Well, here it is: leaks from Congressional aides hinting that Bush may appoint John Bolton as the new US ambassador to the UN this Friday nite:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House signaled on Monday that President Bush may bypass the Senate and appoint John Bolton, his embattled nominee for U.N. ambassador, to the post temporarily as hope faded for a Senate vote on the nomination.

Congressional aides said a recess appointment could be announced as early as Friday night, immediately after the Senate is scheduled to adjourn for the monthlong August break. A recess appointment would allow Bolton to take up the U.N. post but he would serve only until January 2007.

I don’t care how short his stint might be. It will no doubt be a nightmare involving a very huge bull in a very delicate, diplomatic china shop. Bush knows that this nominee cannot be approved by the usual channels, so he’s planning on annointing him regardless. What hubris.
If you haven’t followed the Bolton nomination and confirmation process, all you really need to know at this point is that John Bolton is no diplomat. His confirmation is currently stalled because the White House refuses to release confidential information. Along with his history of being the worst boss and most vengeful civil servant ever, Bolton and some of his former State Department staff were given access to some unredacted NSA intercepts that the Senate wants to get its hands on so they can investigate the names involved to see if anyone suffered retribution or malice at Bolton’s hands.

At this point, I think it’s safe to invoke the words “cover up”. Even the Senate Intelligence Committee has been denied access to the names. Chairman Pat Roberts drank the Kool-aid and told the senate he didn’t really care to see the names. Dems on the committee, like Joe Biden, politely told him and the WH to go Cheney themselves and to cough up the information so the senate could make a truly informed decision on everything pertaining to Bolton’s activities. But, who needs all that information when King Bush can just ship Bolton off to the UN anyway?

There will no doubt be very serious and loud repercussions from such a recess appointment. Bolton’s confirmation process has been watched closely by diplomats from around the world who will have to be subjected to his rash and aggressive behaviour. A recess appointment will result in the world knowing that Bolton does not have the confidence of the congress. The word “shill” comes to mind. Oh – and the word “puppet” a la “sock puppet”. But, I digress…

I dare Bush to follow through on this threat. He’ll have hell to pay from the vast majority of Democrats who have opposed this nomination from the beginning. It’s almost like being handed red meat for the left on a silver platter. And, I know we can handle this and the Rove situation at the same time. We really are that good.

From the same news article:

Some critics have also seized on reports he may have been involved in leaking the identity of a CIA operative, Valerie Plame, but a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bolton had neither testified nor been asked to do so before the grand jury investigating the leak.

Wait a minute. This from Hardball:

DAVID SHUSTER, NBC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):  A witness who testified at the grand jury and lawyers for other witnesses say the memo was written in July of 2003, identified Valerie Wilson, also known as Valerie Plame, as a CIA officer, and cited her in a paragraph marked S for sensitive.

According to lawyers, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and undersecretaries, including John Bolton, gave testimony about this memo.

Okay. Who’s not telling the truth here?

Regardless, Bolton is probably one of the worst choices Bush can make as US ambassador to the UN, so let’s sit back and watch what this bull tries to pull off in his efforts at so-called “reform” of the UN – an organization he has absolutely no use for in the first place. It should be a wild ride.