Allen, Guilty On All One Count
State Rep. Bob Allen (R), was the Florida legislator and John McCain state campaign co-chair whose career took a turn for the worse back in July after he was arrested for soliciting a plain clothes police officer for sex in a public park bathroom in Titusville, Florida. After a brief heyday as Larry Craig's Sunshine state doppelganger he slipped back into national obscurity. But now TPM Reader JP brings us news that Allen has been convicted by a six person jury of one misdemeanor count of solicitation for prostitution. "We are continuing to seek justice," an unbowed Allen said afterwards. "I am innocent. I have done nothing wrong. My family, my God and my good constituents know that."
Bad constituents may be hedging their bets, it seems.
We brought you the Bob Allen story in TPMtv episode "GOP Bathroom Etiquette Breakdwon"
--Josh Marshall
Depends on What the Meaning of Deceive Is
There's yet more on FEMA's hilarious defense that its fake press conference was not intended to deceive.
The former director of external affairs for FEMA, John P. Philbin, penned a letter to the editor of the Washington Post today decrying an editorial about the fake presser (thanks to TPM Reader WF for the link). Philbin, who left the agency shortly after the fake presser and seems to have lost a prospective job at the Directorate of National Intelligence because of it, writes:
Here is what happened: There was pressure to inform the public quickly, and the staff, exhausted from round-the-clock duty, dropped the ball on announcing the news briefing. I was busy with meetings and unaware before the briefing that reporters had not been given adequate time to arrive and that the phone line for reporters was "listen only." The staff tried to salvage the event by asking the kinds of questions they had been fielding that morning. . . .Because I was in charge, I take responsibility for letting this hastily planned briefing go forward.
However, neither I nor anyone on the staff is guilty of any attempt to deceive.
I refer you again to the picture CBS scrounged up today. Go take a look. It's a hilarious example of no intent to deceive.
--David Kurtz
Why did Majority Leader Harry Reid let the Mukasey vote through--and why so suddenly late last night?
--David Kurtz
The Fakery Of It All
CBS has obtained a FEMA photograph of the fake press conference held by Deputy Director Harvey Johnson. The photo shows that those in attendance were high-level FEMA aides personally known to Johnson, CBS reports. Up to now, the agency has defended Johnson as being unaware that the press conference was fake.
Take a look at that picture and then explain how the Department of Homeland Security's own internal review concluded that the fake presser was not intended to deceive the public.
--David Kurtz
Rudy to McCain
I'll see your Kerik and raise you a Keating!
Don't have a dog in this fight exactly, but I'd rather have Keating on my bill than Kerik ...
--Josh Marshall
Bernie Kerik: The Iraq Years Months
Nearly every article about Bernie Kerik's very brief 2003 stint in Iraq overseeing the training of the Iraqi police includes a reference to Kerik's abrupt departure. What remains unclear is why he left so quickly.
But, as Spencer Ackerman reports, in the short time he was in Baghdad, Kerik let it be known that he was the "eyes and ears of the Oval Office on the ground."
--David Kurtz
What Went Down Last Night?
Greg Sargent starts putting the pieces together on why the Mukasey vote was rushed through so quickly last night that the four Democratic senators running for President--all opposed to Mukasey--couldn't get back to DC in time to vote.
--David Kurtz
Making a List, Checkin' It Twice
I mentioned earlier that we're putting together a list of all Bernie Kerik's scandals and scams. But there's another list we're working on -- one that interests me just as much. Rudy's been asked once or twice about his knowledge of Kerik's mafia ties in advance of making him Police Commissioner and then later getting him appointed as Secretary of Homeland Security. First he denied knowing and then later, when faced with clear evidence to the contrary, sort of admitted it. (He said, Yeah, maybe I heard but I don't remember.)
But this one instance of Kerik's mafia ties hardly exhausts the man's history of cartoonish conduct and boffo wrongdoing. Much of it Rudy must have known about. I don't buy that a top city official and close friend of the mayor gets sued (with the city as a codefendent) twice over an inappropriate workplace affair and the mayor never finds out about it. Don't believe it. And there are many other examples.
So we're putting together our list of Kerik's scams and scandals. And I think that will help clarify to some degree how much Rudy must have known about in advance of appointing Kerik.
But if you know of published accounts in which Rudy is asked about his knowledge of specific incidents with Kerik, drop us a line and let us know.
