February 14, 2008

House GOP Walks Out Over Contempt Vote, FISA

UPDATED.

Enraged House Republicans staged a walkout from the floor after Democrats sought a contempt of Congress vote for White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers.

"We will not stand for this and we will not stay for this," said Minority Leader John Boehner, speaking from the House floor. "I would ask my House Republican colleagues and those who believe that we should be here protecting the American people to not vote on this bill. Let's just get up and leave."

And with that, a few dozen House GOP lawmakers got up and left. They convened on the Capitol steps to address the cameras.

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Posted at 3:53 PM
Posted to: Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, Congress, Harriet Miers, Homeland Security, House, President Bush, Senate, Terrorism
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February 06, 2008

White House Keeping Eye On Storm Aftermath

The White House sought to convey a message to the thousands of victims of deadly storms that hit the South last night: We're on top of it.

Following the fumbled response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Bush administration has been closely watched during subsequent natural disasters. Yesterday, President Bush authorized emergency federal disaster assistance to Missouri, and this morning, he offered thoughts and prayers to the victims.

"I do want the people in these states to know the American people are standing with them," he said, adding that he pledged federal disaster assistance to the affected states.

More than 50 people have died in the violent storms and tornadoes that hit Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to CNN. States of emergency have been declared throughout those states, and teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are on the ground.

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Posted at 1:15 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Homeland Security, Katrina, President Bush
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October 23, 2007

Chertoff Waives Environmental Rules To Construct Border Fence

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff yesterday waived environmental laws and circumvented a federal judge's recent ruling to allow the construction of part of a security fence through a federally protected national conservation site on the Arizona-Mexico border.

A federal judge had halted construction earlier this month after the Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club requested a delay, arguing that federal agencies had failed to properly assess the fence's impact on the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, located in Cochise County, Ariz.

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Posted at 4:10 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Homeland Security, Immigration
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August 23, 2007

McConnell Spills New Details On Wiretapping, Border Security

Speaking to a local newspaper in Texas last week, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell may have felt he was at a safe enough remove from Washington to drop the standard political evasiveness and talk plainly. Turns out he was wrong.

In a candid interview with the El Paso (Texas) Times, McConnell revealed new details about the government's warrantless wiretapping program and its efforts to secure the border with Mexico. The story went largely unnoticed at first, and might have languished in obscurity had the paper not posted a transcript of the interview on its Web site yesterday.

Among other revelations, McConnell said that the government was monitoring the communications of "100 or less" individuals in the U.S. and "thousands" more overseas. He also gave the first official confirmation of previous reports that private companies had been involved in facilitating the government's domestic spying operation.

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Posted at 3:41 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Homeland Security, Mike McConnell
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August 16, 2007

Ashcroft Was 'In No Condition' For Gonzales, Card Visit

Newly released notes from FBI Director Robert Mueller indicate two White House aides ignored the health concerns of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft as they tried to pressure the AG to sign off on President Bush's secret, possibly unconstitutional domestic spying program.

In the notes [PDF], obtained by the House Judiciary Committee and released today, Mueller seems to have been angered by then-White House Chief of Staff Andy Card and former counsel Alberto Gonzales, who insisted on seeing Ashcroft in his hospital room while the AG was recovering from gall bladder surgery and acute pancreatitis. Mueller says he was tipped off to the visit by then-Deputy AG James Comey, who assumed acting AG powers during his boss' illness.

Having reached Mueller while he was dining with his wife and daughter, Comey said that Ashcroft was "in no condition to see them, much less make decision [sic] to authorize continuation of the program." As is consistent with their sworn testimony, Comey requested Mueller's presence at the hospital to "witness" Ashcroft's condition.

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Posted at 6:41 PM
Posted to: Alberto Gonzales, Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, Congress, Constitution, Dick Cheney, Homeland Security, James Comey, John Ashcroft, President Bush, Robert Mueller
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July 23, 2007

9/11 Bill Conferees Near Final Agreement

Negotiations over the weekend and early today yielded breakthroughs on two of the most contentious issues holding up a sweeping bill to implement unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, while talks on other sticking points could wrap up later today, according to aides.

House and Senate conferees have agreed in principle to let the Bush administration decide which federal agency should be in charge of managing and disbursing transportation security grants, aides said. The administration has already stated its preference to have the Homeland Security Department handle the job, rather than the Transportation Department, aides added.

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Posted at 5:04 PM
Posted to: Homeland Security, Terrorism
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