Wonkette

• Heard on the Hill: Congressional Black Caucus member Corrine Brown was stopped by Cap Police as she entered Cannon yesterday. Brown: “If you don’t recognize me, call your supervisor.” The officer was unharmed… David Safavian sent a bathetic post-sentencing email to friends: “most of all, I feel rather numb.” [Roll Call]
• Reliable Source: George W. Bush brings Laura coffee in bed each morning. [WP]
• Lowdown: Sean Hannity books his old polisci prof, berates him for poor grade. [NYDN]

• On the Senate Dems’ proposal to phase withdrawal of troops from Iraq, Pandagon says: “A glass eye in a duck’s ass can see that there’s no real substance to this.” [Pandagon]

• Saudis Offered Scholarships for Aviation Courses in US. [Michelle Malkin]
• Atrios body slams Joe Klein’s claim that he opposed the war. [Eschaton]
• Imprisoned Egyptian blogger Alaa freed, but paperwork snags prevent him from cutting and running just yet. [Sand Monkey]
• TPM’s Justin Rood rode the elevator with freshly convicted David Safavian. [TPM Muckraker]

• Former federal procurement officer David Safavian convicted on four of five counts of lying and obstruction related to his dealings with Jack Abramoff. [WSJ; AP]

• The Senate will debate its own Iraq war resolution today, in the wake of of last week’s partisan debate in the House. [NYT; LAT]
• Bush issues stern warning to Iran on its nuclear program. [NYT]
• Closely divided Supreme Court issues Clean Water Act ruling that is “likely to lead to new regulatory battles, increased litigation by property owners and a push for new legislation.” [NYT; LAT]
• Bush raises $27 million for Republican congressional campaign committees. [WP]
• Two U.S. soldiers missing since last week have been found dead south of Baghdad. [WP; NYT]

Henry the Intern is on sabbatical. The Daily Briefing isn’t, though it is a bit later than usual.

• President George W. Bush makes a surprise visit to Iraq to visit with new Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who has just announced a new security plan for Baghdad. [NYT, WP]

• Karl Rove’s attorney announces to the media that his client will not be indicted in Patrick Fitzgerald’s Valerie Plame leak case. Rove is “delighted, obviously….” [WP, NYT]
• Israeli airstrikes kill 10 people in Gaza, hours after “hundreds of Palestinian police loyal to Abbas went on a rampage against the Hamas government.” [NYT]
• The FBI released the 2005 crime statistics, showing an overall nationwide rise in violent crime of 2.5 percent, fueled by a “a surge of killings and other attacks in many Midwestern cities.” Robbery was up 14.6 percent in DC, though rapes and murders were down. [WP]
• David H. Safavian becomes the first person to go to trial on charges related to the Jack Abramoff scandal, with prosecutors accusing him of “doing Jack Abramoff’s bidding” as a federal procurement officer. [WP]
• The EPA loosened a rule designed to keep groundwater near oil drilling sites clean after a well-connected Texas oilman wrote a letter to Karl Rove. Environmentalists are accusing the administration of “political payoff,” due to Rove’s forwarding of the letter to White House environmental advisors with a note reading “get a response ASAP.” [LAT]

• Bush renews call to ban gay marriage; social conservatives cheer the “litmus test” as critics contend the move is mainly political. James Dobson: “It is true what this vote will do will be to help the voters identify who is and is not supportive of the family, and I think those that are not are going to have to answer for it.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
• This week’s Senate agenda, from the ban on gay marriage to a repeal of the estate tax, is “all about” motivating conservative voters. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) on the marriage amendment: “I am confident that the American people will see this for what it is: a mean-spirited attempt to score political points in an election year.” [WP, W$J]
• Intense campaigning is already underway for the midterm election, “reflecting a consensus in both parties that Republicans could lose control of the House and perhaps the Senate”; Republicans have spent at least $4.5M on today’s special election for Randy Cunningham’s seat. [NYT, W$J]
• Congress and the courts “are beginning to push back against what has been the greatest expansion of presidential powers in a generation or more.” [USAT]
• Bill Clinton hopes to raise over $20M for midterm campaigns. [NYT]

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• Bush marks Memorial Day with vow to finish the wars to honor those who lost their lives: “I am in awe of the men and women who sacrifice for the freedom of the United States of America.” [NYT, WT]
• “Missing pieces” about Sen. Hillary Clinton: “What does she stand for? And where would she try to take the country if elected?” She says her philosophy “doesn’t perhaps fit in a preexisting box, but many of the problems we face as a nation don’t either.” [WP]
• Sen. Reid (D-Nev.) accepted free ringside boxing tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission “as he was pressing legislation to increase government oversight of the sport.” Reid: “I’m not Goodie Two Shoes. I just feel these events are nothing I did wrong.” [WP]
• Both sides motivated by prospects for “Speaker Pelosi.” Republican strategist: “She ought to be a big component of the fall campaign. There are some Democrats who make really good bad guys.” [NYT]
• Trial of David Safavian will increase attention on Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) because of the testimony of his former chief of staff. [NYT]
• Security concerns linger for electronic voting machines. [WP]

• Senate vote on immigration legislation is set for today; Karl Rove “got a cold reception” from Republican lawmakers. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Legal analysts say FBI raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s congressional office was probably legal; Reps. Hastert and Pelosi demand seized documents be returned. [WP, WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Cheney wanted to “get all the facts out,” according to Lewis Libby’s testimony; new filing indicates the vice president may be called to testify. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Speaker Hastert is “in the mix” of the FBI’s investigation of congressional corruption, ABC News maintains despite denials from the Hill and the Justice Department. [ABC News]
• Database of immigrants will need more than $1B in upgrades; labor, big business, and civil-liberties advocates oppose the plan. [WP]
• Prosecutor says David Safavian, former procurement official, repeatedly “lied, concealed and misled” investigators about his dealings with Jack Abramoff. [WP, NYT]
• Loss of unity among Republicans is fueled by worries about the election. [W$J]
• Fiscal conservatives take on Republican leadership in attempt to reduce earmarks and pet projects. [NYT]

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• Senators, by vote of 79 to 19, pass a resolution marking next year as “a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty. . . thereby creating the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq.” Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.): “Staying the course will not do.” Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.): “It’s a continuation of the oversight we’ve been conducting for years in the United States Senate.” WP, NYT, WSJ, USAT]
• Senators from both parties “are demanding that the administration show that it has a strategy to turn the conflict over to the Iraqis and eventually bring U.S. troops home.” [WP]
• Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) defends critics of the war: “[T]he Bush administration must understand that each American has a right to question our policies in Iraq and should not be demonized for disagreeing with them. . . to not question your government is unpatriotic.” [WP]
• Oil executives did meet with Cheney’s energy task force in 2001. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.): “The White House went to great lengths to keep these meetings secret, and now oil executives may be lying to Congress about their role in the Cheney task force.” [WP]
• Alito tries to downplay conservative remarks from 1985. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Rice reaches deal on access to the Gaza Strip. [WP, NYT, NYT, USAT]
• Lewis Libby plans to “seek testimony from journalists beyond those cited in the indictment and will probably challenge government agreements limiting their grand jury testimony.” [NYT]

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