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Friday, May 16, 2008
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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales took another blow yesterday. In an appearance before a House committee, FBI Director Robert Mueller appeared to contradict sworn testimony by Gonzales leading Democrats to call for a special counsel to probe possible "perjury" charges. As ABC World News noted, Gonzales had testified this week that "there were no serious disagreements within the Bush administration about the warrantless domestic surveillance program. ... Mueller, today, disputed that." Rep. Melvin Watt: "You had some serious reservations about the warrantless wire tapping program?" Mueller: "Yes." ABC continued, "Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey also disputed Gonzales" in his earlier Senate testimony, saying that when he "refused to sign off on the program...Gonzales, then the White House counsel, went to the intensive care unit to try to get Ashcroft to overrule Comey. ... Mueller backed that story today." Mueller: "I don't disagree with what Mr. Comey says."
Media reports are portraying Mueller's words as a devastating blow to Gonzales. CNN's Situation Room, for example, called them "a late, dramatic piece of evidence against the Attorney General." The CBS Evening News, meanwhile, said "troubles are mounting for...Gonzales," with Mueller "now contradicting" his testimony. On ABC World News, George Stephanopoulos noted the White House says "the Attorney General, they believe, has not lied in this. ... But I have to say, Charlie, I spoke with an FBI official who said the FBI Director, Robert Mueller, was simply trying to give direct answers to direct questions, and the Attorney General often parses. So, this has created an uncomfortable situation for the White House."
The AP reports that Mueller "contradicted" Gonzales. Under the headline "FBI Chief Disputes Gonzales On Spying," the Washington Post reports in a front-page story that Mueller "contradicted the sworn testimony of his boss," and adds, "Mueller's testimony appears to mark the first public confirmation from a Bush administration official that the National Security Agency's Terrorist Surveillance Program was at issue" in Gonzales' "unusual nighttime visit" to Ashcroft's hospital room. Under the headline "F.B.I. Chief Gives Account at Odds With Gonzales's," the New York Times reports in a front-page story that Mueller's testimony "sharply conflicted" with Gonzales' and adds, "The director's remarks were especially significant because Mr. Mueller is the Justice Department's chief law enforcement official." And under the headline "FBI chief contradicts Gonzales testimony," the Financial Times reports that Mueller "flatly contradicted sworn testimony" from Gonzales. US News & World Report, on its website, AFP, Bloomberg News and UPI also report on Mueller's testimony.
Rove Subpoenaed Also yesterday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy opened a new front in his war with the White House by issuing a subpoena for Karl Rove. Media commentators saw it all as yet another spike in the political temperature in Washington, DC. Democrats, says the Washington Times, "took double-barrel aim at the Bush Administration" yesterday. They "raised the stakes," reports USA Today, "in a political showdown that threatens to swamp both parties' political agendas." And the Los Angeles Times describes yesterday's developments as a further escalation of "the battle between Congress and the White House."
Snow Leads White House Counterattack White House Press Secretary Tony Snow gave several cable interviews to launch an offensive on the Democrats' investigations. On Fox News' Your World, Snow said, "I guess when you can't get your job done, you try to change the topic and divert attention. This is political theater." Snow added what is "happening is having failed to demonstrate that anything went wrong, members of Congress are trying to do a special counsel, even though the Administration repeatedly has reached out." On CNN's The Situation Room, Snow said the White House "will respond in due course" to the Rove subpoena. But he added, "Let me point out that we have actually made Karl Rove available to that committee under conditions where he's going to tell the truth." Snow also addressed the Mueller testimony. To a question from host Chris Mathews on MSNBC's Hardball, Snow said, "Number one, he didn't contradict the Attorney General. ... This is an attempt to get members of the Administration to talk in open session about highly-classified matters."
Democrats Want Special Counsel NBC Nightly News did not mention Mueller's testimony last night, reporting only on senators' call for a special council to investigate Gonzales. The Los Angeles Times notes the request for the special prosecutor "was made in a letter sent by four Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to Solicitor Gen. Paul Clement." The Politico says the move ratchets up "the political pressure on...Gonzales."
