Mel Martinez Resigning as RNC Chairman

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Florida Senator and Bush sycophant Mel Martinez will be resigning his position as the Chairman for the Republican National Committee. The speculation is that he's either leaving because being a Senator and the Chairman is too much work or his dismay at the Republican attitude toward minorities.

The scuttlebutt in the local community (where Mel was the county chairman before he was Bush's HUD man) is it's the latter. Mel went out first and hard to push Bush's immigration plan. He was lambasted by both his Florida constituents and the national base. His approval ratings are in the toilet in Florida and if he were running in the 2008 cycle, he'd be out.

The local reaction is brutal: Republicans hate him because he was behind immigration reform and Democrats hate him because he's so closely aligned with Bush. No amount of time is going to distance him from those alignments. I'd say that 2010 is going to be a bad year.

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Pentagon Email System Hacked, 1500 Users Off Line

If you have ever wondered if the systematic and massive violation of the Presidential Records Act was the the only thing wrong with Karl Rove and 87 other White House officials using the RNC as their email provider, consider this story. This morning it is being reported that the pentagon's email system has been hacked. News.com.au reports

A HACKER penetrated an unclassified Pentagon email system, prompting authorities to take as many 1500 accounts off-line, defence officials said overnight.

"All precautionary measures are being taken and we expect this system to be on-line again very soon," said Colonel Gary Keck, a Pentagon spokesman.

He said the penetration was detected yesterday in the unclassified email system of the office of the secretary of defence, which employs thousands of people.

Between 1000 and 1500 users of the system were taken off-line, a defence official said.

The Pentagon spokesman was quick to assure the public that it "aggressively monitors its networks for intrusions and has appropriate procedures to address events of this nature." I am sure the spokesman is right. Now tell me the RNC is just as aggressive in defending it's email system.

If you want additional details follow this link to an AP story and this link to RawStory.

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Tony Snow Blames Clinton Administration For White House RNC Email Scandal

We know four things about Tony Snow. First, he is beloved by the White House Press Corp because he is one of their own. Second, he has cancer. Third, he takes every possible opportunity to blame Bill Clinton for any and every White House failure. Fourth, as Jon Stewart recently demonstrated he is more than willing to lie, boldly and with out the slightest shame.

He seems sure the people in the press corp will never challenge him when he lies. He's right. After all Tony is beloved and has cancer. It just wouldn't be right to point out when Tony is lying. That is the job of a comedian, not an official white house stenographer.

Yesterday while answering a question about the RNC email scandal Tony Snow told the assembled press corp that the White House just followed the pattern established by the previous administration. Think Progress has the video.

Guess what, when asked by Raw Story's Michael Roston the Democratic National Committee took exception.

"That's simply untrue," Stacie Paxton, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, told RAW STORY in a Tuesday phone call. "Clinton White House officials did not have DNC e-mail accounts."

Any bets whether this Tony Snow fib makes the national news? If it does I would wager the Press will report it as fact and ignore the DNC denial. Nobody in the national media will actually investigate. I guess we will only hear about this new Tony Snow lie from the comedians. After all Tony is beloved and he has cancer.

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RNC--Karl Rove Emails

Remember the RNC email accounts that according to Dana Perino were issued to a handful of White House employees. Well it turns out that Dana was a little on the low side. It seems the RNC was essentially functioning as an internet service provider for about 88 White House employees all in violation of the law.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has just released a report (pdf) on the RNC email accounts used by various White House officials. Among other things the report finds

* The number of White House officials given RNC e-mail accounts is higher than previously disclosed. In March 2007, White House spokesperson Dana Perino said that only a “handful of officials” had RNC e-mail accounts. In later statements, her estimate rose to “50 over the course of the administration.” In fact, the Committee has learned from the RNC that at least 88 White House officials had RNC e-mail accounts. The officials with RNC e-mail accounts include Karl Rove, the President’s senior advisor; Andrew Card, the former White House Chief of Staff; Ken Mehlman, the former White House Director of Political Affairs; and many other officials in the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Communications, and the Office of the Vice President.