--Josh Marshall
Uniquely Ineffective in the Modern Era?
A common sentiment in our email box today, as expressed by TPM Reader JV:
The issue on Mukasey in regards to the Dems is not (should not) just be about which disheartening AG runs our even more disheartening DOJ. It's that once again the Dems got boxed in by something as simple as a questionable nomination with nothing to show for it.These guys just seem functionally unable to think past their next move, or to strategize on the most basic political level. How weak does this president need to be for these hapless Dems to score some points? Less popular than Nixon at his lowest point seems to be the bar, and that says a lot about this leadership, but can be summed up in six words: uniquely ineffective in the modern era.
And that's what has all of us non-authoritarians out here so panicked; it's fairly clear very little of import the majority of Americans want will be inacted or occur until this president --this historically incompetent, corrupt and unpopular president -- leaves office.
It's very depressing, especially in light of the history of fighting for freedom and equality that this country represents, when the majority leadership is so unbelievably powerless against what should be entirely conquerable challenges.
--David Kurtz
Cash-n-Kerik, Pt. II
Once you've hit the limits giving to Rudy, try really helping out his campaign by giving a gazillion dollars to the Kerik Legal Defense Trust. Thinkprogress has more.
--Josh Marshall
Dropping Like Flies
Another GOP retirement in the House.
Late Update: And yet another one.
--David Kurtz
Bernie Kerik, Welfare King
Indictment: Kerik not only accepted bribes, but whined to get them.
--David Kurtz
Richardson blasts Sens. Clinton, Obama, Dodd, and Biden for missing Mukasey vote.
--David Kurtz
Skulking Into the Job
Mukasey, confirmed under cover of night, to be sworn in at "low key" ceremony this afternoon.
--David Kurtz
We've got highlights of the feds' press conference this morning on the Bernie Kerik indictment.
--David Kurtz
Former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge jumps on Rudy for recommending Bernie Kerik as Ridge's replacement: "We're not talking about some urban city patronage job. That's not what a Cabinet secretary's about."
--David Kurtz
Better Than the Alternative?
TPM Reader RM on Mukasey ...
It's probably true that the Mukasey nomination could have been blocked, but surely that's not the same as "should have." I don't know, obviously it is disgusting to have an AG who won't say that waterboarding = torture. But it's not like the Democrats' choice was between Michael Mukasey and Patrick Fitzgerald, or Michael Mukasey and David Iglesias. Wasn't the real choice pretty much Michael Mukasey and Acting AG Peter Keisler? Is it crazy to think Mukasey will do a better job overall of beginning to pick up the pieces at Justice?It's the Schumer line, I guess, but it is a real option: Dems should pass a bill that explicitly bans waterboarding while not implicitly allowing other forms of torture.
This is a very good point and one I've given a lot of thought to. I don't think there's any question that President Bush will not allow an AG to be seated during his administration who will not at least tacitly okay the use of torture. If he didn't get Mukasey we more than likely would have stuck with the even worse choice of Keisler. The contrary argument would be that the Senate did not need to affirm lawlessness in principle as it arguably now has.
The other issue though is that I'm surprised and disheartened that insisting on the appointment of a special prosecutor as a condition of confirmation went by the wayside with the water-boarding issue. I can't help thinking this would have been a better ground on which to approach the vote in as much as it may well have yielded a more productive, more practical result.
--Josh Marshall
Two Stories Where We Need Your Help
There are two stories we're working on today where we need your help.
First, our reporters are digging into the Mukasey confirmation story, trying to find out just what went down yesterday, what the deal was that Reid held out for, how it was exactly that the presidential candidates didn't get back or weren't given enough time to get back for the vote. So this one's particularly for our regulars up on Capitol Hill. Drop us a line, confidentiality guaranteed, and let us know what you know. I hear that at least some of the presidentials got little or no warning that the vote was imminent.
Then there's Bernie Kerik. I had a kind of trip down memory lane last night reading over my posts on the K-man from December 2004 -- one of a few events in the late winter of 2004 that helps salve the pain of the election result. Anyway, one thing I realized or rather remembered was that there were so many scandals, hijinks and misdeeds Kerik had in his closet that peoples' minds quickly reached a saturation point. There was just too much to remember. For instance, you know of course that Kerik took the apartment donated by a wealthy real estate developer as a place for 9/11 relief workers to rest and used it as his own personal love shack to boff celeb book editor Judith Regan. That of course was before the other city employee he was doing there left a love note that Regan found. But did you know that after Regan bailed on him she had to get protection because Kerik was apparently stalking her and her kids? Great guy.
