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Archive: July 2007
Guest Post: Following Stevens PAC Money
Ethics has been the topic du jour on Capitol Hill today, with the House passing its lobbying reform measure by a landslide 411-8 vote. And the fallout continues after yesterday's FBI raid of Sen. Ted Steven's (R-Alaska) Anchorage home. Stevens and other Alaska politicians are being investigated in connection with...
By Paul Kane | July 31, 2007; 4:15 PM ET | Comments (21)
Stevens Raid May Boost Ethics Reform
Supporters of an ethics and lobbying reform package hitting the House floor today received one more symbolic shot in the arm yesterday when federal agents raided the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in chamber history, as part of a broadening corruption investigation in the Frontier...
By Paul Kane | July 31, 2007; 12:15 PM ET | Comments (0)
Pelosi's Favorites
Between early May and late June House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) identified six candidates she considers to be the top Democratic challengers to GOP incumbents. She did so by giving them cash for their campaigns. Pelosi's largesse toward Democratic candidates is nothing out of the ordinary. Through her leadership political...
By Paul Kane | July 30, 2007; 3:59 PM ET | Comments (0)
Schumer Regrets Not Leading an Alito Filibuster
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared that his decision not to lead a successful filibuster in January 2006 of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's nomination was one of his "greatest failings" as a senator. In an address to liberal legal scholars of the American Constitution Society, Schumer said that after watching...
By Paul Kane | July 27, 2007; 5:57 PM ET | Comments (0)
The U.S. Attorney Investigative Line-up Card
Investigations here, investigations there, investigations of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales everywhere. You almost need a lineup card to keep track of all the investigations targeting the growing scandal at the Justice Department. So, like a baseball manager handing in his batting order at the start of the game, Capitol Briefing...
By Paul Kane | July 27, 2007; 12:44 PM ET | Comments (11)
A Contempt Explainer
At 12:14 p.m. ET Wednesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) called out that the report was "agreed to," announcing the panel's formal approval a contempt-of-Congress citation against two senior White House officials. Thus began a complicated process that now requires House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to make the...
By Paul Kane | July 26, 2007; 5:00 AM ET | Comments (15)
Specter to AG: "You expect us to believe that?"
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales uttered a mere 35 words before he was cut off by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). Specter, in his first round of questions to Gonzales at Tuesday's Judiciary Committee hearing, asked him to describe a 2004 visit to bed-ridden John Ashcroft, the attorney general at the time...
By Paul Kane | July 25, 2007; 10:00 AM ET | Comments (41)
Rove-Taylor PowerPoint: GOP "conduct" caused losses, not Iraq
Today's front-page story in the Washington Post about political briefings given to top diplomats and diplomatic agencies such as the Peace Corps provided an extra bounty for those on the left and right who see Karl Rove as the political mastermind behind all things in this White House. In documents...
By Paul Kane | July 24, 2007; 1:05 PM ET | Comments (29)
The Iraq all nighter: 3 Up, 3 Down
With the trading deadline approaching in Major League Baseball - and training camps opening for the National Football League - sports metaphors abound on the state of Congress. If you could be general manager of your political party, who would you trade, who would you cut, which overpaid underperformer would...
By Paul Kane | July 20, 2007; 5:20 PM ET | Comments (37)
Members of Congress Shell Out $1 Million in Legal Fees
A pair of senators facing corruption probes shelled out more than $130,000 combined on legal bills in the 2nd quarter of 2007, bringing the total amount of ethics-related tabs to at least $1.1 million in the House and Senate from April through June. In addition, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) dished...
By Paul Kane | July 20, 2007; 11:36 AM ET | Comments (0)
Byrd on Michael Vick: Going to Hell
In a floor speech Thursday, Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.) lashed out, indirectly, at Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who was recently charged with running a dog-fighting ring in Virginia. The speech might have seemed unusually apocalyptic to those who don't know how much the octogenarian senator loves dogs...
