Daily Briefing: Couldn’t Care Less

• Tape from Osama bin Laden surfaces, his first since December 2004: “[Al Qaeda] operations are under preparation and you will see them in your homes the minute they are ready.” [WP, NYT, USAT, WT]
• Independent counsel is unable “to say with certainty whether any criminal laws were broken” by Henry Cisneros, but there was “a coverup at high levels of our government.” [WP, USAT, WT]
• Justice Department analysis supports the legality of warrentless eavesdropping. [WP, NYT]
• Bush previews State of the Union message: “The best way to solve the deficit is to grow the economy, not run up your taxes.” [USAT, WT]
• Most Americans “could not care less” about the lobbying scandal; corruption is seen as bipartisan. [WP]
• Liberal group calls for Justice Department investigation of Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif) regarding hedge fund donations. [USAT]
• Additional Democratic senators —including Leahy and Salazar— announce their intention to oppose Samuel Alito. [WP]
• Republican National Committee set to break with Bush over immigration. [LAT]

• Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.): “I believe we lost critical time in dealing with Iran because the White House chose to downplay the threats and to outsource the negotiations. I don’t believe you face threats like Iran or North Korea by outsourcing it to others and standing on the sidelines.” [WP]
• Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) apologizes for harshness of press release that personalized the GOP “culture of corruption.” [WP, NYT]
• Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine will give the Democratic rebuttal to the State of the Union address. [WP]
• John Walker Lindh’s father asks for clemency from Bush: “In simple terms, this is the story of a decent and honorable young man embarked on a spiritual quest.” [NYT]
• Laura Bush will never run for the Senate, Bush says. [NYT]

READ MORE: SCOTUS, al qaeda, eavesdropping, george w. bush, harry reid, henry cisneros, hillary clinton, immigration, iran, jerry lewis, john walker lindh, justice department, ken salazar, laura bush, nsa, osama bin laden, patrick leahy, rnc, samuel alito, sotu, tim kaine, war on terror