Free Republic

In an unscheduled press conference today, President Obama announced he was appointing controversy-tested NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as Special Investigator in Charge (SIIC) within the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel, where, according to the president’s introductory remarks, Goodell will have “full investigatory and prosecutorial powers to pursue any and all wrongdoings and rumors of wrongdoings occurring within the executive branch since the onset of my term.”

The biggest Iraq-related news comes from Texas today: The Washington Post drops a bombshell, learning that one of the most powerful men in Iraq is facing lung cancer, and has traveled to Houston for treatment. 'Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), the largest party in the Iraqi parliament, is in the United States on treatment for lung cancer, Robin Wright reports in the Post. “In a reflection of Hakim's stature, President Bush authorized immediate transportation to get Hakim from Iraq to the United States, an administration source said yesterday. Vice President Cheney played a role...