USA Today notes Sen. Arlen Specter, "the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, called demands for a perjury investigation of Gonzales 'precipitous.' Even so, he criticized Gonzales' testimony and said the allegations facing him are 'very, very serious.'"
Eugene Robinson, in a Washington Post column titled "Bedtime for Gonzo," writes, "At this point, every day...Gonzales continues as attorney general means more dishonor for the office and the nation -- and higher blood pressure for Senate Judiciary Committee members trying desperately to get a straight answer out of the man."
Democrats Could Bypass DOJ On Contempt The Washington Post notes that while the House Judiciary Committee has sought to refer charges of contempt against Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers to the Justice Department, that "road may prove difficult," and "there is a way around that." Congress "could turn to an old and once frequently used procedure called 'inherent contempt,'" in which "the House or the Senate can adjudicate a case against the executive branch or a private citizen." But Democrats "have shown no appetite for the process, which has not been used since 1935."
Hinchey To Coordinate Censure Push In House The (New York) Times Herald-Record reported that Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey "wants Congress to censure President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other officials over Iraq and abuse of power." Hinchey "is coordinating his resolutions with US Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who will shepherd the parallel measures through the Senate."
Senior Bush advisers tell the US News Political Bulletin that President Bush's best hope for recovering from his slump in the polls -- and proving he isn't a lame duck -- is to demonstrate that he remains a player on the Washington scene,. "The real problem for Bush now," says a senior administration official, "is that it looks like he doesn't have control over the government." He has endured a series of setbacks recently that suggest he is heading toward irrelevance in Washington -- at least that's the way many mainstream media outlets are portraying his situation. Among setbacks: continuing bad news from Iraq, the defeat of his immigration bill, the continuing harsh criticism of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and this week's contempt citations from the House Judiciary Committee directed at White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former legal counsel Harriet Miers over executive privilege.
White House officials say Bush will emerge from the doldrums as he begins to confront the Democrat-controlled Congress with vetoes of spending bills that he considers excessive. They also expect him to get a lift in the polls for being a strong leader, at least in the view of conservatives, as he continues to block anti-war legislators in Congress from requiring a fast withdrawal from Iraq.
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USA Today reports President Bush said yesterday that Congress "shouldn't leave Washington for its August recess without at least finishing a spending bill covering the Defense Department." Speaking to the American Legislative Exchange Council, Bush said, "Members of Congress ought to finish the spending bill for the Department of Defense before they go on recess so I can sign it into law. We got troops in harm's way." The Washington Times says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid responded by saying, "The President's call today to pressure Congress to quickly complete a defense-spending bill that does not take effect until October is simply the latest example of the president shamelessly hiding behind our brave troops in an effort to distract attention from his failed national security record and failed conduct of this war."
The Washington Post reports Bush "stepped up his criticism of the Democratic-controlled Congress," calling members "fiscally irresponsible" and saying they were "'dragging their feet' on spending bills." In its report on Bush's speech, the Los Angeles Times focuses not on the DOD bill but on taxes, saying Bush, "using blunt language," said Democratic priorities "would produce huge tax increases." The Army Times also reports on their comments under the headline "Bush, Reid Trade Blame Over Defense Bill Delay."
House Bill Contains 1,776 Earmarks. The Politico briefly reports that a website has posted a list of the 1,776 earmarks in the House Defense spending bill. Rep. C. W. Bill Young "tops the list with 59 projects," while Rep. John Murtha "came in second with 46."
The AP reports Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, in separate AP interviews, argued "against cutting short the American troop buildup and suggested they would urge Congress in September to give President Bush's strategy more time." Both men "were careful not to define a time frame for continuing the counterinsurgency strategy -- and the higher US troop levels -- that began six months ago."
US Troop Fatality Rate Declining USA Today reports the number of US troop deaths in Iraq "has dropped sharply so far in July after reaching record levels in recent months, a possible sign that militants are weakening, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq said Thursday." While Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno "called the drop in U.S. deaths an 'initial positive sign,' Odierno cautioned, 'I need a bit more time to see if it's a true trend or not.'" The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, begins its report on Odierno's touting of "a decline in the number of fatalities" by saying the US military "announced the deaths of seven American troops Thursday" just hours after the statement.
