News Conference on Gonzales (OPEN THREAD)
By SusanUnPC on July 26, 2007 at 3:38 PM in Current Affairs
By SusanUnPC … UPDATE: Senate Judiciary Committee members — represented at the news conference by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) — have asked Solicitor General Paul Clement to appoint an “independent counsel from outside the Justice Department to determine whether Gonzales ‘may have misled Congress or perjured himself in testimony before Congress’.” (ALL: AP/WaPo.)
[ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Sen. Patrick Leahy is going to announce that he will subpoena Karl Rove. CNN promises more at the top of the hour.]
Here’s Paul Clement’s USDOJ bio. Wikipedia’s bio states that Clement “has argued over 25 cases before the United States Supreme Court” and “also argued many of the key cases in the lower courts involving challenges to the President’s conduct of the war on terrorism,” including “Rumsfeld v. Padilla … Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld v. FAIR, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld…”
CNN will air the Senate Democrats’ new conference live. (It’s over.) Josh Marshall may have more soon. See the related post below, and this: “Schumer on CNN: Gonzo Perjury Investigation Should Start Today.”
Then there’s “FOX Nutwork: Still pretending to be news” which quotes Hume:
BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Next on SPECIAL REPORT, Attorney General Gonzales tells his side of that late night hospital meeting. Remember that? And ends up being called untrustworthy and a liar by Senate Democrats.
Those meanies! And Faux’s transcript still identifies Sen. Arlen Specter as a Democrat.
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SEE ALSO:
+ at Crooks & Liars: “Keith Olbermann applauds Cenk’s idea (linked here first) to issue FNC “Opinion Media” passes instead of “News Media” passes.”
+ “House Resolution Rejects Permanent Bases in Iraq“:
The House voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to bar permanent United States military installations in Iraq as lawmakers readied for yet another clash over a Democratic demand to withdraw combat troops from the conflict.
[...]
House Republicans offered little resistance, saying the plan essentially reflected current law and Bush administration policy. But they criticized Democrats for what they said was meaningless legislation since the administration had not called for permanent bases. [SNORT!]
+ Josh Marshall on “Impeachment?”:
Impeachment?
As regular readers of this site know, I’ve always been against the movement to impeach President Bush. I take this position not because he hasn’t done plenty to merit it. My reasons are practical. Minor reasons are that it’s late in the president’s term and that I think impeachment itself is toxic to our political system — though it can be less toxic than the high officials thrown from office. My key reason, though, is that Congress at present can’t even get to the relatively low threshold of votes required to force the president’s hand on Iraq. So to use an analogy which for whatever reason springs readily to my mind at this point in my life, coming out for impeachment under present circumstances is like being so frustrated that you can’t crawl that you come out for walking. In various ways it seems to elevate psychic satisfactions above progress on changing a series of policies that are doing daily and almost vast damage to our country. Find me seventeen Republican senators who are going to convict President Bush in a senate trial.
On balance, this is still my position. But in recent days, … READ ALL.
(List Price: $27.95 - Your Price: $15.47)
By Sarah Palin (Release date: November 17. 2009)
[snip]
But CUFI has an ulterior agenda: its support for Israel derives from the belief of Hagee and his flock that Jesus will return to Jerusalem after the battle of Armageddon and cleanse the earth of evil.
In the end, all the non-believers - Jews, Muslims, Hindus, mainline Christians, etc. - must convert or suffer the torture of eternal damnation.
Over a dozen CUFI members eagerly revealed to me their excitement at the prospect of Armageddon occurring tomorrow.
Among the rapture ready was Republican Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/rapture-ready-the-unauth_b_57826.html
Tom Delay’s Trinity is
The Hamilton,
The Jackson, and
The Benjamin Franklin
That’s so funny, Homer. Well, if it weren’t so pathetic and scary.
yeah, I’d like to see Tom Delay “raptured” — right into federal prison!
Well I live in the crud’s former district. It felt so good when I was answering a telephone poll several months ago and they asked me about my Congressman. I was able to say, “Well, I don’t have one, I live in Tom DeLay’s District. See, DeLay had resigned both his seat and as Republican nominee and our Republican Governor Rick “Show Me The Money” Perry refused to hold a special election to fill his seat until the regular November Election. So we didn’t have any Congressional representation for several months. It felt GOOOOOOOOOOOD because our non-respresentative never cast a vote I disagreed with, was never indicted, and never insulted my intelligence. You know how when you keep hitting yourself in the head with a hammer (DeLay’s nickname) it feels so good when you stop? BOO-YAH!
