Friday, November 17, 2006
In a surprise visit, Fordham stops by Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- To the surprise of many, Mark Foley scandal figure Kirk Fordham showed up Friday at the House Republican leadership elections. Standing in the lobby just outside the room where the elections were taking place, Fordham chatted up a few reporters and said hello to friends. But Fordham went largely unnoticed in the crowded hallway -- even though he was a central figure in the scandal that arguably cost Republicans key seats in the 2006 midterm elections. Fordham is a former chief-of-staff to disgraced ex-Rep. Mark Foley, R-Florida, who resigned earlier this year after it was learned the congressman had inappropriate conversations with teenage House pages. Fordham, who quit as Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-New York, chief-of-staff at the height of the scandal, said he has been working out of Reynold's office for the last few days. Having left so quickly after he resigned as Reynolds' chief-of-staff when the scandal broke, Fordham said he never had time to clean up his old office and transition out. Reynolds came under fire for acknowledging that he knew Foley had contacted pages, but the New York Republican denies knowing to the extent of the conversations. Fordham said he is just back from a two week European vacation and added he is still looking for work but not on Capitol Hill. In one almost surreal hallway exchange, Ed Cassidy, a top aide to House ethics committee chairman Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., walked passed the former star witness. "Are you almost done," with the investigation, Fordham asked? "Soon," Cassidy responded casually. But after a moment Cassidy caught himself and realized the question came from Fordham, not one of the many reporters covering the leadership elections that Cassidy was here attending. "Oh no," Cassidy blurted out. "With that we are," he said pointing to the room where the elections were slowly grinding on. "Not THAT," he said gesturing about the ethics probe. -- CNN Congressional Producer Ted Barrett Ahead on CNN
4 p.m. ET, The Situation Room
-Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and Terry Jeffrey, editor of 'Human Events,' will weigh in on President Bush's Vietnam trip and the House GOP leadership elections. 5 p.m. ET, The Situation Room -Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, the newly elected senate minority whip, will discuss his political comeback and his agenda for the 110th Congress. -Iowa Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack will discuss his presidential ambitions. Dean enjoys support from state party chairmen after Democratic wins
TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. (AP) -- Democratic chairman Howard Dean basked in the afterglow of midterm election victories Friday with the state party chairmen who were among the biggest beneficiaries of his 50-state strategy.
Dean, scheduled to speak to the Association of State Democratic Chairs at a ski resort getaway, was lauded for his approach of funneling more money to the state Democratic party organizations -- money they partly used to hire staff to organize and put pressure on Republicans. But the Democratic National Committee chairman and one-time presidential contender has his critics. Clinton strategist James Carville has attacked Dean recently for his strategy, saying he left too much money in the bank that could have been used to seize an even larger Democratic majority in Congress. It's clear who state party directors and chairmen, who get the money, have sided with. "I don't think Mr. Carville knows what he's talking about," said Richard Stallings, the Idaho party chairman. "Democrats haven't been winning on the kind of stuff Carville is talking about. The 50-state strategy is the future." New House GOP freshman officers announced
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House GOP freshman members elected their class officers Friday for the 110th Congress.
President: Bill Sali, R, Idaho Representative to Steering Committee: Kevin McCarthy, R-California Representative to Leadership: Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Representative to Policy Committee : Adrian Smith, R-Nebraska Reid: Gates 'should be confirmed'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, says he expects Defense secretary nominee Robert Gates to easily be confirmed unless something unforeseen emerges during his hearing.
