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The Situation: Wednesday, October 19Editor's Note: The Situation Report is a running log of dispatches, quotes, links and behind-the-scenes notes filed by the correspondents and producers of CNN's Washington Bureau. Watch "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer on CNN 3 p.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET weekdays. Terror threat informant On CNN TV
RelatedSEND YOUR COMMENTSYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSPosted: 1:38 p.m. ET The original informant who told U.S. authorities about the purported plan to set off explosives in a Baltimore tunnel is a prisoner in the Netherlands, two federal officials confirmed to CNN Wednesday . These officials also confirmed that the intelligence source underwent a lie detector test over the weekend in which some of his answers were seen as deceptive. Officials would not describe in further detail the problems with the polygraph. One federal law enforcement source said the test was "inconclusive." A U.S. government source previously told CNN the informant had provided some useful information to authorities in the past. Authorities are continuing their investigation in Baltimore of the terror tip but said so far nothing has confirmed any plot was about to take place nor have any potential terrorists been found. Law enforcement officials said that so far the only individuals in custody as part of their probe are four men who are in the hands of immigration officials. Three of the four are Egyptian and one is Jordanian, one federal law enforcement source said. Operations are continuing as agents look for additional suspects, sources said. The Morning GrindPosted: 9:20 a.m. ET Merit Pay Timing is everything and in politics it is essential. So when the Senate voted yesterday to deny Congress a pay increase, it came as a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows the American public is overwhelmingly frustrated with its national political leaders. For the first time in over a decade, Congress' approval rating has dipped below 30 percent (29 percent), according to the poll of 1,012 adults, which was conducted Oct. 13 through Oct. 16. President Bush did not fare much better, with a paltry 39 percent of Americans approving of the way he is handling his job as commander-in-chief. Analysts point to the rising gas prices, the war in Iraq and the clumsy response to Hurricane Katrina as the reason why confidence in our national leadership is dipping. Proponents of delaying the pay increase acknowledge the $2 million cost savings is a blip considering the deficit, but still they argue it demonstrates that Congress is willing to tighten its own belt as it considers cutting $50 billion from the budget. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure to stop the pay increase by a 92 to 6 margin. Should the House follow the Senate's lead and agree to forgo the cost of living adjustment, lawmakers' wages will be frozen at $162,100. A pay increase would boost salaries by $3,100 in the new fiscal year. Surprisingly, six Senators voted against the pay increase: two who are seeking reelection in 2006, two who won a new six year term in 2004 and two who are retiring when the curtain falls on the 109th Congress. While Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) are not considered vulnerable in their respective re-election bids next year, the wisdom behind not supporting a pay freeze during these fiscally troubling times is puzzling. Sen. Kit Bond (R-Missouri) justified his vote against the pay freeze by telling The New York Times in today's edition, "Not everyone in the Senate is a multimillionaire." Bond won reelection with 53 percent of the vote in 2004. Retiring Sens. Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont) and Paul Sarbanes (D-Maryland) voted for the cost of living adjustment. As did Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), an icon in the Aloha State, who won another term with 79 percent of the vote last year. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) and Sen. Jon Corzine (D-New Jersey) did not vote. But we suspect that Corzine, who is, to politely say, "on solid financial footing," would have also voted against the pay increase. Corzine, who is running for governor, will gets some good news today as a new poll shows that his lead over Republican opponent Douglas Forrester has increased by seven points. The Quinnipiac poll says that 50 percent of Garden State voters support Corzine, while 43 percent back Forrester. The survey of 702 likely voters was conducted Oct. 11 through Oct. 17, and shows upward movement for Corzine. A late September poll by Quinnipiac gave Corzine a 48 to 44 edge. Another Democratic candidate making news is former Rep. Nick Lampson (Texas), who is challenging embattled former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) in 2006. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee kicked off a series of fundraisers for Lampson last night that will take him to such reliable Democratic fundraising venues as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. "Nobody here thinks we are going to out raise Tom DeLay," said Mike Malaise, Lampson's campaign manager. "But we are going to have to raise more to win this House race than anybody probably has raised before." Tonight, Lampson will attend a low donor fundraiser titled "Don't DeLay, Lift Lampson." Notable names on the host committee include Al Franken, former Texas Democratic Reps. Martin Frost and Max Sandlin and AFSCME's Chuck Loveless. Lamspon, Frost and Sandlin are all victims of DeLay's redistricting plan. Asking contribution: $100 to $500. DeLay's spokeswoman questioned why Lampson is seeking financial assistance from traditional Democratic strongholds. "Looking at the FEC filings last quarter, Lampson had an abysmal July and August, and it apparently took a last minute out-of-state scramble to move his numbers from humiliating up to