Good for you. Say, how is the new guy doing? I can’t remember his name.
Btw, PBS Newshour had a roundtable of freshmen House members last night, debating Iraq. It was actually fascinating. Freshmen Lawmakers Advocate Different Strategies in Iraq. Overall, I was impressed, and not just by the Democrats.
The new guy is Nick Lampson. I haven’t seen his voting record since returning to congress in the former Delay district. He is now possibly running for Senator against Cornyn. It would be nice if it could be a purple state for a while until 2013 when Kay Bailey is up for bids.
But as a neighbor to Delay’s district I can appreciate the fine work of the ‘no representative’ who did so outstanding a job as to not cause trouble, not obstruct, not lie (or so we suspect), and to not engage in bribery and redistricting.
Do you think ‘no representative’ could run in Culberson’s district too? He’s such a putrid windbag and it was misery to be in his district.
No, Nick Lampson has decided to tend to his knitting and run again for Congress. Funny thing, even when we had a new Congressman he immediately went in for heart surgery, so we didn’t. But he’s better now. Two words, RICK NORIEGA. He’s a Democratic Texas State Representative, with credentials up the wazoo, who’s running for Cornyn’s seat. He’s been to Afghanistan with the National Guard and was in charge of the Katrina evacuees in Houston. The Texas bloggers are going NUTS for him. He was basically drafted by the blogosphere and has formed an Exploratory Committee, so he’s a serious candidate. His wife just got elected to fill the Houston City Council seat of Shelley Sekula Gibbs, the crackpot who “won” the election for the last few weeks of Tom DeLay’s term in the special election, while losing as the “official” Republican write-in candidate to Nick Lampson. She was such a dufus during her few weeks in office that DeLay’s staffers quit in protest, but she’s running again.
I particularly enjoyed the Houston City Council walking out on Sekula-Gibbs when she used comment time related to a death of a police officer to schill for the anti-immigrant causes she believes in. Several members of council took a good look at her and walked out stating she had gaul to use the occasion of loss to promote her running for office and campaign slogans.
I think we should lock DeLay up in the cave on Patmos, Greece where John the Revelator wrote his Armageddon halucination when he was high on Cylicibin.
Isn’t Hot Tub Tom DeLay estranged from his mother?
He had the Ten Commandments posted in his office - yet mom wouldn’t get a call from DeLay on Mother’s Day. Musta been a really HEAVY phone.
Clement might appoint a special prosecutor, because he’s also the one who appointed Fitzgerald to investigate the CIA leak. Sure hope he does.
Tend to agree with Josh Marshall that impeachment is impractical when you’ll never get the votes in the Senate. But the Bushies are out of control. We need a grassroots movement to force the centrist GOP, we need 17 of them, to agree to impeachment. Otherwise, it won’t happen until after the 2008 election, assuming we elect more Democrats to the Senate and maintain our majority in the House.
Over on Rawstory, just read a BBC report that Prescott Bushie, W’s grandfather, was plotting a coup to overthrow FDR and establish a fascist government similar to Hitler’s and Mussolini’s. Why is that not surprising?
I think it was James Comey who appointed Fitzgerald when Comey was Deputy Attorney General (DAG). ? Btw, Comey is a conservative, but apparently one of those more principled ones.
Whoops. Clement is a member of the Federalist Society. He probably won’t appoint a prosecutor. I was so hoping for roast Gonzales. Never mind.
I hate to sound defeatist - but I think that the Dems lost this fight when they rolled over and let Bush stack the supreme court.
There is zero chance they’re going to convince senate Republicans to back Impeachment, and any judicial matter is going to be covered on a 5-4 vote in the SCOTUS.
I don’t think they should not try. I think they should begin yesterday. But I am certain Impeachment will fail. Special prosecutor? How long is this going to take? To prove in court what everybody already knows: Bush is a crook.
And no; I don’t think DeLay believes in all that crap either. He believes in conning the religious for donation money. He’s a con man. That’s all these people are. There’s no such thing as a “neo-conservative” political persuasion. They conned the Christians, they conned the Flat-taxers, they conned the small-government-ers, they conned the Nuke Cuba crowd, they conned everyone.
Dear lord:
SusanUnPC;
Well - getting past the SHOCK value of slavery. . .
We’re using slave labor to construct an embassy, and we’re paying $2 Billion?! WTF?
Impeachment begins in the House of Representatives. Regardless of how things look in the Senate, the matter starts with our representatives.