"Unless something comes up toward the hearings, which I don't expect, he should be confirmed," Reid told reporters with Gates at his side. "The one thing he has going for him, and I mentioned that to the Secretary, is we want the change to take place very quickly." Gates spent the day on Capitol Hill meeting with many key senators ahead of his Senate Armed Service Committee hearing in early December. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
House GOP leadership ready to 'earn' back majority
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Republicans chose to keep their leadership team intact Friday, a little more than one week after Democrats won the majority in the midterm elections. Outgoing House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, was chosen for the No. 1 GOP spot in the 110th Congress, while Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, will remain in the No. 2. post. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, did not run for a leadership position. Boehner vowed that GOP leaders would work hard to make sure Republicans win back the majority in 2008. "I pledged to them to do everything I could to bring our team together and to work hard so that we can earn our way back into the majority," Boehner told reporters at a press conference in the Capitol. Boehner defeated Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, in the race for minority leader and Blunt beat Rep. John Shadegg, R-Arizona, to become minority whip. Both Pence and Shadegg are members of the Republican Steering Committee, a conservative group within the conference. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Florida, was elected as conference chairman -- the No. 3 leadership position. Putnam, who at 32 is set to begin his fourth congressional term, said the House GOP will offer a 'forward-looking' agenda. "We are a unified team, forward-looking, concerned about our future with a vision for a brighter tomorrow," Putnam said. House Republicans also elected four other members to round out their leadership term: Policy Committee Chairman: Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Michigan Conference Vice-Chair: Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas Conference Secretary: Rep. John Carter, R-Texas NRCC Chairman: Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma -- CNN's Ted Barrett and Alex Mooney Edwards: Kerry's decision will not affect mine
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Acknowledging he is strongly considering a second run for the White House, former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards said Thursday his decision to run again will not be influenced by his 2004 running mate John Kerry or Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"No one else's decision will influence me," Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, told Wolf Blitzer on 'The Situation Room.' "What will influence me is making sure my family is OK, and secondly, what I believe in my best judgment is best for the country." Sen. Kerry of Massachusetts and Sen. Clinton of New York are also considering running for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Edward's choice not to subject his decision to John Kerry's future plans is markedly different than that of Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Connecticut. Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, said he would not run for president in 2004 if his former running mate -- former Vice President Al Gore -- decided to run again. Edwards said he would make a decision on his political future in the next few months. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney O'Connor talks about attempt to poison Supreme Court justices
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- During a recent legal conference, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor talked publicly about a little-known attempt last year to poison her and her colleagues.
In fact, Barbara Joan March, a 60-year-old Connecticut woman, was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison for sending 14 threatening letters in April 2005 -- each with a baked good or piece of candy laced with rat poison -- to the nine Supreme Court Justices, FBI Director Robert Mueller, his deputy, the chief of naval operations, the Air Force chief of staff and the chief of staff of the Army. March pleaded guilty in March to 14 counts of mailing injurious articles. The letters did not seem to pose much of a real danger since the threatening note told therecipients the food was poisoned. In court papers submitted with the plea agreement, prosecutors said each of the envelopes contained a one-page typewritten letter stating either "I am" or "We are" followed by "going to kill you. This is poisoned." Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathleen Arbergh said the poison packages never reached the chambers of the justices. -- CNN Justice Producer Kevin Bohn
Family planning appointee stirs controversy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration, to the consternation of its critics, has picked the medical director of an organization that opposes premarital sex, contraception and abortion to lead the office that oversees federally funded teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs.
The appointment of Eric Keroack, a Marblehead, Mass. obstetrician and gynecologist, to oversee the federal Office of Population Affairs and its $283 million annual budget has angered family-planning advocates. Keroack currently is medical director of A Woman's Concern, a Christian nonprofit. The Dorchester, Mass.-based organization runs six centers in the state that offer free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and counseling. It also works to "help women escape the temptation and violence of abortion," according to its statement of faith. And it opposes contraception, saying its use increases out-of-wedlock pregnancy and abortion rates. Gates to meet with Reid
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, will meet with Defense Secretary nominee Robert Gates Friday at 1:30 p.m. The two men will also pose for photographs.
Bennett named to senate GOP leadership position
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Incoming Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, chose Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, to be his counselor in the 110th Congress, it was announced Friday. Bennett will advise McConnell on matters of legislative policy, as well as help set the Senate GOP agenda. Bennett is one of McConnell's closest allies, having served as his chief deputy when McConnell was majority whip in the 108th and 109th Congresses Bennett also helped run McConnell's successful bid to become minority leader. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Putnam gets No. 3 House GOP leadership post
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House GOPers chose Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida to chair the Republican Conference -- the third ranking GOP leadership post in the House. Putnam, 32, beat out Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia by a vote of 100-91 on the third ballot. Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and Dan Lungren, R-California, were knocked out in the first two rounds of voting. -- CNN Congressional Producer Ted Barrett Gates hearing set for next month
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate Armed Services Committee announced Thursday it will hold a Dec. 5th hearing to consider the nomination of Robert Gates to be the new Secretary of Defense.
