Snow on the 18-day gap

post from Daily Kos on 21 March 2007 02:23:48 PM. © Daily Kos

Tells the reporter to ask Justice, and only provides:
I've been led to believe that there's a good response for it, and I'm going to let you ask them because they're going to have an answer.
He looked really really uncomfortable.

Anyone remember what Nixon's excuse was for the 18-minute gap?

And also via the Baby Blue Cherub, the Chicago Tribune digs up a juice old Tony Snow column from 1998:

"Evidently, Mr. Clinton wants to shield virtually any communications that take place within the White House compound on the theory that all such talk contributes in some way, shape or form to the continuing success and harmony of an administration. Taken to its logical extreme, that position would make it impossible for citizens to hold a chief executive accountable for anything. He would have a constitutional right to cover up.

"Chances are that the courts will hurl such a claim out, but it will take time.

"One gets the impression that Team Clinton values its survival more than most people want justice and thus will delay without qualm. But as the clock ticks, the public's faith in Mr. Clinton will ebb away for a simple reason: Most of us want no part of a president who is cynical enough to use the majesty of his office to evade the one thing he is sworn to uphold the rule of law.''

Ha ha ha ha! I can't wait to see Snow try and explain that one away.

Update: From the comments, the answer to my question about Nixon's excuse:

Nixon's new Chief of Staff Alexander M. Haig Jr. suggested the possibility that "some sinister force" had erased portions of the subpoenaed tape. President Nixon's personal secretary Rose Mary Woods was eventually blamed as having caused the erasure supposedly after she had been asked to prepare a summary of taped conversations for the President.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/103366029/1419

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Remember Vacation-Gate

post from Daily Kos on 21 March 2007 02:21:07 PM. © Daily Kos

I was googling around looking for something and came across this hilarious RNC "briefing" on me that -- gasp! -- exposed the horrors of my vacation:

WHO IS MARKOS MOULITSAS ZUNIGA? [...]

Daily Kos Blogger Markos Moulitsas Zuniga Back From "Relaxing" Vacation:

Moulitsas Just Got Back From Summer Vacation: "I got back from El Salvador really early this morning, so I'm still catching up on the last week's news." (The Daily Kos Website, www.dailykos.com, Accessed 8/22/06)

Moulitsas: "I'm still playing catchup after my very relaxing, very nice vacation." (Daily Kos Website, www.dailykos.com, Accessed 8/22/06)

The RNC was so, so proud of that one. They faxed and emailed it out to their media list. I got at least five of those reporters shoot it back to me laughing about it. One of them asked the RNC if they were serious about the "briefing", and the RNC told this reporter that this was just the first salvo of what they promised would be a campaign to wrap me around the neck of every candidate we supported (like, um, now-Sens. Webb and Tester).

Unfortunately for the RNC, most Americans didn't seem to care that I took a "relaxing" vacation.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/103366030/9703

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A few problems

post from Crooks and Liars on 21 March 2007 02:20:50 PM. © Crooks and Liars

We had a couple of server problems yesterday that resulted in some funkiness…We're still sorting it out…If you have any problems—please be patient…Now back to blogging….

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/03/21/a-few-problems/

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IF A TREE FALLS IN THE FOREST WILL BUSH HEAR IT--
IF IT DOESN'T FALL ON HIS HEAD

post from DownWithTyranny! on 21 March 2007 02:13:00 PM. © DownWithTyranny!

In the L.A. Times this morning, Richard Serrano reported that "Senior Justice Department officials began drafting memos this month listing specific reasons why they had fired eight U.S. attorneys, intending to cite performance problems such as insubordination, leadership failures and other missteps if needed to convince angry congressional Democrats that the terminations were justified." The lists were put together as part of the massive Bush Regime cover-up they are attempting-- poorly-- to perpetrate in front of the eyes of a suddenly more awake American Congress, media and public.

As Harry Reid pointed out yesterday, lying, half-truths, secrecy, cover-up, deception have been the hallmarks of the Bush Regime since it's first days in power. That's why Rove-- the worst of the entire lot of these criminals-- must be compelled to tell the truth... or face prosecution.

So, appropriately, the House and Senate committees looking into the cascading scandals emerging from the Bush DoJ have rejected Bush's offer to let them have an informal, off-the-record chit chat session with the criminals involved with turning American Justice on its head. Replying to his bluster about "fishing expeditions" and "executive privilege," they voted this morning to issue subpoenas to the offenders.

On the House side, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers said his staff is still negotiating with the Regime and that he would hold off on serving the subpoenas while negotiating was under way. Today's CongressDaily points out that "the decision to delay serving the subpoenas put off a constitutional showdown between the executive and legislative branches that would probably end up in court. But the ceasefire might not last long; shortly after Conyers spoke, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said the offer to allow private interviews but not sworn testimony was not negotiable."

It is no coincidence that one of the strongest voices on the committee opposing subpoenas was that of Florida's most crooked congressman, Tom Feeney, who was part of the culture of corruption bunch along with Duke Cunningham, Duncan Hunter, Virgil Goode, John Doolittle and Jerry Lewis, who had the most to gain from the firing of U.S. Attorney Carol Lam. He insisted that subpoenas should not be considered unless the committee turned up even more evidence of criminal behavior of the part of the Regime. Apparently he ~~doesn't understand~~ clearly understands the purpose of an investigation.

Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., said clearing the way for subpoenas put the committee in a position of strength as it negotiated with the White House on access to Rove and others. Democrats contend the prosecutors were fired for political purposes, a view that Feeney seemed to have trouble taking seriously. "I am shocked, just like in 'Casablanca,' that politics might have been involved," Feeney said. Cannon told reporters that Democrats might end up agreeing to Fielding's offer because issuing subpoenas would be a time-consuming process, especially if President Bush followed through on his vow to invoke executive privilege and challenges the subpoenas in court. Democrats "should take what they can get for now" and consider serving subpoenas later in their investigation, he said.

