Joe Scott 3: The Body Politic

The Miers Meltdown

26 October 2005 |permalink | email article

Harriet Miersís withdrawal of her nomination today for the Supreme Court is yet another blow to President Bush as an already edgy White House awaits a decision by the special counsel in the CIA leak inquiry about whether possible indictments of high ranking officials may already have been obtained from a federal grand jury.

The presidentís stubborn refusal to grasp that his White House counsel failed to satisfy liberal or conservative concerns crumbled in the face of her failure to successfully complete a questionnaire exposing her lack of judicial experience - essentially dooming her confirmation before the hearings even started.

Bushís obsession with promoting from within his tight inner circle of sycophants met its match when such conservative zealots on the right, including the Wall Street editorial board, columnist George Will and Christian evangelists, took a stand against Miers and threatened to topple his own political base.

Whether the president finally realized that he was about to put his acolyte through a period of political cruelty or for once listened to more reasoned advice ñ from embattled Karl Rove or others - was not immediately clear.

I have two observations as a chastened president prepares to go back to the drawing board to find an acceptable conservative nominee, and perhaps a woman, with better qualifications:

George Bush, more than ever, is a political tower of jelly; Harriet Miers has been spared the humiliation of being perceived as a dead-woman walking.

CIA Leak Decision Nears

25 October 2005 |permalink | email article

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special counsel in the leak of a CIA agentís identity, is expected to decide by Friday, when the term of the federal grand jury expires ñ but possibly as early as today according to The Washington Post - on whether to file criminal charges.

Usually well informed sources believe there will be at least one indictment, and perhaps more.

Both the White House and Washington establishment are in a state of high suspense over the decision, which has major potential consequences for President Bushís second term.

For The New York Times, whose journalistic reputation has been sullied most recently by the scandal involving reporter Judy Millerís W.M.D. reporting and her jail time for refusing to testify before the grand jury about her White House source, yesterdayís lede was a stunning triumph over the competition:

ìI. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheneyís chief of staff, first learned about the CIA officer at the heart of the leak investigation in a conversation with Mr. Cheney weeks before her identity became public in 2003, lawyers involved in the case said Monday.î

Focusing on perhaps the biggest scandal story since Watergate, early online editions today of the Times and The Los Angeles Times were reporting late breaking developments concerning Fitzgeraldís meetings with his team, including his chief FBI investigator, involving the presidentís consigliere.

NYT: ìWith the clock running out on his investigation, the special counsel in the leak case continued to seek information Tuesday about Karl Roveís discussions with reporters in the days before the CIA officerís identity was made public, lawyers and others involved in the investigation said.î

LAT:  “Prosecutors investigating the leak of the CIA agentís identity returned their attention to the powerful White House adviser Karl Rove, questioning a former West Wing colleague about contacts Rove had with reporters in the days leading up to the outing of a covert CIA officer.î

Fitzgerald, who is the U.S. Attorney in Chicago, has the distinction of being perceived as fair and impartial ñ leak proof ñ in contrast to former Special Counsel Kenneth Starrís investigation of former President Bill Clinton.

Alternative Newspapers Merger

24 October 2005 |permalink | email article

In an agreement to be announced today, The New York Times reports that the company that publishes The Village Voice and five other alternative newspapers in the country will be acquired by New Times Media, the largest publisher in the market.

The merger, rumored for some time, coincides with The Voiceís 50th anniversary this week, and raises a central question: can The Voice and its siblings, including the politically influential LA Weekly, retain their anti-establishment roots and outspoken liberal content? New Times has been deliberately apolitical and what some observers, including myself, consider too libertarian in viewpoint.

Central to the merger is the issue of editorial content. The LA Weekly, for example, has many serious political writers, notably Marc Cooper and Robert Greene. Will they and the staff retain the same freedom of independent reporting?

NYT reports that the most pressing issue raised by the deal is how it will play with anti-trust regulators, with whom the merger partners have already had one run-in. Regulatory scrutiny is crucial.