PLAME, WILSON SUE CHENEY LIBBY AND ROVE: Former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, filed a lawsuit yesterday against Vice President Cheney, presidential adviser Karl Rove and former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, accusing the three of violating their constitutional rights in retaliation for Wilson's criticism of President Bush. Plame and Wilson say that, after Wilson accused Bush of twisting intelligence about Iraq's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, Cheney, Rove and Libby conspired to "discredit, punish and seek revenge against the plaintiffs that included, among other things, disclosing to members of the press Plaintiff Valerie Plame Wilson's classified CIA employment."
Washington Post: Vice President Sued by Plame And Husband BUSH "FREEFALL" OVER, BUT SOME SCARY NUMBERS FOR GOP: Republicans are in jeopardy of losing their grip on Congress in November. With less than four months to the midterm elections, the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that Americans by an almost 3-to-1 margin hold the GOP-controlled Congress in low regard and profess a desire to see Democrats wrest control after a dozen years of Republican rule... The AP-Ipsos poll of 1,000 adults conducted Monday through Wednesday found that President Bush has stopped his political freefall, with his approval rating of 36 percent basically unchanged from last month... The AP-Ipsos survey asked 789 registered voters if the election for the House were held today, would they vote for the Democratic or Republican candidate in their district. Democrats were favored 51 percent to 40 percent.
AP via Yahoo! News: Most Americans plan to vote for Democrats WH TO "TEST THE CONSTITUTIONALITY" OF WARRANTLESS WIRETAPS: After months of resistance, the White House agreed Thursday to allow a secret intelligence court to review the legality of the National Security Agency's program to conduct wiretaps without warrants on Americans suspected of having ties to terrorists. If approved by Congress, the deal would put the court, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, in the unusual position of deciding whether the wiretapping program is a legitimate use of the president's power to fight terrorism. The aim of the plan, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales told reporters, would be to "test the constitutionality" of the program.
New York Times: Bush Would Let Secret Court Sift Wiretap Process "DEEPLY DIVIDED" ON DETAINEE RIGHTS: Three days of congressional testimony this week by senior Bush administration officials about U.S. treatment of detainees in the war on terrorism have made clear that the administration remains deeply divided on the issue and unsure how to replace a key policy that the Supreme Court declared illegal two weeks ago. Interagency divisions normally kept hidden from public view have been on unusual display as officials from the Justice Department and the Pentagon have offered starkly different accounts of the administration's reaction to the court's opinion, baffling members of Congress and other interested parties about U.S. intentions.
Washington Post: Policy Rewrite Reveals Rift in Administration BUSH'S "BOAR BANTER": With the world's most perplexing problems weighing on him, President Bush has sought comic relief in a certain pig. This is the wild game boar that German chef Olaf Micheel bagged for Bush and served Thursday evening at a barbecue in Trinwillershagen, a tiny town on the Baltic Sea where the boar chef also serves as second deputy mayor... The president's host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, started a serious ball rolling at this news conference in the 13th Century town hall on the cobblestone square of Stralsund. But Bush seemed more focused on "the feast" promised later. "Thanks for having me," Bush told the chancellor. "I'm looking forward to that pig tonight."... When an American reporter asked Bush whether he is concerned about the Israeli bombing of the Beirut airport and about Iran's failure to respond to an offer for negotiations that the U.S. and its European allies have made, Bush replied with more boar jokes before delving into the substance of the questions. "I thought you were going to ask about the pig," said the president, promising a full report from the barbecue. "I'll tell you about the pig tomorrow."
Chicago Tribune: Hogging the humor spotlight VOTING RIGHTS ACT EXTENDED: The House voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to renew expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act after supporters of it defeated challenges mounted by conservative opponents. The 390-to-33 vote on the landmark civil rights act capped a day of impassioned debate that heightened the politically charged atmosphere surrounding race and ethnicity, already aggravated by the recent fight in Congress over immigration.
New York Times: After Challenges, House Approves Renewal of Voting Act VOTING FOR, AND PAYING FOR, TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THINGS: Less than two months after voting overwhelmingly to build 370 miles of new fencing along the border with Mexico, the Senate yesterday voted against providing funds to build it. "We do a lot of talking. We do a lot of legislating," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican whose amendment to fund the fence was killed on a 71-29 vote. "The things we do often sound very good, but we never quite get there." Mr. Sessions offered his amendment to authorize $1.8 billion to pay for the fencing that the Senate voted 83-16 to build along high-traffic areas of the border with Mexico. In the same vote on May 17, the Senate also directed 500 miles of vehicle barriers to be built along the border.
Washington Times: Senate denies funds for new border fence DCCC AD PROVOKES FUROR: Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and House Republican leaders exchanged verbal blasts Thursday over an Internet ad produced by Pelosi's Democratic House campaign committee that shows the flag-draped coffins of American soldiers killed in Iraq. Republicans, sensing an opportunity to rally their conservative base in the midterm election-year campaign, said they were outraged and called on Democrats to pull the ad, which was posted July 2 on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Web site. Refusing to back down, Pelosi scoffed at the criticism, saying the Republicans are "in denial of the consequences of their actions in Iraq."