Gates is making rounds on Capitol Hill Friday -- meeting with various senators including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. -- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
House GOP conservatives go down in defeat
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The decisive losses of Reps. Mike Pence of Indiana and John Shadegg of Arizona in the House GOP leadership races is a crushing defeat for the GOP's conservative caucus -- The Republican Study Committee.
Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona, another member of the RSC, called the results "disappointing" and said sticking with the old leadership will make it more difficult to win back the majority in two years. -- CNN Congressional Correspondent Ted Barrett
Social Security privatization called 'off the table'
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The incoming chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Thursday he wants to hold hearings on looming insolvencies in the Medicare and Social Security programs but said President Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security is "Don't waste our time," said Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana. "It's off the table." He said the rising cost of Medicare and other health costs is a priority for the committee, though he did not detail how the committee would approach those problems. He said he will hold "vigorous" hearings on the issue. Baucus said he will propose legislation to simplify the Medicare prescription drug program by streamlining the number of plans available and making it easier for people to choose one. Blunt gets No. 2 post
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Republicans voted Friday to make outgoing House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, the minority whip in the 110th Congress. Blunt defeated Rep. John Shadegg, R-Arizona, for the No. 2 House GOP leadership post by a vote of 137-57 -- CNN Congressional Correspondent Ted Barrett
Vilsack says renewable energy will be pillar of presidential campaign
BOULDER, Colorado (AP) -- Renewable energy has the potential to unite the country, reinvent the economy and make the country more secure, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a 2008 presidential candidate, said Thursday.
After a speech at the University of Colorado School of Law, Vilsack said the issue will be one of the pillars of his campaign platform. He pointed to his state's leading the country in corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel production. "I think I'm the one person in this race who's doing something about it," he said. "There are a lot of people talking about it, but we've actually done something to promote renewable fuel." The two-term governor is the first Democrat to file for the presidency, although a number of better-known candidates are presumed to be running. Vilsack planned a multistate tour beginning Nov. 30 to formally announce his bid. T. Boone Pickens, Bush donors headline Giuliani fundraising effort
NEW YORK (AP) -- Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has assembled a group of high-powered business executives to raise money for a possible presidential bid.
The group will be chaired by Roy Bailey, a former finance chairman for the Texas Republican Party and a founding member of Giuliani Partners, the former mayor's consulting firm. Bailey calls it "a group of very committed people who hope the mayor's exploratory committee leads to other things." Among the most notable members of the group is billionaire Texas oil mogul T. Boone Pickens, a longtime contributor to President Bush and other Republicans. Other members of Giuliani's finance committee include Barry Wynn, former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party and the finance chair of Bush's re-election campaign, and Tom Hicks, a Dallas billionaire and owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team. Bush on Iraq: "We'll succeed unless we quit'
HANOI, Vietnam (CNN) -- Emphasizing that the United States is in Iraq for the long haul, U.S. President George Bush on Friday drew an often-avoided parallel to Vietnam, saying "we'll succeed unless we quit."
Detractors have often tried to compare the war in Iraq to America's ill-fated military operation in Vietnam, but Bush used it as an opportunity to stress patience. "One lesson is that we tend to want there to be instant success in the world and the task in Iraq is going to take a while," the president told reporters after a meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard. "We'll succeed unless we quit." Howard echoed Bush, saying "the idea of the coalition leaving in circumstances where the Iraqi people would not seem to be able to look after themselves and to enjoy the democracy they want would be a catastrophic defeat for our cause." Asked about media reports that the United States was preparing to send another 30,000 troops to Iraq, Bush said the situation is being reviewed, adding he would listen to top military and political leaders before any decisions are made. Bush is in the Vietnamese capital for a summit of Pacific Rim leaders. Foley faces criminal probe
MIAMI (CNN) -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has opened a criminal investigation of former Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned in September after his e-mails to male teenage congressional pages came to light.
