I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff. Photo Credit: AP Yes, I. Lewis Libby was charged today with perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements (see indictment). No, he was not charged with illegally leaking the identity of an undercover CIA operative. However, the indictment does not charge Libby with the original alleged offense that the grand jury set out to investigate: illegally revealing the identity of a covert agent in violation of a 1982 federal law (Washington Post). As I predicted in my previous post, this has not prevented congressional Democrats from smearing the entire Bush administration and the case that it made for…
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Scooter Libby To Be Indicted; Karl Rove off the Hook (for now)
The New York Times is reporting that the Vice-President’s chief of staff, Scooter Libby, is to be indicted tomorrow for making false statements under oath. Karl Rove will not be indicted but will remain under investigation. Yes, you heard it right. According to the Times‘ reporting, there won’t be any indictments for leaking the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame (the original reason for the investigation). But don’t you worry. The opponents of this administration will spin this as if Libby and Rove are being charged with leaking her identity. Mark my words. Tomorrow morning, the hacks will be indicting the whole administration for something that the grand jury…
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A Postmortem on the Miers Nomination
A Triumph of Principle over Politics In church life, it is an accepted axiom that “a mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew.” In other words, a lack of spiritual substance in the pew is often a symptom of something that’s wrong in the pulpit. In the same way, conservative critics of Harriet Miers saw a nominee whose conservative bona fides could not be verified by her record. In the last several weeks, her misty record has looked more and more like a fog in the nominee. Just this week Miers’s speeches from the 1990’s have revealed a nominee who sounds more like a libertarian than a…
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Miers Withdraws Supreme Court Nomination
The AP reports: WASHINGTON – Confronted with criticism from both the left and right, Harriet Miers on Thursday withdrew her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a statement, President Bush said he “reluctantly accepted” her decision to withdraw, after weeks of insisting that he did not want her to step down. For the whole story click here: “Miers withdraws Supreme Court nomination.” Mier’s Withdrawal Letter President Bush’s Statement Washington Post: “Harriet Miers Withdraws Nomination” New York Times: “Bush’s Embattled Nominee to Supreme Court Withdraws“
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Judge Bork Borks the Miers Nomination
I share some of the concerns expressed by Judge Robert Bork in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. The following selection in particular rings true: By passing over the many clearly qualified persons, male and female, to pick a stealth candidate, George W. Bush has sent a message to aspiring young originalists that it is better not to say anything remotely controversial, a sort of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” admonition to would-be judges. It is a blow in particular to the Federalist Society, most of whose members endorse originalism. The society, unlike the ACLU, takes no public positions, engages in no litigation, and includes people of differing views in its programs.…
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“The Abortion Debate No One Wants to Have”
Patricia E. Bauer with her husband, Edward Muller, and their children, Margaret and Johnny Muller, in June at Margaret’s high school graduation in Massachusetts. Photo Credit: Courtesy Christina Overland Patricia E. Bauer, former Washington Post reporter and bureau chief, writes a stunningly pro-life Op-Ed today titled “The Abortion Debate No One Wants to Have.” The article discusses whether it is right to abort a baby simply because pre-natal testing confirms that the baby has a disability. In Bauer’s case, the issue is intensely personal because she is raising a daughter named Margaret who has Down syndrome. She writes this about her daughter: Margaret is a person and a member of…
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Will James Dobson and Richard Land Be Subpoenaed?
It looks like James Dobson, Richard Land and others may very well be subpoenaed to appear before the Senate judiciary committee. The subpoenas look more and more likely as news of a certain conference call becomes public. According to John Fund in today’s Wall Street Journal, Dobson, Land and others were a part of a conference call, set up by the Bush administration, in which they received assurances that Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Here is a paragraph from Fund’s piece: The conference call will no doubt prove controversial on Capitol Hill, always a tinderbox for rumors that any judicial nominee has taken…
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John Fund Reverses His Position and Opposes Miers
Conservatives continue to line-up against the Miers nomination. Today, the Wall Street Journal‘s John Fund joins them: I have changed my mind about Harriet Miers. Last Thursday, I wrote in OpinionJournal’s Political Diary that “while skepticism of Ms. Miers is justified, the time is fast approaching when such expressions should be muted until the Senate hearings begin. At that point, Ms. Miers will finally be able to speak for herself.” But that was before I interviewed more than a dozen of her friends and colleagues along with political players in Texas. I came away convinced that questions about Ms. Miers should be raised now–and loudly–because she has spent her entire…
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Peggy Noonan: “President Feels So Free To Stiff Conservatives”
Once again, Noonan’s analysis is brilliant. She argues that in nominating Harriet Miers President Bush completely misread his base. And she’s right. The base wanted a bench-clearing brawl, but the President decided to take a knee and run the clock out. Not very inspiring, and not a good way to rally the troops. My own analysis is forthcoming, but in the meantime you should read Noonan’s piece: “The Miers Misstep: What was President Bush thinking?“
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George Will: Miers Should Not Be Confirmed
In today’s Washington Post, conservative columnist George Will opposes the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. He writes: “Senators beginning what ought to be a protracted and exacting scrutiny of Harriet Miers should be guided by three rules. First, it is not important that she be confirmed. Second, it might be very important that she not be. Third, the presumption — perhaps rebuttable but certainly in need of rebutting — should be that her nomination is not a defensible exercise of presidential discretion to which senatorial deference is due.” Washington Post – “Can This Nomination Be Justified?”