Top Items:
David Stout / New York Times:
Gonzales Denies Any Attempt to Pressure Ashcroft — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales denied today that he tried as White House counsel in March 2004 to influence then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was hospitalized and semi-alert after undergoing gall bladder surgery.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, CNN, Comments From Left Field, CNN Political Ticker, AMERICAblog, Shakespeare's Sister and TalkLeft
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Think Progress:
Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs — In his testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was asked by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) to address inaccuracies in his 2006 testimony in relation …
Washington Post:
Gonzales Denies Pressuring Ashcroft — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today defended a dramatic nighttime visit to the hospital bed of his predecessor, John D. Ashcroft, in March 2004, saying that he had no intention of taking advantage of Ashcroft while he was recovering from surgery.
Andrew Cohen / Bench Conference:
Gonzo on the Hill: A Comedic Tragedy — Forget about the politicization of the Justice Department. Forget about the falling morale there. Forget about the rise in violent crime in some of our biggest cities. Forget about the events leading up to the U.S. Attorney scandal and the way he has handled the prosecutor purge since.
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Depends On What The Definition Of Program Is — I was only half awake this morning when I read Christy Hardin Smith's liveblogging of the latest atrocious Gonzales testimony, so I couldn't be sure that he was actually still lying about the Ashcroft hospital visit.
TPMmuckraker:
Senators Signal Gonzales Perjury Inquiry over Spying Testimony — The Senate Judiciary Committee will review Alberto Gonzales' past statements to determine whether Gonzales lied to the committee in 2006 by saying there had been no internal Justice Department dissent over the legality …
Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
Gonzales: I Only Visited Ashcroft's Hospital Bed Because Congress Wanted It
Gonzales: I Only Visited Ashcroft's Hospital Bed Because Congress Wanted It
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
Daschle: Gonzales Trying to "Rewrite History" …
Daschle: Gonzales Trying to "Rewrite History" …
Discussion:
New Pairodimes
Ed Tibbetts / Quad City Times:
Clinton takes Obama to task over statements — TODAY: (Updated 12:25 p.m.) Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton today called rival Barack Obama's statement that he would meet with the leaders of several countries antagonistic to the United States "irresponsible" and "naive."
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Eschaton, The Carpetbagger Report, Comments From Left Field, Liberal Values, Political Punch and MSNBC
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Rick Klein / ABCNEWS:
Clinton: Obama 'Irresponsible and Naive' — Democratic Front-Runners Tangle After Monday Night's Debate — Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said today that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, made comments that were "irresponsible and frankly naive" …
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Collamore out as Thompson manager — Tom Collamore, the former Altria lobbyist who had been running Fred Thompson's campaign, has resigned and will be replaced by Randy Enwright. Enwright is a Florida political hand with ties to former Gov. Jeb Bush. Also coming on board in a leadership capacity …
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Michael J. Totten:
In the Wake of the Surge — BAGHDAD - 82nd Airborne's Lieutenant William H. Lord from Foxborough, Massachusetts, prepared his company for a dismounted foot patrol in the Graya'at neighborhood of Northern Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Arab district of Adhamiyah.
Keith L. Alexander / Washington Post:
Outsourcing the Picket Line — Carpenters Union Hires Homeless to Stage Protests — The picketers marching in a circle in front of a downtown Washington office building chanting about low wages do not seem fully focused on their message. — Many have arrived with large suitcases …
Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Bush Insists Al Qaeda in Iraq Threatens U.S. — President George W. Bush argued forcefully today that an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq is linked tightly to the central Al Qaeda leadership, and that for American forces to leave Iraq without defeating the terror group would be "dangerous for the world and disastrous for America."
Jacques Steinberg / New York Times:
Paula Zahn Will Leave CNN — A day after CNN announced that it was hiring Campbell Brown to replace one of its prime-time hosts, presumably Paula Zahn, Ms. Zahn confirmed today that she was leaving the cable channel, effective Aug. 2. — The unraveling of "Paula Zahn Now," …
Kim Ode / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Continued: Michele Bachmann: Watching her step — The chamber visitors are a friendly crowd, but the reality of a broadened constituency grows clear in a discussion about the proposed Northstar commuter rail line. During the campaign, Bachmann was cool to the idea, so distant from Stillwater.
Discussion:
Think Progress