"The change to a criminal investigation from preliminary inquiry happened in recent weeks," FDLE spokeswoman Heather Smith told CNN Friday. The specific reason for the switch was not given, though another FDLE spokeswoman told CNN Thursday that the agency had found "a basis to open a criminal investigation." "If we find factual and credible information that a... criminal act may have occurred, charges will be filed," Smith told CNN Friday. "We are conducting an independent investigation but we're also assisting the FBI" in its probe of Foley's activities, she added. The FDLE had opened a preliminary inquiry into Foley's conduct shortly after his resignation in September. -- CNN Correspondent Susan Candiotti
House Republicans give Boehner top spot
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House GOP caucus Friday chose outgoing House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, to be the House minority leader in the 110th Congress. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who formally dropped out of the race Wednesday, received one vote. -- CNN Congressional Correspondent Ted Barrett CNN Political Ticker AM
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Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... "She experienced her first smackdown," says Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. The majority leader vote "exposed deep fissures within the Democratic Caucus," reports Roll Call, and "what went on in [Thursday]'s balloting could continue to reverberate within the party." President's Schedule: Also on the Political Radar: ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) BAD TIMING FOR BUSH'S VIETNAM TRIP? In private, some White House officials concede it is spectacularly poor timing. Just as Lyndon B. Johnson did in 1968, Mr. Bush has ousted his longtime defense secretary and nominated a realist with "fresh eyes" to replace him. Just like President Johnson in 1968, he is conducting a broad rethinking of strategy, and is hearing options he does not like. His aides argue that the analogies between these wars are mostly false. The comparisons will nonetheless be the unavoidable subtext of Mr. Bush's every move as he travels in Hanoi and then stops in the city that in his youth was known as Saigon, and that became the scene of an American military debacle. And he will have to convince his allies, ordinary Americans, and perhaps himself, that Iraq will end differently. New York Times: On to Vietnam, Bush Hears Echoes of 1968 in Iraq 2006 WAR ON TERROR COULD BE MOST EXPENSIVE WAR SINCE WWII: The Bush administration is preparing its largest spending request yet for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a proposal that could make the conflict the most expensive since World War II. The Pentagon is considering $127 billion to $160 billion in requests from the armed services for the 2007 fiscal year, which began last month, several lawmakers and congressional staff members said. That's on top of $70 billion already approved for 2007. Since 2001, Congress has approved $502 billion for the war on terror, roughly two-thirds for Iraq. The latest request, due to reach the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress next spring, would make the war on terror more expensive than the Vietnam War. USA Today: Military may ask $127B for wars BAKER GROUP MET WITH SYRIAN OFFICIALS: Former Secretary of State James Baker, co-chairman of the panel reviewing American policy in Iraq, met with Syrian officials to urge their cooperation in quelling the violent insurgency, Syria's envoy to the U.S. said. Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha said in an interview that he met twice in Washington with the 10-member Iraq Study Group, the first time on Aug. 3. The group met in September in New York with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and Moustapha, he said. His account of the meetings, which Baker's spokesman said was "generally right," suggests the Iraq panel will recommend that President George W. Bush reverse current policy and engage in talks with the leadership in Damascus. In the New York session, Moustapha said, Baker cited his 1991 trip to ask then- President Hafez al-Assad to contribute forces to the Persian Gulf War, recounting how he had told Assad to look past the "troubled history" between the U.S. and Syria. Bloomberg: Baker Met Syrian Envoys to Urge Cooperation Against Iraq Unrest PELOSI'S "SMACKDOWN": At 10:30 yesterday morning, Nancy Pelosi was chosen by acclamation to become speaker of the House. Ninety minutes later, she experienced her first smackdown. Pelosi had only herself to blame for this briefest of honeymoons. Just five days after the Democrats' election victory, she shattered party unity Sunday by urging House Democrats to reject her longtime deputy, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), in favor of antiwar firebrand Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Abscam), who proceeded to brand House ethics reforms "total crap." Yesterday, rank-and-file Democrats told Pelosi her endorsement was total crap: They overwhelmingly chose Hoyer to be majority leader. Washington Post: Crowning Majority Leader, Democrats Are All Smiles and Bile