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An internal Justice Department investigation released Monday has concluded that senior officials broke the law by hiring immigration and other officials based on partisan considerations. The report — issued by the inspector general and the Office of Professional Responsibility — culminates an investigation that lasted more than a year, stemming from the firing of seven U.S. attorneys in one day in 2006. The report focuses on some of the senior officials in the circle of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Specifically, the report names senior counselor and White House liaison Monica Goodling and Gonzales' chief of staff, Kyle Sampson. Both...

On Sunday's This Week, ABC's George Stephanopoulos condemned John McCain for charging that “Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.” Stephanopoulos, who interviewed McCain on Saturday at his Arizona ranch, declared: “I can't believe you believe that.” McCain insisted “I'm not questioning his patriotism. I'm questioning his actions. I'm questioning his lack, total lack of understanding,” leading Stephanopoulos to counter: “But that is questioning his patriotism. When you say someone would rather lose a war, a candidate, that's questioning his honor, his decency, his character.” As McCain continued to defend his assessment, Stephanopoulos...

Sweet P Farm is nestled at the top of a winding driveway, hidden from view by 77 acres of gentle woods and meadows, a retreat in the Berkshires where Governor Deval Patrick can swat a few tennis balls on his private court, work on a chapter of his memoir, or stroll through the wildflowers in his backyard. But during this year's high summer season, Patrick is opening his rural getaway to the Massachusetts political world, transforming it into something like the state's own version of Camp David. The governor hosted a big ticket fund-raiser at the home last week that...

The Rage Offstage at Marvel By BILL ALPERT Lawsuits against Marvel, Lee and Bill and Hillary are pressing Paul's claims that a dot-com he started with Stan Lee in 1998 was undone by the actions of the former president, short-sellers and Stan Lee himself. In a Manhattan federal district court, some of Paul's associates argue that the bankrupt dot-com, Stan Lee Media, still owns rights to Marvel characters like Spider-Man and The X-Men. On behalf of the former dot-com, they want half the profits that Marvel (ticker: MVL) is piling up, now that it's producing its own films like the...

In its final days, Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential cam paign has come to echo George Wallace’s 1968 run. Like Clinton, Wallace as a candidate stalked the Northeast exploiting white anger. Like her, he bypassed the nation’s more educated and liberal parts to focus squarely on those who felt left behind, rallying animosity against elites.

John McCain is America's favorite kind of candidate. With his record of extraordinary patriotism and his distinctive Senate tenure, McCain is a nominee whom voters from both parties — and independents, too — could easily support. But he has been dealt a terrible hand: a tanking economy, an unpopular war, a Republican incumbent whose approval ratings are at their all-time low and a gloomy national mood, with 82 percent of Americans saying in a Washington Post-ABC News poll last week that the country is on the wrong track. Political scientists add all that up and predict that the Democrats are...

A Hardball epic . . . Message to Chris Matthews: when ripping a guest for his lack of historical knowledge, try to avoid making a history mistake of your own in the same segment. It happened on this afternoon's Hardball. After lambasting a guest for not knowing his Neville Chamberlain history, Matthews surmised that the attack on the USS Cole in October, 2000 happened under . . . President Bush. View video here.

A federal jury has found Los Angeles private detective Anthony Pellicano guilty of racketeering and conspiracy. The verdict, which could mean a penalty of eight to 10 years in federal prison, effectively brings to a close the career of the most infamous private eye in Los Angeles -- a man who insinuated himself into the loftiest legal and entertainment circles in town and even consulted on law enforcement cases, until he became the subject of one. Pellicano sat grinning and looking around room before the verdicts were read. But when he realized the jury had found him guilty, he crossed...

oseph C. Wilson IV SANTA FE, N.M. - In recent weeks Americans have been subjected to a litany of outrageous statements from Sen. Barack Obama's pastor of 20 years, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. While Obama was finally compelled to distance himself from his radical preacher, the relationship raises legitimate questions about Obama's judgment and naivete. Obama, after all, wants to be president of the United States, and in that quest has proposed unconditional summit meetings with some of our country's most determined enemies, including Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Obama's campaign has been built upon his supposed transcendent qualities and intuitive judgment....

