Daily Briefing: ‘From Incomplete to Insulting’

• Rove told the grand jury that he may have learned of Valerie Plame from “Scooter” Libby; their conversation “was confined to information the two men heard from reporters.” [WP]
• Leahy and Specter complain Miers’ answers on questionnaire are insufficient; they seek elaboration. Leahy: “[T]he comments I’ve heard ranged from incomplete to insulting. Certainly it was inadequate and did not give us enough to prepare for a hearing. We will need to have more.” [WP, LAT, NYT, WT, USAT]
• Libby “appears to be deeply enmeshed in the leak investigation.” [WSJ]
• Rice fields criticism about Iraq war from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; she refuses to offer a timeframe for troop withdrawal. Lugar (R-Ind.): “Permanent instability or civil war in Iraq could set back American interests in the Middle East for a generation — increasing anti-Americanism, multiplying the threats from tyrants and terrorists and reducing our credibility.” [WP, NYT]
• Chertoff admits to House panel that FEMA was “overwhelmed” by Katrina and pledges to “re-engineer” emergency preparedness. [WP, NYT, USAT]
• Judith Miller testifies in favor of national shield law for reporters and sources; Specter visited her in prison and recalled she could not explain why she was there. [NYT]

• Senate Energy and Commerce Committee approve opening of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Senate vote expected within two weeks. [NYT]
• House Republicans delay vote on increased budget reductions to garner support. [WP, NYT, WT]
• DeLay pitches his case to 150 representatives from conservative interest groups in an effort to solidify support. DeLay: “So, what kind of month have you had?” [WT]
• Bush “overestimated his postelection capital and underestimated his opposition” on Social Security; Democrats “were even more vehemently opposed to any privatization than the White House imagined” and Republicans “faced deep divisions of its own.” [WSJ]
• Supporters and foes of “faith-based initiatives” get boost from recent developments. [WP]

READ MORE: Democrats, Republicans, SCOTUS, anwr, arlen specter, budget, condoleezza rice, fema, george w. bush, harriet miers, iraq, judith miller, karl rove, katrina, leak investigation, lewis libby, michael chertoff, patrick fitzgerald, patrick leahy, richard lugar, shield law, social security, tom delay, valerie plame, war on terror