By Paul Kane | July 19, 2007; 7:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
Vitter, sitting on $1.2 million, raising $$ from Livingston
Despite getting hounded by the media all week long, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) has at least 1.2 million reasons to feel politically secure: that's how many dollars he has sitting in his campaign war chest. Vitter's first day back in the Capitol Tuesday also coincided with the day his re-election...
By Paul Kane | July 19, 2007; 3:55 PM ET | Comments (5)
Long Night Over, Withdrawal Measure Falls Short
The Democratic effort to move toward final passage of an measure to bring home most troops from Iraq failed to clear the 60-vote hurdle, as just four Republicans crossed party lines to vote in favor of the Levin-Reed withdrawal plan. Those Republicans were Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), locked in what...
By Paul Kane | July 18, 2007; 1:45 PM ET | Comments (0)
After Midnight, Passions High - Energy Waning
As the debate rolled on deep into the early morning hours of the round-the-clock consideration of a Democratic amendment to halt the Iraq war, speeches were still impassioned as ever. Just past 1 a.m., Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) took the floor pleading for a simple majority vote on the Levin-Reed...
By Paul Kane | July 18, 2007; 1:38 AM ET | Comments (0)
Iraq Around the Clock
Shortly after 8:30 p.m., more than 5 hours into what Democrats hoped would be an historic debate on the future course of the Iraq debate, the Senate convened for its first procedural vote unofficially known as a live quorum call. The note at the clerk's desk on each side of...
By Paul Kane | July 17, 2007; 11:51 PM ET | Comments (0)
Senate Pulls an All-Nighter
It's been nearly 4 years since the last round-the-clock Senate debate, and plenty of things are the same. Just like last time, when the issue was the minority party's filibusters of judicial nominations, the cots are here for senatorial napping. The speeches are high minded and, despite an early shrug...
By Paul Kane | July 17, 2007; 7:21 PM ET | Comments (0)
Vitter Returns, With Coburn at His Side
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) finally returned to the Capitol this morning, eight days after fleeing his senatorial duties amid revelations that he had committed a "very serious sin" involving an escort service in Washington. With Vitter in attendance, photographers, television cameras and print reporters packed packing an otherwise not-very-newsworthy hearing...
By Paul Kane | July 17, 2007; 3:10 PM ET | Comments (0)
Vitter: 'I Will Work Every Day to Rebuild That Trust'
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) emerged this evening from his week-long self-imposed isolation after admitting his involvement with an escort service facing federal prostitution charges, asking for forgiveness but vowing to continue his work as a senator. Sen. Vitter, standing with his wife Wendy, bows his head Monday at a news...
By Paul Kane | July 16, 2007; 7:13 PM ET | Comments (43)
House Members Shell Out $1 Million in Legal Bills
Current and recently departed House members spent nearly $900,000 on legal bills in the 2nd quarter of 2007, largely fighting off criminal investigations regarding corruption allegations. When outstanding debts are factored into the picture, the political legal tab for the quarter hits just beneath $1 million. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska),...
By Paul Kane | July 16, 2007; 3:09 PM ET | Comments (23)
Scorecard: The Iraq Debate So Far
****Thursday's House Action**** Roll Call 624, Responsible Redeployment From Iraq Act (Passed): With a 223-201 vote, the House once again voted to set a deadline for ending major military actions in Iraq, a move that came despite a highly unified Republican opposition to any timeline for withdrawal. A look at...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | July 13, 2007; 9:25 AM ET | Comments (5)
The House's Iraq Vote: A Look at the 'Defectors'
With a 223-201 vote, the House has once again voted to set a deadline for ending major military actions in Iraq, a move that came despite a highly unified Republican opposition to any timeline for withdrawal. The final tally was similar to previous votes that included strong withdrawal language. This...
By Paul Kane | July 12, 2007; 7:23 PM ET | Comments (24)
Dems Hint at Constitutional Showdown Over Miers' No-Show
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee raised the ante Tuesday in their constitutional showdown with the White House, staring at the empty chair where former White House Counsel Harriet Miers was intended to sit and declaring President Bush's claim of executive privilege invalid. Of course, the declaration has no force...