US Ends Baghdad Electricity Data Reports In critical tones, the Los Angeles Times says that as the "Bush administration struggles to convince lawmakers that its Iraq war strategy is working, it has stopped reporting to Congress a key quality-of-life indicator in Baghdad: how long the power stays on." Such data "has not been sent to lawmakers for months because the State Department, which prepares a weekly 'status report' for Congress on conditions in Iraq, stopped estimating in May how many hours of electricity Baghdad residents typically receive each day."
Bush's Iraq Approval Up Slightly UPI reports a UPI-Zogby International poll finds support for President Bush's "handling of the war in Iraq, while weak, inched up in July." The poll found 57.1% "gave the president a 'poor' rating on the Iraq war performance, which is relatively better" than the 59.2% "poor" rating in June.
The Los Angeles Times reports the Senate on Thursday voted 89-1 "to spend an extra $3 billion to gain control over the southern US border by building 700 miles of fencing, hiring additional border patrol agents and adding vehicle barriers and ground radar." The vote on an amendment to the Homeland Security Department spending bill "came after a day of partisan bickering and effectively boxed in President Bush, who had said he would veto the $37.6 billion bill but would find the money for border enforcement hard to resist." The Washington Times notes GOP Sen. George V. Voinovich cast "the sole opposing vote." Voinovich "said he supports increased border security but refused to 'burden our children and grandchildren with another $3 billion of debt.'"
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The feud between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton over their foreign policy credentials continued unabated yesterday. Obama opened this round by dismissing Clinton's foreign policy as "Bush-Cheney lite" during a conference call with reporters. Clinton, interviewed on CNN last night, shot back, "This is getting kind of silly. I have been called a lot of things in my life, but I have never been called George Bush or Dick Cheney, certainly. You have to ask: Whatever has happened to the politics of hope?"
The New York Daily News reports that during the conference call, Obama "insisted he really believes Clinton's foreign policies would be like Bush's. 'I think that's the record,' Obama said, challenging Clinton to explain how putting conditions on talks with Iran and others would be any different than the way Bush shuns such encounters." However, Clinton spokesman Blake Zeff "suggested the challenge betrayed inexperience. 'An experienced President doesn't set out those kinds of hypotheticals,' he said."
The Los Angeles Times adds the "four-day feud over foreign relations has served as a proxy for the larger battle between the two candidates over which has the experience needed to be president and which offers the sharpest change in direction for the country." From New Hampshire "on Thursday, Obama told reporters on a conference call that the dispute boiled down to 'a debate over the same conventional thinking that led people to authorize the war in Iraq without asking questions versus an approach to foreign policy that asks questions.'"
Long Island Newsday reports the fight "has advantages for each candidate. Clinton, who has been embarrassed by Obama's fundraising superiority, is going for the jugular on experience. Obama, who trails Clinton by 15 points, needs to demonstrate their differences and must quell murmuring among supporters that he's been too civil."
Many in the media are seeing this escalating dispute as a sign that Clinton and Obama have both decided to take off the gloves and go after each other for the first time. The Chicago Tribune reports that "by the end of the day on Thursday, the whole thing had wended its way from reality to cable news to YouTube, where it may very well go down as the moment when the Democratic presidential race started to get interesting." What's "unusual is that it's happening this early, in the normally sleepy summer before the primaries and election year, a time when candidates typically accept that people are preoccupied with vacations and barbecues and not with politics."
The Washington Post reports in a front page story that the "debate moment that might have quickly come and gone has erupted into the sharpest battle of the Democratic nominating contest." By "last night, senior aides to Clinton, who represents New York, and Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, were quarreling on television, their raised voices a measure of how competitive the 2008 presidential campaign has become with more than six months until the first votes are cast." The Financial Times reports that the comments by Obama are "the clearest indication yet that the proverbial gloves are coming off in the 2008 Democratic presidential race."