* White House officials made extensive use of their RNC e-mail accounts. The RNC has preserved 140,216 e-mails sent or received by Karl Rove. Over half of these e-mails (75,374) were sent to or received from individuals using official “.gov” e-mail accounts. Other heavy users of RNC e-mail accounts include former White House Director of Political Affairs Sara Taylor (66,018 e-mails) and Deputy Director of Political Affairs Scott Jennings (35,198 e-mails). These e-mail accounts were used by White House officials for official purposes, such as communicating with federal agencies about federal appointments and policies.

* There has been extensive destruction of the e-mails of White House officials by the RNC. Of the 88 White House officials who received RNC e-mail accounts, the RNC has preserved no e-mails for 51 officials. In a deposition, Susan Ralston, Mr. Rove’s former executive assistant, testified that many of the White House officials for whom the RNC has no e-mail records were regular users of their RNC e-mail accounts. Although the RNC has preserved no e-mail records for Ken Mehlman, the former Director of Political Affairs, Ms. Ralston testified that Mr. Mehlman used his account “frequently, daily.” In addition, there are major gaps in the e-mail records of the 37 White House officials for whom the RNC did preserve e-mails. The RNC has preserved only 130 e-mails sent to Mr. Rove during President Bush’s first term and no e-mails sent by Mr. Rove prior to November 2003. For many other White House officials, the RNC has no e-mails from before the fall of 2006.

* There is evidence that the Office of White House Counsel under Alberto Gonzales may have known that White House officials were using RNC e-mail accounts for official business, but took no action to preserve these presidential records. In her deposition, Ms. Ralston testified that she searched Mr. Rove’s RNC e-mail account in response to an Enron-related investigation in 2001 and the investigation of Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald later in the Administration. According to Ms. Ralston, the White House Counsel’s office knew about these e-mails because “all of the documents we collected were then turned over to the White House Counsel’s office.” There is no evidence, however, that White House Counsel Gonzales initiated any action to ensure the preservation of the e-mail records that were destroyed by the RNC.

I guess Karl Rove and company figured The Presidential Records Act was just a guideline. Don't we have enough to impeach Alberto yet?

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$97,000 returned - and still counting

I know you all will find this hard to believe but RNC Chairman and Florida Senator Mel Martinez has been in violation of federal election laws and has already had to refund $97,000. From the Miami Herald:

His campaign disclosed this week that it has already given back $97,000 to donors to the 2004 campaign, after the audit by the Federal Election Commission found Martinez had accepted contributions from donors that exceeded the federal limit.

Auditors also found that Martinez's campaign failed to file the required last-minute contribution notices before the 2004 primary and general elections disclosing 109 contributions that totaled $162,000.

He could face penalties from $350,000 to $800,000 because its not just the above. I know you're surprised that he inappropriately took money from 4 political fundraising committees. Oh, no - he did not!

''Barring some other extenuating factors it would appear to be a substantial six-figure penalty,'' said Washington, D.C., lawyer Larry Norton, who resigned as FEC general counsel earlier this year.

Now, I know this will never happen but it illustrates the corruption of the man who is as morally bankrupt a politician as they come but is just a little more polished than most.

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Betting the Farm on Executive Privilege

Talk about stones! On Tuesday, while the nation absorbed the shock of what happened in Virginia, the White House used the political cover the tragedy provided to assert (as they had indicated they would) that Executive Privilege extends to the Republican National Committee computer system.

Yep. You read that right . (Can you imagine if Bill Clinton had tried to assert such a thing? There would have been great wailing and howling and gnashing of teeth. A racket would have set up from the Republicans that would have drowned out a Spinal Tap show - and their amps go to 11.)

From the Washington Post:

The RNC deferred yesterday to White House requests that all documents from administration officials who used RNC e-mail accounts first be reviewed by Bush's lawyers. Congress has requested several years' worth of e-mails from top White House advisers, including Karl Rove, as part of its investigation of the prosecutor firings. In letters to the House and Senate Judiciary committees, an RNC lawyer said those documents belong to the White House.

"Recognizing the unique and significant nature of the potential privilege issue raised by the committee's requests, the RNC has agreed to the White House's reasonable request," Robert K. Kelner, an RNC lawyer, wrote to Conyers. Conyers responded that the action was "a clear attempt on the administration's part to delay this process."