DIVISIONS AT LEADER VOTE "COULD CONTINUE TO REVERBERATE": A contentious fight for House Majority Leader that exposed deep fissures within the Democratic Caucus, ended Thursday morning in a victory for current Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who decisively defeated Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), 149-86. The Maryland lawmaker's win by more than 60 votes also marked a resounding loss for Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who publicly endorsed Murtha in the contest and, according to Democratic lawmakers, had actively lobbied rank-and-file Members on his behalf. Numerous Democrats who backed Murtha asserted Thursday that their side suffered dozens of defections during the closed-door session of the Democratic Caucus in which Members voted by secret ballot. And what went on in today's balloting could continue to reverberate within the party, Members and aides said. Roll Call: Hoyer Defeats Murtha; Vote Could Reverberate BOEHNER, BLUNT LOOK GOOD FOR MINORITY LEADER, WHIP: House Republicans appear set to elevate two of their top leaders in internal party elections, despite unrest within the rank and file and spirited campaigns from conservative challengers. Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., both appear to be carrying comfortable leads into Friday's closed-door elections. They are the second- and third-ranking Republicans behind Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., but they are poised to step up since Hastert has opted to leave GOP leadership ranks now that the party has lost control of the House. AP via Yahoo! News: GOP set to elevate leadership team McCAIN SAYS GOP HAS "ABANDONED" PRINCIPLES: Senator John McCain said Thursday that Republicans had lost the midterm elections because "we abandoned our principles" on fiscal policy and government restraint, inviting a backlash from Americans over what they saw as widespread hypocrisy. Mr. McCain - in back-to-back speeches delivered on the day he formally created his presidential exploratory committee - portrayed the election result as deserved punishment of Republicans for their performance in office, rather than an affirmation of the Democratic Party. Speaking to two conservative audiences still reeling from the Republicans' losses of the House and Senate, he said Republicans could recover from the election but only if they took lessons from the results. New York Times: McCain Tells Conservatives G.O.P.'s Defeat Was Payback for Losing 'Our Principles' O'CONNOR RECOUNTS SPECIFIC THREAT TO SCOTUS: As a Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O'Connor exasperated critics by balancing on a reed-thin beam without planting her feet firmly on either side. But in retirement, she doesn't equivocate in defense of judicial independence. She has crossed the country warning that "spurious" attacks on the judiciary -- by politicians and other talking heads -- threaten judges' doing their jobs without fear or favor. When federal appellate Judge Danny Boggs said at a Friday legal conference at Las Colinas that physical assaults aimed at judges have come mainly from "the deranged," O'Connor underscored the safety concerns. "Every member of the Supreme Court received a wonderful package of home-baked cookies, and I don't know why, the staff decided to analyze them," she recounted. "Each one contained enough poison to kill the entire membership of the court." Fort-Worth Star-Telegram: Sitting ducks on the bench BUSH APPOINTS CONTROVERSIAL DOCTOR FOR FAMILY PLANNING POST: The Bush administration has appointed a new chief of family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who worked at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization that regards the distribution of contraceptives as "demeaning to women." Eric Keroack, medical director for A Woman's Concern, a nonprofit group based in Dorchester, Mass., will become deputy assistant secretary for population affairs in the next two weeks, department spokeswoman Christina Pearson said yesterday. Keroack, an obstetrician-gynecologist, will advise Secretary Mike Leavitt on matters such as reproductive health and adolescent pregnancy. Washington Post: Bush Choice for Family-Planning Post Criticized FLORIDA OPENS "FULL-FLEDGED" FOLEY INVESTIGATION: Mourning the death of his father, former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley has returned to Palm Beach County to find himself the focus of a state criminal investigation. During a preliminary inquiry, Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators found enough evidence to justify a full-fledged investigation into whether Foley broke any laws during his Internet exchanges with former congressional pages, agency spokeswoman Heather Smith said. "Our focus is on incidents which may have occurred in Florida with regard to inappropriate communications between Mr. Foley and former House pages," Smith said, although she couldn't say specifically what triggered the shift. State criminal investigations usually entail interviews with suspects and witnesses, subpoenas, reviews of documents and examination of seized property, Smith said. Palm Beach Post: State plans probe as Foley grieves for his father STEELE NEVER