Top Items:
Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:
Experts: Tactic Would Be Legal but Unusual — Legal experts say that President Bush had the unquestionable authority to approve the disclosure of secret CIA information to reporters, but they add that the leak was highly unusual and amounted to using sensitive intelligence data for political gain.
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Josh Marshall / TPM Muckraker:
McClellan Bobs and Weaves, But Certainly Doesn't Leak — This morning's White House gaggle, started at 10 AM ... QUESTION: Did the President authorize the leak of intelligence information? — Scott McClellan: Terry, there is an ongoing legal proceeding, and our policy has been that we're …
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Hopelessy Compromised (II) — The NY Times editors tackle the latest Fitzgerald filings, and are more disingenuous than their reporters. … Emphasis added throughout. Regarding the "unmasking of... a covert C.I.A. agent", it is clear that Ms. Plame's status was classified …
Discussion:
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Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:
Testimony Adds New Element to Probe of CIA Leak — The allegation that President Bush authorized the dissemination of secret intelligence as part of an effort to buttress his case for war with Iraq introduces a new dimension to the long-running CIA leak investigation, while posing troubling …
New York Times:
Cheney's Aide Says President Approved Leak — WASHINGTON, April 6 — Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff testified that he was authorized by President Bush, through Mr. Cheney, in July 2003 to disclose key parts of what until then was a classified prewar intelligence estimate on Iraq, according to a new court filing.
New York Times:
Playing Hardball With Secrets — For more than two years, Senate Republicans have dragged out an investigation into how the Bush administration came to use bogus intelligence on Iraq to justify a war. A year ago, Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called it …
New York Post:
DUBYA CAN'T LEAK — IT'S amazing how the common topics and subjects of discussion three years ago should vanish so quickly from memory. — Yesterday, breathless news reports suggested that President Bush had directed the "leak" of classified information in July 2003.
Discussion:
Donklephant, Austin Bay Blog, Sister Toldjah, Gateway Pundit, USS Neverdock, Carol Platt Liebau and small dead animals
Suzanne Gamboa / Associated Press:
Senate Shelves Immigration Bill — The Senate sidetracked sweeping immigration legislation Friday, leaving in doubt prospects for passing a bill offering the hope of citizenship to millions of men, women and children living in the United States illegally. — A carefully crafted compromise …
Discussion:
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New York Times:
Immigration Deal Falls Short in Senate — WASHINGTON, April 7 — A carefully constructed compromise on immigration reform apparently fell apart in the Senate today after Democrats fended off conservative Republican efforts to amend the agreement and an effort to cut off debate failed by a lopsided vote.
Donna Smith / Reuters:
Senate immigration overhaul in doubt — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate compromise on an overhaul of immigration law appeared to get bogged down late on Thursday in the face of opposition by some Republicans who say it would give amnesty to lawbreakers.
Kris W. Kobach / New York Post:
HIDDEN BOMBS — HOW do you slip legislative poison past a U.S. senator? Bury it on page 302 of a bill. — The Senate's Democratic and Republican leaders yesterday announced a compromise on an immigration bill - with some details still to be worked out.
CNN:
More than 70 killed in Baghdad mosque attack — Shrine has ties to Shiite political party; imam is in parliament — BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Three suicide bombers on Friday struck a Baghdad mosque affiliated with a major Shiite political party, killing at least 74 people, according to the Iraqi Health Ministry.
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Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Gonzales Suggests Legal Basis for Domestic Eavesdropping — WASHINGTON, April 6 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales suggested on Thursday for the first time that the president might have the legal authority to order wiretapping without a warrant on communications between Americans that occur exclusively within the United States.
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Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Warrantless Wiretaps Possible in U.S.
Warrantless Wiretaps Possible in U.S.
Discussion:
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Ron Fournier / Associated Press:
Bush, GOP Approval Ratings Hit New Lows — WASHINGTON - President Bush's approval ratings hit a series of new lows in an AP-Ipsos poll that also shows Republicans surrendering their advantage on national security — grim election-year news for a party struggling to stay in power.
Jeannine Aversa / Associated Press:
Employers Boost March Payrolls by 211,000 — Employers, in a springtime hiring burst, boosted payrolls by a sizable 211,000 in March and pushed the nation's unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent. — The latest snapshot, released by the Labor Department on Friday, suggested …
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Justin Scheck / LAW.com:
New Indictments Loom in Milberg Case — After six years of wide-ranging inquiries, stop-and-go grand jury activity and peripheral indictments, L.A. federal prosecutors are close to charging two partners from the massive plaintiff firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman — and possibly the firm itself …
nascar.com:
Kudos, NASCAR Nation, for not taking NBC's bait — NBC News baited the hook, but netted nothing in its "sting" attempt to find anti-Muslim sentiments during the Martinsville race weekend. — By its own admission NBC News was so "intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll …
Ellen Goodman / Boston Globe:
Bloggers owe Carroll an apology — I AM SURE that Jill Carroll and her family are too busy inhaling the sweet spring air of freedom to spend time sniffing out the pollution in the blogosphere. Anyone who spent three months imagining the grimmest fate for this young journalist in the hands …