Top Items:
Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
Bush Warns Dems to Take Offer in Firings — WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to allow top aides to testify about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath, or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.
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White House:
President Bush Addresses Resignations of U.S. Attorneys — White House Counsel's Letter Regarding U.S. Attorneys — THE PRESIDENT: Earlier today, my staff met with congressional leaders about the resignations of U.S. attorneys. As you know, I have broad discretion to replace political …
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, LiberalOasis, Happy Furry Puppy Story …, Washington Wire, NewsBusters.org, CorrenteWire and rubber hose
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Bush Clashes With Congress on Prosecutors — President Bush and Congress clashed Tuesday over an inquiry into the firing of federal prosecutors and appeared headed toward a constitutional showdown over demands from Capitol Hill for internal White House documents and testimony from top advisers to the president.
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The president's oh-so-noble reliance on "executive privilege" — There are several important facts to note about the President's vow at this afternoon's Press Conference to resist attempts to compel Karl Rove and Harriet Miers to testify to Congress, under oath, with regard to the firing of the U.S. attorneys.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Balkinization, The Daily Howler, Balloon Juice, NewsHog, Discourse.net, Patterico's Pontifications and State of the Day
Satyam / Think Progress:
FACT CHECK: There Is No Precedent Barring White House Aides From Testifying To Congress — Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) has called on Karl Rove and other top White House aides to testify under oath in front of Congress concerning their role in the U.S. attorney purge.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, NewsHog, Taylor Marsh, Macsmind, New York Times, Cliff Schecter, Talking Points Memo and Pam's House Blend
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Breaking: Bush will oppose congressional subpoenas of White House staff; Update: Video added — He's willing to let Gonzales testify before Congress about the U.S. Attorneys matter but the most he'll allow for White House staff like Rove and Harriet Miers is an off-the-record interview for factfinding purposes.
Washington Post:
E-Mails Reveal Tumult In Firings and Aftermath — On the morning of Feb. 7, the day after a combative Senate hearing over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty was looking on the bright side. — "Paul reports this morning that he's hearing good reports …
ABCNEWS:
White House Offers Interview With Rove
White House Offers Interview With Rove
Discussion:
Eschaton, Middle Earth Journal, The Impolitic, DownWithTyranny!, The Heretik and State of the Day
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Democrats Split on Iraq Bill — Even Vote Counters Aren't Lined Up Behind Spending Measure — One of the Democrats' chief designated vote counters, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), is actively working against the Iraq war spending bill. The leadership's senior chief deputy whip …
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Matt Stoller / MyDD:
On Sestak, Again — Ok, I'm going to concede that I was probably …
On Sestak, Again — Ok, I'm going to concede that I was probably …
Discussion:
TalkLeft
David C. Iglesias / New York Times:
Why I Was Fired — WITH this week's release of more than 3,000 Justice Department e-mail messages about the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors, it seems clear that politics played a role in the ousters. — Of course, as one of the eight, I've felt this way for some time.
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Agence France Presse:
Iraq insurgents used children in car bombing: general — Insurgents in Iraq detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle with two children in the back seat after US soldiers let it through a Baghdad checkpoint over the weekend, a senior US military official said Tuesday.
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Stephen Handwerk / The Daily Advertiser:
Blanco: 'I will not seek re-election'; see photo gallery of the governor in action — BATON ROUGE — Gov. Kathleen Blanco has made it official: she will not run for re-election. — "I am choosing to do what I believe to be what is best for the state," the governor said in a statewide television broadcast.
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Robert Salladay / Political Muscle:
Schwarzenegger Calls Rush Limbaugh Irrelevant … During the one-on-one interview, the Republican-registered California governor was asked about criticism from Limbaugh and other conservatives that he has become a Democrat in disguise for supporting stem-cell research, mandatory curbs …
Discussion:
PoliPundit.com
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Steve Lohr / New York Times:
John W. Backus, 82, Fortran Developer, Dies — John W. Backus, who assembled and led the I.B.M. team that created Fortran, the first widely used programming language, which helped open the door to modern computing, died on Saturday at his home in Ashland, Ore. He was 82.
NY1:
Clinton Says She's Not Worried About "1984" Ad Impact — In an interview with NY1 Tuesday, Senator Hillary Clinton addressed the controversial new video that's attacking her credibility and promoting the presidential campaign of chief rival, Barack Obama. — After talking about Senate …
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Malia Rulon / Cincinnati Enquirer:
Schmidt: Scandal 'overblown' — Rep. Jean Schmidt wrote in her weekly column sent out to reporters on Monday that stories about horrible conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center were "overblown." — Schmidt, a Clermont County Republican, decided to take "several hours" …
Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
Aid to Palestinians Rose in '06 Despite an Embargo — Despite the international embargo on aid to the Palestinian Authority since Hamas came to power a year ago, significantly more aid was delivered to the Palestinians in 2006 than in 2005, according to official figures from the United Nations …