Think Progress

Mission Accomplished?

Under the Radar

ADMINISTRATION -- PATTERN OF PARTISAN INVESTIGATIONS BY LOYAL BUSHIES: On April 9, the New York Times noted that one "question...lurks behind the firing of eight top federal prosecutors: what did the surviving attorneys do to escape the axe?" Today, the Times may have an answer: "Since the dismissals of eight United States attorneys, local lawyers, politicians, editorial writers, members of Congress and defendants are questioning what they say is a pattern of investigating Democrats. They point to inquiries that drag on for years but end with no charges, an acquittal or convictions for relatively modest infractions." For example, while in "Eastern Michigan since 2001, at least 21 Democratic public officials have been charged or linked to corruption inquiries," the U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit has identified just "one Republican who had been charged." Similar objections have been raised in Pennsylvania, where a former federal prosecutor and Democratic officials are questioning "if Mary Beth Buchanan, the United States attorney there, has tried to impress her bosses in Washington by investigating Democrats." Her office spent "more than two years" investigating Mayor Tom Murphy of Pittsburgh. "After Mr. Murphy left office, Ms. Buchanan announced she would not indict him." Gonzales, however, has consistently denied any politicization of the Justice Department, saying "this notion that somehow we're playing politics with the cases we bring, it's just not true." Two University of Minnesota professors recently "compiled a database of investigations and/or indictments of candidates and elected officials by U.S. attorneys since the Bush administration came to power. Of the 375 cases they identified, 10 involved independents, 67 involved Republicans, and 298 involved Democrats."

ETHICS -- LEAHY BLASTS GONZALES OVER 'HIGHLY TROUBLING' NEW SECRET MEMO: Murray Waas revealed in the National Journal yesterday that Alberto Gonzales "signed a highly confidential order in March 2006 delegating to two of his top aides" -- chief of staff Kyle Sampson and counsel Monica Goodling, both of whom have since resigned -- "extraordinary authority over the hiring and firing of most non-civil-service employees of the Justice Department." Waas says the memo "suggests that a broad effort was under way by the White House to place politically and ideologically loyal appointees throughout the Justice Department, not just at the U.S.-attorney level." One Justice Department official told Waas, "It was an attempt to make the department more responsive to the political side of the White House and to do it in such a way that people would not know it was going on." In a new statement, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said the secret order "would seem to be evidence of an effort to hardwire control over law enforcement by White House political operatives," and demanded that it be turned over to congressional investigators immediately. The Justice Department recently announced that it would be "removing political appointees from the hiring process for rookie lawyers and summer interns, amid allegations that the Bush administration had rigged the programs in favor of candidates with connections to conservative or Republican groups."

CONGRESS -- LIEBERMAN: 'BLOGGERS HAVE ADDED ANOTHER DIMENSION OF VITUPERATION TOXICITY' TO POLITICS: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) led a panel discussion yesterday at the American Enterprise Institute discussing "options for restoring civility in American politics." Lieberman and Boehner both decried the harsh incivility in politics today while portraying themselves as paragons of independence and cordiality. Lieberman described his own politics as "stand[ing] up for what I believe is right and...work[ing] across party lines to get things done." As for the rest of politics, "The majority of people are sick of it. They think our political system is sick." Lieberman blamed "attack ads, the kind of divisiveness of the cable news coverage of politics, talk radio," and bloggers who "have added another dimension of vituperation toxicity to it." Boehner agreed, saying he has worked to "find ways of disagreeing without being disagreeable." He asked, "Where does all the partisanship come from?" and answered it by lamenting how blogs and other outlets have put "more information out in the public realm than there ever was, and some of it is to drive one point of versus other, dividing people more and more." He called this the "breakdown of America" (See the video HERE). Iraq, more than any other issue, has contributed to the divisiveness in politics today. And on that issue, Lieberman and Boehner have acquiesced to a failing, unpopular Bush policy while harshly demeaning those who seek to change it. Just this month, Lieberman stated that critics of President Bush's Iraq policy were engaging in "a kind of harassment." Boehner said that people who oppose escalation are taking the "bait" of "al Qaeda and terrorist sympathizers" by using Iraq to "divide us here at home" and derided critics' war policies as simply "failure at any cost." 

Think Fast

The number of terrorist attacks worldwide rose by 20,000 (40 percent) last year, "mostly due to greater violence in Iraq. ... Iraq alone accounts for nearly two-thirds of all terrorism-related deaths last year."

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced a measure Monday to force the Pentagon to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and move the trials of Al Qaeda suspects to the United States."

"Paul D. Wolfowitz defended himself vigorously on Monday, declaring that it would be 'unjust and frankly hypocritical' for the World Bank's board to find him guilty of ethical lapses. But he also hinted that he would discuss whether to resign as bank president if the board cleared him of misconduct."

Scott Bloch "has demonstrated a willingness to go after [Karl] Rove, at least on the small stuff: The [Los Angeles Times] has learned that Bloch investigated complaints that Rove's politically related travel had been improperly billed to the government. Bloch's action resulted in a reimbursement to the Treasury Department for what some described as a bookkeeping error." 

"The Senate homeland security committee plans to hold hearings this summer on the Bush administration's handling of offers of foreign aid after Hurricane Katrina. ... Of $854 million offered after the storm -- in cash and oil that was to be sold for cash -- only $44 million has gone to disaster victims or reconstruction so far."

"The largest bloc of Sunni Arabs in the Iraqi Parliament threatened to withdraw its ministers from the Shiite-dominated cabinet on Monday in frustration over the government's failure to deal with Sunni concerns. President Bush stepped in to forestall the move."

A study ordered by the Pentagon "concludes that all four branches of the military must 'fundamentally transform' their assumptions about energy, including taking immediate steps toward fielding weapons systems and aircraft that run on alternative and renewable fuels."

And finally: According to an AP survey on what presidential candidates like to cook, "Republican presidential candidates are literally red-meat conservatives." Mitt Romney makes good hot dogs and Sam Brownback replied that he likes "beef." On the Democratic side, Bill Richardson said he makes a mean "diet milkshake" and Chris Dodd's favorite meal is an "August New England dinner: Lobster, corn and tomatoes."