Reports and commentary on potential new investigations into the anti-terror tactics of the Bush Administration dominated headlines over the weekend. The national security controversy, according to some analysts, threatens to exacerbate partisanship in Washington, and could loom large over the fate of the President's policy agenda. The AP reports that any "move to appoint a criminal prosecutor is certain to stir partisan bickering that could prove a distraction to Obama's efforts to push ambitious health care and energy reform."
On its front page, the New York Times says Obama faces "new pressure to reverse himself and to ramp up investigations into the Bush-era security programs, despite the political risks." The Washington Post reports "fears expressed by President Obama and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, that looking back at the Bush administration would force the country into divisive arguments won new footing yesterday as conservative lawmakers challenged even small steps that Obama and his attorney general appear on the verge of taking."
The Los Angeles Times notes that Republicans "have attacked Democrats for criticizing the CIA," and will "probably...be dead set against any...probe." Bloomberg News also says that "a decision to conduct a criminal investigation could inflame relations with Republican lawmakers. Since leaving office...Cheney has defended the way the Bush administration conducted interrogations, saying the techniques helped save American lives."
The Washington Times reports, "Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican and ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, called for his party to pursue a 'scorched-earth policy' of refusing to cooperate with the administration if it pursues such an investigation, which he called an effort to appease Europeans and US intellectuals."
ABC World News said Attorney General Eric Holder "is considering a criminal investigation into whether CIA operatives tortured terror suspects," even as Democrats call "for an investigation into whether then Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to hide a covert counterterrorism program from Congress." NBC Nightly News later said that "the allegation that it was Mr. Cheney himself who directed CIA briefers to keep Congress in the dark raises questions," and "even some Republicans say failing to inform Congress was a mistake."
On its front page, meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that "Democratic senators...called for an investigation into reports that" Cheney "instructed the Central Intelligence Agency not to tell Congress about a secret counter-terrorism programme." Bloomberg News reports Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Cheney "went 'outside the law' in ordering the Central Intelligence Agency not to tell Congress about a secret counterterrorism program."
The Wall Street Journal reports the" secret Central Intelligence Agency initiative terminated by Director Leon Panetta was an attempt to carry out a 2001 presidential authorization to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives, according to former intelligence officials familiar with the matter."
ABC World News reported that DOJ "officials say the appointment of a special prosecutor" to investigate Bush-era CIA anti-terror tactics "is likely." The Washington Post, meanwhile, also says that according to "a senior Justice Department official familiar with Holder's thinking," the AG has "reluctantly come to lean toward naming a criminal prosecutor from inside the department."
McClatchy reports Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, "said Sunday that when he gives his assessment to the Obama administration next month of what is needed to defeat the Taliban, he won't be deterred by administration statements that he cannot have more US troops." McClatchy notes that "some of McChrystal's advisers were miffed when shortly after McChrystal took command they were visited by National Security Adviser Marine Gen. James Jones, who told them the Obama administration would not allot any more than the 68,000 troops designated for Afghanistan this year."
NBC Nightly News reported that "the new reality on the ground" in Afghanistan "is giving way to calls within the military for even more boots on the ground." Military officials tell NBC News" that McCrystal "believes the Administration's strategy could fail without even more troops. At the same time, the officials say, the White House National Security Advisor, James Jones, cautioned commanders in the field last month the President is not inclined to approve more troops this year."
The concerns over US troop levels comes as the Wall Street Journal reports on the "series of attacks in Afghanistan has left four US Marines and eight British soldiers dead in recent days, stoking concern among US and allied forces over a surge in battlefield deaths, as thousands of troops pour into the country." These "mounting deaths have contributed to harsh criticism of the war in a handful of NATO countries that have lost soldiers in recent months, including Canada, Germany and France."
The Financial Times reports that British PM Gordon Brown "is under mounting pressure to boost Britain's long-term military presence in Afghanistan after the army suffered a surge in fatalities in Helmand province."
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Media reports on the Senate hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor, which get under way today, predict she will easily win confirmation. ABC World News reported that on Sunday, President Obama called her "to wish her luck at her...hearings." ABC added that "short of a major misstep or revelation, Republicans know they just don't have the votes."
The AP reports that "Sotomayor has decided advantages as she begins the most important trial of her long legal career," but "Republicans signaled that they will press the 55-year-old New Yorker and veteran federal judge to explain past rulings involving discrimination complaints and gun rights, as well as comments that they say raise doubts about Sotomayor's ability to judge cases fairly."
NBC Nightly News also said Sotomayor is "expected to be confirmed," although "Republicans will raise serious questions about her record as a judge." The Washington Times titles its story "Sotomayor Faces Easy Route To Confirmation," and notes "one Democratic senator said he expects her to receive more votes than the hefty majority for Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Republicans indicated they don't expect a filibuster."
The Wall Street Journal says that Sotomayor opponents "suggested they would consider it a victory if more than half of the Senate's 40 Republicans voted against her in this week's confirmation hearing." Many Republicans "said they viewed 23 'no' votes as a benchmark, because that would be one more than...Roberts received in 2005 and would reflect a significant protest vote." The New York Times reports, "Each of the 12 Democrats and seven Republicans on the committee will be allowed opening statements and then Ms. Sotomayor will be formally introduced by...Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, the senators from her home state of New York."