House and Senate investigators have focused on e-mails by J. Scott Jennings, the White House's deputy political director, who used RNC e-mail accounts to discuss Rove's interest in appointing a former deputy as the U.S. attorney in Little Rock.

A leading House Democrat said last week that he had been told that as many as four years' worth of Rove's RNC e-mails may be missing. The e-mails are also sought in a congressional investigation of the alleged politicization of the General Services Administration.

The overreaching of the imperial presidency is stunning in scope. It's as if it truly knows no bounds. This stubborn digging in, in the face of overwhelming public disapproval, seems to me like a hail-Mary pass into heavy coverage. There is no precedent and no reason to believe that any court would uphold this imaginary divine right of the worst president ever.

It is a desperate ploy, and it is certain to fail. I honestly believe that they know they have cashed in all their chits and probably bounced a few checks too boot - the political capital account is overdrawn. All they have left is monkeywrenching...An activity that both Conyers and Leahy long since grow tired of.


[Cross posted to Blue Girl, Red State]

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The Dog Ate My Homework.

The statement of Senator Patrick Leahy Chairman, Judiciary Committee United States Senate made on April 12, 2007.

Today we mark the 100th day of the new Congress. While we have much more to do on behalf of the American people, much has already been accomplished. We have heard the American people’s call for accountability and competence in their government and have started making those goals a reality. We have returned the focus to the rights and interests of the American people.

Just as I have commended the Members of the Judiciary Committee for their help and active participation in the work of our Committee, I come to the Senate today to thank the Majority Leader and those Senators who have been working so hard to restore balance to our government, protect the liberties and rights of all Americans and revive America’s leadership in the world.

First and foremost, we are making progress restoring the Senate and the Congress to their proper constitutional role. From the FBI’s illegal and improper use of National Security Letters to the politically motivated dismissal of so many of the Nation’s U.S. Attorneys, there are concerns about the competence and independence of the Department of Justice. This pattern of abuse of authority and mismanagement causes me, and many others on both sides of the aisle, to wonder whether the FBI and Department of Justice have been faithful stewards of the great trust that the Congress and American people have placed in them. We need to keep our Nation safe, while respecting the privacy rights and civil liberties of all Americans. Last year in the former Congress, the Administration sought expanded powers in the PATRIOT Act reauthorization to appoint U.S. Attorneys without Senate confirmation, and to more freely use National Security Letters. The Administration got these powers, and they have badly bungled both.

The Judiciary Committee early oversight efforts included our January 18 hearing with Attorney General Gonzales. There we examined the change in course of this Administration, which had engaged in warrantless wiretapping of Americans contrary to the law for years. Under the watchful eye of the new Congress, the President’s program for warrantless wiretaps on Americans has been revised and the government is seeking approval for all such wiretaps from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, as the law requires.

We must engage in all surveillance necessary to prevent acts of terrorism, but we can and should do so in ways that protect the basic rights of all Americans, including the right to privacy. The issue has never been whether to monitor suspected terrorists but doing it legally and with proper checks and balances to prevent abuses. The Administration’s recent reversal of course and was a good first step.

Last month we held an oversight hearing with FBI Director Mueller in which we called him to task for the longstanding FBI abuses of national security letters. The Inspector General’s report we insisted be provided included troubling findings of widespread illegal and improper use of National Security Letters to obtain Americans’ phone, financial, credit and other records. Inspector General Glenn Fine testified that there could be thousands of additional violations among the tens of thousands of National Security Letters that the FBI is now using each year. The Inspector General also found widespread use by the FBI of so-called “exigent letters.” These letters, which are not authorized by any statute, were issued at least 739 times to obtain Americans’ phone records when there was often no emergency and never a follow-up subpoena, as the FBI had promised. Despite these extensive abuses, the top leadership at the FBI sat idly by for years, doing nothing to stop this practice.

We questioned the FBI Director about these matters and reports that the FBI has repeatedly submitted inaccurate information to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in its efforts to obtain secret warrants in terrorism and espionage cases -- severely undermining the Government’s credibility in the eyes of the Chief Judge of that Court. These abuses are unacceptable. Director Mueller now knows that and knows that these abuses and violations can no longer be continued or repeated.

