Bad Deeds for 7-25-2007

Gonzales Can’t Explain Why He Granted Authority to Cheney and His Chief of Staff and Counsel to Intervene in Justice Probes – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) questioned the Attorney General about the independence of the Justice Department and communications with the White House on pending cases or investigations. He then pointed to a May 4, 2006 memorandum signed by Gonzales which showed that the Office of the Vice President had been granted parallel privileges with the Executive Office of the President on communicating directly with the Justice Department’s staff on criminal and civil matters. “What – on earth – business does the Office of the Vice President have in the internal workings of the Department of Justice with respect to criminal investigations, civil investigations, and ongoing matters?” the Senator asked. Gonzales was stumped, “As a general matter, I would say that’s a good question.” Whitehouse then pointed out that in the same memo, the Chief of Staff and Counsel of the Vice President were also explicitly granted the same authority. “On its face – I must say – sitting here, I’m troubled by this,” Gonzales added.

Gonzales May Have Revealed Classified Meeting and Committed Perjury – In his testimony, Gonzales revealed for the first time a meeting with the so-called “Gang of Eight” — the two top Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders and the chairmen and ranking members of both chambers’ Intelligence committees — on the same day as the Ashcroft hospital visit, where the members of Congress were supposedly briefed on “vitally important intelligence activities.” In revealing this meeting, Gonzales may have undercut his previous testimony in which he claimed the disagreement at the Justice Department was “not about the terrorist surveillance program that the president announced to the American people.”

One “Gang of Eight” member, Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), who was present at this classified briefing took issue with Gonzales even speaking about the meeting, “‘The attorney general is selectively declassifying material from a classified briefing, which I find improper.'” Meanwhile, Harman questioned the appropriateness of Gonzales even revealing that there had been a classified Gang of Eight meeting. “He doesn’t have the authority to do that,” she added. Another “gang member,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), when asked if he believed Gonzales had perjured himself, responded, “”Based upon what I know about it, I’d have to say yes.”

Update: Documentation has just been found that directly conflicts with Gonzales’ testimony. He will be given a chance to correct his testimony. If he does not. perjury charges will most likely be filed.

Provisions of Federal Election Guidelines Meant to Prevent Investigations From Influencing an Election Have Been Mysteriously Deleted – During the Gonzales hearing yesterday, Diane Feinstein brought up the fact that the new 2007 version of the “Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses” guidebook had significant alterations and omissions from the prior version (1995) in the area related to preventing new prosecutions from being timed in a manner that could impact the results of an election. There used to be some pretty strict guidelines related to such timing, which were violated by some of Bush’s US attorneys in their quest to gain Republican advantage. Gonzales had no idea what Feinstein was talking about and couldn’t answer why those changes were made.

Border Fence May Speed Extinction of Plants and Animals – “We know as habitats become fragments whether by roads, fences or walls animals become much less capable of roaming widely,” said Dr. Joel Berger, a senior scientist with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society. “As these restrictions occur animals become isolated and with isolation the risks of local extinctions greatly increase,” he said. At stake is the sheer diversity of life in a region of lush subtropical vegetation threaded by a great river, lying between vast arid landscapes to the west and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Isolation makes populations more prone to sudden die-offs from disease or drought and also limits their genetic pool.

Republican South Carolina Treasurer Indicted on a Federal Cocaine Charge
South Carolina Treasurer Thomas Ravenel resigned from office Tuesday, more than a month after he was indicted on a federal cocaine charge.

National Intelligence Estimate Lacks Supporting Evidence, Possibly Politicized – Current and former intelligence officials say the Bush Administration’s National Intelligence Estimate regarding terrorist threats to the United States does not provide evidence to support its assertions and may have inflated the domestic threat posed by the Lebanese political and military group Hezbollah, perhaps because it receives financial support from Iran. Speaking under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, several intelligence officers asserted that the report was sloppy and lacked supporting evidence. “As regards to the Hezbollah ‘threat,'” the official added, “they just threw that in. “Nobody in CIA talks to Hezbollah, and they’re living off their assessments from back in the 80s, which they really never got right anyway.”

Federal Elected Officials Get Free, Government-Provided Health Insurance – But Nearly 50 Million Americans Have No Health Insurance

Punishment for Expressing Your Views

• In West Virginia, Renee Jensen put up a yard sign saying “Mr. Bush: You’re Fired.” She’s questioned by the Secret Service.
• In Alabama, Lynne Gobbell put a Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker on her car. She’s fired from her job.
• In Vermont, Tom Treece had his high school students write essays and make posters either defending or criticizing the Iraq War. After midnight, the police entered his classroom and took photos of the student artwork.
• A man walked up to Dick Cheney, calmly told him he thought his Iraq policy was reprehensible, and walked away. A few minutes later he was arrested by the Secret Service, in front of his 8-year-old son, for “assault”.

Regards,

Jim