WEEKLY SPOTLIGHTThe Nation
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?pid=187372
THE POLITICS OF SUPREME COURT NOMINATIONS
How should Americans react to the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to uphold restrictions on abortion that place new and potentially dangerous limits on access to necessary medical care for women?
American lawyer Eve Gartner, who argued before the court regarding this case, says, "This ruling flies in the face of 30 years of Supreme Court precedent and the best interest of women's health and safety. Today the court took away an important option for doctors who seek to provide the best and safest care to their patients. This ruling tells women that politicians, not doctors, will make their health care decisions for them."
The five justices who voted to uphold the ban were Bush appointees Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as arch-conservatives Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas and the relatively more moderate Anthony Kennedy.
Voting to overturn the act were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, David Souter and Stephen Breyer.
If O'Connor were still on the court, would the decision have gone the other way? Almost certainly.
Alito is not leaving anytime soon.
But Stevens, Ginsburg and potentially others might.
The Nation http://www.thenation.com/directory/bios/jeremy_scahill
Jeremy Scahill
Jeremy Scahill, is the author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, published by Nation Books.
He is an award-winning investigative journalist and correspondent for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now!, is a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute.
Bush's Shadow Army
Jeremy Scahill A VideoNation report on the Bush Administration's growing dependence on private security forces such as Blackwater USA and efforts in Congress to rein them in.
April 2, 2007 (web)
Bush's Shadow Army
Jeremy Scahill An investigation into Blackwater USA reveals a frightening picture of a politically connected private army that serves as the administration's Praetorian guard.
April 2, 2007 issue
KBR's $400 Million Iraq Question
Jeremy Scahill & Garrett Ordower Did the Pentagon's biggest Iraq contractor violate military policy by hiring Blackwater and other private military companies?
March 26, 2007 (web)
From Whitewater to Blackwater—
Blackwater Shot Down in Federal Court
Mercenary Jackpot
In the Black(water)
Blood Is Thicker Than Blackwater
2008 Democratic Presidential Primary: Obama Within Two Points of ClintonThe race for the Democratic Presidential nomination is getting closer and Illinois Senator Barack Obama has pulled to within two points of the frontrunner, New York Senator Hillary Clinton.
At the same time, a huge gender gap has arisen within the Democratic Party.
The latest Rasmussen Reports' national poll shows Clinton with 32% support, Obama at 30%, and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards steady in third place with 16%. No other Democrat tops 2%. Last week, Clinton had a five-point lead. Two weeks ago, it was Clinton by seven, and our last release in March found Clinton enjoying a double digit lead.
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TOP STORIES
50% Think History Will Judge Iraq Mission as a Failure Thirty-three percent (33%) of American voters believe that history will ultimately judge the U.S. mission in Iraq a success. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 50% of Likely Voters believe the mission will be deemed a failure.
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2008 Republican Presidential Primary: Giuliani 33% McCain 19% Thompson 13% Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain both gained support this week in the race for the GOP nomination. Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney held steady and remain the only other Republicans earning double digit support.
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Obama Moves to Top of Poll: 33% Would Definitely Vote for Him Obama is up, Giuliani slips to second, Edwards gains ground, and the other candidates remain in pretty much where they were a month ago. Those are the April results from a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey asking if citizens would definitely vote for or against the 2008 contenders.
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Election 2008: Richardson Leads Romney 42% to 34%New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who now ranks fourth in his long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination, leads former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) in a general election match-up, 42% to 34%. Romney is fourth in the polls for the Republican nomination.
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Country Financial Security Index: Americans Feel Financial Strain in April Americans grew more pessimistic about their personal level of financial security in April, as the Country Financial Security Index slipped 0.8 points to 69.4, down from 70.2 in February. The decline was tied to greater concerns about finances and debt and to a drop in confidence in the ability to protect assets.
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2008 Republican Candidate Updates 2008
Democratic Candidate Updates 2008
Republican Presidential Matchups 2008
2008 Democratic Presidential Matchups
TOP STORIES
2008 Democratic Presidential Primary
Americans Say a Secure Retirement Not Possible for Mid-Income Families
Poll: Giuliani Has Biggest Base of Support, Lowest Base of Opposition
Election 2008: McCain Leads Clinton 48% to 41%
Bush Job Approval
Election 2008: Giuliani 48% Edwards 41%
Poll: 29% of Adults Watched Video Online During Past Week
Poll: 50% Would Definitely Vote Against Gingrich
Poll: 29% Declare Spring Their Favorite Season
2008 Republican Presidential Primary
U.S. attorney worried 'gloves would come off' over criticism of ouster
By Marisa Taylor
McClatchy Newspapers http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/
WASHINGTON _ A high-ranking Justice Department official told one of the U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration that if any of them continued to criticize the administration for their ousters, previously undisclosed details about the reasons they were fired might be released, two of the ousted prosecutors told McClatchy Newspapers.