Dee Dee Myers has just come out with her amusing tale, Why Women Should Rule the World. You may recall Mrs. Myers was the first female White House press secretary, appointed during the first two tumultuous years of the Clinton administration. Simply put, Myers is a female supremacist. "Women tend to be better communicators, better listeners, better at forming consensus," she argues. That entitles women to run the world because they do everything better than those power-hungry men, Myers believes. As the unsmiling Myers goes about promoting her book, one wonders what led her to pen a tome filled with...

Former White House staffer Craig Livingstone on WMAL's Chris Plante Show Washington, DC, live now.

The early days of 1996 were tense times inside the Clinton White House. On Jan. 4, the First Couple's top personal aide reported that she had stumbled upon Hillary Clinton's long-lost Rose Law Firm billing records—documents that had been requested by Whitewater prosecutors two years earlier. Ken Starr quickly subpoenaed the First Lady to testify before a federal grand jury on Jan. 26 of that year. But anybody looking through Hillary Clinton's newly released White House records for clues as to how she handled this personal crisis will find … absolutely nothing. ... The heavy deletions are perhaps not surprising,...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Mike Huckabee broadened his populist-inspired appeal for support in Michigan on Saturday, saying he viewed his presidential campaign as a "cause" that represents a threat to the Republican establishment in Washington. With polls showing support in Michigan's Republican primary Tuesday to be extremely fluid among Mitt Romney, John McCain and Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor also lashed out at candidates who campaign on a theme of opposing abortion but do little about it when they get into office. "We're people who will no longer just allow people to get elected, promising that they're listening to us...

Stupid Intelligence on Iran If Tehran did slow its weapons program, Bush policies probably had something to do with it. JAMES SCHLESINGER The release earlier this month of "key judgments" from the National Intelligence Estimate--including the bald assertion "that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program"--has caused both astonishment here at home and consternation overseas, where it has resulted in confusion about America's policy goals and steadiness. Let us stipulate that the intelligence community has acquired evidence sufficiently persuasive to lead it to reverse its prior judgment that Iran was hard at work developing nuclear weapons. For that...

Just in case you thought there was a limit to the vulgarity of Paul Begala . . . Bill Clinton's former adviser was a guest on the Situation Room this aftern0on on CNN. Talk turned to the strategy Republicans should adopt in upcoming special elections. WOLF BLITZER: How much of a lightning rod -- you're an expert on this subject -- will Hillary Clinton be for Republicans out there, cause they're already, in some of these special elections that are coming up, they're already pointed to her to try to help Republican candidates? View video here.

Today, Laura Ingraham had George Stephanopolos on for a phone interview. I called Kristinn to advise him to listen and he reminded me that George Stephanopolos was the ultimate "plant", having appeared to be just another caller that got through to The Larry King Shoe during Bush '41's apppearance literally days before the election. In fact, Stephanopolos wasn't just another caller waiting in line like everyone else, Stephanopolos was on an inside phone line for guests, having been arranged by a King producer, despite the claims by King during the show that George got through because "anyone can call". So...

It took 15 years to become official, but Carole Simpson has now confirmed what we always suspected: she's a Clinton backer. Readers will recall that during the 1992 campaign, the then ABC News anchor moderated a presidential debate in which she made life uncomfortable for George 41, notably with her snide "who would like to begin, the education president?" poke. According to this Boston Globe article, back in 2003 Simpson was "eased out" of her anchor chair in favor of Elizabeth Vargas. Simpson has now taken a teaching position at Emerson College in Boston, and last night turned up at...

