memeorandum: Gonzales Lied Under Oath, Said All Bush-Appointed Attorneys … (Amanda/Think Progress)

2:50 PM ET, March 13, 2007

Top Items:

Firings Had Genesis in White House — Ex-Counsel Miers First Suggested Dismissing Prosecutors 2 Years Ago, Documents Show — The White House suggested two years ago that the Justice Department fire all 93 U.S. attorneys, a proposal that eventually resulted in the dismissals of eight prosecutors last year …

New York Times:

White House Said to Prompt Firing of Prosecutors — The White House was deeply involved in the decision late last year to dismiss federal prosecutors, including some who had been criticized by Republican lawmakers, administration officials said Monday. — Last October, President Bush spoke …

Crew / Citizens Blogging for Responsibility …:

BREAKING: CREW wants Special Prosecutor to investigate potential criminal violations in U.S. Attorney firings — CREW wants the immediate appointment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate potential criminal violations related to the recent dismissals of eight U.S. Attorneys.

Discussion: Wonkette

Amanda / Think Progress:

Gonzales Lied Under Oath, Said All Bush-Appointed Attorneys Would Be 'Senate-Confirmed' — A little-noticed provision slipped into the Patriot Act in 2005 allows the President to appoint "interim" U.S. attorneys for an indefinite period of time, without Senate confirmation.

Discussion: TAPPED

Associated Press:

Gonzales Accepts Resignation of Top Aide — WASHINGTON — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales abruptly canceled travel plans Tuesday amid growing calls for his ouster over the firings of eight federal prosecutors during a White House-directed housecleaning of U.S. attorneys.

Discussion: Think Progress, TPMmuckraker, Wonkette and TBogg

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Today's Must Read — OK, there's a lot to sift through in the two stories out from The Washington Post and New York Times today, but let's just focus on the tick-tock of events outlined in the two stories. — So here's the storyline (and please save your expressions of disbelief until the end):

Discussion: Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Shakespeare's Sister, Pajamas Media and Rising Hegemon

Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Fast-Riser's High Hopes and Sudden Fall

Discussion: TIME: Swampland, Balloon Juice, PoliBlog (TM), Democratic Underground and The BLT

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:
How U.S. Attorneys Get Appointed

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM)

David Bowermaster / Seattle Times:
McKay "stunned" by report on Bush

Discussion: Political Animal

Associated Press:
White House mulled firing all prosecutors

Discussion: Washington Post and MyDD

Washington Post:

The Pelosi Plan for Iraq — THE RESTRICTIONS on Iraq war funding drawn up by the House Democratic leadership are exquisitely tailored to bring together the party's leftist and centrist wings. For the Out of Iraq Caucus, which demands that Congress force a withdrawal of all U.S. troops …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Austin Bay Blog, The Influence Peddler, Los Angeles Times, Don Surber, Argghhh!, Jules Crittenden, Confederate Yankee, The Glittering Eye, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Strata-Sphere, TigerHawk, The American Mind, ScrappleFace, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, White House and Michelle Malkin

CNN:

Poll: 58 percent want Iraq withdrawal by 2008 or sooner … WASHINGTON (CNN) — Nearly six in 10 Americans want to see U.S. troops leave Iraq either immediately or within a year, and more would rather have Congress running U.S. policy in the conflict than President Bush, according to a CNN poll out Tuesday.

Discussion: Associated Press, BobGeiger.com, Booman Tribune, Sirotablog, The Democratic Daily and Pollster

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Pelosi hears boos at AIPAC — Members of the main pro-Israel lobbying group offered scattered boos to a statement by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that the Iraq war has been a failure on several scores. — The boos, mixed with some polite applause, stood in stark contrast …

Discussion: Hang Right Politics and Power Line

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:

Republican Rebukes Pace, but Defense Secretary Defends 'Don't Ask' Policy — GOP Senator 'Strongly Disagrees' With Pace Comments That Homosexuality Is 'Immoral' — In a rare rebuke of the nation's top military officer, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., says he strongly disagrees with Gen. Peter Pace's views that homosexuality is "immoral."

Discussion: AMERICAblog

Associated Press:
Gen. Pace calls homosexuality immoral

Discussion: The Daily Dish, QandO, Outside The Beltway, Taylor Marsh, Argghhh!, Chicago Tribune, Democratic Underground, Riehl World View, HorsesAss.Org, Left I on the News and theneweditor.com

Reuters:
Top U.S. General Calls Homosexuality Immoral: Report

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns and Money and Stop The ACLU

Devlin Barrett / Associated Press:

Clinton: Right-wing conspiracy is back — WASHINGTON - The "vast, right-wing conspiracy" is back, presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is warning, using a phrase she once coined to describe partisan plotting. — Once derided for her use of the phrase, Clinton is now trying to turn the imagery to her advantage.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Hot Air

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Clinton nabs K St. backers her rivals shun

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Caucus and TIME

Mark Green / The Politico:

Air America's Invitation — Tweaking the Fox News Channel, the president of liberal Air America Radio this morning sent a letter to the chairmen of four state Republican parties, offering to host and broadcast the state parties' upcoming presidential debates.

Discussion: Think Progress and Daily Kos

Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:

Unity is overrated — Calls to 'put politics aside' really mean 'stop disagreeing with me and shut up.' — BECAUSE WE'RE AT the start of the electoral roller coaster, the part where the car slowly chugs upward, building anticipation for the gut-wrenching plunges and loop-the-loops ahead …

Discussion: Polimom Says and TAPPED

Daniel Terdiman / CNET News.com:

Dan Rather: Journalism has 'lost its guts' — AUSTIN, TEXAS—To longtime CBS broadcaster Dan Rather, American journalism in recent years "has in some ways lost its guts." — During his hour-long keynote address at South by Southwest Interactive, Rather opined at length on the state of his profession …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Blogs for Bush, The Democratic Daily and Liberal Values

Thomas Heath / Washington Post:

Consultancy Founder Devotes Himself To Remaking Atlantic Media Online — David G. Bradley likes to say he has had three large pursuits in life. The first two were the Corporate Executive Board and the Advisory Board, Washington companies that ascended by advising other firms on how to compete in business.

Discussion: Beltway Blogroll, Gawker and FishBowlDC

SmallGovTimes.com:

Ron Paul formally announces White House candidacy — SOUTHERN ARIZONA (SGT NEWS) - Political maverick and Texas House member Ron Paul formally announced his candidacy for the president of the United States this morning during the "Washington Journal" call-in program on C-SPAN.

Discussion: The American Mind, PoliBlog (TM) and Crooked Timber

Jonathan V. Last / Opinion Journal:

Captain America, RIP — As a superhero, he changed along with the country. — Last Wednesday morning, while most people kibitzed about Scooter Libby over their morning coffee, Captain America was murdered on the steps of the federal courthouse in New York.

Discussion: SCSUScholars