Wednesday 6 July 2005

Cheney Emerging As Next Justice Pick By Bush Feared

VP On Vetting Panel; Nearly Same Situation But Now Has Residency Established

Many Washington insiders are both fearing, and betting, that history will repeat itself, when, in a few days, or weeks, President Bush announces Vice President Dick Cheney as his choice to be nominated to the Supreme Court.

In 2000, when still the CEO of Halliburton, the largest private vendor operating in Iraq, then Presidential candidate George Bush, asked Cheney to head the search committee for a vice president to run with Bush. Bush, shortly after, dropped the bombshell by choosing Cheney as his running mate on the Republican ticket.

Pundits scoffed at the choice, deriding it as "hiring his father's gang" but the younger Bush stuck by Cheney as the best possible candidate. The pair faced a lawsuit, as Cheney's residence - Texas - was challenged and the suit, eventually denied, sought to invalidate the electoral votes from Texas in the 2000 Presidential election.

As to be elevated to the Supreme Court, Cheney, sources say, is openly lobbying for the position.

Recently, he's sat in staff and briefly meetings wearing a judges robe, and carrying a gavel.

Cheney's been showering the President with DVD's of movies - 'The Paper Chase', 'The Pelican Brief', 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean', 'Twelve Angry Men' - and other court-based feature films.

"The President was setting his post-Summer schedule" offered one White House aide, "and the Vice President interrupted him to advise that he should be 'unavailable' the first Monday in October".

Senator Joe Biden, on hearing the speculation that the choice will be Cheney, promised a vigorous fight, including a filibuster.

"C'mon, that just wouldn't be the best or appropriate choice", lamented Biden. "Heck, that would be a terrible choice … A really, really terrible choice".

Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy harshly criticized Cheney, if he ends up being the candidate.

"He's already handed over the military to Halliburton, I suspect he'll give them the judiciary too".

While the President is reviewing a number of candidate, the Conservative Right is already rattling their sabers over the expectation that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will be the candidate the President chooses.

"I think", offered the White House aide, "that the Attorney General sent over only one DVD. It was 'The Wild Bunch''. The President likes a good western."


Rove Said To Be "Under Pressure" Over Leak Accusation

Key Bush Strategist Shows "Erratic Behavior" As Critics, Press Call For Admission

With today being the day that Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of The New York Times may be sent to jail, for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury investigating the disclosure of the identity of covert C.I.A. operative Valerie Plame, numerous sources are reporting that White House Strategist Karl Rove is the official who leaked the information.

On Friday, Political pundit Lawrence O'Donnell declared that Rove would be exposed as the leaker, based on the documents Time Magazine turned over to Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald and the grand jury.

On Saturday, Newsweek, posting a story on its' website, report that emails show that Rove was one of Cooper's sources on the Plame story, Cooper wrote his story after Columnist Robert Novak had already outted the covert Plame in his column over a week earlier.

Robert Luskin, Rove's lawyer, admits that Rove was interviewed by Cooper and "may have unknowingly mentioned Plame's name".

Source close to the White House say that Rove is showing increasing, and escalating signs of the stress at, potentially, being indicted.

He is said to be unfocused, walking the halls of the West Wing, mumbling unintelligibly.

An unconfirmed report says, during a meeting with administration lawyers, Rove "ran around the room, hands covering his ears, shouting 'Liars, Liars' and had to be physically restrained"

Novak refused comment, and would not confirm or deny if Rove was his source.

Watchers of the case feel there could be multiple sources.

"If Rove has his fingerprints on this" offered one source, "you can bet they had a 'smear team' working on Plame"