ACTION ALERT: Karen Hughes Confirmation Hearing, Karen Under Oath

[emulatorloo]

Kerry Content: He's on the committee (and I wrote him even though I am not from Mass)

Karen, member of the White House Iraq (marketing) Group and Bush Propagandist will be under oath tomorrow as she discusses her qualifications to work in the State Department.

Seems like a wonderful time for our Senators to get Ms. Hughes to talk about what she knows about the confidential State Department memo discussed in the WAPO today. . .she was on that trip to Aftica I believe.

DU thread here re committee and members:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4159578&mesg_id=4159578

To be complete, WaPo article here:

Plame's Identity Marked As Secret
Memo Central to Probe Of Leak Was Written By State Dept. Analyst

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/20/AR2005072002517_pf.html

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[sandnsea]

1. I think so too

I was glad Walt put that up, great idea. I think I'm glad Karen is getting a job too. I never though Karl was "Bush's Brain", I always thought it was Karen. She just knows how to tug the heart strings, and she knows a hot topic the second she hears it. Rove? Without Karen, he's just slime and it's starting to show. Hope the Bushie's don't figure it out.

[emulatorloo]

2. Later I felt bad putting this here because is pretty OT for our group

however, there is a special place in my heart for Ms. Karen Hughes and all she has done to craft the apparently appealing GWB persona. And she has the way of sounding so concerned, caring and reasonable as she says the nastiest things about Dems.

[sandnsea]

3. I am right there beside you

Special place in hell for that one!

[TayTay]

4. This is at Ten AM

Same time as the Dem Senate Policy Committee hearing on Rove. Hmmm, I wonder if Kerry will show at both.

[whometense]

6. Do you know if the

Policy Committee meeting is being webcast? The other one is going to be on c-span3.

[TayTay]

7. C-Span3 Coverage of Dem Policy Comm

Agenda: http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/schedule.csp
Public Hearing
Public Disclosure of Covert Agents
Senate Democratic Policy Committee
Washington, District of Columbia (United States)

Waxman, Henry, U.S. Representative, D-CA
Johnson, Larry, Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency
Marcinkowski, Jim, Agent, Central Intelligence Agency
Goodman, Mel, Chief (Fmr.), Central Intelligence Agency, Soviet Union and Third World Affairs
Dorgan, Byron L., U.S. Senator, D-ND
Holt, Rush, U.S. Representative, D-NJ


Witnesses, including former CIA analysts and case officers, talk about the national security implications of disclosing the identity or affiliation of covert intelligence officers. They also comment on recent fallout from White House statements to the press that led to the disclosure that Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame, worked as a covert operative on issues involving weapons of mass destruction.

[TayTay]

8. Sen ForRelComm

http://foreign.senate.gov/
HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, July 22, 2005

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time: 10:00 AM
Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Lugar

Nominees:
Ms. Karen P. Hughes
To be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy,
with the Rank of Ambassador
The Honorable Josette S. Shiner
To be Under Secretary of State for Economic,
Business & Agricultural Affairs
Ms. Kristen Silverberg
To be Assistant Secretary of State for International
Organization Affairs
The Honorable Jendayi E. Frazer
To be Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs

[whometense]

9. Thanks!

It's gonna be hard to decide which one to cover. Maybe this is a good day to do split duty.

On edit: the foreign relations mtg may be audio only.

[TayTay]

10. Check the main page

for the ForRelComm. They usually put up a full web broadcast link with video at the exact minute the hearing is scheduled to begin (but not a second before.)

[whometense]

11. You're right.

Got it.

On edit, I'm watching Foreign Relations for now. I'm hoping they might ask Karen some interesting questions.

[whometense]

12. Gag me.

She's escorted into the room by both (equally noxious) Texas senators.

[TayTay]

13. Is JK There n/t

[globalvillage]

14. Haven't seen him yet

Karen Hughes speaking at nomination hearing
Larry Johnson speaking at cia hearing
Teddy on the floor (nukes?)

edit I think Teddy's talking about the bunker buster

[whometense]

15. I'm impressed.

You cover a lot of territory.

Lugar's using up his time not talking about the gigantic elephant in the room. I haven't seen Kerry.

Voinovich is next. Lugar read a message from Biden - he's not attending. Dodd is there, I believe.

[globalvillage]

16. I'm on vacation.

Could never do this at work. I'm streaming both hearings and watching cspan 2 on tv.
I'll post if I see him.