With all that going on it's hard to remember that the woman who left the love note was City Corrections Officer Jeannette Pinero. Kerik and the City of the New York were sued by Deputy Warden Eric DeRavin III because Kerik blocked DeRavin's promotions after he reprimanded Pinero. There was apparently another lawsuit connected to the Pinero-Kerik relationship that the city had already settled. But back in late 2004 TPM was still a one man operation and I confess I don't think I ever figured out what that suit was about.
City Corrections Officer Jeanette Pinero, meanwhile, should not be confused with former Westchester DA Jeanine Pirro. As far as we know, Kerik never did the wild thing with Pirro. Rather Pirro went to Kerik for help bugging her husband's boat to catch him having sex with his mistress.
Like I said it's very hard to keep track of it all. So we're going to put together what we hope will be a definitive list of Kerik criminality and ridiculousness. So send in your favorite Kerik scam or scandal for inclusion in our list. You can also post your entries in this discussion we've just started over at TPMmuckraker.com.
--Josh Marshall
Rudy: Our military is too small to deal with Islamo-terrorism--and it's all Bill Clinton's fault.
Late Update: Oh, and Giuliani calls for a massive military buildup to thwart China and Russia.
--David Kurtz
What's The Real Priority?
From TPM Reader DR:
Here's an obvious talking point for the Dems that I'm sure they won't exploit.Back in August, the administration suggested that if Congress didn't pass the "terrorist surveillance" eavesdropping bill before going into recess, the country would actually be in danger of attack. Now, though, Bush says he'll veto the renewal bill if it lacks retroactive telco immunity. So Bush is now holding the country's security hostage to get telco immunity?! Why is telco immunity more important than listening to terrorists?
Or, put more bluntly, what's he trying to hide?
--David Kurtz
Scandalicious
The Post's Dana Milbank, umbrella in hand, dips his toe into the sea of online video with a walking tour of DC scandal.
--David Kurtz
Crazy stuff happens over there at TPMCafe. Case in point: this week in the Book Club, renowned cultural critic Susan Faludi is going blow for blow with a 17-year-old.
Seriously. Check it out.
--David Kurtz
Fake FEMA Presser: No Intent to Deceive Public
The Department of Homeland Security has completed its "investigation" of that fake FEMA press conference about the California wildfires:
FEMA's press secretary encouraged, and in some cases instructed, employees to pose as reporters and ask questions at a fake news conference last month, an internal investigation has found.At the same time, the investigation, which was conducted by Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke, concluded that officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, did not set out to deceive the public. Knocke blamed bad decision-making and a rush to get out information about wildfires that were raging in southern California.
That must have been some investigation, what with DHS's own press secretary overseeing it and all.
--David Kurtz
Rudy!
Will Rudy pardon his mobbed-up former NYC police commissioner Bernie Kerik if he's elected president?
Maybe, maybe not. Rudy won't say.
--Josh Marshall
Bush Crow
Civil rights groups struggle to stop Bush administration efforts to knock tens of thousands of Floridians off the voter rolls in advance of next year's election.
--Josh Marshall
Didn't Have to Happen
So let's run through a little arithmetic. Mukasey went through last night by a vote of 53-40. Forty, of course, is a pretty significant number in terms of sustaining a filibuster. So who were the Dems who didn't show up? Were they likely 'no' on Mukasey votes? I would say so: Biden, Clinton, Dodd and Obama. The presidentials. It's true that many people will vote 'no' on a floor vote who won't vote the same way to sustain a filibuster. And in the best of all worlds I don't think we should be operating in a world where the need to get to 60 votes is the norm rather than the exception. But the Republicans are not letting anything through without 60 votes in the Congress. So I find it very odd how this went down.
I stick with what I suggested the last couple days. This could have been blocked. Had one of the presidentials -- say, Dodd -- announced that he would have forced a cloture vote, the others would have scurried to catch up.
--Josh Marshall
Breaking: Bhutto placed under house arrest. According to the AP, police have surrounded her home in Islamabad.
