Top Items:
Josh Gerstein / New York Sun:
Gonzales Said To Stonewall a GOP Query — Probe of Leaks Are at Center of Inquiries From the Right — The top Republican on the House's main investigative committee, Rep. Thomas Davis of Virginia, is charging the Justice Department with stonewalling his inquiries about the FBI's assertion …
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Real Cities:
White House says Rove relayed complaints about prosecutors — WASHINGTON - The White House acknowledged on Sunday that presidential adviser Karl Rove served as a conduit for complaints to the Justice Department about federal prosecutors who were later fired for what critics charge were partisan political reasons.
Opinion Journal:
Meltdown at Justice — Incompetence is compromising presidential power. — Just when President Bush seemed to have beaten back the Congressional defeatists on Iraq, along comes his own Justice Department to undermine some hard-won antiterror policy gains.
Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Justice Official 'Horrified' Phone Call Was Seen as Threat — Until last Tuesday, Michael J. Elston was the happily anonymous chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty. — But then a former U.S. attorney told Congress that Elston had warned him and other fired prosecutors …
Discussion:
TalkLeft
Los Angeles Times:
Do we really need a Gen. Pelosi? — Congress can cut funding for Iraq, but it shouldn't micromanage the war. — AFTER WEEKS OF internal strife, House Democrats have brought forth their proposal for forcing President Bush to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by 2008.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Don Surber, QandO, Villainous Company, Jules Crittenden and Blue Crab Boulevard
Michael Barone / Real Clear Politics:
Berger & Libby: A Tale of Two Crimes — "History will be kind to me," Winston Churchill once said, "for I intend to write it." — Indeed, he did. His multiple-volume histories of the two world wars are still widely read, though discounted by professional historians as incomplete and in some ways misleading.
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Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Early Primary Rush Upends '08 Campaign Plans — The trickle of states moving their 2008 presidential primaries to Feb. 5 has turned into an avalanche, forcing all the presidential campaigns to reconsider every aspect of their nominating strategy — where to compete, how to spend money …
Discussion:
PoliBlog (TM)
Los Angeles Times:
Conservatives balk over Giuliani's judges — His picks as New York mayor raise doubts over whether he'd put 'strict constructionists' on the high court. — WASHINGTON — Rudolph W. Giuliani, in an effort to temper his support for abortion rights and his other socially liberal stances …
Omaha World-Herald:
Hagel hasn't tipped his '08 hand — A tight-lipped Sen. Chuck Hagel arrived in Omaha from Washington on Sunday afternoon and prepared to make what could be the biggest political announcement of his life. — Some Nebraska Republicans speculated that Hagel appeared ready to jump …
Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:
Obama, Clinton Sparring Early — CLINTON, Iowa — Standing in front of a large banner that blared "Clinton," surrounded by students in Clinton Community College sweat shirts, Sen. Barack Obama offhandedly mentioned the obvious. — "Hillary, you know, she's interesting," Obama said …
Sebastian Rotella / Los Angeles Times:
France's Chirac bows out, and the race is on — Long a fixture in French politics, he confirms he won't seek a third term as president. A close contest to succeed him is anticipated. — PARIS — Setting the stage for a suspenseful presidential race, French President Jacques Chirac announced Sunday …
S.A. Miller / Washington Times:
CAIR OK'd to meet in Capitol — A House Democrat has arranged for a conference room in the Capitol building to be used tomorrow by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group criticized for its persistent refusal to disavow terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Fred Hiatt / Washington Post:
Who's to Blame for Russia? — Who lost Russia? As the world's biggest country backslides ever more quickly into authoritarianism, the answer you hear increasingly is: the United States. — Curiously, you hear it both from Russians, who simultaneously deny that anything bad has happened …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
The Australian:
Native American trackers to hunt bin Laden — WASHINGTON: An elite group of Native American trackers is joining the hunt for terrorists crossing Afghanistan's borders. — The unit, the Shadow Wolves, was recruited from several tribes, including the Navajo, Sioux, Lakota and Apache.
Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:
Terrorists Proving Harder to Profile — European Officials Say Traits of Suspected Islamic Extremists Are Constantly Shifting — ZUTPHEN, Netherlands — On the surface, the young Dutch Moroccan mother looked like an immigrant success story: She studied business in college …
Los Angeles Times:
Fallback strategy for Iraq: Train locals, draw down forces — If the current 'surge' fails, planners suggest relying on advisors as the U.S. did in El Salvador in the 1980s. — WASHINGTON — American military planners have begun plotting a fallback strategy for Iraq that includes …