Wonkette

Ever fill out one of those lengthy questionnaires for, say, auto insurance or White House security clearance? You know how boring and pedantic they can be, right? How much information they want. “Have you ever been arrested for DUI outside of Dupont Circle?” “Do you promise not to dish on secret government agents and stuff?” Blah blah fucking blah. Yeah, well, try wriggling your way onto the Supreme Court sometime. Honey, you ain’t seen exacting ’til you’ve done that. MORE »

• Rove told the grand jury that he may have learned of Valerie Plame from “Scooter” Libby; their conversation “was confined to information the two men heard from reporters.” [WP]
• Leahy and Specter complain Miers‘ answers on questionnaire are insufficient; they seek elaboration. Leahy: “[T]he comments I’ve heard ranged from incomplete to insulting. Certainly it was inadequate and did not give us enough to prepare for a hearing. We will need to have more.” [WP, LAT, NYT, WT, USAT]
• Libby “appears to be deeply enmeshed in the leak investigation.” [WSJ]
• Rice fields criticism about Iraq war from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; she refuses to offer a timeframe for troop withdrawal. Lugar (R-Ind.): “Permanent instability or civil war in Iraq could set back American interests in the Middle East for a generation — increasing anti-Americanism, multiplying the threats from tyrants and terrorists and reducing our credibility.” [WP, NYT]
• Chertoff admits to House panel that FEMA was “overwhelmed” by Katrina and pledges to “re-engineer” emergency preparedness. [WP, NYT, USAT]
• Judith Miller testifies in favor of national shield law for reporters and sources; Specter visited her in prison and recalled she could not explain why she was there. [NYT]

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“Hold still, hold still… Jeez, I still can’t believe I’m totally in the Senate Judiciary Hearing! This is so cool!”

[Larry Downing/Reuters]

At Final Day of Roberts Hearings, Hatch Snaps . . . and Snaps [WP] MORE »

• Leahy, Baucus, Johnson will support Roberts; Kerry, Kennedy, Corzine, Boxer, Reid will vote no. [NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Bush multitasks over second Supreme Court nomination, hurricanes, Iraq, and Social Security; talks of Katrina and terrorists, “They’re the kind of people who look at Katrina and wish they had caused it. We’re in a war against these people.” [NYT, USAT]
• Republicans propose spending cuts as Congress passes $6b in Katrina-related tax breaks. [WSJ, WP, USAT]
• Next Supreme Court nominee will face heightened scrutiny. [WP]
• House Republicans will pursue inquiry of government’s response to Katrina in spite of boycott by Democrats. [WP, NYT]

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• Inside the Beltway: White House pool report comments Bush “wore a dark blue suit, looked tired and drawn.”. . . Hank Williams Jr. gives “pledge of support” to Frist. [WT]
• Inside Politics: Leahy says he would not vote for Roberts if nominee expressed positions on specific cases. . . Sharpton’s driver arrested for driving at 110 mph in Texas; Sharpton walked away. AP: “There is no word on where they went.”. . . Sheehan supporters may start releasing video packages. [WT]
• Rush & Molloy: McGreevey milks the “gay social circuit.”. . . Clintons vacation in Kauai, invite Pierce Brosnan. [NYDN]
• Page Six: Judith Miller “is having a perfectly awful time in jail,” her husband reports. [NYP]
• Names & Faces: Deck of Bush playing cards literally leans right (Rove is the ace of diamonds). [WP]