AFP reports, "Over at least four days of hearings, the panel will hear from people like former FBI director Louis Freeh, who mentored Sotomayor, and Linda Chavez, a conservative activist. ... Experts say the confirmation fight may be more fizzle than sizzle." McClatchy similarly cautions, "Don't expect a lot of fireworks from the Senate Judiciary Committee," because Sotomayor "has much in her favor: She has a lengthy judicial record, was first nominated by a Republican president (George H. W. Bush, who last month told CNN she had a 'distinguished record on the bench') and has received strong endorsements from respected legal and law enforcement groups. What's more, senators can score political points by embracing her."
The Politico, however, reports that "to some Republican activists, an epic battle over...Sotomayor is just the kind of jolt the Republican Party needs to get out of its doldrums."
US News Weekly reports, "The fact that most cash from President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package, passed in February, hasn't been spent yet isn't keeping debate from heating up over the need for a sequel." The White House "continues to defend the original stimulus but won't reject the option of a second round of spending outright."
US News Weekly's Mortimer Zuckerman writes, "The stimulus package may have been well intentioned, but it was too small and too badly constructed to get money into the economy fast enough to replace lost consumer and business spending and to slow unemployment." Robert J. Samuelson, in his column for Newsweek, writes that although the rich have been "historically recession-proof," this time "they've been hit hard -- and we may all be the poorer for it."
Republicans Unified In Opposition To Second Stimulus Package The AP reports Republicans "lined up Sunday in opposition to a second economic stimulus package, a rare demonstration of unity from an out-of-power political party in search of a rallying cry against President Barack Obama." On the Sunday talk shows, Republicans "called Obama's $787 billion spending plan a 'flop' and said it hasn't fulfilled its hype." AFP reports some critics "say it is moving too slow and that another stimulus is needed, while others argue it is an inefficient way to reinvigorate the ailing economy."
Obama: Stimulus Working "As We Had Anticipated" In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, President Obama was asked if he and Vice President Biden were offering "contradictory" assessments of the economy, Obama replied, "No, it's not contradictory." The stimulus package "is working exactly as we had anticipated. ... And we always anticipated that a big chunk of that money then would be spent, not only in the second half of the year, but also next year. This is designed to be a two-year plan and not a six-month plan."
The Hill reports the White House "continued to adjust expectations for the $787 billion economic stimulus package Sunday in a column written by President Obama for The Washington Post." Obama "writes that the stimulus from the start was conceived as a two-year program that would steadily save and create jobs and would ramp up in the summer and fall."
White House Stimulus Website Under Scrutiny Newsweek reports as the "political battle over the Obama administration's stimulus plan escalates, Earl Devaney, the veteran inspector general charged with monitoring spending, is moving to establish his independence. Since becoming chair of the Recovery, Accountability and Transparency Board, Devaney has taken down a video of President Barack Obama from recovery.gov, the official Web site set up to track stimulus dollars. He's also mandated that the names of cabinet members not be mentioned -- only their departments." However, the White House "recently created the dueling whitehouse.gov/recovery. ... It's complete with a presidential video, photos of Vice President Joe Biden (who oversees the recovery effort), and a 'recovery blog' on which administration officials post boosterish stories about 'exciting' recovery successes."
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NBC Nightly News (7/12, story 6, 0:55, Holt, 8.37M) reports that when asked yesterday about Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to resign, Sen. John McCain said, "I was a bit surprised, but I wasn't shocked. I understand that Sarah made the decision where she can be most effective for Alaska and for the country." However, the AP (7/13) reports that McCain "declined to endorse" a Palin presidential bid, citing other "strong" contenders, such as Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.
The Politico reports, "As he gears up for his 2010 reelection," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's "startlingly low poll ratings back home in Nevada are a matter of considerable concern among Democrats," particularly his son Rory, who is "expected" to announce a gubernatorial run in the next few weeks. Rory's "family connection makes it almost impossible to distance himself from his father, who may not be an asset outside the family's southern Nevada base."
The Washington Times reports that President Obama will be in New Jersey Thursday to headline a fundraiser for Gov. Jon Corzine (D), who faces a tough reelection bid this year, while Vice President Biden will be in Richmond on the same day to campaign with Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Creigh Deeds (D).
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Conan O'Brien: "President Obama had a private, 35-minute meeting at the Vatican with Pope Benedict. ... That's right, folks, the man considered by many followers to be infallible had a meeting with Pope Benedict."
Conan O'Brien: "Bristol Palin's former fiancé, Levi Johnston, told the press that he thinks Sarah Palin stepped down as governor so she could cash in on fame. ... Levi made this accusation while hosting a party in the Hamptons for Tommy Bahama dark rum."
David Letterman: "But anyway, over the weekend, North Korea test fired several missiles. And it was their way of saying, 'Iran's not the craziest country, we are the craziest country, so get ready.'"
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