memeorandum: Vick faces prison time after agreeing to plead guilty (ESPN)

9:40 PM ET, August 20, 2007

Top Items:

FEC Complaint filed against Fred Thompson — Fred Thompson is breaking the law and it's time somebody did something about it. So, this morning, I filed an FEC Complaint against him. For far too long, he has been ignoring the letter and spirit of Federal Election Law for his own political benefit.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Think Progress, Riehl World View, The Caucus, Lean Left, The Impolitic, The Right's Field, Daily Kos, MyDD, Taylor Marsh, Matt Ortega, The Iconic Midwest, Democratic National Committee and MSNBC

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Blogger files FEC complaint against Thompson — Progressive blogger Lane Hudson filed a complaint against former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) on Monday, accusing the likely presidential candidate of breaking the law by violating the Federal Election Commission's (FEC) "testing the waters" clause.

Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press:
Thompson faces election complaint

Discussion: The Politico, Hot Air and Wonkette

Ed OKeefe / Political Punch:
Is Fred Thompson Skirting Election Law?

Discussion: Firedoglake

Amanda / Think Progress:

Leahy: Cheney Told GOP-Led Congress It Was 'Not Allowed To Issue Subpoenas' — Today in a press briefing, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) revealed that the White House had missed its 2:30 PM deadline to turn over documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding legal justifications …

Discussion: U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, The Next Hurrah and Matt Ortega

Reuters:

White House: Iraq progress report could be Sept 11 — ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, will likely testify to Congress about progress in the war on September 11 or September 12, the White House said on Monday.

Discussion: Comments From Left Field, Daily Kos, The Blue State and CBS News

Washington Post:
The Hospital Visit, Revisited

Discussion: Daily Kos and Crooks and Liars

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
Happy Warrantless Surveillance Subpoena Day

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Carpetbagger Report, The Next Hurrah and Prairie Weather

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Leahy: "Time is up." Sorta. — During a press conference …

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister

Mike Phelan / CNN:

Report: Vick agrees to plea deal, prison possible — (CNN) — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has accepted a plea deal that could send him to prison, ending a federal dogfighting prosecution that jeopardizes his pro football career, a Virginia newspaper is reporting.

Discussion: Gay Orbit, ProfessorBainbridge.com ®, Captain's Quarters, JammieWearingFool, The Atlantic Online and Corrente

ESPN:

Vick faces prison time after agreeing to plead guilty — RICHMOND, Va. — Michael Vick's lawyer said Monday the NFL star will plead guilty to charges relating to a federal dogfighting case, putting the Atlanta Falcons quarterback's career in jeopardy and leaving him subject to a prison term.

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister, Corrente, Outside The Beltway and On Deadline

Fox News:
Vick Attorney Says Star Quarterback Will Plead Guilty in Dogfighting Case

Discussion: Hot Air, Abovethelaw.com, Lone Star Times and The American Mind

WJLA-TV:

Congressman Charged for Assault At Dulles — ABC 7 has learned the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority have charged Representative Robert Filner of California with assault and battery following an incident at Dulles International Airport Sunday night.

Discussion: The Politico, NewsBusters.org, Instapundit.com, Wizbang, Wonkette, Hot Air and Gateway Pundit

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

CONGRESSMAN CHARGED AFTER ALTERCATION — From NBC's John Yang and Jay Blackman — Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) was involved in an altercation last night at Dulles Airport. He was allegedly angered by the amount of time it was taking to get his luggage and tried to push his way through the United Airlines baggage claim office.

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, JammieWearingFool and The Raw Story

Faiz / Think Progress:

Levin: Escalation's Goals Have 'Totally And Utterly Failed,' Begin Withdrawal In Less Than 4 Months — Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, recently visited Iraq with Sen. John Warner (R-VA) and reported that the escalation is "totally and utterly" …

Discussion: The Politico, Political Radar, Sister Toldjah and NonParty Politics

Fox News:
Sens. Warner and Levin Travel to Iraq, Praise Surge Results

Discussion: RADAMISTO

Todd Spangler / Detroit Free Press:
Levin: Troop surge has 'positive results' in Iraq

Discussion: TIME: Swampland

Joe Strupp / Editor and Publisher:

PEJ Study: War Coverage Down, Campaign Reporting Up — NEW YORK Coverage of events related to the Iraq War decreased during the second quarter of 2007, but remained the top news issue, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which noted 15% of stories across print, broadcast and online dealt with Iraq-related issues.

Discussion: Cliff Schecter and Romenesko

Mike Allen / The Politico:
Talk radio helped sink immigration reform

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Hot Air

Journalism.org:
CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT TAKES CENTER STAGE IN COVERAGE

Discussion: TIME: Swampland

Jim Galloway / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Former Sen. Sam Nunn weighs run for White House — Sam Nunn left the U.S. Senate more than 10 years ago. — Since then, the Georgia Democrat, who made his name nationally as a defense-minded hawk, has watched what's happened to the country, and he's more than a bit ticked — at the …

Discussion: Wizbang Blue, No More Mister Nice Blog, GregsOpinion.com, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, MSNBC and Taegan Goddard's …

James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:
Sam Nunn Mulls Presidential Bid on Unity08 Ticket

Discussion: BartBlog

Jonathan Singer / MyDD:
Just When We Thought Bloomberg Was Out, They Pull Nunn Back In

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Open Left and Eschaton

National Review:

Petraeus To Testify Before the Senate on September 11; McCain Launching 'No Surrender Tour' — Highlights from the McCain Campaign's Conference Call: — Headline one: McCain says he has been told General Petraeus will be testifying before the Senate on September 11. (!?)

Discussion: Think Progress, Weekly Standard, Heading Right, Reason Magazine, bustardblog, Wake up America, Captain's Quarters, FP Passport and My Two Sense

John Hanna / Associated Press:
Clinton, McCain split on Iraq pullout

Discussion: The Caucus, Hot Air and Weekly Standard

Reuters:

Bears eat man at beer festival — BELGRADE, Serbia (Reuters) — A 23-year old Serb was found dead and half-eaten in the bear cage of Belgrade Zoo at the weekend during the annual beer festival. — The man was found naked, with his clothes lying intact inside the cage.

Discussion: The Daily Gut, JammieWearingFool, Blue Crab Boulevard and POLITOPICS

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Schlozman Leaves Justice Department — Bradley Schlozman, a former Justice Department official who was at the center of the U.S. attorneys scandal and is under investigation by the Departments inspector general for his alleged efforts to politicize the Civil Rights Division, has finally left his post at the Department.

Discussion: Think Progress, The BRAD BLOG, I'm Just a Bill and The Next Hurrah

Chris / TVNewser:

Countdown On NBC — Countdown with Keith Olbermann is getting a tryout on NBC. The NYTimes reports, Countdown will air before NBC's broadcast of this Sunday's pre-season game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. Says NBC SVP Phil Griffin, "The world has changed …

Discussion: Liberal Values, JammieWearingFool and Taylor Marsh

This Is London:

BBC DROPS FICTIONAL TERROR ATTACK TO AVOID OFFENDING MUSLIMS — The BBC has dropped plans to show a fictional terror attack in an episode of Casualty to avoid offending Muslims. — The first show of the hospital drama's new series was to have featured a storyline about an explosion caused by Islamic extremists.

Discussion: The World Wide Rant, Hyscience and Media Blog