Agitprop: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Propaganda

Enough Already

Do you think this will get Congress up off its ass and they'll finally impeach this 'patriot'?

Across the board, the vice president's office goes to unusual lengths to avoid transparency. Cheney declines to disclose the names or even the size of his staff, generally releases no public calendar and ordered the Secret Service to destroy his visitor logs. His general counsel has asserted that "the vice presidency is a unique office that is neither a part of the executive branch nor a part of the legislative branch," and is therefore exempt from rules governing either. Cheney is refusing to observe an executive order on the handling of national security secrets, and he proposed to abolish a federal office that insisted on auditing his compliance.

At the very least, they have to defund Darth Cheney since he's no longer working in one of the branches of what's left of our government.  Sadly, they probably don't have the stones to do it.

Think About It

Scooter's been convicted - four out of five counts.  So how long before the Hudson Institute takes down his profile?  He's a think tank scholar, in case you didn't know.

Senate Repugs Blocked Iraq Intel Inquiry

Dems Issue Release Showing Senate Repugs Blocked Efforts
To Investigate How Intelligence Was Used For Iraq War 20 Times

[via Raw Story] Press Release is here: "For more than two years, Senate Democrats ... pressed Republicans to address the misuse of intelligence. At every turn, Republicans ... blocked efforts to investigate how intelligence was used in the run-up to the war in Iraq."

In a related story, Slate asks just why the hell the Office of the Vice President is dictating the rules by which the U.S. military interrogates and detains terrorist suspects.

tags: iraq intelligence iraq impeach bush senate republicans

Reid Takes Senate Into Closed Session Over Iraq Intel

Could This Be "The Sign"?

[via Raw Story] - "The Senate's Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-NV) unexpectedly pulled the Senate into secret session Tuesday afternoon in order to have closed discussion of Iraq intelligence, RAW STORY has learned.

The maneuver immediately shuttered the doors of the Senate and cleared the Senate press galleries. It has been invoked just 53 times in the history of the body. It was last used during the Clinton impeachment hearings."

Agitprop speculated last week that Cheney's and Libby's withholding of documents from a Senate panel investigating the Iraq intel screwups could become a big deal. Are a few chickens (sans bird flu, please) coming home to roost? More at Pandagon. Pam has more too. Reid's entire statement is here.

"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions," Reid said before the doors were closed. Repugs derided the move as "a political stunt."

Loyal reader Enigma alerted us to Ted Kennedy's post on the Libby indicment.

tags: iraq cheney death watch impeach bush scooter libby

Cheney & Libby Withheld Intel From Senate

Kept Crucial Documents From Senate Panel Looking into Iraq Intelligence Failures

Read about it at the National Journal. Holy crap. This is big. [via Raw Story]

MORE: "Among the White House materials withheld from the committee were Libby-authored passages in drafts of a speech that then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell delivered to the United Nations in February 2003 to argue the Bush administration's case for war with Iraq, according to congressional and administration sources ... [and] intelligence data that Cheney's office - and Libby in particular - pushed to be included in Powell's speech, the sources said."

THE JUICIEST BIT: "Had the withheld information been turned over, according to administration and congressional sources, it likely would have shifted a portion of the blame away from the intelligence agencies to the Bush administration as to who was responsible for the erroneous information being presented to the American public, Congress, and the international community."

Graphic of the Dark Lord courtesy of HelenWheels

tags: plamegate cheney death watch dick cheney

Dark Lord Told Scooter About Plame

Darth Cheney Said to be in Seclusion Aboard Death Star

UPDATE: 12:24 p.m. EST (via Raw Story) - FITZGERALD DECIDES TO SEEK INDICTMENTS: DEVELOPING ...

More: [via Atrios]: Darth Cheney To Be Remebered As VP Who Campaigned for Torture.

The story hit last night with a vengeance (thanks Raw Story), but around 10 p.m. EST CNN and Fox were still running footage of correspondents getting blown around by Hurricane Wilma ("Roker down!"). MSM-BC had the story. Without further ado, here's Atrios, Crooks and Liars, The Heretik, NYT, David Corn, Shakespeare's Sister, and Think Progress.

Check back during the day for more links and updates. Could today be Fitzmas Day?

tags: iraq cheney death watch dick cheney valerie plame scooter libby impeach bush

Vice Führer Cheney In Big Trouble

Plamegate Prosecutor Fitzpatrick Launches Website
Seems He'll Be Around Awhile

Herr Cheney is in deep trouble. Plamegate special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has set up a website. It appears he might not be closing up shop too soon.

Hat tip to HelenWheels for yet another graphic.

tags: dick cheney valerie plame cheney death watch plamegate

BREAKING NEWS: Cheney Death Watch On!

Daily News Reports Fitzgerald Has a Senior Cooperating Witness!

Breaking News! Oct 19th - Fitzgerald Has 2nd Cooperating Witness! [via Raw Story]

UPDATE:
Rumors of Impending Cheney Resignation Still Only Rumors
Atrios asks if John Hannah could be senior source

It's official! The Agitprop Cheney Death Watch (patent pending) is on! The Daily News reports that "Cheney's name has come up amid indications Fitzgerald may be edging closer to a blockbuster conspiracy charge - with help from a secret snitch."

Is this the Bush Admnistration's Deep Throat moment? There are reports that Fitzgerald is also investigating the faked intelligence that the Dear Leader's "Iraq Group" used to justify Mess-o-potamia. Maybe, just maybe, all the liars will wind up in prison orange. Atrios is cautious, but says it will be like a "nuke lobbed into official Washington" if Fitzgerald delivers. Daily Kos has more. Crooks & Liars speaks here.

Happy happy joy joy. Chill the champagne!

UPDATE: Neil Shakespeare reports that in an effort to deflect attention from Darth Cheney's problems, the Dear Leader has expanded the War on Terror to the lunar surface.

tags: dick cheney iraq war on terror impeach bush cheney death watch