Category: The Dubya Era

Graymail’s Anatomy.

“The defendant’s effort to make history in this case by seeking 277 PDBs in discovery — for the sole purpose of showing that he was ‘preoccupied’ with other matters when he gave testimony to the grand jury — is a transparent effort at ‘greymail.‘” Plamegate prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald — whose investigation is continuing — tries to put a stop to Scooter Libby’s shady defense tactics. “‘Graymailing’ — a tactic used to varying degrees by defendants in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s — occurs when a government official charged with a crime demands access to large quantities of classified material in an attempt to force prosecutors either to put national security at risk by producing the material or put the prosecution at risk by allowing the defendant to argue that he can’t get a fair trial without it.”

The Treason of the Senate.

“Treason is a strong word, but not too strong to characterize the situation in which the Senate is the eager, resourceful, and indefatigable agent of interests as hostile to the American people as any invading army could be.” As feared — the Senate GOP, including supposed “moderates” Snowe and Chafee — vote down hearings into the NSA wiretaps. And also as feared, the Senate Dems completely collapse on the Patriot Act renewal, joining the Republicans to end the Feingold filibuster 96-3. (Only Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Jim Jeffords (I-VT) sided with Russ.) So, with the Senate in effect abdicating its responsibilty as an independent and coequal branch of government, it looks like it’ll be up to the judiciary to check Dubya’s executive powergrab.

Abu Ghraib Revisited.

To the consternation of the Dubya administration, the Sydney Morning Herald posts more horrifying and previously unpublished pictures from Abu Ghraib. (Warning: They’re grisly, as you might expect.) Why doesn’t Cheney want to ban this flagrantly unAmerican behavior again? He must realize this type of national disgrace makes us hypocrites before the world. [First seen at Ed Rants/Blivet.] Update: Walter Shapiro: “Abu Ghraib is not an issue of partisan sound bites or refighting the decision to invade Iraq. Grotesque violations of every value that America proclaims occurred within the walls of that prison.” Salon has more.

Senate Sideshow.

“‘I look around,’ Mr. Lott said, ‘and think, “Am I the only one who thinks this is stupid?”‘” Hearings into Katrina, foreign affairs, and other matters of state are postponed as the Senate commits to a day of stunt votes by both parties, mainly because Catkiller Frist had more pressing business — a fundraiser, of course — the prior evening. “Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, said, ‘It’s sort of arrogant of us, isn’t it, scheduling them and then not keeping our appointments?’“

Last Refuge of Scoundrels.

“It took a long time for Democrats to step up and challenge the administration’s baseless assertions that the Patriot Act could not be changed without threatening the security of the American people. When we finally did so, when we decided to make the case that we can fight terrorism and protect our American principles at the same time, it looked like Democrats were finally ready to stand on principle and offer strong leadership. Instead, too many Democrats have folded, and momentum for critical changes to the Patriot Act to protect our freedoms has been squandered.” In Salon, an angry Russ Feingold calls out his party for capitulating on the Patriot Act extension. Ugh. Are the Democrats irreparably broken at this point? Does our party leadership lack all conviction? At this point, the evidence is piling up against them, and, if we don’t get our act together, we’re going to lose our best chance in a decade to take back Congress this November. Update: Feingold filibusters alone.

Snowe melts, Hagel hesitates.

“If some kind of inquiry would be beneficial to getting a resolution to this issue, then sure, we should look at it. But if the inquiry is just some kind of a punitive inquiry that really is not focused on finding a way out of this, then I’m not so sure that I would support that.” Bad news for congressional oversight and the rule of law: After an “all-out” campaign of White House arm-twisting, crucial Senate Republicans — including Olympia Snowe and Chuck Hagel — appear on the verge of folding up the tent on the proposed NSA hearings. The critical vote will come tomorrow, but it’s iffy. “Two committee Democrats said the panel — made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats — was clearly leaning in favor of the motion last week but now is closely divided and possibly inclined against it.“

Rebel Pretensions.

After the GOP co-opt the Star Wars universe for their own nefarious purposes, George Lucas makes an appearance with House Democrats (including his own congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi.) The Republican video (shown at CPAC) “depicted GOPers as the virtuous rebels, being pursued by ‘Darth Nancy’ and her imperial henchmen, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Democratic campaign chief Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.).” Um, yeah, you guys own every branch of government, your boy in office is ignoring the law and desperately trying to wrest power from the Senate, and you’re the Alliance. C’mon now, at least the Yankees own up to it.

Here comes the story of the Hurricane.

“‘If 9/11 was a failure of imagination then Katrina was a failure of initiative. It was a failure of leadership. In this instance, blinding lack of situational awareness and disjointed decision making needlessly compounded and prolonged Katrina’s horror.’” A new House report makes official what we all already know — From ignoring information about broken levees to needlessly squandering federal funds, the Dubya White House badly bungled the response to Katrina. (“Heck,” even Brownie is proclaiming it from the rooftops these days.) As Get Your War On so aptly put it months ago, “There should be a rule that if you slack off while an American city is destroyed, and then your response is to fly around hugging people and making excuses, you have to stop being President. And if it happens again four years later, you really have to stop.”

Just Following Orders.

I forgot to post this during the header hiatus, and was just reminded of it again by Supercres: On the Plamegate front, Scooter Libby testified that his “superiors” authorized the leak of Valerie Plame’s identity, meaning — undoubtedly — Dick Cheney….and someone else?