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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: one_less who wrote (499843)	7/30/2009 4:19:53 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1578743

Rove Had Heavier Hand in Prosecutor Firings Than Previously Known By Carrie Johnson Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, July 30, 2009; 2:37 PM Political adviser Karl Rove and other high-ranking figures in the Bush White House played a greater role than previously understood in the firing of federal prosecutors almost three years ago, according to e-mails obtained by The Washington Post, in a scandal that led to mass Justice Department resignations and an ongoing criminal probe. The e-mails and new interviews with key participants reflect contacts among Rove, aides in the Bush political affairs office and White House lawyers about the dismissal of three of the nine U.S. attorneys fired in 2006: New Mexico's David C. Iglesias, the focus of ire from GOP lawmakers; Missouri's Todd Graves, who had clashed with one of Rove's former clients; and Arkansas's Bud Cummins, who was pushed out to make way for a Rove protege. The documents and interviews provide new information about efforts by political aides in the Bush White House, for example, to push a former colleague as a favored candidate for one of the U.S. attorney posts. They also reflect the intensity of efforts by lawmakers and party officials in New Mexico to unseat the top prosecutor there. Rove described himself as merely passing along complaints by senators and state party officials to White House lawyers. The e-mails emerged as Rove finished his second day of closed-door-testimony Thursday about the firings to the House Judiciary Committee. For years, Rove and former White House counsel Harriet Miers had rejected efforts by lawmakers to obtain their testimony and their correspondence about the issue, citing executive privilege. The House of Representatives sued, igniting a court fight that was resolved this year after discussions among lawyers for former president George W. Bush and President Obama. Robert D. Luskin, Rove's attorney, said, "I certainly can confirm that Karl answered all of the committee's questions fully and truthfully. His answers should put to rest any suspicion that he acted improperly." Rove and Miers, as well as other Bush administration figures, still could be called to testify at a public hearing on Capitol Hill. Transcripts of their behind-closed-doors accounts could be released by the House Judiciary panel as early as August under the terms of the court settlement. At the same time, assistant U.S. attorney Nora R. Dannehy continues to investigate whether the firings of the prosecutors and the political firestorm that followed could form the basis of possible false statements, obstruction of justice or other criminal charges. Rove and Miers each met with Dannehy this year. In an hour-long interview with The Post and the New York Times this month, Rove described himself as a "conduit" of grievances from lawmakers and others about the performance of home-state prosecutors. The interview was conducted on the condition that it not be released until Rove's House testimony concluded. He said he did not recall several events in the timeline because of his busy job and asserted that he had done nothing to influence criminal cases, an allegation by Democrats that has dogged him for years. Luskin, Rove's attorney, asserted that "there was never any point where Karl was trying to get a particular prosecution advanced or retarded." read more............. washingtonpost.com

To: one_less who wrote (499843)	7/30/2009 4:44:14 PM
From: tejek	1 Recommendation Respond to of 1578743

Birther sympathizers take flack locally Flirting with birthers is starting to exact a bit of a local cost. The conservative Tulsa World chides Inhofe: Oh, senator. You could have done the right thing and dismissed this goofiness for what it is, and reminded people that there are far more important issues to worry about. But, instead, you gave them some legitimacy.... [T]he "birthers," like the alien abduction believers, Kennedy conspiracy adherents, the Big Foot hunters and those who believe in the bogeyman, will not be deterred. We don't expect they will be. But it would have been nice if Sen. Inhofe had shown some statesmanship. We expect more of our leaders. And the Houston Chronicle raps some local Reps.: A group of five Texas congressmen, including Reps. John Culberson, D-Houston, and Ted Poe, R-Humble, is considering whether to require future presidential candidates to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Please, gentlemen. That strikes us as grandstanding in the third degree. The whole thing is getting weirder than those old tabloid stories about house cats giving birth to space aliens.It's time to say, “Enough, already.” politico.com