By Paul Kane | July 12, 2007; 4:02 PM ET | Comments (15)
Specter: Taylor Can't Come Out a 'Winner'
If half the battle in politics is just showing up, Sara M. Taylor did just that with her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. One of Taylor's goals today clearly was to protect President Bush -- whom she said she still admires for his "unflinching devotion" to doing what he...
By Paul Kane | July 11, 2007; 6:54 PM ET | Comments (18)
Taylor Walking Fine Line in Testimony
It took just nine minutes into the question-and-answer session this morning for Sara M. Taylor to make her first "very-clear-letter" reference. The former White House political director, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee about its ongoing investigation into the firings last year of U.S. attorneys, was asked whether she had...
By Paul Kane | July 11, 2007; 12:37 PM ET | Comments (116)
Weaver Always Spent Big on McCain's Behalf
It should come as no surprise to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that his top political adviser was a spendthrift -- in the first half of 2001 he rang up $18,000 in hotel bills. The adviser, John Weaver, resigned Tuesday along with campaign manager Terry Nelson from the McCain presidential campaign,...
By Paul Kane | July 10, 2007; 3:30 PM ET | Comments (8)
Top Byrd Adviser Leaving Hill, Joining ONE
Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.) has lost one of his most trusted advisers in Tom Gavin, the communications director for the Appropriations Committee. Gavin is leaving Byrd's staff to join the ONE Campaign, the non-profit group co-founded by U2 singer Bono designed to lobby Washington about fighting third world...
By Paul Kane | July 9, 2007; 6:55 PM ET | Comments (13)
Pelosi and Her Allies Use Flight Home to Strategize
Here are some additional insights to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Post congressional correspondent Jonathan Weisman, who profiled Pelosi in today's Post. For most West Coast lawmakers, the weekend flight from Washington to California is a time to rest, catch up on sleep, maybe read a brief or two, or...
By Eric Pianin | July 9, 2007; 1:20 PM ET | Comments (15)
Clyburn Does Heavy Political Lifting for Dems
Beyond just counting votes, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) has set out to become a political force inside the House Democratic caucus as the majority whip. Clyburn is the top donor to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee so far this year, turning over $600,000 from his own re-election campaign to the...
By Paul Kane | July 6, 2007; 6:33 AM ET | Comments (0)
Domenici part of senior Republican defection to new Iraq policy
Sen. Pete Domenici delivered the latest political body blow to President Bush's war policy today, as the New Mexico Republican announced his support for a bipartisan bill calling for redeployment of troops in the first quarter of 2008. As I wrote in the story for washingtonpost.com this afternoon, Domenici endorsed...
By Paul Kane | July 5, 2007; 5:45 PM ET | Comments (0)
Schumer's Political Libby Pitch
Well, that didn't take long. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, chaired by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), has turned the commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence into a political pitch to its supporters. The pitch landed in Capitol Briefing's personal e-mail inbox at 1:28 p.m. EDT, less than 20...
By Paul Kane | July 3, 2007; 1:58 PM ET | Comments (50)
Boehner, From Russia With Love ... for Libby
Shortly before 10 a.m. ET today, House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) became the highest ranking congressional Republican to speak out on President Bush's decision Monday to commute I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 30-month prison sentence. Boehner's belated statement is more understandable than the silence of most other GOP leaders, since...
By Paul Kane | July 3, 2007; 12:02 PM ET | Comments (16)
Among GOP Lawmakers, All's Quiet on the Libby Front
It's 8 p.m. on Capitol Hill as I type, and all is silent ... on the Republican side of the aisle, at least. Late Monday afternoon, President Bush dropped a political bombshell, commuting the 30-month prison sentence given to I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby for lying to investigators and a grand...
By Paul Kane | July 3, 2007; 6:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Kucinich No Longer Alone in Seeking Cheney Impeachment
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is no longer "standing alone" when it comes to calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. On the same day the House failed to de-fund the Office of the Vice President, the chamber crossed another anti-Cheney milestone: Kucinich entered double digits in terms of...
By Paul Kane | July 2, 2007; 5:10 PM ET | Comments (0)
