Telecom Immunity

Jonathan Turley says the fix was in on the Telecom Immunity deal in the Senate from way back, with the White House being helped by Democrats Jay Rockefeller and Harry Reid.

When Hell Freezes Over

Apparently, we're going to need a new phrase. As we've just seen (post below), Hell has frozen over. And yet, the White House still will not cooperate.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to hold two top aides to President Bush in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate in its probe of fired federal prosecutors.

On a largely party-line vote of 11-7, the Democratic-led panel sent contempt citations against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove to the full Senate for consideration.

   TPM

The final vote tally was 12-7, with two Republicans, Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA) Chuck Grassley (R-IA) crossing over.

Now, it's up to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) as to when (or whether) he'll scheduled a vote on the Senate floor. When we asked a Reid aide last week about it, we were told the Reid would consult with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about it when the time came.

Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee's contempt citations against Harriet Miers and Bolten have been sitting on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) desk since July.

  TPM Muckraker

Maybe Nancy Pelosi is the one who should be held in contempt.

Oh, she is.

The White House asserts that the Justice Department will not prosecute a contempt of Congress referral--against White House officials. (Video at TPM)

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

All Politics All the Time

According to sources inside and outside the Democratic leadership, Harry Reid allowed a vote on Mukasey because in exchange the Republican leadership agreed to allow a vote on the big Defense Appropriations Bill, which contains $459 billion in military spending but doesn't fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reid had wanted to get this bill passed before the end of this week, and in fact, the defense bill did come up for a vote late last night and was passed after the Mukasey vote.

One key reason Dem leaders wanted this defense approps bill passed, sources tell me, is that they wanted to be able to argue that they had sent a bill to the President funding the military, if not the war itself. The idea was that doing this would allow them to protect themselves in the days ahead when the battle over Iraq funding heats up and Republicans inevitably charge that Dems are refusing to fund the troops.

  TPM Election Central

So, in return for letting the Democrats avoid being accused of not supporting the troops – something they’ve been dealing with since before the invasion – we are saddled with an Attorney General who will not admit that a form of torture is illegal. Name-calling, patriotism challenging accusations versus upholding the Consitution and human rights. Yeah, I can see their point.

Back to You, Republicans

The all-nighter may not have accomplished much more than making a point, but today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the next move in the troop withdrawal standoff: he pulled the defense authorization bill off the floor. If the Republicans didn't want the attached withdrawal amendment to be voted on, well, they're not getting anything at all to vote on.

Let the squealing begin.

If When Gonzo Goes

Some folks in the comments section of a blog I was reading were concerned about the possibility that Gonzo was stalling leaving just long enough to get to a Labor Day weekend recess so Bush could appoint a replacement without having to get Senate confirmation. Some asked if that were possible. I don't have the answer to that, but apparently Harry Reid is getting together a little plan to keep recess appointments from happening this summer.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has a little trick up his sleeve that could spell an end to President Bush's devilish recess appointments of controversial figures like former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton. We hear that over the long August vacation, when those types of summer hires are made, Reid will call the Senate into session just long enough to force the prez to send his nominees who need confirmation to the chamber. The talk is he will hold a quickie "pro forma" session every 10 days, tapping a local senator to run the hall.

  US News

If only he can get Democrats willing to cut into their precious recess.