memeorandum: A coup in Baghad? — Yesterday, trying to figure out why Mr. Bush … (Mark Kleiman/The RBC)

Expert Admits "Big Error" In Duke Case — (CBS) The forensic expert hired by the prosecutor in the Duke rape case says he made a "big error" in judgment by not stating in his report that the only DNA he found on the accuser was from several men who were not on the Duke lacrosse team.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Fox News, PoliBlog (TM), Scared Monkeys, Gateway Pundit, A Blog For All, Hot Air, Associated Press, Ace of Spades HQ and Durham-in-Wonderland

New York Times:

Prosecutor Asks to Exit Duke Case — The district attorney in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case asked the state attorney general on Friday to take over the troubled prosecution, saying he faced a conflict of interest because of ethics charges filed against him by the state bar, officials involved in the case said.

Discussion: Althouse

Raleigh News & Observer:
Nifong asks to be removed from case

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Durham-in-Wonderland and Outside The Beltway

Randy Barnett / The Volokh Conspiracy: PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT: Dorothy Rabinowitz had an excellent essay …

Duff Wilson / New York Times:
Duke Accuser Contradicts Herself

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy and JustOneMinute

Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:

Official Attacks Top Law Firms Over Detainees — The senior Pentagon official in charge of military detainees suspected of terrorism said in an interview this week that he was dismayed that lawyers at many of the nation's top firms were representing prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba …

Discussion: Obsidian Wings, Prairie Weather, the talking dog, Abovethelaw.com, Andrew Sullivan, Talking Points Memo, The Belgravia Dispatch, The Impolitic, Balloon Juice and Law Blog

New York Times:

Round Up the Usual Lawyers — No one who has followed President Bush's policies on detainees should be surprised when a member of his team scorns American notions of justice. But even by that low standard, the administration's new attack on lawyers who dare to give those prisoners …

Discussion: The RBC and Washington Post

Jeralyn Merritt / The Huffington Post:
Keeping an Eye on Cully Stimson

Discussion: ImmigrationProf Blog

Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:

Rod Dreher: "Hadn't the hippies tried to tell my generation this"? — (updated below) — Rod Dreher is as conservative as it gets — a contributor to National Review and the Corner, a current columnist for The Dallas Morning News, a self-described "practicing Christian and political conservative."

Discussion: The Impolitic, Norwegianity, Matthew Yglesias and A Tiny Revolution

Maha / The Mahablog:

Betrayal — Per Glenn Greenwald, don't miss this audio essay by rightie Rod Dreher. … Like so many loyal soldiers of movement conservatism, Dreher's earliest political memories are of the Carter Administration and the Iranian hostage crisis, followed by the triumphant ascension of Ronald Reagan.

Discussion: The Sideshow

Jonathan Zasloff / The RBC: Vietnam, the Democrats and foreign policy

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:

EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Clinton Calls Situation in Iraq 'Heartbreaking' — Senator Spoke Out Against the President's Policy in Iraq — In an exclusive interview with ABC News in Baghdad, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., called the situation in Iraq "heartbreaking" and said she doubts Congress …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Balloon Juice, Gateway Pundit and The Swamp

Anne Gearan / Associated Press:

Rice says U.S. won't pull plug on Iraq — JERUSALEM - Americans' skepticism about Iraq will not change until they see progress, but the U.S. will not "pull the plug" on the war, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. — Rice, at the start of a Mideast trip, would not detail any backup strategy …

Haaretz:
Rice: I am not coming to Middle East with a plan

Discussion: The Belgravia Dispatch and The Corner

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:

Final Islamist Collapse In Somalia (Updated) — The final organized base of the Union of Islamic Courts fell to Ethiopian and Somali forces last night, completing the lightning rout of what had been an ascendant radical Islamist force. Ras Kamboni had been the last organized redoubt for the UIC …

BBC:
Last Somali Islamist base 'falls'

Discussion: ThreatsWatch

Robert B. Reich / American Prospect:

Bad-Faith Negotiation — What's missing from the Democrats' new bill on bargaining prescription drug prices. — House Democrats are pushing a bill to require Medicare to negotiate drug prices. So far, so good. But in what appears to be a bow to the political clout of Big Pharma …

Discussion: Greg Mankiw's Blog, Liberal Values, Matthew Yglesias and Angry Bear

Mark Kleiman / The RBC:

A coup in Baghad? — Yesterday, trying to figure out why Mr. Bush and his crew think the escalation in Iraq might have a chance to work, I speculated that replacing Nouri al-Maliki might be part of the plan. Today, that doesn't seem so speculative. — Here's John Burns on CNN (emphases added):

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and New York Times

Tom Jackman / Washington Post:

Amateur Sleuthing Lands Grisham in Real-Life Court — He's a lawyer. He's a best-selling author. Now he's The Client. — The Virginia Supreme Court ruled yesterday that John Grisham must face a jury for his actions in a real-life whodunit. — Grisham, author of "The Pelican Brief …

Opinion Journal:

The Berger Files — The case of the purloined archives gets stranger all the time. — The more we learn about Sandy Berger's brilliant career as a document thief, the clearer it becomes that there is plenty we still don't know and may never learn. On Tuesday, the House Government Reform …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard

Los Angeles Times:

Iraqi leader goes own way to fill top post — He picks an unknown to lead forces in Baghdad, which raises questions about his motives. — BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has filled the top military job in Baghdad with a virtually unknown officer chosen over the objections …

Discussion: Informed Comment

New York Times:

Passing Exchange Becomes Political Flashpoint — A passing exchange during a Senate hearing on Thursday turned into a political flashpoint overnight as Senator Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused one another of insensitivity in comments about motherhood and the war in Iraq.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Althouse, The Carpetbagger Report and Feministing

Washington Post:

Gates Ties Iraq Push to Drawdown — Successful Troop Boost Could Mean Withdrawal Starting by Year's End, He Says — President Bush's new operation to secure Baghdad will begin in earnest with a push by thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops in the first week of February …

Discussion: Political Animal and AMERICAblog

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:

When Dumb Political Activism Attacks — Sometimes we all think people know where we basically stand on issues. And sometimes we learn that people either don't really know, or they don't really care. — There's smart political activism, and there's dumb political activism.

Discussion: Riehl World View

Smash / The Indepundit: Et Tu? — I SAW IT IN MY INBOX this evening.