Lies, corruption and investigations - your update on our failed Republican leadership

Just another day . . . trying to hold corrupt and lying Republicans accountable

* According to Congressional testimony, military and Bush administration officials lied about the death of Cpl. Pat Tillman and the capture of former Pvt. Jessica Lynch to distract attention from setbacks in Iraq and the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

• * Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced Articles of Impeachment against VP Dick Cheney in Congress yesterday.



• Cheney continues to lie ... as usual.

• The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has launched a broad investigation into Karl Rove and three brewing Bush Administration scandals: the firing of U.S. attorneys, missing White House e-mails, and White House efforts to keep presidential appointees attuned to Republican political priorities. It has been suggested the investigation itself could be a Bush administration coverup since OSC head Scott Bloch, a Bush appointee, has been marred with scandal himself. The Washington Post reported Bloch is being investigated for alleged intimidation of career appointees, refusal to enforce a discrimination ban within his office, and accused of political bias.

• The Senate may soon give Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a vote of no confidence
  


• Corrupt Republican congressman Rick Renzi's (R-AZ) business was raided by the FBI and in a statement yesterday said that he’ll be resigning all his committee assignments. Renzi already resigned from his seat on the sensitive House Intelligence Committee last week.


• Less than a week after his home was searched by the FBI in connection with the Abramoff investigation, Republican congressman. John T. Doolittle (R-CA), has stepped down from the Appropriations Committee.


• A Republican Congressman sent out an "action alert" claiming that they've gotten word that Waxman will issue a subpoena to Secretary of State Rice this morning


• Mark Zachares, a former congressional aide to Republican congressman Don Young, [R-Alaska] pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from lobbyist Jack Abramoff in an influence-peddling scandal. He is 11th Republican to be convicted in the Abramoff Justice Department probe.


• An agency that oversees the World Bank is asking for the resignation of the bank's president, former deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

The Bush initiated Iraq quagmire worsens –

• This month marked the first time that the U.S. military suffered five straight months of 80 or more fatalities. The last 8 months have been the worst since the war began.
• The deadliest single attack since the war began occurred this month, a suicide truck bombing in Tal Afar that killed 152 people
• The deadliest attack yet inside the Green Zone also occurred this month, a suicide bombing in the Iraqi Parliament
• The Iraq government is in disarray - al-Maliki lacks the support in parliament to push through laws.
• The Air Force's top general expressed frustration on Tuesday with the reassignment of troops under his command to ground jobs for which they were not trained to make up for shortages in the US military.
  
• Bush advisor and architect of the Iraq escalation Frederick Kagan, lies and says things are going well in Iraq: "there is reason for wary optimism. … we seem to be turning a corner." April has been the worst month for US fatalities this year and the worst for UK soldiers in 4 years.

A Republican Senator talks to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius anonymously:

“This is the most incompetent White House I’ve seen since I came to Washington,” said one GOP senator. “The White House legislative liaison team is incompetent, pitiful, embarrassing. My colleagues can’t even tell you who the White House Senate liaison is. There is rank incompetence throughout the government. It’s the weakest Cabinet I’ve seen.”

...And remember, this is a Republican talking.

The sh*t hits the fan - Accountability Calls: Rice called to testify, Rove in hot water over Attorneygate, Abramoff scandals... and more!

The days of blowing off Congressional oversight may be over for the Bush Administration
Condoleezza Rice called to testify: The Bush administration has consistently refused requests for information from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) regarding the infamous 16 words in the State of the Union address about the Niger/Iraq uranium connection. Since the war began, Waxman has written 11 letters to Condoleezza Rice alone requesting information on how the fraudulent claim regarding the claim that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger for a nuclear device became part of the basis for sending our country to war— she hasn’t responded to a single one. Now, Rice is being called to testify. From Waxman's letter:

"The March 12 letter requested a response by March 23 to several of the inquiries, but the Committee received no response from you. I now request your appearance before the Committee at a hearing on Wednesday, April 18, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building. At this hearing, you will be asked to provide testimony and respond to questions on the subjects outlined in the March 12 letter and the original request letters."

Karl Rove gets in on the fun too. He is implicated in three separate scandals... the noose is tightening around the neck of Rove:

• ABRAMOFF SCANDAL - It appears the White House, Rove, and his staff are connected to the Abramoff scandal. Former Special Assistant to the President, Susan Ralston, has been called to appear for a deposition on Apr. 5th, as part of the Government Reform 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.
• ATTORNEYGATE - 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 face a subpoena. Last week, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees authorized subpoenas of Scott Jennings, a deputy to Taylor, who is a top aide to Karl Rove.
  
• VIOLATION OF 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.

It's about time these manipulative abusers of government power are dragged in front of Congress to account for their deeds. How many of you out there would like to see Karl Rove sweating in front of the Government Reform Committee? I would... it's long over due.