The Politico reports Clinton, Obama, "and their top aides tumbled out of their dugouts, fists flying, Thursday in the first real bench-clearing rhetorical brawl of the Democratic primary." The Clinton campaign "saw a chance to feed doubts about her main challenger's readiness to stand on the world stage," while "Obama, after a moment of doubt, took the offensive to paint himself as the true apostle of the kind of dramatic change that Americans and particularly Democrats say they want."
The AP reports John Edwards yesterday "unveiled a plan that would increase taxes for the wealthy and create tax breaks for the middle class." Speaking to an audience at Grand View College in Des Moines, Edwards said, "It's time to restore fairness to a tax code that has been driven completely out of whack by the lobbyists in Washington, by the powerful interests in Washington and by those who value the few above the interests of many." The New York Times adds Edwards "proposed increasing the capital gains tax on upper-income investors and using the money to provide tax-free savings accounts and expanded tax credits for lower-income workers." The Edwards campaign "said his plan would raise the tax rate on capital gains, which are profits from investments, to 28 percent from the current 15 percent for taxpayers with incomes over $250,000. It would remain at 15 percent for those who earn less than $250,000." The Times adds Edwards is the "first Democratic candidate to call for a broad-based increase in taxes on investment income, and his plan is in keeping with the populist tone of his campaign."
The Wall Street Journal reports the tax proposal "lays down a big marker in the 2008 campaign tax debate and is likely to spur Mr. Edwards's main rivals for the Democratic nomination, Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, to detail their tax prescriptions in the coming months."
The St. Petersburg Times reports this morning that Rudy Giuliani "may have better things to do than answer YouTube users' questions at the GOP debate in St. Petersburg. The news broke late Thursday that" Giuliani "has scheduling issues with the Sept. 17 date, jeopardizing the showdown at the Mahaffey Theater." In addition, Mitt Romney "also is frowning on the plan," saying, "I think the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman." The New York Daily News adds, "Aides to Giuliani said yesterday they were taken aback by the date -- two weeks before the end of the next fund-raising period, at a time when many campaigns are racing to raise dollars. 'We have scheduling issues,' said Giuliani adviser Anthony Carbonetti, who added that discussions on dates are continuing." The New York Post headlines its brief report, "RUDY TUNES OUT 'TUBE' DEBATE."
CNN's The Situation Room reported, "In May, Hillary Clinton wrote Defense Secretary Robert Gates a letter requesting information about the Pentagon's contingency plans for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Under Secretary Eric Edelman dismissed her request, saying, 'Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia.' Clinton was outraged," and on Thursday, "Gates sent Clinton a conciliatory response. ... Clinton's office said the Senator was disappointed that Gates did not repudiate Edelman's attack, but welcomed his acknowledgement that congressional oversight is essential."
The Washington Post's Al Kamen writes in his "In the Loop" column that "even a number of conservatives" said Edelman's letter was "over the top," and Gates "felt it necessary himself to make nice with a letter to Clinton." But "conservatives no doubt felt that what made it truly unwise was that it had the effect of boosting" Clinton's "antiwar bona fides," Kamen writes.
The Des Moines Register reported on its website that a Research 2000 survey of 600 likely Iowa voters shows John Edwards leading the Democratic presidential field with 27%, followed by Hillary Clinton with 22%, Barack Obama with 16% and Gov. Bill Richardson with 11%. On the GOP side, Mitt Romney leads with 25%, followed by Fred Thompson with 14%, Rudy Giuliani with 13%, Sen. John McCain with 10% and Newt Gingrich with 6%.
KCCI-TV Des Moines, IA reported on its website that Clinton and Obama have each dropped six points since May, while Richardson has gain four points. On the GOP side, McCain has dropped 8 points since May, with most of those going to Romney.
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Jay Leno: "They say a cat in a nursing home in Providence, Rhode island, can predict patients' deaths. ... They say the cat will walk through, and curl up next to a patient, and within four hours, that patient dies. And the cat has been correct in 25 cases so far. ... Anyway -- today, the cat curled up next to the John McCain campaign."
David Letterman: "Have you seen Hillary Clinton recently? Oh, man, talk about easy on the eyes. ... She's so sexy now, the other day, by accident, Bill hit on her."
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