The Judiciary Committee is now in the midst of an investigation in which we are uncovering an abuse of power that threatens the independence of U.S. Attorneys offices around the country and that undermines the trust and confidence of all Americans in federal law enforcement. We are examining the mass firings of U.S. Attorneys and are trying to get to the truth in order to prevent these kinds of abuses from happening again.

I want the American people to have a Justice Department and United States Attorneys offices that enforce the law without regard to political influence and partisanship. I want the American people to have confidence in federal law enforcement and I want our federal law enforcement officers to have the independence they need to be effective and merit the trust of the American people.

Sadly, what we have heard from the Administration has been a series of shifting explanations and excuses and a lack of accountability or acknowledgement of the seriousness of this matter. The women and men replaced and whose reputations were then stained by those seeking to justify these firings as “performance related” were appointees of President Bush. Several had significant achievements in office and glowing performance reviews.

As we learn more details about the ousters of these U.S. Attorneys the story grows more troubling. Had we accepted the initial testimony of the Attorney General and other Department officials we would not have gotten to the truth. The White House and the Attorney General have dodged Congress’s questions and ducked real accountability for years. In the past they counted on a rubberstamping Congress to avoid accountability. The American people have a new Congress, one that looks for answers.

The Attorney General has admitted “mistakes were made” without specifying what they were. He will have another chance to tell the whole truth next Tuesday at our next Judiciary Committee oversight hearing. The days when he could come by once a year and not answer questions are over.

I made no secret during his confirmation hearing of my concern whether Mr. Gonzales could serve as an independent Attorney General of the United States on behalf of the American people and leave behind his role as counselor to President Bush. The Department of Justice should serve the American people by making sure the law is enforced without fear or favor. It should not be turned into a political arm of the White House.

For years preceding this new Congress, accountability has been lacking in this Administration. Loyalty to the President has been rewarded over all else. That lack of accountability, and lack of the checks and balances that fostered it, must end and, I hope, has ended.

We do not need another commendation for the “heckuva job” done by those who have failed in their essential duties to the American people. True accountability means being forthcoming, and it means there are consequences for improper actions.

The White House continues to stand by the firings of the U.S. attorneys and despite assurances by the President that we would receive cooperation, documents and access to witnesses, the White House has yet to produce a single document or make any witnesses available.

Now we are learning that the “off book” communications they were having about these actions, by using Republican political email addresses, have not been preserved. Like the famous 18-minute gap in the Nixon White House tapes, it appears likely that key documentation has been erased or misplaced. This sounds like the Administration’s version of the dog ate my homework. I am deeply disturbed that just when this Administration is finally subjected to meaningful oversight, it cannot produce the necessary information. This Administration has worn out the benefit of the doubt and undermined whatever credibility it had left. The American people are right that they are entitled to full and honest public testimony of the White House staff responsible for this debacle.

We have asked for Administration officials and now former officials to cooperate with the Judiciary Committee in its inquiry and I hope that they will. Through the Committee’s oversight work so far, we know some of the answers to some of the questions we have been asking, and the answers are troubling. We have learned that most of the U.S. Attorneys that were asked to resign were doing their jobs well and were fired for not bending to the political will of some in Washington. Apparently, their reward for their efforts at rooting out serious public corruption is a kick out the door.

Along with these oversight matters the Judiciary Committee has taken up questions relating to the war in Iraq and congressional authority to condition funding, the plight of Iraqi refugees, the recommendation of the Iraq Study Group on policing and the administration of justice in Iraq, and contracting fraud and abuse in Iraq. We have examined enforcement of our antitrust laws, restoring open government by reinvigorating the Freedom of Information Act, ending antitrust immunity for insurers, increasing drug competition, strengthening protections against identity theft and providing for fair and comprehensive immigration reform.