disappointing," said Shannon Flaherty, DeLay's spokeswoman. "The DCCC clearly recognized that he's failing to get support in the 22nd District so now he's traveling all the way to San Francisco and New York to tap out the labor unions, trial lawyers, and MoveOn groupies who support him. Makes you wonder whose support he's really fighting for - Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean's or that of the solidly Republican 22nd District?" In the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission, DeLay held a nearly two to one cash-on-hand advantage over Lampson. DeLay raised about $920,000 between July and September, while Lampson raked in over $323,000. DeLay currently has $1.2 million in his warchest, while Lampson is sitting on more than $689,000. Political Hot TopicsPosted: 9:00 a.m. ET MIERS WANTED TO BAN ABORTION IN '89: Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers once pledged that she would "actively support" a constitutional amendment banning abortions except to save a mother's life, participate in antiabortion rallies, and try to block the flow of public money to clinics and organizations that help women obtain the procedure. Those 1989 written promises to an antiabortion group, made as she was campaigning for a seat on the Dallas City Council, came to light in documents that Miers delivered to the Senate yesterday. They emerged one day after she assured two senators that no one knows how she would vote on Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide. Washington Post: Miers Once Vowed to Support Ban on Abortion NO FINAL REPORT FROM FITZ: The special counsel in the C.I.A. leak case has told associates he has no plans to issue a final report about the results of the investigation, heightening the expectation that he intends to bring indictments, lawyers in the case and law enforcement officials said yesterday. The prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, is not expected to take any action in the case this week, government officials said. A spokesman for Mr. Fitzgerald, Randall Samborn, declined to comment. New York Times: No Final Report Seen in Inquiry on C.I.A. Leak ROVE LOSING HIS COOL? In Washington, you know you're in real trouble when the Media Stakeout occupies your front lawn like an invading army, sprouting panel trucks and satellite uplinks curbside and littering your landscape with candy wrappers and plastic cups. The atmosphere was captured perfectly in the movie ``The Birdcage,'' when a fictional senator, Gene Hackman, tried to escape reporters clamoring outside his house by climbing out a bedroom window. Greeted by popping flash bulbs, he turns and gives the V-sign, as if this was his usual means of exit and he was just thrilled by the attention. Caught in that glare last week, Karl Rove took a different tack. Backing out of his driveway in a leafy Washington neighborhood on the day he would make his fourth appearance before the grand jury looking into the leaking of a CIA agent's identity, Rove flashed his high beams at the five pouncing television crews. He momentarily thwarted them. That he didn't react with Hackman's aplomb tells you a lot about the mental state of the usually unflappable Rove. Bloomberg News: Rove Losing His Cool as Leak Inquiry Heats Up: Margaret Carlson EXPEL "EVERY SINGLE" ILLEGAL: President Bush said yesterday that his goal is eventually to expel "every single" illegal alien from the United States as his administration pressed Congress to pass a guest-worker program. Although conceding that the administration cannot immediately deport the estimated 11 million illegal aliens who are here, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao told Congress that a temporary-worker program would give aliens an incentive to come out of hiding and let them work legally for six years before being forced to return home. Washington Times: Bush vows to oust 'every single' illegal GOVERNOR A JINX FOR THE SOX? As thousands of desperate White Sox fans tried and failed to get tickets for the World Series, I was on the phone abandoning my dignity, begging a Cubs-loving politician to stay the heck away from Sox Park. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich magically scored two tickets. He told me Tuesday that he insists on going, though I pleaded with him, on behalf of all White Sox fans everywhere, not to show. The reason? He's most likely a jinx. And we can't take any chances. Chicago Tribune: Blagojevich's Cubs love puts Sox in jeopardy NJ GOV CANDIDATES SHARE THE STAGE: After hammering each other with attack ads for weeks, the two major-party candidates for governor were on their best behavior last night as they faced off in a subdued televised debate. Democrat Jon Corzine and Republican Doug Forrester used familiar attack lines on one another, but the exchanges were less pointed than in two previous debates. This time they shared the stage with independent Hector Castillo, the "Education Not Corruption" candidate, and Libertarian Party nominee Jeffrey Pawlowski. Both used their rare moment in the spotlight to say they offered an alternative to the two multimillionaires who are financing their own campaigns. Newark Star-Ledger: A gentler, shared debate for four JESSE AND AL GET BEHIND FREDDY: The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton yesterday rallied around Democratic mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer, slamming Mayor Bloomberg for being on the wrong team the Republican one. Sharpton and Jackson said that's reason enough to vote for Ferrer. The candidate, who has been slumping in the polls, will get a much-needed jolt tomorrow when Bill Clinton campaigns with him in the Bronx. Yesterday, Jackson called Bloomberg a "wolf politician in sheep clothing," while admitting Bloomberg's "fusion campaign" has "confused" some voters, including traditionally Democratic black voters. New York Post: AL & JESSE REV. UP ATTACKS ON MAYOR 
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