Oh, and speaking of ~~Fox propagandist~~ White House whatever they call him Tony Snow, he had a very different outlook on all these when the crime wasn't the mere destruction of the Justice system of the United States but the very serious matter of an adult president getting a bj from an adult woman. John Aravosis refers us to some quotes from Snow in the Chicago Tribune way back when Clinton was perpetrating real crimes against the Republic-- and impeachment was on the table.

"The wall of separation between Mr. Clinton and his deeds remains strong because minions have stuck to their alibis. But now comes an episode in which the Man from Hope stands alone. It is his recent attempt to claim executive privilege for counselors Bruce Lindsey and Sidney Blumenthal and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"Mr. Clinton can't blame his lawyers for this latest feint. He alone can assert the privilege. The maneuver places him at the heart of his administration's ongoing effort to use executive privilege as a way of concealing the truth about whether the president exposed himself....

"Earlier in this administration, then-White House legal counsel Lloyd Cutler decreed that the White House never would assert privilege in the face of a criminal investigation. He merely was reiterating long-standing executive-branch policy along those lines. President Ronald Reagan didn't invoke privilege in Iran-contra, and neither did President George Bush.

"But precedent is gone, and Mr. Clinton wants to protect conversations about a chubby intern from Hollywood. In so doing, he becomes the first president since Richard Nixon to use executive privilege in a criminal inquiry.

"Evidently, Mr. Clinton wants to shield virtually any communications that take place within the White House compound on the theory that all such talk contributes in some way, shape or form to the continuing success and harmony of an administration. Taken to its logical extreme, that position would make it impossible for citizens to hold a chief executive accountable for anything. He would have a constitutional right to cover up.

"Chances are that the courts will hurl such a claim out, but it will take time.

"One gets the impression that Team Clinton values its survival more than most people want justice and thus will delay without qualm. But as the clock ticks, the public's faith in Mr. Clinton will ebb away for a simple reason: Most of us want no part of a president who is cynical enough to use the majesty of his office to evade the one thing he is sworn to uphold the rule of law.''

UPDATE: OVER ON THE EXTREME RIGHT, NO SYMPATHY FOR GONZALES... OR BUSH

Today's Evans-Novak Political Report isn't exactly brimming over with good news for the Regime. "It is impossible to find a Republican on Capitol Hill who believes either that Alberto Gonzales will survive as attorney general or that he should survive. That typifies the poor congressional relations of the Bush Administration that are rooted in arrogance. And this from the crew that likes these folks!

Read The Full Article:
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2007/03/if-tree-falls-in-forest-will-bush-hea
r.html

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Fired U.S. Attorneys led the Nation in
Convictions. No Wonder the Bush Administration was Worried!

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 21 March 2007 02:12:48 PM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

Every day, the explanations for the firings of the eight U.S. attorneys are becoming less about competence and more about corruption. Some new statistics show that the prosecutors were in fact leading the nation in output:

Technorati Tags: Analysis us attorney justice department bush

Read The Full Article:
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/analysis/193

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Ed Henry Finds a Nut

post from Eschaton on 21 March 2007 02:07:00 PM. © Eschaton

CNN:

I think also, another thing to look at, I followed up a question about executive privilege. You heard Tony Snow at the end there saying the president has no recollection of being involved in this decision to fire the US attorneys. So we asked the question then, well why are you citing executive privilege - or at least suggesting you will, and yesterday the president said the principle at stake here is candid advice from his advisers to the president - if the president was not involved in the decision, then how can you cite executive privilege on something he was really not involved in? And Tony Snow basically said, it's a good question and I don't know the answer.

Read The Full Article:
http://atrios.blogspot.com/2007_03_18_atrios_archive.html#117450073106924882

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DCCC Goes Up on the Air Hitting Heather Wilson
for Prosecutor Purge

post from MyDD on 21 March 2007 02:01:36 PM. © MyDD

It has been more than two weeks since GOP Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico admitted to breaking congressional ethics laws and still no member of the House, to my knowledge, has stepped forward and asked the House Committee on Standards of Official[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mydd/~3/103360912/163

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Snow Won’t Comment On 18-Day Gap:
‘I’ve Been Led To Believe There’s A Good Response For It’

Researchers have discovered an 18-day gap in the 3,000 documents on the U.S. Attorney purge released this week by the Justice Department. The gap extends from mid-November to early December, “which was a critical period as the White House and Justice Department reviewed, then approved, which U.S. attorneys would be fired while also developing a [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/21/snow-gap/

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BuzzFlash Mailbag for March 21, 2007

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 21 March 2007 01:57:56 PM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

BUZZFLASH MAILBAG

Want to join the conversation? Share your thoughts with other Mailbag readers by clicking here.

Subject: Nixon Was About To Be Impeached for Resisting House Subpoenas

Technorati Tags: BuzzFlash Mailbag US attorneys scandal impeachment subpoenas

Read The Full Article:
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/mailbag/343

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Climate Change Hearings

Chris Mooney has video of some of Gore's testimony at The Intersection and adds:

I found Al Gore's opening testimony--which I just watched--deeply stirring. Whenever I hear the guy talk, my feeling is always the same: He exudes intelligence.

I found the behavior of Rep. Joe Barton--constantly raising petty parliamentary objections, quibbling over whether Gore's actual presentation did or didn't match his written testimony closely enough, and then trying to fight over the science once again--to be small indeed.

Streaming C-Span video here. Live Dkos thread here.