Right now, it appears the Democrats have a lack of courage, a lack of leadership, and a lack of integrity. Do they prefer to leave all the Unitary Executive prerogatives in place for their side in 2008? They must assume nothing more will happen to spoil their chance to win the Presidency.
Looking back at stolen elections, starting a war with lies, illegal wiretapping, torture, suspension of habeus corpus, signing statements, and executive privilege run amok, how can any Congressperson think they are upholding their oath to support the US Constitution by doing nothing?
I imagine the day after the November, 2008 election, Democrats will look in the mirror… and blame BLOOMBERG!!!
It has to be done right — not angry, not impulsive, not just-because-angry-people-say-so. There has to be strategy and careful laying out of groundwork:
Thanks for the link. It led me to Turley’s remarks about the limitations of Executive Privilege. (And lots of comments!)
Criminal investigations by Congress are the groundwork that should lead to a serious consideration for impeachment.
I’m frustrated because I have written my Democratic Representative for years complaining about torture, wiretapping, et al. Never have I gotten a reply. It’s like the matters are “unimportant”.
Of course, we’d all like to see pardons, resignations, and a quick escape to Paraguay for this gang. Just to not have to deal with the nasty details. The lure of big money and power makes this scenario remote, as well as the possibility of international war crimes trials.
GR3: Right now, it appears the Democrats have a lack of courage, a lack of leadership, and a lack of integrity.
Anyone that has been swirling around in the bowl with Bush should be targeted for an electoral flushing:
Can you believe Sen. Feinstein actually sought to censure President Clinton in 1999 and she has proposed no such thing to even one Mayberry Machiavellian?
Sen. Feinstein gives Bush a pass and censures Clinton for lying?
By Edward Walsh
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 12, 1999; Page A23
The leading Democratic advocate of censuring President Clinton for his conduct in the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal made a last-minute appeal to the Senate yesterday, saying that Clinton’s behavior was “immoral, deplorable and indefensible” and that it merited “strong condemnation and censure.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/feinstein021299.htm
[snip]
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton, president of the United States, deliberately misled and deceived the American people, and people in all branches of the United States government;
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton, president of the United States, gave false or misleading testimony and his actions have had the effect of impeding discovery of evidence in judicial proceedings;
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton’s conduct in this matter is unacceptable for a president of the United States, does demean the office of the president as well as the president himself, and creates disrespect for laws of the land;
Whereas President Clinton fully deserves censure for engaging in such behavior;
Whereas future generations of Americans must know that such behavior is not only unacceptable but also bears grave consequences, including loss of integrity, trust and respect;
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton remains subject to criminal actions in a court of law like any other citizen;
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton’s conduct in this matter has brought shame and dishonor to himself and to the office of the president; and
Whereas William Jefferson Clinton through his conduct in this matter has violated the trust of the American people;
http://www2.jsonline.com:80/news/president/0213feinstein.asp
[keywords: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), California's senior Senator, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senate Commitee on the Judiciary, Senator Dianne Feinstein]
She gives an interesting account of Rush Limbaugh’s ignorant attacks on her husband’s article. Then she points out some of Rush’s Achilles heels, including that he sells these t-shirts on his site:
My Nancy Pelosi fantasy news conference, with Reid standing next to her and every Dem behind her:
“My fellow Americans: You sent a loud and clear message last November to stop this disastrous war. We are fighting to do just that, but I’m here tonight to warn all Americans the fight is now much bigger than the war in Iraq. The war the Bush administration and the Republican party have declared is on our cherished Constitution and on our way of life. We are on the edge of the abyss, and I have never feared for my County as I fear for it now. Our Constitution is being openly mocked and defied by a gang of Aristocrats known as todays Republican party.
Republicans brought us this disastrous war which is bankrupting our nation and breaking our military. Republicans brought us $3 gas and skyrocketing food prices. Republicans brought us a home mortgage crisis, a health care crisis, danger in our food supply, a dollar plummeting as fast as our reputation world-wide, crumbling infrastructure, and sat on their Republican asses while a great American city died.
Sat on their asses on their yachts and in their undisclosed bunkers smoking cigars and drinking fine wine, plotting new crazy wars and thanking Osama everyday for his gift which keeps on giving. They have all the money, and they are not done. They will not be happy until America is a one-party authoritarian state and you, all of you, have learned to keep your mouth shut and your head down.
We need your help. I’m asking America to contact your Congressman and tell them your tired of this fascist nonsense and your not going to take it anymore! Impeach Bush and Cheney now!
We cannot win this battle without all of America standing with us.
Live free or Die!”
I know, fantasy. But it would be nice if they would use language as more of a weapon. You don’t play nice with fascist - that should be a sign on every Dems desk.
