Mukasey Rejects Senate

In his first major decision since his confirmation as Attorney General of the United States, Michael Mukasey waved his middle finger at the Senate today as he rejected Congress' demands for details into the Justice Department's inquiry regarding the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes.

"At my confirmation hearing, I testified that I would act independently, resist political pressure and ensure that politics plays no role in cases brought by the Department of Justice," Mukasey wrote. "Consistent with that testimony, the facts will be followed wherever they lead in this inquiry, and the relevant law applied."

Would that be the same confirmation hearing where you decided not to classify waterboarding as torture and actually tried to give the impression that you didn't even know what waterboarding was, Mr. Mukasey?

The three letters [in response to letters sent by Senators Patrick Leahy, Alren Specter and Dick Durbin] represent an attempt by Mukasey to push back against growing pressure from lawmakers, primarily Democrats, who have showered the Justice Department with demands for investigations or information on topics ranging from the baseball steroids scandal to allegations of rape by a former military contractor employee.

The letters also are an assertive move by the new attorney general, who was confirmed last month with the lowest level of Senate support in the past half century because of his refusal to say whether a form of simulated drowning known as waterboarding amounts to torture under U.S. law.

Mukasey doesn't want to open an investigation into the destruction of the CIA torture tapes that Mukasey himself used in signing a warrant for the detainment of Jose Padilla based on the information gathered from the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah on those videos.

This is sickening.

Not Since Nixon

Not only did the C.I.A. destroy videotapes containing the interrogation of two suspected terrorists, but they did it despite warnings against it.

White House and Justice Department officials, along with senior members of Congress, advised the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 against a plan to destroy hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the interrogations of two operatives of Al Qaeda, government officials said Friday.

The chief of the agency’s clandestine service nevertheless ordered their destruction in November 2005, taking the step without notifying even the C.I.A.’s own top lawyer, John A. Rizzo, who was angry at the decision, the officials said.

Democratic Senators are calling for an investigation.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts accused the C.I.A. of “a cover-up"... “We haven’t seen anything like this since the 18½ -minute gap on the tapes of Richard Nixon,” Mr. Kennedy said in a speech on the Senate floor, as reaction to the disclosure about the videotapes seemed to intensify minute by minute.

Mr. Durbin, the Democratic whip, said he had written Mr. Mukasey to ask for an inquiry into “whether C.I.A. officials who destroyed these videotapes and withheld information about their existence from official proceedings violated the law.”

Where are the Republicans on this issue?

Question Everything

“Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.” - Euripides

Let's see what's been happening for the last couple of days, shall we?

The new Brownie: Mine Safety Czar Richard Stickler's credentials have come into question amid the Utah mine disaster that not only has failed to reach six trapped miners in its 15th day, but has also taken the lives of three of the nine rescue workers attempting to reach them.

"After his nomination was twice rejected by [a Republican led] Senate, President Bush gave Richard Stickler the mine safety job with a recess appointment."

Should we really be surprised by yet another Bush recess appointee's lack of competence? "Stickler used to be a mining executive who - according to various media reports - ran mines which had several fatalities and '...an incident rate that was often twice the national average.'"


White House misses subpoena deadline... again!: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) revealed that the White House had missed its 2:30 PM deadline to turn over documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding legal justifications for the National Security Agency’s eavesdropping program. The Committee had already pushed back the original July 18 deadline twice after the White House requested more time.

During questioning, Sen. Leahy revealed that during the 109th Congress, they were about to issue subpoenas but that Vice President Cheney had barred then Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter from doing so. Great separation of powers we had during the Republican led Congress, huh?

Oh, by the way, Cheney is still claiming that his office is not part of the Executive Branch.


Another Category 5 Hurricane: Hurricane Dean hit the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula at 165 miles per hour. But don't worry, I'm sure global warming isn't to blame for the ever increasing force of hurricanes.

Sen. Levin wants Maliki out: After a three day trip to Jordan and Iraq, to view the effects of our "successful surge" first hand, Sen. Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has apparently found his gonads and called for the ouster of Iraq Prime Minister Norui al-Maliki.

"I hope the parliament will vote the Maliki government out of office and will have the wisdom to replace it with a less sectarian and more unifying prime minister and government," Levin said.

