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The news all seems to be against the President right now. And apparently, the administration lied about Kerik. I can't believe they would do that.
Favorite line: Even the smokescreen doesn't make sense. (for more stories than one)
Below is a partial transcript of Keith Olbermann's top news on 6/16/2004. Portions inside parentheses are summaries. Ohio Watch is transcribed in full.
(On 6/17 he announced only that Arnebeck and Jackson have refiled the fraud suit(s) with the Supreme Court.)
Regarding the plans for Monday in Ohio (bold), I wonder what the rules will be for "everyone," because apparently everyone can go. Will Sherole Eaton be able to ask questions and respond to this employee? Sorry if I missed an earlier post on this.
BERNARD KERIK IMPLOSION
Keith Olbermann: This time the story is the nanny whose tax history and immigration status were supposedly the only reasons the administration soured on him. The NYTimes reporting that among the cascade of ugly truths from Kerik's past, almost nothing has been learned of the nanny. Maybe we should call that the alleged nanny. There seems to be reason to question whether she really exists. The Times quotes a neighbor of the Kerik's in New Jersey saying that until a few weeks ago, she would periodically see a young, olive-skinned woman playing ball in the backyard with the Kerik children. But the witness told the paper she only believed the woman was the nanny, they never actually met. The witness did somehow know, however, that the ball-playing woman did not drive an automobile.
Meanwhile, said a neighbor of Kerik's mother-in-law, "They never came around here with a nanny. I never saw any nanny. This is the first time I've heard about a nanny."
Mr. Kerik was even told that skeptics in city government circles were questioning very existence of the nanny and was pressed to provide any kind of evidence that she was real. But after taking time to consider the request, he decided again to remain silent.
Newsweek Senior Editor Charles Gasparino: It almost doesn't matter if she's real or not, because the nanny story is not the reason why he is not going to be "homeland security" chief. He had a lot of questionable business dealings, conflicts of interest, engagement with suspicious people, and that's why he's not going to be in the Bush cabinet. Everybody covering this story knows the nanny story is a smokescreen. It is kind of funny that he doesn't have a nanny, because even the smokescreen doesn't make sense.
Keith Olbermann: How long ago did they know about this? Are the two statements that the Bush administration made about this correct: A, that he withdrew after they found new information about him, and B, that they knew all of that stuff in advance of nominating him?
Newsweek Senior Editor Charles Gasparino: I think they knew some of this stuff. They can Google, too. ... I guess it's possible that the White House missed this, too. ... It's possible the Bush admin missed all this, I don't know how they did that. I personally think they were throwing Guiliani a bone, and they tried to slip one by.
ALBERTO GONZALES
(Military lawyers and senate democrats opposing Alberto Gonzales nomination for Attorney General because of torture memos.)
DONALD RUMSFELD
(Trent Lott saying Rumsfeld will go in a year or so. Rep. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine saying he will stay as long as the president wants him to stay, and he wants him to stay, she says, for now at least.)
WATCHING OHIO
While we are on the subject of votes, two updates now on the Ohio recount.
The legal bid to overturn the election there has been thrown out of court on a technicality. Ohio's Chief Justice Thomas Moyer says the bid by Cliff Arnebeck of the Alliance for Democracy on the right of your screen there and the Rev Jesse Jackson challenge the outcomes of two races in Ohio and Ohio law allows only one race to be challenged per lawsuit. Arnebeck says they will rewrite and refile, perhaps as early as tomorrow.
And the Assistant Prosecutor in Hocking County, Ohio, says that evidence tape has been placed around a computer vote tabulator there. The county's Deputy Director of Elections swore she saw an employee of the machine's manufacturer The Triad company manipulating that machine last week. Congressman John Conyers of Michigan asked the county prosecutor and the FBI to examine. The country says they are taking his request seriously. Says Assistant County Prosecutor David Sams:
"There is a board meeting Monday morning with representative of the Secretary of State's office, as well as with Triad. Everyone's been invited, and if there's a problem, there's a problem, and if not, this matter will be put to rest. ... We're going to have this employee show us exactly what he did. ...I hope nothing improper was done. It's likely to be a case of 'no harm...no foul.' Hopefully at the end of the day, Keith can crumple this story up like one of his papers and throw it out."
Keith Olbermann: Amen, and thank you for visiting Countdown.
BIN LADEN
(Another Bin Laden Tape, the first one uploaded directly to the internet. Others were delivered by courier, mailed, or played over the telephone. It cannot be more than 10 days old, as it praises the people who stormed the American Embassy in Jeda, Saudi Arabia. Second Bin Laden message in 7 weeks, and don't forget the three from his top aide al-Zawahiri -- all since November 9. This time Bin Laden urges Saudis to get between the royal family and the oil.)
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