Top Items:
Washington Post:
Senate Republicans Deliver Sharp Criticism of Gonzales — Senators Say Attorney General Fired Prosecutors Without Explanation — Senior Senate Republicans today delivered scathing criticism of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales for his handling of the firing of eight U.S. attorneys …
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Michael Barone / US News:
Lawmaker's Intervention in Law Enforcement Crosses Line — The emerging scandal surrounding the dismissals of eight former U.S. attorneys should signify to American voters the depth, breadth, and permeation of corruption in the Bush administration. — When a U.S. senator (to wit …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Barone Post — A reader alerts me that it might have been a hacker's work. It's not listed on his blog's full posts. I'm checking into it. In the meantime, I've taken it down. I'll keep you posted, as it were. — [Update: it was a hoax inserted into his blog by a hacker.
Discussion:
The RBC, Talking Points Memo, Sunlight Foundation blogs, Lonewacko, A Blog For All, TAPPED, Booman Tribune and theneweditor.com
Steve Tetreault / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Ensign voices ire at agency — Explanations for dismissal of U.S. attorney differ — WASHINGTON — Sen. John Ensign on Wednesday charged that the Justice Department botched the dismissals of U.S. attorneys and suggested he was misled as to why the Nevada chief federal prosecutor …
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Rove: Prosecutor Purge Is "Normal and Ordinary" — The Arkansas Times' blog has video of Karl Rove speaking today on the topic of the prosecutor purge. I've typed up a transcript of the remarks, but I'll leave it to readers in comments to point out the many distortions (and some plain lies) in Rove's comments.
Democrats.senate.gov:
SENATE DEMOCRATS ANNOUNCE JOINT RESOLUTION TO TRANSITION THE MISSION IN IRAQ — Washington, DC — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today joined Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin, Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer, Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray …
Discussion:
MyDD, NewsHog, Taylor Marsh, Power Line, Balloon Juice, TalkLeft, liberal catnip, AMERICAblog, The Democratic Daily, AMERICAN DIGEST and Left in the West
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Seth Stern / CQ.com:
Members Were Aware of Lapses at Walter Reed — Senior Republicans who knew about problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while their party controlled Congress insist they did all they could to prod the Pentagon to fix them. — But C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., former chairman …
Discussion:
Think Progress, Indianapolis Star, DownWithTyranny!, Macsmind, The Stakeholder, AMERICAblog, Shakespeare's Sister, PoliPundit.com and Daily Kos
Washington Post:
Democrats Want Iraq Pullout by Fall 2008 — House Democrats today unveiled a plan for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of August 2008, introducing legislation that attaches a complex series of conditions to military spending requested by President Bush.
David Corn / The Nation:
Cheney on Trial — It was fall 2003. The news had broken that the Justice Department, at the request of the CIA, was investigating the leak that outed Valerie Wilson as an undercover intelligence officer, and FBI investigators were targeting White House officials.
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Frank Newport / Gallup Poll:
Mitt Romney Still Unknown to Many Republicans — Giuliani, Obama, and McCain have most favorable images — PRINCETON, NJ — One critical measure at this stage of the election campaign is the traditional trial heat that indicates who Democrats and Republicans want to be their party's nominee for president.
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Jeannine Aversa / Associated Press:
Net worth of U.S. households skyrockets — WASHINGTON - The net worth of U.S. households climbed to a record high in the final quarter of last year, boosted mostly by gains on stocks, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday. — Net worth — the difference between households' total assets …
David Lightman / Hartford Courant:
Fox Makes Friends And Foes — WASHINGTON — Joe Lieberman was beaming. "Sam Fox represents what America is all about," he said, "and that's why he will be, when confirmed, an extraordinary ambassador." — The scene was last week's Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Steve / The News Blog:
Update on Gilly—Not out of the Woods Yet — Still here — Jen here. I just got off the phone with Gilly's Mom. Last night, her message was that "they brought him down from surgery, but he's still under sedation." I called her this morning to get more details, and here they are:
Discussion:
Nitpicker
The Blotter:
Exclusive: Report Says FBI Violated Patriot Act Guidelines — Brian Ross and Vic Walter Report: — The FBI repeatedly failed to follow the strict guidelines of the Patriot Act when its agents took advantage of a new provision allowing the FBI to obtain phone and financial records without a court order …
CBS News:
John Edwards To Skip Nevada Debate — Liberal Activists Protest Fox News' Role In Presidential Candidate Forum — (CBS/AP) Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards won't participate in a debate co-hosted by Fox News and the Nevada Democratic Party, his campaign said …