--Josh Marshall
President Plays Virtual Soldier
So the President was down in San Antonio today, visiting the rehab center at Brooke Army Medical Center, where lots of wounded Iraq War vets go for further treatment.
As is usually the case in these kinds of visits, the President took a tour, shook some hands, and gave a speech. But we got a hold of a copy of the pool report of the visit, and the President apparently also got a chance to play a little virtual soldier on his tour:
Bush saw a number of cutting edge virtual reality games that allowed recovering soldier to simulate riding a car or boat. One game simulated shooting in a Baghdad neighborhood, a game she said POTUS participated in with two other soldiers there and helped shoot the bad guys, at least virtually.
That must have been quite a scene. I wonder how it went over.
--David Kurtz
Oil
Earlier today I asked how much of the current run-up in oil prices was due to White House saber-rattling on Iran. The answer seems to be some, but it's more an accelerant than a cause. The basic reasons seem to be a mix of old fashioned supply and demand on the one hand and the collapse in the value of the dollar on the other. But a little number-crunching we did today -- lining up the price of oil against some of President Bush's more incendiary comments on Iran -- showed there is at least a correlation. You see a many month trend of rising oil prices, a long updraft. But a number of the key spikes -- the sudden run-ups rather than the rising tide -- do seem to come just after President Bush's saber-rattling statements.
We'll try to put some of the data together for you in graph form tomorrow.
Also of interest on this topic is this article in Friday's Times which points to the highly salient fact that this is the first oil shock that is demand-based rather than supply-based. The simple fact is that the global energy system can't survive if people in China and India live lives like people in America and Europe. Let alone issues of sustainability and global warming -- there's just not enough oil to go around. Over time spiraling prices will lead to more investment and eventually more supply. But the experts don't seem to think supply can come close to keeping up with demand.
--Josh Marshall
Cash-N-Kerik
So Bernie Kerik is finally getting indicted. And now the Giuliani campaign really gets interesting. I have no doubt we'll be bringing you a lot more on this in the coming days. But there's just one point I want to flag now.
Rudy Giuliani's response to all the renewed controversy over Kerik has been to say that making Bernie Kerik police commissioner was just one mistake out of hundreds of thousands of good decisions. (Two, I guess, if you count the decision to try to make him Secretary of DHS.)
But look closely at how this line of reasoning matches up with the other key argument Rudy is making for his candidacy.
Rudy claims that his qualification for the presidency stems from his management of 9/11 and his experience having "the safety and security of the people of New York on my shoulders." I've noted more than a few times now that this is a rather grandiose conception of the mayoralty of any city. But the only sense in which it has any basis is that in New York (as in many cities) the mayor is in charge of and ultimately accountable for the police department. So who you choose to put in charge of the police department isn't just one of hundreds of thousands of decisions. It is both by simple logic and Rudy's own reasoning probably the most important decision you can make.
And what did Giuliani do? Let's set aside all of the Kerik run-of-mill corruption and the fact that he used a Battery Park apartment donated as a rest area for cops and rescue workers working at Ground Zero as his own personal love shack to boff Judith Regan and sundry other ladies of glamor and renown. Set all that fun stuff aside and realize that Rudy not only appointed a crooked, mobbed-up cop to be in charge of the NYPD. There is now abundant evidence that Rudy knew of Kerik's mob ties before appointing him.
Just boil it down and say it: when it came time to choose a police commissioner Rudy chose a crooked, mobbed up cop. And he was warned about it all in advance.
That isn't just one decision among hundreds of thousands. It's one of such recklessness, irresponsibility and even a hard-to-figure indifference to criminal conduct that, just on the terms upon which Rudy has asked voters to judge his candidacy, it should pretty much end his campaign in its tracks.
--Josh Marshall
Some People Can't Help Themselves
When it came to Rudy Giuliani's claim that he made "hundreds of thousands" of decisions as mayor, one of our readers just couldn't help himself ...
I'm sorry, I can't help it.Rudy was mayor for 2,920 days. There are 24 hours in a day. Because Rudy is a dedicated public servant, he works 14 hours a day as mayor; that gives him eight hours to sleep and two hours to shower and dress, and for quiet contemplation (because Rudy is also a very deep guy).
So:
If he made 200,000 decisions as mayor, that's 68.4 decisions every day, or 4.9 decisions every working hour. That's a decision every 12 minutes, 15 seconds.