The far left’s campaign to rehabilitate the CBS Killian memos and attack the bloggers who discredited them is in full bloom today, as Sidney Blumenthal makes a ludicrous, stupid accusation in an article for Salon.com: Dan Rather stands by his story. "..Within minutes of the conclusion of the broadcast, conservative bloggers launched a counterattack. The chief of these critics was a Republican Party activist in Georgia. Almost certainly, these bloggers, who had been part of meetings or conference calls organized by Karl Rove’s political operation, coordinated their actions with Rove’s office..." Rove? Karl Rove? If only this Blumenthal tool knew...

For Democrats, things rarely get much better than this. In 2008, they’ll be running to succeed an unpopular incumbent, against an opposition that has rarely been more disorganized or dispirited. Polls show a Democratic advantage on major issues nearly across the board. Amid all these favorable signs, it’s only natural that some of the party’s top strategists would be pondering the same question: Wonder how we’ll screw it up this time? “We are a little bit of a shellshocked political party. We somehow or another always figure out a way to blow it,” Democratic strategist James Carville said. “Democrats have...

Former Clinton labor secretary and perennial industrial policy hustler, Robert Reich, is a leading negative indicator. Whatever he predicts, the exact opposite occurs. In the 1980s, Reich declared that the U.S. economic growth rates were in a permanent slump and that we needed to adopt the economic model represented by the once famed Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry. ---snip--- Now comes the insufferable Reich with an idiotic article in the current Foreign Policy (sub required) arguing that capitalism is undermining democracy around the globe.

USA Today: Did Sandy Berger 'Steal' Secret Docs? We're Debating That Still Posted by Ken Shepherd on June 8, 2007 - 10:24. You know, it seems pretty cut-and-dried to me. Stuffing secret documents down your pants and removing them from a secure room in a federal facility, that constitutes stealing.USA Today's "On Deadline" blog isn't sure, though. (bold/italics are USA Today's): Sandy Berger, the national security adviser under former President Clinton, was disbarred yesterday in the District of Columbia.The Washington Post says Berger agreed last month to give up his law license in order to avoid a prolonged investigation that...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A federal judge Thursday froze the assets of Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record), D-La., who was indicted this week on charges of soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. Among the 16 criminal counts Jefferson is facing is a criminal forfeiture count, and prosecutors have already said they will seek to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars from Jefferson that they believe he obtained illicitly by peddling his influence to help broker business deals in Africa. Jefferson is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court. The restraining order issued by U.S. District...

On May 17th, Sandy Berger, President Bill Clinton's National Security Adviser, voluntarily gave up his law license and with it the right to practice law. That is a stunning move for an accomplished lawyer, one of the nation's most influential public officials. Someone should take note. In fact, everyone should. Berger previously entered a deal with the Department of Justice after he was caught stealing and destroying highly sensitive classified material regarding the Clinton Administration's handling of terrorism issues. That deal allowed him to avoid jail time, pay a modest fine, and keep his law license. It also allowed him...

Edwards: Move Past 'War on Terror' May 23 11:36 AM US/Eastern By BETH FOUHY Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) - Democrat John Edwards Wednesday repudiated the notion that there is a "global war on terror," calling it an ideological doctrine advanced by the Bush administration that has strained American military resources and emboldened terrorists. In a defense policy speech he planned to deliver at the Council on Foreign Relations, Edwards called the war on terror a "bumper sticker" slogan Bush had used to justify everything from abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison to the invasion of Iraq. "We need...

Clinton aide forfeits law license in Justice probe By Jerry Seper THE WASHINGTON TIMES May 17, 2007 Samuel R. Berger, the Clinton White House national security adviser who was caught taking highly classified documents from the National Archives, has agreed to forfeit his license to practice law. In a written statement issued by Larry Breuer, Mr. Berger's attorney, the former national security adviser said he pleaded guilty in the Justice Department investigation, accepted the penalties sought by the department and recognized that his law license would be affected. "I have decided to voluntarily relinquish my license," he said. "While I...

