Category: joesph wilson

Daily Briefing: On With It

• White House readies for possible indictments as Fitzgerald may report to the grand jury today; the FBI conducted interviews yesterday with Valerie Plame's neighbors, who had no knowledge of her CIA job. Administration official: "Everybody just wants this week over." [WP, FT, NYT, WSJ]
• Republican senators seem skeptical of Miers' chances; Lott says Republicans may vote against her. The White House may have Miers speak publicly to gain supporters ahead of confirmation hearings. [NYT, WP, USAT]
• U.S. death toll in Iraq tops 2,000. Bush: "Each loss of life is heartbreaking. . . This war will require more sacrifice, more time and more resolve." [WP, WP, NYT, USAT]
• Bush's approval rating rises slightly to 42% in Gallup Poll; 54% prefer congressional candidates who oppose him; 57% say war in Iraq is going badly. [USAT]
• Fitzgerald "has delved deeply into conversations that government officials and reporters had every reason to believe would remain confidential." [NYT]
• House version of Patriot Act reauthorization would transform the federal death penalty structure. [WP, NYT]
• Intelligence officials say Bush exaggerated claim that U.S. foiled 10 al-Qaeda plots; at least six of the 10 plots were "preliminary ideas," not "terrorist operations." [USAT]

• Republicans look to trim funding from student loans, health care, food stamps, and foster care. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio): "Listen, we're broke. Let's face it." [WP, WSJ, WT]
• Speeches Miers gave in the 1990s "offer some of the clearest insights yet into [her] thinking on volatile social issues that can make their way to the high court." [WP]
• House Republicans want oil companies to give back. Hastert: "It is time to invest in America." [NYT, WSJ, LAT]
• Republican senators attempt unity on immigration legislation. [LAT, WT]
• Dorgan (D-N.D.) questions why journalists are issued temporary access to classified information. [NYT]
• Bush brings in millions for the RNC. [LAT]
• Before Bush, Miers admired U.S. District Judge. [LAT]
• Michael Brown was days away from resigning as the head of FEMA when Katrina struck. [WP]
• Democrats attack nominee to lead the State Department's refugee program as another crony political pick. [WP, USAT]

READ MORE: CIA , SCOTUS , White House , al qaeda , budget , conservatives , dennis hastert , dick cheney , george w. bush , harriet miers , immigration , iraq , joesph wilson , john boehner , leak investigation , lewis libby , michael brown , patrick fitzgerald , patriot act , polls , rnc , trent lott , valerie plame

Daily Briefing: The Red Line

• Cheney was first to tell Libby about Plame, but not necessarily by name; notes taken by Libby contradict his own testimony. Cheney's information came from Tenet; it's unclear whether Cheney or Libby knew of Plame's undercover status. [NYT]
• White House advisors use lessons learned by Reagan and Clinton to survive the "darkest days of the Bush presidency"; Bush will reiterate the necessity of staying on the offensive in Iraq and will urge fiscal discipline at home. [WP]
• Ben Bernanke, senior White House advisor and renowned economist, nominated to succeed Greenspan; noted as "the economic equivalent" of John Roberts. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Bernanke has "unassailable credentials and enough distance from the White House to blunt charges of cronyism or ideological motivations." [WP, LAT]
• Bush will not release documents related to Miers' White House work. Bush: "It's a red line I'm not willing to cross." [NYT, LAT, WT]
• Coalition of conservative groups calls for Miers to withdraw in a "dramatic escalation in the battle over her nomination." [WP, WSJ, WT]
• Iraq approves draft constitution; American death toll reaches 1,999. [WP, WP]
• Frist "has also been deeply involved in legislation affecting his family's business" since arriving on Capitol Hill. [NYT]
• Parties ready talking points for possible indictments. [WSJ, WT]
• CIA leak scandal is rooted in disagreements over Iraq between administration officials and the "permanent bureaucracy of Washington"; Brent Snowcroft and Lawrence Wilkerson provide details of administration's decision-making process. [WP]

• White House wants to exempt the CIA from ban on abuse of detainees; Cheney and Goss tried to persuade McCain. [WP, NYT]
• Joseph Wilson "helped propel the unmasking of his wife's identity as a CIA operative into a sprawling, two-year legal probe that climaxes this week with the possible indictment of key White House officials." [WP]
• Congress urged to increase oversight of the FBI. [NYT]
• Chertoff wants to reform DHS: "This is a job where an actuary would say that the risk of being criticized and having unpleasantness is extremely high. I did not go into this for pats on the back." [NYT]
• Hutchison changes her tune on perjury; did not want Clinton to cause a "lessening of the standard." [WP]
• House Republicans want oil companies to put profits into increasing capacity and improving infrastructures. [WT]
• Paul Hackett, Iraq war veteran, will seek Democratic Senate nomination in Ohio. [LAT]
• Mike Johanns loves his Saturday chores. [WP]

READ MORE: CIA , SCOTUS , White House , alan greenspan , ben bernanke , bill clinton , bill frist , conservatives , dick cheney , fbi , george tenet , george w. bush , harriet miers , iraq , joesph wilson , john mccain , kay bailey hutchison , leak investigation , lewis libby , michael chertoff , mike johanns , patrick fitzgerald , paul hackett , porter goss , ronald reagan , treatment of detainees , valerie plame

Daily Briefing: What Makes Miers Blush

• Judith Miller recalls June 23, 2003 conversation with "Scooter" Libby about Joseph Wilson during her last day of testimony in the leak investigation; contempt-of-court threat is lifted. Attorneys believe Patrick Fitzgerald "is looking into a broad conspiracy charge against a group of administration officials or into charging one or more officials with easier-to-prove crimes such as disclosing classified material, making false statements or perjury." [WP, WSJ, NYT]
• NBC/WSJ poll: 27% support Miers while 51% don't know enough to venture an opinion; approval of Bush rests at 39% and only 28% of Americans believe the country is heading in the right direction -- a ten year low. [WSJ]
• SEC subpoenas Frist for personal documents related to sale of health care stock; he is expected to testify under oath. [WP, NYT, WSJ]
• Bush defends use of religion to sell Miers: "[P]art of Harriet Miers's life is her religion." Alberto Gonzales: "I believe that she is pro-life." [WP, NYT, WT, USAT]
• Democrats are hopeful about their political opportunities in 2006. Charlie Cook: "Right now, if I had to bet would the Democrats take the House and Senate back, I'd say no. But are the odds a heck of a lot better than they were three months ago or six months ago? Heck, yes." [NYT]

• Study finds the Bush administration "apparently paid little or no attention" to the CIA's prewar assessments of Iraq. [NYT]
• Miers "has wielded formidable power with fairness and attention to detail -- but rarely was a strong voice in policy decisions the administration has faced." Margaret Spellings: "She blushes when the rest of us got a little raunchy." [WP]
• White House plan puts the CIA in command of overseas intelligence gathering and creates National Clandestine Service managed by Porter Goss. [WP]
• Rice, in Afghanistan, remains optimistic despite uptick in violence; 84 Americans have died there this year. [NYT]
• Amtrak board approves spin-off of Northeast Corridor service; Congress has final say. [NYT]
• Christian Coalition scales back; budget falls to $1.3m. [WT]

READ MORE: 2006 , CIA , Democrats , Republicans , SCOTUS , White House , afghanistan , alberto gonzales , amtrak , bill frist , charlie cook , condoleezza rice , george w. bush , harriet miers , iraq , joesph wilson , judith miller , karl rove , leak investigation , lewis libby , margaret spellings , patrick fitzgerald , polls , porter goss , prewar intelligence , sec , valerie plame , war on terror

---