While the U.S. attorney who got the call regarded the tone of the conversation as congenial, not intimidating, the prosecutor nonetheless passed the message on to five other fired U.S. attorneys. One of them interpreted the reported comments by Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, as a threat.
Justice Department officials denied that the conversation with the U.S. attorney ever took place, and Elston said he called several of the fired U.S. attorneys but never made any such comments.
“I had no conversation in which I discussed with any U.S. attorney what they should or should not say to the media regarding their removal,” Elston said.
The two prosecutors who described the call demanded anonymity because, they said, they didn’t want to antagonize the Justice Department further.
Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse criticized McClatchy for running the story. “It is unfortunate that the press would choose to run an allegation from an anonymous source from a conversation that never took place,” he said.
Six of the eight ousted U.S. attorneys have been subpoenaed to testify Tuesday before the House of Representatives. Four will appear voluntarily before the Senate after a liberal public-interest group Monday asked for the Senate ethics committee to investigate Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., for calling the U.S. attorney in New Mexico, who was later fired, during a corruption investigation of at least one Democrat.
According to one of the fired U.S. attorneys, Elston made the comments during a telephone conversation after Democrats began questioning whether the administration was attempting to purge more independent-minded Republican appointees in order to replace them with more partisan candidates.
According to the former U.S. attorney, Elston made a “pointed comment that indicated that somehow anyone who talked might become more embarrassed if the story continued on.”
“The inference was that they were holding themselves back from saying more about why people were fired _ that it was likely the department was going to step up the defense of their actions,” the fired prosecutor said. “It could have been construed as friendly advice or a casual prediction. But I think it was expected that everyone would be told about the call.”
When conveying the message to the others, the prosecutor tried to make it clear that the meaning of the conversation shouldn’t be over dramatized.
But another former U.S. attorney, who wasn’t a party to the Justice Department conversation, interpreted the comments as a threat, especially since it came when congressional Democrats were contacting the attorneys about possibly testifying before Congress.
“I took it to mean that negative, personal information would be released,” the prosecutor said. “That if we made public comments or if we were to testify in Congress, that the gloves would come off and the Department of Justice would make us regret that we were talking.”
The controversy over the firings of the eight U.S. attorneys has continued for weeks, but it was reignited last week when U.S. Attorney David Iglesias told McClatchy Newspapers that he believed that two members of Congress called him in mid-October to pressure him to complete the investigation before the November elections. Iglesias, who stepped down last week, added that he believed he was fired because he didn’t speed up the case.
Domenici, who originally had recommended Iglesias for the post, apologized for making the call in a statement Sunday, but he said that he never pressured or threatened Iglesias about the case.
McClatchy Newspapers reported previously that Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., also called Iglesias about the investigation. The Washington Post reported in its online edition Monday that Wilson acknowledged contacting Iglesias, but denied pressuring him.
Domenici also acknowledged in his statement that he asked the Justice Department to replace Iglesias, but he said that he made the request before he called about the corruption probe.
Justice Department officials confirmed that Domenici called Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in September 2005 and January and April of 2006.
During those calls, Domenici expressed general concerns about Iglesias’ performance and questioned whether he was "up to the job," Roehrkasse said. During the first week of October 2006, Domenici made a similar and “very brief call” about Iglesias to McNulty, the deputy attorney general. At no time in these calls did the senator mention the public corruption case, Roehrkasse said.
The left-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to investigate whether Domenici violated ethics law. Lawmakers are prohibited from attempting to influence Justice Department investigations. Members of the ethics committee released a statement saying they couldn’t comment on an ongoing matter.
Also on Monday, Michael Battle, the Justice Department official who oversees the U.S. attorney’s offices, resigned. In January, Battle sent an e-mail to all U.S. attorneys announcing that he'd be leaving and sent a more detailed e-mail to his immediate staff in February with his departure date, a Justice Department official said.
On Dec. 7, Battle told most of the U.S. attorneys that they were to be fired. Former prosecutors said that Battle told many of them he didn’t know why they were fired, but the orders came from “on high.”
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