If he made half a million decisions as mayor, that's 171 decisions every day, or 12.2 decisions every working hour. That's a decision every four minutes, 54 seconds.
And if he made 900,000 decisions as mayor, that's 308.2 decisions every day, or 22 decisions every working hour. And that, of course, would be more than one decision every three minutes; actually, a decision every two minutes, 43 seconds.
Amazing.
Okay, I'm done now.
--Josh Marshall
The Pornification of Fox News
Via Garance Franke-Ruta at Tapped, I see Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films has a new release out about the pornification of Fox News. I'm dubious that Greenwald's effort to petition for the unbundling of Fox from cable news packages is energy well spent, but the video is good:
There's plenty of things to criticize about Fox, and pervasive smuttiness standing alone doesn't rise to the same levels of gross journalistic misconduct as so much else of what Fox does. But it's the Fox smut--which I use broadly to include not just jiggly blondes but crime coverage, celebrity scandal and the like--juxtaposed with the hard-right political skew of Roger Ailes that makes Fox so repulsive.
--David Kurtz
Pollster Charles Franklin notes the first sustained uptick in years in how the war in Iraq is going. I'll have some more comments and analysis on what I think it means later today.
--Josh Marshall
TPMtv: Rudy's New Pal
Rudy's outraged that Ron Paul says US foreign policy caused 9/11; but he's fine with Pat Robertson who chalks it up to gays and women who get abortions. We bring you the details in today's episode of TPMtv ...
Watch this episode on YouTube.
--Josh Marshall
Aftermath
One of PurgeGate prosecutor Brad Schlozman's politically-timed prosecutions ends in acquittal.
--Josh Marshall
Rudy Fibs Off Robertson's 9/11 Remarks
Yesterday we noted that Rudy-endorser Pat Robertson says that a key reason 9/11 happened was that God withdrew his protection from America because of sins like abortion, pornography and homosexuality. Rudy did get asked about this yesterday in South Carolina. And Rudy replied, "I think the comments he explained a long time ago. I’ve had to explain lots of comments of mine."
On its face, that sounds like a dodge. And it's one the reporters on hand appeared not to press Rudy on. But what Rudy was clearly trying to imply was that Robertson's statements were some sort of verbal gaffe that Robertson recanted or apologized for.
But that's not true. After initially agreeing on the air with Jerry Falwell's comments, Robertson later claimed that there was an earpiece problem that prevented him from hearing what Falwell actually said. But Robertson has stood by his own theory of what caused 9/11. And those are posted on his website even today. He says "rampant pornography", abortion, secularism and various other social conservative bugbears made God withdraw his protection from America and allow 9/11 to happen. In other words, 9/11 was a punishment for America's sinful culture.
That's what Robertson says. Rudy is trying to tell reporters that not what he meant or that he's taken it back or whatever. But that's not true. Let us know if you see any other reporter press the point.
--Josh Marshall
November 15 marks the one year anniversary of Sen. Pat Leahy's first letter to the White House requesting documents on U.S. torture policy. A year later, Leahy is still sending letters and the White House is still stonewalling.
--David Kurtz
???
Question: How much of the recent spike in oil prices is being driven by the uncertainty/risk factor introduced by the White House's Iran saber-rattling?
--Josh Marshall
Is the climate change issue risky for Dems? A new poll finds that it's actually a perilous one for Republicans.
--David Kurtz
Inside the Bush Bubble
"By almost all accounts, this Administration has done more to improve government effectiveness than any previous Administration, ever."
--Clay Johnson, Bush buddy turned deputy director of OMB who also chairs the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, which oversees all government inspectors general.
(Thanks to TPM Reader ST for the tip.)
--David Kurtz
Too Hot to Handle
Cassidy and Associates cancels (sub. req.) its new $1.2 million a year lobbying contract with the Embassy of Pakistan.
--David Kurtz
Today's Must Read
How many Blackwater shootings in Iraq have been papered over by the State Department?
