AM Feed – August 3: Rumsfeld Changes Mind, Will Appear Before Senate Today
Hot Topics
- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has long been loathe to share information about US military efforts, even with other branches of government. He initially declined to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, but reversed his stance after but reversed his stance after Senator Hillary Clinton and other members of Congress publicly put pressure on him to testify. Rumsfeld has been averse to testifying in the past, and offered no reason for his change of heart in this instance. His appearance on Capitol Hill follows a recent statement from a top general that two-thirds of the Army National Guard is not combat-ready. [link]
- The problems continue to mount for Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL). Harris’ Senate campaign has been rocked by resignations by multiple staffers and allegations of misconduct with a defense contractor. Now, a former aide has disclosed that Harris was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury – and hid the news from her staff. Harris is under investigation for her connection to defense contractor Mitchell Wade (a co-conspirator in the Randy Cunningham case), but it is not clear if the subpoena is tied to that investigation. [link]
- And speaking of congressional corruption: embattled Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) has been tied to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but Ney curiously failed to raise any money for his legal defense fund last quarter. Ney raised $65,000 for the same fund in the previous quarter, and the recent lack of activity is puzzling. [link]
- In other Bob Ney-related news, the “freedom” moniker assigned to fries and toast in the House cafeteria has been removed. Three years ago, Ney and Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) sponsored a measure to renamed French fries and French toast in a petty attempt to rebuke France for calling the US-led invasion of Iraq premature. (Take a moment to re-read that last sentence – it gets more and more ridiculous each time.) The change in language was widely publicized at the time – by contrast, the reversal has been relatively clandestine. Ney’s spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. [link]
Morning Snark
- Could the lack of activity in Rep. Ney’s defense fund actually mean that he convinced Rep. Harris to fall for the old “I’ll pay for yours, you pay for mine” trick with legal expenses?
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