Mr. Tenet's account of all this gives the reader no idea of the substance of our critique, which was that the CIA's analysts were suppressing information. They were not showing policy makers reports that justified concern about ties between Iraq and al Qaeda. Mr. Tenet does tell us that the CIA briefed Mr. Cheney on Iraq and al Qaeda in September 2002 and that the "briefing was a disaster" because "Libby and the vice president arrived with such detailed knowledge on people, sources, and timelines that the senior CIA analytic manager doing the briefing that day simply could not compete."...

CIA TENET: BUSH ADMIN USE OF HIS 'SLAM DUNK' COMMENT TO PUSH WAR WAS DISINGENUOUS, DISHONORABLE AND RUINED REPUTATION AND CAREER Thu Apr 26 2007 14:11:35 ET Ex-CIA Director George Tenet says the way the Bush administration has used his now famous "slam dunk" comment Ð which he admits saying in reference to making the public case for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq Ð is both disingenuous and dishonorable. It also ruined his reputation and his career, he tells Scott Pelley in his first network television interview. The interview will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, April 29 (7:00-8:00...

In his new book At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA George Tenet depicts President Bush's decision to invade Iraq as a foregone conclusion, but he seemed to have a different version of events when I interviewed him just after the invasion. Strongly implying that he was against the war from the beginning, the former director of Central Intelligence writes that, as far as he knows, the Bush administration never had a "serious debate" about the "imminence of the Iraqi threat" or even seriously considered the implications of an invasion or the possible consequences. Moreover, Tenet...

The CIA has been fighting the Bush administration since 9/11. 9/11 proved the monumental incompetence of the CIA, and its weakness in the post Cold War era. What the CIA is doing right now, by giving false "leaks" to help the Democrats rewriting history, is to erase this shameful period. Edward J. Epstain raised questions about the reliability of the CIA about the WTC 1993 case : "BY EDWARD JAY EPSTEIN Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, March 21, 2007 Last week Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) admitted to having been responsible for planning no fewer than 28 acts of terrorism, including the...

(CBS) Ex-CIA Director George Tenet says the way the Bush administration has used his now famous "slam dunk" comment — which he admits saying in reference to making the public case for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — is both disingenuous and dishonorable. It also ruined his reputation and his career, he tells 60 Minutes Scott Pelley in his first network television interview. Pelley's report will be broadcast Sunday, April 29, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. The phrase "slam dunk" didn't refer to whether Saddam Hussein actually had WMDs, says Tenet; the CIA thought he did. He says he was...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush should follow British Prime Minister Tony Blair's lead and start withdrawing troops from Iraq, former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said Saturday. "Engaging in a broad-based diplomatic offensive, and beginning a redeployment of U.S. forces in Iraq, represents the best way to secure America's interests in the region and combat the serious threat of terrorist networks," Holbrooke, who served under President Clinton, said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. Britain will withdraw about 1,600 troops in the coming months and aims to cut more by late summer. The announcement came as Bush is implementing his plan...

In a chandeliered room at the Justice Department, the longtime head of the counterespionage section, the chief of the public integrity unit, a deputy assistant attorney general, some trial lawyers and a few FBI agents all looked down at their pant legs and socks.

The Bristol County district attorney yesterday defended throwing out OUI charges against a politically connected socialite who flunked four sobriety tests and two breath tests, blaming red tape for blocking prosecutors from getting the Breathalyzer report. “This case could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” said DA Paul F. Walsh Jr. Walsh’s office dropped OUI charges against Suzanne Magaziner last week despite a police report alleging that she twice blew .12 on the Breathalyzer, which is above the legal limit of .08. But Walsh said his prosecutor, Roger Ferris, decided he had little chance to win the case, mainly...

WASHINGTON (AP) - On the eve of midterm elections, Democrats criticized Republicans as stewards of a stale status quo while President Bush declared, "we're closing strong" in a final drive to preserve GOP control of Congress. "They can't run anything right," countered former President Clinton, taunting Republicans about the war in Iraq, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and even the scandal involving the House page program that complicated GOP efforts to win two more years in power.

