Gossip Roundup: Rather Numb

• Heard on the Hill: Congressional Black Caucus member Corrine Brown was stopped by Cap Police as she entered Cannon yesterday. Brown: “If you don’t recognize me, call your supervisor.” The officer was unharmed… David Safavian sent a bathetic post-sentencing email to friends: “most of all, I feel rather numb.” [Roll Call]
• Reliable Source: George W. Bush brings Laura coffee in bed each morning. [WP]
• Lowdown: Sean Hannity books his old polisci prof, berates him for poor grade. [NYDN]

READ MORE: capitol police, congress, corrine brown, david safavian, george w. bush, gossip, laura bush, sean hannity

Rumors On The Internets: So This Duck Walks Into a Bar…

• On the Senate Dems’ proposal to phase withdrawal of troops from Iraq, Pandagon says: “A glass eye in a duck’s ass can see that there’s no real substance to this.” [Pandagon]
• Saudis Offered Scholarships for Aviation Courses in US. [Michelle Malkin]
• Atrios body slams Joe Klein’s claim that he opposed the war. [Eschaton]
• Imprisoned Egyptian blogger Alaa freed, but paperwork snags prevent him from cutting and running just yet. [Sand Monkey]
• TPM’s Justin Rood rode the elevator with freshly convicted David Safavian. [TPM Muckraker]

READ MORE: Democrats, bloggers, blogs, congress, crime, david safavian, iraq, joe klein, michelle malkin, rumors on the internets, senate, terror, war

Daily Briefing: Old and New Battles

• Former federal procurement officer David Safavian convicted on four of five counts of lying and obstruction related to his dealings with Jack Abramoff. [WSJ; AP]
• The Senate will debate its own Iraq war resolution today, in the wake of of last week’s partisan debate in the House. [NYT; LAT]
• Bush issues stern warning to Iran on its nuclear program. [NYT]
• Closely divided Supreme Court issues Clean Water Act ruling that is “likely to lead to new regulatory battles, increased litigation by property owners and a push for new legislation.” [NYT; LAT]
• Bush raises $27 million for Republican congressional campaign committees. [WP]
• Two U.S. soldiers missing since last week have been found dead south of Baghdad. [WP; NYT]

READ MORE: 2006, SCOTUS, campaigns, daily briefing, david safavian, environmental regulations, george w. bush, iran, iraq, jack abramoff, nuclear threats, senate, supreme court, war on terror

Daily Briefing: Get a Response ASAP

• President George W. Bush makes a surprise visit to Iraq to visit with new Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who has just announced a new security plan for Baghdad. [NYT, WP]
• Karl Rove’s attorney announces to the media that his client will not be indicted in Patrick Fitzgerald’s Valerie Plame leak case. Rove is “delighted, obviously….” [WP, NYT]
• Israeli airstrikes kill 10 people in Gaza, hours after “hundreds of Palestinian police loyal to Abbas went on a rampage against the Hamas government.” [NYT]
• The FBI released the 2005 crime statistics, showing an overall nationwide rise in violent crime of 2.5 percent, fueled by a “a surge of killings and other attacks in many Midwestern cities.” Robbery was up 14.6 percent in DC, though rapes and murders were down. [WP]
• David H. Safavian becomes the first person to go to trial on charges related to the Jack Abramoff scandal, with prosecutors accusing him of “doing Jack Abramoff’s bidding” as a federal procurement officer. [WP]
• The EPA loosened a rule designed to keep groundwater near oil drilling sites clean after a well-connected Texas oilman wrote a letter to Karl Rove. Environmentalists are accusing the administration of “political payoff,” due to Rove’s forwarding of the letter to White House environmental advisors with a note reading “get a response ASAP.” [LAT]

READ MORE: crime, daily briefing, david safavian, environmentalists, epa, iraq, israel, jack abramoff, karl rove, palestine, patrick fitzgerald, plamegate, violence, war

Daily Briefing: A Push Back?

• Bush renews call to ban gay marriage; social conservatives cheer the “litmus test” as critics contend the move is mainly political. James Dobson: “It is true what this vote will do will be to help the voters identify who is and is not supportive of the family, and I think those that are not are going to have to answer for it.” [WP, NYT, USAT]
• This week’s Senate agenda, from the ban on gay marriage to a repeal of the estate tax, is “all about” motivating conservative voters. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) on the marriage amendment: “I am confident that the American people will see this for what it is: a mean-spirited attempt to score political points in an election year.” [WP, W$J]
• Intense campaigning is already underway for the midterm election, “reflecting a consensus in both parties that Republicans could lose control of the House and perhaps the Senate”; Republicans have spent at least $4.5M on today’s special election for Randy Cunningham’s seat. [NYT, W$J]
• Congress and the courts “are beginning to push back against what has been the greatest expansion of presidential powers in a generation or more.” [USAT]
• Bill Clinton hopes to raise over $20M for midterm campaigns. [NYT]