[whometense]

17. Am I being paranoid,

or did Lugar just admit he convened the meeting on a Friday to "expedite the process" i.e. so no dems would be present to ask inconvenient questions??????

[Mass]

18. no, it is exactly what he said

I was wondering why they were holding these hearings today.

[globalvillage]

19. He did!!!

Basically, exactly what you said. We held this on a Friday in hopes that those pesky Dems couldn't be here to ask real ?s. What a jerk. I hope someone picks up on that besides us.

[globalvillage]

20. Feinstein speaking on Kennedy amendment

re bunker buster on the floor.
Wonder if Lugar sched this hearing after knowing several Dems would be speaking on this issue on the floor this morning and Dorgan would be at the cia thing?

[whometense]

21. Wouldn't put it past him.

However, it may just backfire on him anyway. If people have questions they'll just ask them at the business meeting.

I read a great post this morning by Billmon, here: http://billmon.org/archives/002048.html in which he comments that the left can relax and the right might as well stop trying to blow smoke over the whole Rove thing. It's out of everyone's hands except Fitzgerald's.

The White House is treating this like they treat everything - as a campaign. Only they're not working in the court of public opinion. Thery're working in a court of law. (and they ain't doing so well in that other court, anyway.)

[globalvillage]

22. dupe

edit dupe

[globalvillage]

23. Jay Inslee is a babe.

That is all.
:evilgrin:

[globalvillage]

24. Foreign Relations (Hughes) hearing is over. n/t

[whometense]

25. THAT was a big nothing.

Except for Lugar's statement.

[globalvillage]

26. Waste of time.

The Dem Policy hearing is also over. Much more interesting.

[TayTay]

27. More interesting?

I feel like I've been smacked in the head with a wet fish. (Ow and, something stinks here.)

OMG! If what was done to Valerie Plame isn't called what it is, a treasonous act and punishments metered out, then we face a full-scale revolt for the inteliigence community in this country and with agents around the world.

Wow! And they tied Bolton into it. Geez, I need a cigarette.

[whometense]

28. I missed all the good stuff

:-(

What did they say about Bolton?????

[globalvillage]

29. I missed the Bolton stuff too.

I could watch all three, but only listen to one at a time. Who said Bolton?
I knew the bastard was involved.

[TayTay]

31. Former agent Johnson

Larry Johnson who went to 'spy school' with Valerie P. Wow!

That was an amazing hearing.

The traitors in the WH should start shaking in their boots. And get fitted for their prison jammies. WOW!

Bolton intimidated analysts in the Intel community. Stuff we knew. But he said it outloud.

[whometense]

32. He was on Al Franken

yesterday. Fearless. And yet another pissed-off ex-repug.

Edited to add that Crooks and Liars has the audio here: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/07/22.html#a4082

[globalvillage]

30. It was Larry Johnson re Bolton, wasn't it?

That man has a lot of guts.

[ginnyinWI]

34. yes he does indeed

He's going against the whole Bush cabal. But being in the CIA, he'd have to be tough. Joe Wilson (and undoubtably his wife) are also fearless. Gotta hand it to them.

[ginnyinWI]

33. glad to hear it

I DVR'd it and will watch later tonight! Might be a keeper--transfer to video tape and save as one of the earliest official hearings on the CIA LEAK SCANDAL, which turned out to be even worse and more infamous than Watergate!

[globalvillage]

35. C-Span has the video up on their site already.

I will have to watch it again, I missed quite a bit.

[emulatorloo]

5. FYI: NYT confirms Karen did testify before grand jury

(interesting story mentions in passing Karen's nondisclosure form for her new job)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/politics/22leak.html?ei=5094&en=da4770e9392bb1c6&hp=&ex=1122004800&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

<snip>

In another indication of how wide a net investigators have cast in the case, Karen Hughes, a former top communications aide to Mr. Bush, and Robert Joseph, who was then the National Security Council's expert on weapons proliferation, have both told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that they were interviewed by the special prosecutor.

Ms. Hughes is to have her confirmation hearing on Friday on her nomination to lead the State Department's public diplomacy operation. Mr. Joseph was recently confirmed as under secretary of state for arms control and international security. As part of their confirmation proceedings, both had to fill out questionnaires listing any legal matters they had become involved in.

<snip>