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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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 …
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:
Instapundit.com, Cold Fury, The Left Coaster, Booman Tribune, HolyCoast.com and Decision '08
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.
John Dickerson / Slate:
We've Found the Leaker in the White House!
We've Found the Leaker in the White House!
Discussion:
The Reaction, MSNBC, War and Piece, The Carpetbagger Report, truthout.org, Outside The Beltway, Limbo and Macsmind
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 …
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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.
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Run-Down Republicans — Imagine that: Tom DeLay speaking truth to power. — "We don't have an agreed agenda," DeLay told a group of sympathetic reporters this week. "Breaking up our leadership has taken its toll." — Self-serving? Absolutely. DeLay is saying the Republicans …
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Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Warrantless Wiretaps Possible in U.S. — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales left open the possibility yesterday that President Bush could order warrantless wiretaps on telephone calls occurring solely within the United States — a move that would dramatically expand the reach …
Discussion:
The Washington Monthly, The Carpetbagger Report, Lean Left, Andrew Sullivan, Firedoglake, Obsidian Wings, Democrats.com, Liberty Street, Air America Radio, The Democratic Daily Blog, Blue Crab Boulevard, Brilliant at Breakfast, TalkLeft, Concurring Opinions, Balloon Juice, CorrenteWire and Daily Kos
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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.
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.
Washington Post:
Newly Translated Gospel Offers More Positive Portrayal of Judas — The National Geographic Society released yesterday the first modern translation of the ancient Gospel of Judas, which depicts the most reviled villain in Christian history as a devoted follower who was simply doing Jesus's bidding when he betrayed him.
Discussion:
The Green Knight
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Con Coughlin / Telegraph:
UN officials find evidence of secret uranium enrichment plant — United Nations officials investigating Iran's nuclear programme say they have found convincing evidence that the Iranians are working on a secret uranium enrichment project that has not been officially declared.
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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 …
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
Bush Faces Rare Audience Challenge in N.C. — President Defends Warrantless Spying Program After Criticism at Open-Forum Event — CHARLOTTE, April 6 — Harry Taylor got the chance Thursday to do what frustrated liberals across the country have wanted to do for a long time: He stood up and told off the president.
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.
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 …