Daily Briefing: 'Public Prodding'
•CIA's extensive anti-terror program goes largely unchallenged despite increasing criticism of surveillance tactics;Bushis a firm believer in the covert effort. Official: "Everything is done in the name of self-defense, so they can do anything because nothing is forbidden in the war powers act. It's an amazing legal justification that allows them to do anything." [ WP ]
• Bushpardoned 11 people last week; "he seems inclined to show mercy to people who have surmounted their mistakes." [ USAT ]
• Laura Bush"blends private advice with understated public prodding, using her ample popularity as ballast for her husband." [ WSJ ]
•With scrutiny overJack Abramoff, lawmakers say no to free tickets to sporting events. [ WSJ ]
•New line of succession at the Pentagon ranks the undersecretaries for intelligence, policy and acquisition ahead of the secretaries of the Army, Air Force and Navy. Expert: "Rumsfelddoesn't do things randomly. His inner circle is the key group." [ WP ]
•Gen.Peter Paceclarifies his disagreement withRumsfeld: it was a non-disagreement. [ NYT ]
•Every port of entry to the country now has US-Visit, "which takes fingerprints and digital photos of many entering foreigners to check them against criminal and terrorist watch lists." [ NYT ]
•Sen.Charles Grassley(R-Iowa) questions whether the leadership of the Red Cross "meets the high level of competence and engagement that Congress and the public should expect." [ WP , NYT ]
•Social workers fear the consequences of new border-security bill that would make it unlawful to help illegal immigrants. [ NYT ]
•Lawmakers are finally ready to end an "obscure interest rate subsidy for providers of student loans." [ WP ]
•Greenpeace, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth and the National Environmental Trust are lobbying against the nomination ofSamuel Alito. [ WT ]