TAMPA, FL— This morning, Congresswoman Katherine Harris, the Republican candidate for United States Senate continued a targeted effort to inform Florida voters of how Bill Nelson supports amnesty at great peril to our economy and security. Standing in front of the Tampa Sub Office for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Katherine Harris reminded voters that she is the only candidate in this race who will strongly oppose efforts to grant special rights and privileges to millions of illegal immigrants. Congresswoman Harris commented, “Unlike my opponent, I will fight for our hard-working families who struggle to afford our Florida lifestyle...

I'm 60 and I hate it: Bill Clinton Aug 15 2:59 PM US/Eastern Bill Clinton hates it, but it is true: He will be 60 on Saturday, and he is often the oldest man in the room. The former baby-boomer-in-chief and 42nd US president admitted at a world AIDS conference here -- at which delegates serenaded him with "Happy Birthday" -- that his approaching milestone filled him with trepidation. "In just a few days, I will be 60 years old. I hate it, but it's true," the snowy-haired veteran of two tumultuous White House terms said. "For most of my...

On Sunday's This Week, during the roundtable discussion, host George Stephanopoulos embarrassed himself and had to backtrack after he raised Clinton Defense Secretary William Perry's recommendation -- that President Bush bomb the nuclear missiles on the launchpad in North Korea -- but then went a step further and combined Perry's proposal with blaming the Iraq war for preventing that type of action in 2003, only to be thoroughly refuted by George Will. “I don't even believe what I said,” Stephanopoulos sheepishly conceded, “So I take it back, you're right.” Stephanopoulos had proposed: “What if in 2003, instead of invading Iraq,...

Hillary redefines shameless. From the New York Post: HILL LABELS GOP TACTICS A ‘DISGRACE’ By IAN BISHOP Post Correspondent June 22, 2006 — WASHINGTON - Republicans are a "disgrace" for playing politics with the war in Iraq, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton charged yesterday as she moved to turn the spotlight away from Democratic infighting over when to withdraw U.S. troops. "They choose to tar all who disagree with an open-ended, unconditional commitment as unpatriotic, as waving the white flag of surrender. They may not have a war strategy, but they do have an election strategy," Clinton charged on the Senate...

WASHINGTON, April 22 — In 1998, when President Bill Clinton ordered military strikes against a suspected chemical weapons factory in Sudan, Mary O. McCarthy, a senior intelligence officer assigned to the White House, warned the president that the plan relied on inconclusive intelligence, two former government officials said. Ms. McCarthy's reservations did not stop the attack on the factory, which was carried out in retaliation for Al Qaeda's bombing of two American embassies in East Africa. But they illustrated her willingness to challenge intelligence data and methods endorsed by her bosses at the Central Intelligence Agency. On Thursday, the C.I.A....

Behold Mary O. McCarthy’s political contributions for the last few years: MCCARTHY, MARYBETHESDA, MD 20817U.S. GOVERNMENT/CIVAL SERVANT ANDREASEN, STEVEN PETERVIA ANDREASEN FOR CONGRESS 11/01/2002 200.00 22992926088 MCCARTHY, MARYBETHESDA, MD 20817US GOVERNMENT/ANALYST DNC SERVICES CORPORATION/DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE 10/29/2004 500.00 24981642504 MCCARTHY, MARY OBETHESDA, MD 20817CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIO OHIO DEMOCRATIC PARTY 10/05/2004 5000.00 24962561560 MCCARTHY, MARY OBETHESDA, MD 20817U.S. GOVERNMENT/ANALYST KERRY, JOHN FVIA JOHN KERRY FOR PRESIDENT INC 03/14/2004 2000.00 25971246238 I guess it comes as no suprise, given Ms. McCarthy was hired by Sandy Berger to serve in the Clinton administration.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges President Mark Gearan has sent a letter to faculty and staff decrying the use of the word "fruit" on t-shirts worn by Hobart lacrosse fans to the game against Syracuse last week at the Carrier Dome. The shirts read "at least our mascot isn't a fruit." Syracuse teams are called the Orangemen, frequently shortened to Orange. Gearan points out that the term fruit is used as a derogatory term for gays. Gearan calls the use of the word, "especially painful to many because of our commitment to diversity, equity and social justice."