Of course, those who continue to march in lockstep with Bush and the Republican Party, seize upon any positive statements from lawmakers returning from Iraq to portray Democratic leaders as wedded to failure there while the Democratic Party grows increasingly divided over the war's progress.

At times, such statements have been clearly taken out of context. When Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) returned from Iraq and said, "We're making some measurable progress," the GOP declared that the Democratic leadership had splintered on the war. What Republicans left out was the rest of Durbin's remarks: "We cannot win this war militarily. We just can't send enough troops."

At this point, can you trust ANY Republican in office to actually be realistic or truthful?

You Want A Filibuster? You Got A Filibuster!

From BobGeiger.com:

Forcing his Republican colleagues to put up or shut up on the notion of an up-or-down vote, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) just moments ago announced that he will immediately file a cloture motion on the Reed-Levin troop redeployment bill and, if Republicans follow through with a filibuster, will place the Senate in a prolonged all-night session Tuesday to force a true continuation of debate.

Senator Dick Durbin bitchslapped Minority Senate Leader Mitch "Jowls" McConnell on the Senate floor today regarding his obfuscation and defense of Bush's failed policy in Iraq. Bring in the steel cage! There's a filibuster in the Senate!

Here's New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez explaining the situation:

UPDATE: Bob Geiger: Reid's Nine-Hour Protest Against Senate GOP In 2003

"...Reid's surprise move to hold the Senate in session all night tonight if Republicans block yet another Iraq-redeployment bill certainly took the political world by storm yesterday, [but] Senate watchers know that Reid is no stranger to holding the Senate open to take a stand and make a point."

Read more.

Gonzales: "I Don't Recall" 74 Times

"I don't believe that you're involved in a conspiracy to fire somebody because they wouldn't prosecute a particular enemy of a politician or a friend of a politician," said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. "But at the end of the day, you said something that struck me: that sometimes it just came down to these were not the right people at the right time. If I applied that standard to you, what would you say?"

Ouch. Not even Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, with perhaps the exception of Orrin Hatch, came to the defense of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. And could you blame them?

Gonzales said he takes full responsibility for the firings that he says were appropriate, but doesn't have a reason for firing the attorneys, except to say that it was recommended to him by his senior staff. He fired seven prosecutors and didn't even look at the paperwork for the reasons why until afterwards. Either he is lying or incompetent. Either way, he should be gone.

Meanwhile, it Backwardsland, Curious George continues to support Gonzo.

Q Dana, does Attorney General Gonzales's testimony on Capitol Hill have any bearing whatsoever on his job status?

MS. PERINO: As I've said many times, the President has full confidence in the Attorney General. The Attorney General looked forward to the hearing that is taking place right now. Of course, the President has not seen any of that testimony. As I told you, he's had a busy morning, and now we're on our way to Tipp City, Ohio. And I haven't seen any of the testimony, either. But clearly, we would hope that there were no preconceived notions, or canned talking points that the senators had in mind before they had this hearing. They said they wanted to get to the facts, and I'm sure that the Attorney General will be fully responsive to their request.

Q So is it fair to say that no matter what the testimony, no matter what the back-and-forth, that the President plans to stick with Attorney General Gonzales?

MS. PERINO: I think -- yes. I think the President has full confidence in the Attorney General and whenever that changes for any public servant, we'll let you know, and I see no indication of that.

Senator Durbin along with others asked whether he had conversations with Karl Rove regarding the attorneys in question. Why in the hell would the Attorney General of the United States be having a conversation with a political advisor, someone who has nothing to do with the Department of Justice? On that basis alone, Gonzo should go.

Senator Leahy questioning Gonzo. Now this is "Must see TV"!

GOP Blocks Senate Debate on Iraq

Well, there it is. Only two Republicans, Norm Coleman and Susan Collins, voted to debate the issue of opposing the escalation in Iraq. Senators Warner and Hagel, who bloviated for weeks, wasting valuable time and spending taxpayer dollars in the process, voted with the party line. How can you work for weeks on a resolution and then vote against having a debate on it?

The GOP leader Mitch McConnell claims it is in the interest of fairness that other amendments be heard. Well, hell! Why not have all 100 Senators propose amendments so they can debate this thing for the next two years while American troops die, get their limbs blown off and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis continue to be slaughtered?!

“Senator McConnell led his Republican troops off the cliff,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Harry Reid changed his vote and sided with Republicans in a procedural move to allow him the option to reopen the issue.