL), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), or Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC). (Washington Times)
Burns – The New DeLay?
Newsweek guesses that Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) may be “the ripest target for Democrats” now that DeLay is gone.” No new news here. See our entry on Burns for why he is in investigators’ and Democrats’ sights. (Newsweek)
Abramoff and Guam
A “federal source” tells the Pacific Daily News that the Justice Department’s probe into Jack Abramoff’s activities in Guam is moving very slow. (GuamPDN)
A Senator in Guam has written to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), asking her to open an investigation into Jack Abramoff’s possible election-meddling in Guam. (GuamPDN)
Doolittle’s Cut
The Sacramento Bee, the paper that broke the story about Rep. John Doolittle’s (R-CA) arrangement with his wife, who gets a 15 percent cut on fundraising she’s involved in, writes in an editorial that the arrangement is “unseemly.” (Sac Bee)
Newsflash: Harris Difficult to Work For
Most of the top staff on Rep. Katherine Harris’ (R-FL) floundering Senate campaign staff have left. Why? She’s a terrible boss. The Florida Sun-Sentinel weighs her strengths and weaknesses:
She is smart, charming, energetic and works hard. She is also a micromanager, easily angered, sometimes bursts into tears and doesn’t like to hear opinions different from her own. If she doesn’t like the truth, she refuses to accept it[.]
In Other Muck
For those of who trying to get your head around whose wife took which cut in the Abramoff scandal, the Times ran a helpful graphic yesterday…(link)
The House GOP leadership says they’re hoping to get back to ethics legislation after recess. (Roll Call)
A bill to prevent Congressional representatives and staff from trading stocks from their Hill offices just picked up its first GOP co-sponsor. (Roll Call)
Covered This Weekend
DeLay’s former Communications Director says DeLay was attracted to the more aggressive aides…(TPM)
Is a Pardon in the works for Scooter Libby?…(link)
DHS Failed To Interview Two Key Employees at Time about Doyle’s Prior Incident…(link)
Abramoff – All in the Family…(link)
DHS Check Missed Prior Porn at Work Incident for Brian Doyle…(link)
Covered Friday
Feds Probe House Dems Ethics Man…(link)
Timeline on the Leaking of Portions of the National Intelligence Estimate…(link)
Dirty Water Still Making Troops Sick…(link)
Bob Ney – Dead Man Running – Why’s He Still in?…(link)
Excerpts from Friday’s White House Press Gaggle…(link)
“Grandma in Iraq” Update – Relatives Weigh In…(link)