--David Kurtz
Pat Robertson's Priorities
In the dozens of stories I've read in the last 24 hours about Pat Robertson endorsing Giuliani, Walter Shapiro at Salon was the only person I saw who pointed out who introduced Robertson at yesterday's press conference:
The Washington press conference announcing the Robertson endorsement was carefully constructed to make it all look like an alliance of strict-constructionist legal philosophers. Introducing the televangelist was not the campaign's director of evangelical outreach, or a political figure known for sharing Robertson's literal reading of the Book of Revelation. Instead the task fell to Ted Olson, the former solicitor general in the Bush Justice Department, a leading conservative legal thinker. The message was clear: This melding of minds was about putting more Antonin Scalias on the Supreme Court, not about Giuliani's personal life and beliefs.
For as much as he inveighs against secularism, Pat Robertson has always managed to give to Caesar what is Caeser's, going so far as to mount a serious run for the Presidency in 1988. Whatever his religious beliefs, Robertson also has a deep personal commitment to Republican electoral success. Southern Baptist leader Richard Land, who says he couldn't possibly vote for the pro-choice, pro-gay rights Giuliani, puts it plainly, telling the Post, "Pat Robertson may have decided that Rudy Giuliani is the best way to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House."
--David Kurtz
The Big Money
I was on a panel this afternoon so I wasn't around to see most of what happened at TPM after early afternoon. But Spencer Ackerman wrote up a story that we'd been discussing for the last couple days about Pakistan and the money we give the Musharraf government. It turns out that that choice of wording is more apt than you might think. In the wake of Musharraf's re-coup over the weekend, Condi Rice told reporters that the money we provide Pakistan really isn't to Musharraf or his government as it is to the people of Pakistan.
But it turns out that it really is to Musharraf. Spencer provides the details. But the upshot is that the great bulk of the more than $10 billion we've given to Pakistan since 9/11 has been in the form of unsupervised and unaudited cash transfers. We cut him a check and he can do with it whatever he wants. It's not tied to a specific US Agency or program; it's just cash to do with as he pleases.
There doesn't seem to be any evidence that he's lining his pockets. But it's very hard to believe that that money isn't being used to fund the patronage networks that buttress Musharraf's hold on power. In other words, we're funding his dictatorship.
--Josh Marshall
Words of Wisdom from the Commander in Chief
President Bush tells Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to take off his uniform and warns--with a straight face--that "you can't be President and head of the military at the same time":
--David Kurtz
Why is most U.S. aid to Pakistan in the form of untraceable cash transfers?
--David Kurtz
Did Bill Really Say Hillary Was Being Swiftboated?
Yesterday in our news section on the right, we linked to an AP story about Bill Clinton defending Hillary from criticism over her heavily parsed debate answer on whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to legally hold driver's licenses. The headline we used was "Bill Clinton: My Wife is Being Swiftboated."
We got a few reader emails, some rather agitated, complaining that the headline was unfair or over the top. I went back and re-read that AP story a couple of more times and had no qualms that the headline fit the story reported by the AP. Subsequent stories by the AP expanded on the theme, and later in the day Clinton's Democratic rivals responded to the swift boat charge.
But as Greg Sargent points out, the transcript of the former President's remarks makes the AP's characterization seem a bit strained.
--David Kurtz
Spencer Ackerman previews tomorrow's congressional testimony from Malcolm Nance, who used to teach how to resist waterboarding for the Navy's SERE program.
--David Kurtz
The conservative Family Research Council wants to know: Does Rudy agree with Pat Robertson's comments about 9/11?
--David Kurtz
Both of Montana's senators come out against Mukasey.
Late Update: Colorado's Salazar will also vote against.
--David Kurtz
Is Mukasey Really a Done Deal?
This article at CQpolitics notes the possibility of a Dem-filibuster of Mukasey's nomination. And a few random unnamed birds chirping up on Capitol Hill suggest that more pressure might prevent Mukasey's nomination from getting over the 60 vote hurdle.
--Josh Marshall
TPMtv: All Lobby, No Dungeon
Not long ago we told you about the IPOA, the lobbying organization and trade group for military contractors in Washington, D.C. A week ago Monday IPOA (aka the International Peace Operations Association) had their annual summit in Washington. Blackwater, which recently terminated its membership in the outfit in the face of an IPOA ethics investigation (one of the first, apparently), wasn't there. But pretty much everyone else from the private military contractor world was, and TPM's Spencer Ackerman was there to ask them a few questions and see what was up ...
(My favorite moment comes in Spencer's interview with IPOA President Doug Brooks, when Brooks notes that IPOA can only do so much on the enforcement front since they "can't throw someone in a dungeon or something like that." Interesting choice of examples.)