We have also moved legislative initiatives. Indeed, I think the first legislation passed by the Senate this year was our bill to restore the cost of living adjustment for federal judges. We have passed a bill to amend the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act to honor the contribution of Cesar Chavez and other outstanding Americans. We passed by a bipartisan vote of 94 to 2 a bill to repeal that part of the PATRIOT Act reauthorization that had contributed to the U.S. attorney firings and thereby moved decisively to repeal the Attorney General’s unlimited authority to appoint so-called interim U.S. Attorneys without Senate consideration. At long last, we have given final passage to the bill against animal fighting that has languished for so many years. And we have passed the Genocide Accountability Act, the first legislative result of the new subcommittee I worked with Senator Durbin to create within the Judiciary Committee on Human Rights and the Law.

I hope that the Senate will soon be considering a number of our other legislative initiatives. We have reported a court security bill, S.378; a bill to increase drug competition by giving the FTC authority to stop drug companies from paying other companies not to compete, S.316; a bill to establish a school loan program for those willing to serve as prosecutors and public defenders, S.442; and legislation to reauthorize the successful Byrne grant program for law enforcement, S.231. A number of additional items are not far behind, including a bill to reauthorize the COPS program, S.368; and a bill that Senators Sessions and Senator Landrieu cosponsored attacking fraud in disaster and emergency relief funding. I hope to see action on our bill against war profiteering, S.119, as well.

The new Congress is off to a strong start in restoring accountability, in revitalizing the checks and balances of our system, and in earning back the public’s trust in government that has eroded during a rubberstamp Congress. Much remains to be done but we have made meaningful progress in just 100 days.

You can watch excerpts at Rawstory. The sly smile on Leahy's face tells me that he thinks he has the administration's bad boys just where he wants them. I wouldn't be surprised if the Democrats don't already have copies of some of those missing emails. This might be a good time for the second level guys to come clean. Maybe they can avoid spending time in the slammer like Nixon's loyal foot soldiers. They can bet big bucks that Karl, Dick and George aren't going to protect them. For the big three loyalty only goes one way.

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Reining in a Rogue Elephant

To my (admittedly wonkish) way of thinking, the most exciting RSS feed these days is the one coming from Representative Waxman’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Representative Waxman and the Oversight Committee today (Monday, March 26, 2007) informed both the Republican National Committee and the Chairman of the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign that they are not to destroy any email records they may be in possession of, in light of the evidence that certain high-ranking public officials (*cough* Karl Rove *cough*) have used non-official email servers to conduct the business of the government and avoid scrutiny and transparency in government affairs, and have most likely acted in ways that violate the Presidential Records Act.

One thing is for certain – the mendacity and hubris of this administration is staggering. If their actions were not so consequential for the rest of us, it would almost be funny – but as that is not the case, they are simply appalling on an epic scale.

[Cross-posted from Blue Girl, Red State]

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New RNC Head

I'll admit that I'm pretty miffed that Mel Martinez, one of Florida's Senators, will become the head of the Republican National Committee when it votes on Thursday. I guess that means he'll be getting full-time pay for part-time work and that part-time work will be at the behest of his party and not my state.

Worse, though, is that it forces him to vote the White House line on every single issue. He is beholden to the President and his loyalty has been bought and paid for.

I'm from Orlando where Mel was our county Chairman (like a mayor) before he was appointed to his HUD cabinet position (yes, in Bush World, running a county government qualifies you to sit on the Cabinet of the United States President). Back then, he was a reasonable guy and somewhat bipartisan. How he got to this place, attached to the lunacy that is our President, I'll never know.

Here's what he had to say about Iraq:

“When I was in Iraq this fall, I met with many of our troops, many who
happened to be Floridians, and I saw high morale and sense of purpose among
them.

And this:

By taking the lead role in the stability and defense of their own country and by putting a serious financial commitment into reconstruction and job creation in Iraq, the Iraqi government has made the type of commitment that must occur if this plan is to succeed.”

Alas, only someone joined at the hip with Bush would say these kind of things.

The troops are dispirited and whistleblowing to come home. Maliki's government is so totally ineffective that an average of 94 citizens and police officers die EVERY day.

Martinez's break with reality began in January 2001 with his HUD appointment and he has continued a downward spiral that has brought us to this.

My only hope is that his fear and hate mongering in his new RNC role will wake the people of Florida up in 2010. If he was up in 2008, he'd be gone.

God, I'm even agreeing with Michelle Malkin about this.

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