READ MORE: 2006, 2008, Campaigning, Democrats, Republicans, bill clinton, david safavian, estate tax, gay marriage, george w. bush, house, jack abramoff, james dobson, patrick kennedy, randy cunningham, russ feingold, senate

Daily Briefing: The ‘Good Bad Guys’

• Bush marks Memorial Day with vow to finish the wars to honor those who lost their lives: “I am in awe of the men and women who sacrifice for the freedom of the United States of America.” [NYT, WT]
• “Missing pieces” about Sen. Hillary Clinton: “What does she stand for? And where would she try to take the country if elected?” She says her philosophy “doesn’t perhaps fit in a preexisting box, but many of the problems we face as a nation don’t either.” [WP]
• Sen. Reid (D-Nev.) accepted free ringside boxing tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission “as he was pressing legislation to increase government oversight of the sport.” Reid: “I’m not Goodie Two Shoes. I just feel these events are nothing I did wrong.” [WP]
• Both sides motivated by prospects for “Speaker Pelosi.” Republican strategist: “She ought to be a big component of the fall campaign. There are some Democrats who make really good bad guys.” [NYT]
• Trial of David Safavian will increase attention on Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) because of the testimony of his former chief of staff. [NYT]
• Security concerns linger for electronic voting machines. [WP]

READ MORE: 2006, 2008, Democrats, Republicans, bob ney, david safavian, george w. bush, harry reid, hillary clinton, memorial day, nancy pelosi, war on terrorism

Daily Briefing: The Big Chill

• Senate vote on immigration legislation is set for today; Karl Rove “got a cold reception” from Republican lawmakers. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Legal analysts say FBI raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s congressional office was probably legal; Reps. Hastert and Pelosi demand seized documents be returned. [WP, WP, NYT, LAT, USAT]
• Cheney wanted to “get all the facts out,” according to Lewis Libby’s testimony; new filing indicates the vice president may be called to testify. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Speaker Hastert is “in the mix” of the FBI’s investigation of congressional corruption, ABC News maintains despite denials from the Hill and the Justice Department. [ABC News]
• Database of immigrants will need more than $1B in upgrades; labor, big business, and civil-liberties advocates oppose the plan. [WP]
• Prosecutor says David Safavian, former procurement official, repeatedly “lied, concealed and misled” investigators about his dealings with Jack Abramoff. [WP, NYT]
• Loss of unity among Republicans is fueled by worries about the election. [W$J]
• Fiscal conservatives take on Republican leadership in attempt to reduce earmarks and pet projects. [NYT]

READ MORE: 2006, Campaigning, Democrats, Republicans, Robert Zoellick, condoleezza rice, david safavian, dennis hastert, dick cheney, fbi, george w. bush, house, immigration, jack abramoff, john mccain, karl rove, leak investigation, lewis libby, lobbying scandal, nancy pelosi, senate, william jefferson

Daily Briefing: Cracking Open the Door to Freedom

• Senators, by vote of 79 to 19, pass a resolution marking next year as “a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty… thereby creating the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq.” Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.): “Staying the course will not do.” Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.): “It’s a continuation of the oversight we’ve been conducting for years in the United States Senate.” WP, NYT, WSJ, USAT]
• Senators from both parties “are demanding that the administration show that it has a strategy to turn the conflict over to the Iraqis and eventually bring U.S. troops home.” [WP]
• Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) defends critics of the war: “[T]he Bush administration must understand that each American has a right to question our policies in Iraq and should not be demonized for disagreeing with them… to not question your government is unpatriotic.” [WP]
• Oil executives did meet with Cheney’s energy task force in 2001. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.): “The White House went to great lengths to keep these meetings secret, and now oil executives may be lying to Congress about their role in the Cheney task force.” [WP]
• Alito tries to downplay conservative remarks from 1985. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• Rice reaches deal on access to the Gaza Strip. [WP, NYT, NYT, USAT]
• Lewis Libby plans to “seek testimony from journalists beyond those cited in the indictment and will probably challenge government agreements limiting their grand jury testimony.” [NYT]

READ MORE: Democrats, Republicans, SCOTUS, abortion, ben bernanke, big oil, bill first, china, chuck hagel, condoleezza rice, david safavian, dick cheney, energy task force, george w. bush, harry reid, iraq, israel, leak investigation, lewis libby, palestine, samuel alito, senate, taxes