SENECA FALLS NY--Former Seneca County lawmaker Richard Ricci said Thursday "that's a bunch of baloney" to criticism that he was grandstanding when he led the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance at a public hearing Wednesday night. At the close of his prepared remarks, Ricci called on the crowd of about 300 at the New York Chiropractic College to stand with him and recite the pledge. Many in the crowd stood on cue, but a scattering of people didn't. They included Clint Halftown, the New York Cayuga Indians' federally recognized representative, and Syracuse lawyer Daniel French, a former U.S. Attorney...

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood loves a good scandal - cheating spouses, sex tapes, drug addictions. The industry's obsessive rumor mill has churned over the past few months in anticipation of the outcome of a three-year FBI investigation into suspected illegal wiretapping by celebrity private investigator Anthony Pellicano. Answers could finally be revealed Monday when the 61-year-old shamus is expected to be arraigned on unspecified federal charges. "Everybody wonders who is going to take the fall," said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor. "He's like (Jack) Abramoff. You just hope you didn't get your...

NASHVILLE - Ophelia Ford won the election to replace her brother in the Tennessee Senate by a mere 13 votes in September, and her hold on the seat remains tenuous. Senate Republicans tried to void her election last week, but a federal judge halted that effort and will hold a hearing on the matter today. Ford's Memphis district is predominantly black, and she has decried the move to void the election as a racist power grab. Republicans have complained that felons and nonresidents were allowed to vote in the election, and The Commercial Appeal newspaper found two ballots cast in...

Here is a link to the article. Offering Abortion, Rebirth

Slobodan Milosevic completed his re-examination of Col. Vlatko Vukovic at the Hague Tribunal on Wednesday. He presented a document detailing the battalion rules of the Yugoslav Army. This document was written in 1988 and used the term “ciscenje” to describe the removal of enemy forces from Yugoslav territory. The term “ciscenje” had been commonplace in Yugoslav Military terminology for more than 10 years before the Kosovo war. Therefore, there is nothing unseemly about the term appearing in the Vukovic’s war diary. During the cross-examination Mr. Nice showed Col. Vukovic a photograph of an Albanian civilian who he said been burned...

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The United States will block Serbia from joining NATO unless it resolves a territorial dispute over volatile Kosovo, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday in what was a new U.S. demand on Belgrade. Nicholas Burns, the No. 3 State Department official, outlined the U.S. condition to persuade Serbia to seek a settlement, even though Belgrade can only lose authority over the province if it reaches an accord. Previously, the United States has said Serbia had to capture two high-profile war criminals before it could enter into negotiations as a first step toward membership in...

DJAKOVICA -- Monday – A bus with forty Serbian people inside was pelted with stones while trying to visit a cemetery in Djakovica this weekend. The Serbian refugees from Djakovica visited the Orthodox cemetery located near the village. Many of the monuments that have been desecrated recently have been successfully restored and a fence has been put in place around the cemetery. A commemoration ceremony for the deceased was held in front of what remains of the Holy Prince Lazar church. While the Serbian refugees were visiting the grave sites, several cars drove around the cemetery grounds playing Albanian music...

The Serbian mistake of 1918, when the victorious kingdom gambled on [establishing] Yugoslavia, rather than consolidating a compact state of Serbia, continues to haunt Belgrade. Territory governed from Belgrade continues to shrink. Next year, Montenegro can call a referendum to decide whether to secede. -snip- Montenegro is not alone in contemplating exit. Negotiations are likely to begin this year on the status of Kosovo, formally part of Serbia, in reality a ward of the international community, and in the minds of almost all its ethnic Albanian citizens a putative independent state. What goes around comes around. Kosovo was the launching...