San Francisco Chronicle: GOP Slams Democrats Over Coffin in Ad HASTERT HOSPITALIZED: Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital today for treatment of a skin infection, and is likely to remain hospitalized for several days. According to a statement from Hastert's office, "The Speaker's physician is requiring him to remain at the hospital over the weekend and be off his feet for at least 72 hours so that it can be properly treated with intravenous antibiotics before returning to his normal schedule next week." The skin infection has been diagnosed as cellulitis, which is common among diabetics like Hastert.
Roll Call: Hastert Admitted to Hospital for Skin Infection GILLESPIE, GOP OFFICIALS COULD BE QUESTIONED IN PHONE-JAMMING SUIT: A judge yesterday allowed state Democratic attorneys to question a former Republican national chairman and other high-ranking GOP officials about an illegal election day 2002 phone-jamming operation. Attorneys for the national and state Republican parties did not object to the Democrats' request in Hillsborough County Superior Court prior to the ruling by Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge Philip Mangones. But targets of soon-to-be-issued Democratic subpoenas will have the legal option of trying to have those subpoenas quashed in court, attorneys said. The targets include former Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie, former White House political affairs official Alicia Davis and two former Republican Party officials who are now consultants well-known in political circles. The Democrats also want to examine cell phone records of former White House political affairs director Ken Mehlman, the current RNC chairman.
Manchester Union-Leader: GOP officials to face jamming questions ROMNEY TAKES OVER AS OFFICIALS FIND MORE BIG DIG DEFECTS: Big Dig officials announced last night that the entire Interstate 90 tunnel network under South Boston is riddled with as many as 250 places where ceiling supports were pulling away from the tunnel roof - the flaw that apparently dropped a massive panel on a car, killing Milena Del Valle Monday. Shortly after last night's announcement, lawmakers passed emergency legislation proposed by Romney to let him take control of inspections from embattled Turnpike Chairman Matthew Amorello and embark on a "stem to stern" audit of tunnel safety.
Boston Herald: Problems ignored in rush to wrap it up: Gov takes control TURNPIKE CHIEF REFUSES TO STEP ASIDE: The Legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill last night to strip Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew J. Amorello of much of his oversight over the Big Dig and give Governor Mitt Romney the power to decide when to reopen a tunnel where a 38-year-old woman was killed in a ceiling collapse this week. The nearly unanimous votes in the House and Senate showed how Amorello, a divisive figure in his four years leading the agency, lost the support of his most powerful Beacon Hill allies yesterday. Legislative leaders discussed plans to ease Amorello out of his job, but he continued to reject the pressure to step down.
Boston Globe: Turnpike chief resisting pressure to step down UPDATE: KT'S "EITHER A LIAR OR DELUSIONAL": Republican senate candidate Kathleen (KT) McFarland bitterly broke with her whole family in 1992 when she accused her father of incest - an explosive charge her brother calls "complete baloney." "I'm not telling people how to vote, but she's either a liar or delusional," said Tom Troia, 52, who still lives in Wisconsin, where they grew up. "I've described her as evil. That's a pretty apt description." At a campaign event in Brooklyn, a poised McFarland, 54, refused to discuss her brother's stunning accusations.
New York Daily News: KT's evil & a liar, cries bro 61 PERCENT SAY YASSKY'S RACE SHOULDN'T DISQUALIFY HIM: Most voters don't think black politicians in a predominately black Brooklyn district should try to keep a white candidate out of the race, according to a poll released yesterday. The race to fill Rep. Major Owens' 11th District seat has been overshadowed by efforts by some black leaders to oppose the candidacy of Councilman David Yassky, who is white. But a Quinnipiac poll of voters across the city shows that 61 percent don't think Yassky should be discouraged from running just because he is white.
New York Post: Poll: White Candidate Has Right to Run "JOE'S DEAD INTERN" AND THE HARRIS EXODUS: Katherine Harris' floundering U.S. Senate campaign lost its high-level staff again this week and is groping for a message -- which doesn't surprise Republican insiders who trace the seeds of her trouble to the story of "Joe's dead intern." This wasn't any old Joe. It was Joe Scarborough, host of the prime-time MSNBC show Scarborough Country and a former Pensacola Republican congressman who was courted last summer by national Republicans to run against Harris. But before he could announce he wouldn't, Harris called major donors and suggested Scarborough would have to answer questions about the strange death of a former staff member in 2001, according to two former high-level Harris staff members, a GOP donor and Scarborough. "That was the first clue that something wasn't right with Katherine Harris," Scarborough told The Miami Herald in a recent interview, noting that a medical examiner found his staff member's death was natural and not the result of foul play.
Miami Herald: Story of 'Joe's dead intern' began Harris' slide, insiders say MENENDEZ RAISED TWICE AS MUCH AS KEAN IN Q2: Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez continues to outpace Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr. in fundraising for the New Jersey seat, amassing $2.58 million from April through June, more than double what Kean raised. Menendez has $7.4 million cash on hand, said campaign spokesman Matt Miller. He raised slightly more than he did in the first quarter of the year. Kean, the son of former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean, raised $1.1 million for the latest three-month period, $500,000 less than he raised in the first quarter of this year. Kean has $2.25 million cash on hand. The bulk of Kean's second quarter cash came from a June fundraiser hosted by first lady Laura Bush.
AP via Yahoo! News: Menendez outpaces Kean in N.J. fundraising
