The Democrats have accomplished step one: the 100 hour agenda. Step two was to pass a supplemental bill that calls for our troops to get out of Iraq. It looks like they are moving on to step three: mortally wounding the Bush administration. John Conyers in moving into action. He has negotiated private interviews (which will be transcribed) with many members of the Justice Department.
The first interview will be today with Michael Elston, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty’s chief of staff. Following will be interviews with McNulty, Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis; the former director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys Michael Battle; Monica Goodling, the DOJ’s liaison to the White House (now on leave); acting Associate Attorney General William Mercer; and Assistant Attorney General William Moschella. Goodling, of course, has already said that she’d plead the Fifth.
Meanwhile, Henry Waxman is going big.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today requested that former Special Assistant to the President, Susan Ralston, appear at a deposition on Apr. 5th, as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into the connection between the White House and lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Ralston, who was a deputy to White House Adviser Karl Rove between 2001 and 2006, appeared frequently in emails collected in the case.
The Committee found that Ralston had 69 contacts with Abramoff or his associates during that time, according to a letter sent by Committee Chair Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA).
And bigger:
The House Government Committee today formally requested Secretary Rice to testify before the Oversight Committee on Apr. 18th regarding the Bush administration’s claims that Iraq sought uranium from Niger, White House treatment of classified information, the appointment of Ambassador Jones as “special coordinator” for Iraq, and other subjects.
Waxman is also going after the White House use of non-governmental emails and violations of the Hatch Act.
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) is seeking information about slides targeting 20 Democratic-controlled Congressional districts for the 2008 Election. In January, the White House sent J. Scott Jennings, an aide to Karl Rove, to present a slide show to a group of employees of the General Services Administration.
Waxman believes the presentation, and subsequent remarks made by GSA Director Lurita Alexis Doan may have violated the ‘Hatch Act,’ which prohibits federal employees from using their positions for political purposes. Doan is alleged to have suggested that she could use GSA contracts to help Republican Members of Congress hold their seats in the House.
And the rats are fleeing the ship:
Multiple sources reported today that a top aide to President George W. Bush’s key adviser Karl Rove will soon step down from her job in the White House. The aide, Sara M. Taylor, was identified in yesterday’s hearing with a former top Justice Department official as seeking the resignation of a US Attorney in Arkansas. She could still face a subpoena…
You can read about other rats, too.
The Bush team has been unusually stable compared with those of past presidents. But although none of those leaving says so publicly, it has been an especially exhausting presidency, one in which many on the inside have grown frustrated by the political and policy setbacks of Bush’s second term. Some aides look to the remainder of the administration and see more gloomy times.
But the Gang of 500 thinks the Democrats should back off and play nice.
