FBI Says Jefferson Was Filmed Taking Cash  —  Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), the target of a 14-month public corruption probe, was videotaped accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from a Northern Virginia investor who was wearing an FBI wire, according to a search warrant affidavit released yesterday.

Days of Rage  —  John McCain and Joe Lieberman feel the wrath of the antiwar left.  —  Two events last Friday speak volumes about the direction of modern liberal politics, and it's not an encouraging trend, especially if you're a Democrat who wants to take back the White House.

Prosecution of Journalists Is Possible in NSA Leaks  —  Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales raised the possibility yesterday that New York Times journalists could be prosecuted for publishing classified information based on the outcome of the criminal investigation underway into leaks …

Iraqi Vows 'Maximum Force' to End Attacks  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq's new prime minister promised Sunday to use ''maximum force'' if necessary to end the brutal insurgent and sectarian violence wracking the country, while a suicide bomber killed more than a dozen people at a restaurant in downtown Baghdad.

Elections Are Crux Of GOP's Strategy  —  Bush Aides Look to Midterm Vote as Way to Reverse Slide  —  Confronting the worst poll numbers seen in the West Wing since his father went down to defeat, President Bush and his team are focusing on the fall midterm elections as the best chance …

LISTENING IN  —  A few days before the start of the confirmation hearings for General Michael Hayden, who has been nominated by President Bush to be the head of the C.I.A., I spoke to an official of the National Security Agency who recently retired.  The official joined the N.S …

Rove Lawyer Has a Pet Peeve  —  Robert Luskin, Karl Rove's lawyer, says he spent most of the day on May 12 taking his cat to the veterinarian and having a technician fix his computer at home.  —  He was stunned, therefore, when journalists started calling to ask about an online report …

Libby Prosecutor Focuses on CIA Officer's Status  —  Filings Say Ex-Cheney Aide Knew That Plame Was Classified, Giving Him Reason to Lie to Grand Jury  —  The classified status of the identity of former CIA officer Valerie Plame will be a key element in any trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" …

Why We Published the AT&T Docs  —  A file detailing aspects of AT&T's alleged participation in the National Security Agency's warrantless domestic wiretap operation is sitting in a San Francisco courthouse.  But the public cannot see it because, at AT&T's insistence, it remains under seal in court records.

Schumer Plans Book Showing Both Parties Are Out of Step  —  WASHINGTON, May 21 — Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, who is heading the national Democratic effort to capture the United States Senate this year, has signed a book deal, the senator's office announced on Sunday.

Loose lips sink ships  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  When is it OK to sacrifice national security for personal gain or political one-upmanship?  —  For the common-sense-challenged, the answer is: "Never."  —  In the years since Sept. 11, an odd assembly of Capitol Hill-types …

TOP MCCAIN AIDE INSULTS ENTIRE COLLEGE GRADUATING CLASS... "VERY UNLIKELY ANY OF YOU WILL EVER POSSESS...ONE SMALL FRACTION OF THE CHARACTER OF JOHN MCCAIN"...  Mark Salter, a longtime aide and chief of staff to Senator John McCain, posted a response to Jean Rohe's blog entry on the Huffington Post …

Coin image omits 'In God We Trust'  —  A Keller school district parent said political correctness has run amok at her daughter's elementary school, where the principal chose to omit the words "In God We Trust" from an oversize coin depicted on the yearbook cover.

Al Gore's Unlikely Helpers  —  Liberals famously love John McCain, but that's not the weirdest political coupling.  The oil industry and its Republican allies are rooting for Al Gore, albeit unintentionally.  —  Gore stars in a movie that opens this week in New York and Los Angeles.