Watch this episode on YouTube.
--Josh Marshall
Like Pat Robertson, Ron Paul has blamed America for 9/11 (for decidedly different reasons, I hasten to add), and Rudy blasted him for it a GOP debate. Take a look.
--David Kurtz
Rudy's New Pal
Giuliani-backer Pat Robertson agreeing with Jerry Falwell that America "deserved" 9/11 for embracing secularism, gay rights and sundry other evils ...
As I noted earlier, Robertson's reasoning is that God has withdrawn his protection from us because of America's collective embrace of a godless, secular, gay-loving culture. When you put that together with his claim today that Rudy, a paragon of the secular culture, is the one to protect us from the terrorist hordes, the upshot seems to be that Robertson has more confidence in Rudy's leadership and national security skills than he does in God's. And that's one hell of an endorsement.
--Josh Marshall
Things looking up for Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R)? The chief witness in the federal investigation of Gibbons is called a "pathological liar" by his own ex-lawyer.
--David Kurtz
Robertson and Falwell: America "deserved" 9/11
As we'll be discussing more through the day, the Robertson endorsement Rudy Giuliani bagged today is perhaps the ultimate fusion of right-wing religious extremism and war on terror mania.
Giuliani's claim to the presidency is based on his service as mayor during and immediately after 9/11. What stops him from being a shoo-in for the nomination is his track record supporting abortion rights and gay rights. But, Robertson is on record saying that 9/11 was America's punishment for its sinful gay-loving, abortion permitting culture. As Robertson says on his website, the attacks happened because God withdrew his protection from America. He agreed with the late Jerry Falwell that America "deserved" 9/11.
--Josh Marshall
Diagnostic Help
A number of readers have told us that for the last week or so they haven't been able to view our daily TPMtv episodes. Not the youtube clips we run of events through the day but the daily episodes. If you've had the same problem, can you drop us a line?
--Josh Marshall
Smelling the Coffee
TPM Reader BF ...
I watched a 50's movie yesterday entitled The Circle of Deception. It was about the British sending a soldier to German-occupied France duirng WWII with the intention that he be captured, tortured and broken to give the Germans misleading information.What torture did those hideous Nazis use? First beating with a cord, then electric shock and finally waterboarding. So shameful that we now find ourselves in this position! Unbelievable.
--Josh Marshall
Total Quality Bamboozlement
It seems we've finally come full circle. The pro-choice, gay-rights-backing 'hero' of 9/11 (Rudy) endorsed by the TV preacher (Robertson) who said 9/11 was God's punishment for America's culture of sin.
--Josh Marshall
Today's Must Read
Meet Mark Klein, the retired AT&T tech who first disclosed that the company was allowing the NSA to capture untold millions of phone and e-mail communications.
--David Kurtz
Heckuva Job Bernie
With the statute of limitations for his alleged crimes expiring next week, a federal indictment of Bernie Kerik is expected at any time.
--David Kurtz
How Low Can We Go?
Highlights of yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee vote on AG nominee Michael Mukasey, from the Post:
Schumer and Feinstein said they took solace in Mukasey's assurances that he would enforce any future waterboarding ban passed by Congress. That argument prompted a robust retort from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)."He will, in fact, enforce the laws that we pass in the future? Can our standards have really sunk so low?" Kennedy said. "Enforcing the law is the job of the attorney general. It's a prerequisite, not a virtue." . . .
One of the most emotional moments yesterday came from Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a military lawyer who supported Mukasey but criticized his answers on waterboarding. Graham, who has frequently clashed with the Bush administration on interrogation and detention policies, said Mukasey is "a good man of the law" but also urged Congress to pass legislation specifically outlawing the use of waterboarding by all government entities, including the CIA.
"The world is not short of people and countries who will waterboard you. There's not a shortage of people who will cut your heads off in the name of religion," Graham said. "There is a shortage of people who believe in justice, not vengeance."
Graham's speech prompted Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and then Kennedy to leave their chairs and walk over to thank him, despite his support for Mukasey's nomination.
--David Kurtz
Pat Robertson Lays Hands on Rudy
The televangelist gives his blessing to the pro-choice Giuliani. More here.
--David Kurtz
If Mukasey is confirmed as AG, does he recuse himself from the decision over whether or not to indict Bernie Kerik?
--Josh Marshall