Leahy issues subpoena for Rove  —  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday issued a subpoena for top White House adviser Karl Rove to compel him to testify about the firing of several U.S. attorneys.  —  "The evidence shows that senior White House political operatives …

A STATEMENT FROM SCOTT THOMAS BEAUCHAMP:  —  As we've noted in this space, some have questioned details that appeared in the Diarist "Shock Troops," published under the pseudonym Scott Thomas.  According to Major Kirk Luedeke, a public affairs officer at Forward Operating Base Falcon …

Matalin Sticking With Fred Thompson  —  Rumors are flying about more senior level departures from the unofficial presidential campaign of former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.).  —  But The Fix can knock down one of the major ones: Mary Matalin, a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney …

Joe Klein and Beltway seriousness  —  Joe Klein today responds to my post from earlier this morning — regarding Joe Lieberman, John Hagee and Seriousness — without expressly acknowledging that he is doing so.  He all but quotes my post at length and says he is responding to the use of the word …

Gates seeks to calm feud with Clinton  —  WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that a top Pentagon official did not intend to impugn her patriotism by suggesting that questions about U.S. planning in Iraq boosts enemy propaganda.

Oversight Hearing on US Embassy in Iraq  —  The Oversight Committee is currently holding a hearing, "Allegations of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at the New U.S. Embassy in Iraq."  The hearing will examine the performance of the State Department and its contractors in the construction of the new $600 million U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Feinstein backs Clinton's bid for president  —  (07-25) 11:02 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein came roaring to the aid of fellow Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and tongue lashed a radio reporter today for what she said was an inappropriate question during a conference call …

Stacking the Court  —  WHEN a majority of Supreme Court justices adopt a manifestly ideological agenda, it plunges the court into the vortex of American politics.  If the Roberts court has entered voluntarily what Justice Felix Frankfurter once called the "political thicket," it may require a political solution to set it straight.

McCain's Media Team Resigns, Futher Shaking Up Campaign  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain's well-known media team has resigned, an indication that his campaign shake-up is continuing to backfire and imperiling the Arizona Republican's presidential candidacy.