To impeach or not to impeach.
In terms of making a decision, it seems to come down to a question of which is the lesser of the evils? Enduring a destructive process with the risk of failure, versus risking the wait to see how far the George WMD admin will be able to push their outlaw agenda in the remaining time they have.
Personally, I lean towards impeachment, but at the same time the groundwork has to be laid. Unfortunately, the groundwork is being laid much too slowly - something like leveling land for a new freeway using a wood plow and a mule. Running out the election clock just isn’t good enough. I don’t expect that Congress should jump ahead too soon, but someone needs to light a fire under their asses on laying the groundwork.
Republican Congress members who might be concerned about loss of political clout if the POTUS from their own party is impeached, need to be reminded that by Nov’08 Bush will become their own worst political liability. If they don’t want to completely lose two branches of the government for at least a generation, they may want to reconsider their current naive stubbornness.
What do Centrists and Republicans really believe they will gain if they succeed in preventing an impeachment, only to fail at preventing disastrous erosion of the entire country’s integrity?
From Oct 19, 2006, but worth a re-read today, in light of today’s Tillman revelations; ‘After Pat’s Birthday’ at Truthdig, by his surviving brother Kevin.
In the series of ’somehow’ comments, one sticks out for me:
Everyone already knows soldiers risk their lives; but they also risk something else just as important. When they forfeit their own self-determination and place their confidence in their leadership, they risk the possibility that if they’re wrong, they might just have to face life-long regret. This is no small thing, and is an aspect of having their courage, virtue and honor stolen by a corrupt leader. What this means is that they risk their souls as well as their bodies. In return they deserve at least a good faith effort at honor in terms of what they’re sent to do.
I read yesterday that Guiliani was skipping the YouTube debate on CNN, and that Romney wasn’t keen on it. Now this:
Stampeding Elephants
A few more clues on the GOP stampede from the Youtube/CNN debate. Apparently, of all the GOP candidates, only McCain and Ron Paul have signed on. Should be quite an evening.
In 2004 psychiatrist Justin Frank wrote “Bush On The Couch”. Now, in “Dangers of a Cornered George Bush”, VIPS (Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity) have collaborated with Frank on an update.
Caution before reading; have a fresh cup of coffee, and put on your adult size panties.
Scary stuff. It makes impeachment out to be the only effective way to deal with these WH sociopaths.
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/072707a.html
With Cheney egging him on from the wings of the “unitary executive,” but Congress no longer bowing to that novel interpretation of the Constitution, Bush will be sorely tempted to lash out in some violent way, if further funding for the war is denied.
To do that effectively, he will need senior generals and admirals as co-conspirators. It will be up to them to choose between career and Constitution. All too often, in such circumstances, the tendency has been to choose career.
Impeachment hearings, though, could encourage senior officers like Admiral Fallon to pause long enough to remember that their oath is to defend the Constitution, and that they are not required to follow orders to start another war in order to stave off political and personal disaster for the president and vice president.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072607A.shtml
Editor’s Note: A full examination of this issue will be the topic for this week’s program, “Voter Caging” on “NOW” airing Friday, July 27 on PBS (Check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html.). TO/vh
Also see:
Truthout’s interview with former US attorney for New Mexico David Iglesias •
Exclusive | Emails Detail RNC Voter Suppression in Five States
By Jason Leopold and Matt Renner
t r u t h o u t | Report
Thursday 26 July 2007
Truthout has obtained previously undisclosed GOP campaign emails from the 2004 presidential race that reveal and detail strategies to disenfranchise voters in crucial swing states.
Previously undisclosed documents detail how Republican operatives, with the knowledge of several White House officials, engaged in an illegal, racially-motivated effort to suppress tens of thousands of votes during the 2004 presidential campaign in a state where George W. Bush was trailing his Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry.
The documents also contain details describing how Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign officials, and at least one individual who worked for White House political adviser Karl Rove, planned to stop minorities residing in Cuyahoga County from voting on election day.
The efforts to purge voters from registration rolls was spearheaded by Tim Griffin, a former Republican National Committee opposition researcher. Griffin recently resigned from his post as interim US attorney for Little Rock Arkansas. His predecessor, Bud Cummins, was forced out to make way for Griffin.
Another set of documents, 43 pages of emails, provided to Truthout by the PBS news program “NOW,” contains blueprints for a massive effort undertaken by RNC operatives in 2004, to challenge the eligibility of voters expected to support Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in states such as Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Pennsylvania….” excerpt
It never ends…and the problem is, where to start.