OFFERED RNC POST: The Republican National Committee this week said it never offered Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele "a specific role" at the committee after his unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate. Many conservatives were surprised this week when, after reports that some leading Republicans favored Mr. Steele to succeed Ken Mehlman as chairman of the RNC, the White House leaked word to news agencies that President Bush would back Florida Sen. Mel Martinez for the top post at the committee. The Washington Times reported Nov. 10 that Mr. Mehlman would not seek a second two-year term as RNC chairman in January and that Mr. Steele had been offered a Cabinet or top RNC post in recognition of his hard-fought Senate campaign that ended in defeat on Nov. 7. Washington Times: RNC denies offering chairmanship to Steele GIULIANI BUILDING THE FINANCIAL GROUNDWORK: Though he has yet to declare that he will run, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani is building a national network of donors who would raise money for a White House candidacy, according to the finance chairman of his New York State exploratory committee. Mr. Giuliani met at a Midtown restaurant on Wednesday with a group of about 30 supporters from around the country who discussed how they would organize fund-raising for a presidential run, said Roy W. Bailey, the finance chairman of the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee Inc. "Their commitment is to go out and help us build as strong a finance organization as we can build," Mr. Bailey, a founding partner of Mr. Giuliani's consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, said yesterday. "They'll do that in their respective geographical areas." New York Times: Giuliani Building Network of Donors, a Backer Says TX-22 SEAT WARMER WANTS ANSWERS ABOUT DELETED FILES: Just when it seemed things could get no stranger regarding the House seat once held by Texas Republican Tom DeLay, his successor called for an investigation into missing computer records last night, and an aide accused her of "disrespect and unprofessionalism." Rep. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (R-Tex.), who is warming the 22nd District seat for only a few weeks, said that former DeLay employees apparently deleted the office's computer files shortly before they walked out, en masse, on Tuesday. The records dated from her assumption of the office Nov. 8 and did not involve matters related to the former majority leader, Sekula-Gibbs said in an interview in her unadorned office in the Cannon Building. Those who erased the records, she said in a statement, "have harmed the 22nd congressional district" and "brought shame to this office." She has asked for an investigation. Washington Post: DeLay Successor Seeks Inquiry Into Missing Computer Files LAW & ORDER TO BASE EPISODE ON PIRRO: Jeanine Pirro may have just lost an election - but she has won TV immortality on NBC's "Law & Order." An upcoming episode of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will be based on the embattled former Westchester DA and her philandering hubby, Al - but fictionalized, of course. The episode, titled "Albatross" - which The Post once used as a headline about Al Pirro - is currently filming in Manhattan and is scheduled to air next year. In the episode, a very Pirro-like politician has her eyes on becoming the first female mayor of New York. But her husband, who's described as "very charming with a checkered past," throws a monkey wrench into her hopes when he's suspected of murdering his wife's mentor, a respected judge. New York Post: SCREEN JEANINE EDWARDS STAFFER DROPS NAME FOR A PS3: A staffer for John Edwards tried to buy a PlayStation 3 for the former senator's family at a Raleigh Wal-Mart on the same day Edwards was criticizing the giant retailer's treatment of its employees, the company said Thursday. Wal-Mart said in a release from its Arkansas corporate headquarters that an unnamed staff person for Edwards, a likely presidential candidate, contacted a Wal-Mart electronics manager in Raleigh on Wednesday. The staffer was seeking to obtain the popular Sony computer game for a member of Edwards' family, the release said. The PlayStation 3, which goes on sale nationally this morning, has prompted so much attention that people across the country have been camping out for days at stores to be among the first in line. "While the rest of America's working families are waiting patiently in line, Senator Edwards wants to cut to the front," Wal-Mart said in the release. Raleigh News & Observer: Wal-Mart digs at Edwards |
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• Hagel to announce decision on presidential bid Monday• Does Tiger Woods have a political future? • AFL-CIO makes push to keep unions united behind one presidential candidate • Obama: "No place for politics" in voter intimidation • Muslim congressman talks up 'American values' in State Department outreach • Year of the 'smaller' Pig • Pataki joins law firm • Bush 'sad' about Libby's conviction • House Dems urge colleagues to fund a withdrawal from Iraq • Romney recruits from the Sunshine State ARCHIVE
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