Wonkette

• 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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* House Republicans set vote on Dubai port deal for next week despite White House resistance. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio): “This has become a very hot political potato.” [WP, NYT]
* Military spending for Iraq and Afghanistan will reach $117.6b this fiscal year. [W$J]
* Harold Ickes, with George Soros, are sidestepping the DNC to create a massive nationwide voter list. Ickes: “The Republicans have developed a cadre of people who appreciate databases and know how to use them, and we are way behind the march.” [WP]
* Congress renews Patriot Act by vote of 280 to 138. [WP, NYT]
* Senate Select Committee on Intelligence rejects Democratic calls for inquiry of NSA eavesdropping; White House agrees to new oversight rules. [WP, NYT, W$J]
* The CIA is not interested in cooperating with the Libby investigation by providing classified documents. [WP, NYT]
* Sen. Clinton moves to tie up money and talent for ‘08 race. [NYT]
* Cato Institutes vents beef with Bush. [WP]
* Rep. DeLay wins Republican primary in Texas. [AP]

* Video shows Bush was warned about the potential for a levee breach, despite denials after the fact: “Was the president misinformed, misspoken or misleading?” [WP, USAT]
* Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco hesitantly told Bush that the levees were safe on the morning of Aug. 29th. [AP]
* U.S. and India announce deal for nuclear cooperation, for energy and weapons; “new plan would allow India enough fissile material for as many as 50 weapons a year.” [WP, NYT, W$J]
* Senate passes renewal of the Patriot Act by vote of 89 to 10. [NYT]
* 54% disapprove of Bush’s handling of the war on terrorism and 64% say the country is on the wrong track, according to LAT-Bloomberg poll; findings echo new Gallup poll. [LAT, Bloomberg, USAT]
* Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee,vows to stop Dubai port deal. [WP, W$J]

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* Dubai firm delays port deal after Karl Rove floats the idea. Bush: “This wouldn’t be going forward if we were not certain that our ports would be secure.” [WP, NYT, W$J, LAT, WT]
* Chertoff only became aware of port deal after it was approved. [WT]
* Rove dismisses objections, saying lawmakers “are just picking up and reading something in the newspaper, hearing something on talk radio.” [WP]
* White House report on Katrina response avoids finger-pointing but recommends 11 key changes before the next hurricane season. [WP, NYT, USAT]
* Attorneys for Lewis Libby argue Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald lacks the legal authority to press charges. [WP, WT]
* Bush raises $1.6m for congressional candidates during visits to Indiana and Ohio. Bush: “I wish I wasn’t talking about war. No president ever says, ‘Gosh, I hope there’s war.’ For those of you who are young here, I want you to know what I’m leading to is how to keep the peace and do my job that you expect me to do, which is to prevent the enemy from attacking again.” [NYT, WT]
* Bob Dole’s involvement in port deal creates conflict for Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). [WP]
* Vice president of the Service Employees International Union supports Bush’s guest worker plan. [NYT]

* White House acknowledges that Bush was informed of the Dubai port deal from the media, after it was approved; Bush sounds “conciliatory” in the eye of an “unprecedented Republican revolt.” Some Republicans “have been looking for ways to distance themselves from Bush without appearing to be soft on terrorism.” Scott McClellan: “This is one where we probably should have consulted with or briefed Congress on sooner.” [WP, NYT, WT, LAT]
* Administration had secret deal with Dubai Ports World that stated the company would “cooperate with future U.S. investigations”; White House insists safeguards are in place though some “routine restrictions” were relaxed. [AP, W$J]
* Bush “is on the defensive on national security for the first time in his presidency.” [WT, USAT]
* South Dakota Senate passes abortion ban designed to challenge Roe. NARAL president: “When you see them have a ban that does not include exceptions for rape or incest or the health of the mother, you understand that elections do matter.” [WP, NYT]
* Attorneys for Lewis Libby will argue that he had no intention to lie, he was just preoccupied. [WP]

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* Reliable Source:

* House Republicans will issue 600-plus-page report on Wednesday that harshly criticizes all aspects of the government’s response to Katrina: “It was a failure of leadership. In this instance, blinding lack of situational awareness and disjointed decision making needlessly compounded and prolonged Katrina’s horror.” [WP, NYT]
* Cheney accidentally shoots companion during hunting trip in Texas. Mary Matalin: “He felt badly, obviously. On the other hand, he was not careless or incautious or violate any of the [rules]. He didn’t do anything he wasn’t supposed to do.” [WP, NYT, USAT, WT]
* Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Tom Daschle believe eavesdropping is necessary but doubt Bush has the legal authority. [WP, LAT]
* Dean says Cheney should resign if he was involved in the leaking of Valerie Plame’s identity. [NYT, WT]

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* FEMA and the White House knew of levee failure earlier than previously disclosed; also, “officials knew long before the storm showed up on the radar that 100,000 people in New Orleans” had no exit strategy. [NYT, NYT]
* Former top CIA official accuses the administration of “cherry-picking” intelligence to justify war against Iraq and suppressing warnings about post-war conditions: “It has become clear that official intelligence was not relied on in making even the most significant national security decisions, that intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made, that damaging ill will developed between [Bush] policymakers and intelligence officers, and that the intelligence community’s own work was politicized.” [WP]
* Lewis Libby says “supervisors” authorized leaks of classified documents about Iraq’s weapons programs. [NYT, W$J]
* Bush defends eavesdropping by citing foiled terror plot against Los Angeles: “We cannot let the fact that America hasn’t been attacked in four and a half years since September 11, 2001, lull us into the illusion that the threats to our nation have disappeared. They have not.” [WP, NYT, USAT, WT]
* Jack Abramoff says he met with Bush in “almost a dozen settings” over the last five years. [WP, NYT]
* Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) received about $68,000 from Abramoff’s firm; ties found between lobbyist and Reid’s staff. [WP]

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* House Republicans elect Ohio Rep. John Boehner as majority leader, signaling break from status quo. Boehner: “The members wanted to make a big decision, and they did. . . We must act swiftly to restore the trust between Congress and the American people.” [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT, WT, W$J]
* Election of Boehner heralds his comeback and shows a “cry of concern by an entrenched Republican majority”; Boehner “tapped into members’ election-year anxieties about the GOP’s scandal-scuffed leadership.” [WP, WP, NYT]
* Administration seeks $120b for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. [WP, NYT, USAT]
* Democrats attack Republican rhetoric at hearing on security threats; insist on more oversight. Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.V.): “I am deeply troubled by what I see as the administration’s continued effort to selectively release intelligence information that supports its policy or political agenda while withholding equally pertinent information that does not do that.” [WP, WP, NYT, USAT, WT]

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* Sens. Kerry and Kennedy may attempt to filibuster Alito; Dems Ben Nelson (Neb.), Robert Byrd (W.Va.), and Tim Johnson (S.D.) announce support of Alito’s confirmation. [WP, NYT, LAT]
* Bush distances himself from Jack Abramoff during news conference; offers defense of NSA eavesdropping and stance on Katrina inquiry. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT, WT]
* Admin has used “at least two separate rationales for why they did not ask for statutory authority” for NSA eavesdropping program. [WP]
* Public opinion of NSA eavesdropping is “nuanced and remains highly unresolved,” according to NYT-CBS poll; disapproval of Congress and the Republican Party are both high. 61% are concerned about losing civil liberties. [NYT]
* If tax cuts are allowed to expire in 2010, deficit will turn to surplus in 2012. [USAT]
* Lewis Libby’s lawyer asks Patrick Fitzgerald for documents “related to what journalists knew from any source” about Valerie Plame. [WP, NYT]

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