While the Tom DeLay indictment is seen as a blow to Bushco, Bush knows how to make the best of a bad situation...
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Welcome to
The Rachel Maddow Show...
UNDERBELLY STORY:
Timing...and distraction...how the Bush Administration used Tom Delay's bad day. The following stories went largely unnoticed yesterday:
Bush pardons 14 people...
Robert Bonner, head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, resigns...
Bush waives restrictions on Libya...
National Guard short on equipment....
The second Bush Supreme Court nominee...
Bushco must've been saving up some of these for weeks.
Story 1: The Pardons
- Jesse Ray Harvey of Scarbro, W.Va., was given a 25-month sentence in 1990 after his conviction for using explosives to damage Milburn Colliery. The mine had been the target of a long strike by about 45 members of a United Mine Workers local.
- Gene Armand Bridger, Elkhart, Ind., conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, sentenced May 29, 1963, to five years probation.
- Cathryn Iline Clasen-Gage, Rockwall, Texas, misprision of a felony, sentenced Aug. 21, 1992, to 18 months in prison and a year of supervised release.
- Thomas Kimble Collinsworth, Buckner, Ark., receipt of a stolen motor vehicle that had been transported in interstate commerce, sentenced Aug. 22, 1989, to three years probation and a $5,000 fine.
- Morris F. Cranmer Jr., Little Rock, Ark., making materially false statements to a federally insured institution, sentenced March 30, 1988 to nine months in jail.
- Rusty Lawrence Elliott, Mount Pleasant, Tenn., making counterfeit money, sentenced April 26, 1991, to a year and a day in prison, two years supervised release and a $500 fine.
- Adam Wade Graham, Salt Lake City, Utah, conspiracy to deliver 10 or more grams of LSD, sentenced Nov. 23, 1992 to 30 months in prison and five years of supervised release, including 250 hours of community service.
- Rufus Edward Harris, Canon, Ga., possession of tax-unpaid whiskey, sentenced June 17, 1963, to two years in prison, possession and sale of tax-unpaid whiskey. He also was on May 28, 1970 to five years in prison, later reduced to two years probation.
- Larry Paul Lenius, Moorhead, Minn., conspiracy to distribute cocaine, sentenced Sept. 29, 1989, to 36 months probation and payment of $2,500 in restitution.
- Larry Lee Lopez, Bokeelia, Fla., conspiracy to import marijuana, sentenced July 19, 1985 to three years probation.
- Bobbie Archie Maxwell, Lansing, Mich., mailing a threatening letter, sentenced Sept. 6, 1962, to 12 months probation.
- Denise Bitters Mendelkow, Salt Lake City, Utah, embezzlement by a bank employee, sentenced May 21, 1981, to two years probation.
- Michael John Pozorski, Schofield, Wis., unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm, sentenced Sept. 14, 1988, to four years probation and payment of a $750 fine.
- Mark Lewis Weber, Sherwood, Ark., selling Quaalude tablets, selling, using and possessing marijuana, sentenced Aug. 20, 1981, following Air Force court-martial to 30 months confinement at hard labor, forfeiture of 30 months pay at $334 a month and a dishonorable discharge.
Story 2: U.S. Customs and Border Protection head resigns
WASHINGTON -- The head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced his resignation . . .
In a statement, Robert Bonner noted he served four years as commissioner _ first of U.S. Customs and later U.S. Customs and Border Patrol when his agency became part of the Homeland Security Department. Bonner came to Washington the day before 9/11.
"That began my challenge _ to secure America's borders from terrorists and other criminals without choking off the flow of legitimate trade and travel, which is so vital to our economy," Bonner said.
His departure has been expected for months. He and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff have been at odds over issues including whether to transfer control of the civil air patrols over the Washington area from Bonner's agency to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Story 3: Libya
Lockheed, this one's for you!
President Bush on Wednesday issued an order to let U.S. companies work with Libya to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons _ a move the U.S. is taking in response to Libya's voluntary efforts to disarm.
In another order, the president waived restrictions on Libya so it can refurbish eight C-130 aircraft the nation bought from the United States in the 1970s. Libya owns the aircraft, but never took possession of the planes that are stored in the U.S.
Story 4: National Guard short on equipment
With most of its best equipment in Iraq, the National Guard has only about one-third of the helicopters, trucks, radios and other supplies it needs for homeland security, the Guard's top commander said Thursday.
Gen. Steven Blum said Guard members had to convey messages in person, by helicopter and boat, so units could communicate with each other after Hurricane Katrina. The Guard's older radios do not work with the more sophisticated active duty equipment, he said.
Story 5: Supreme Court
And presenting, the No. 1 way to get DeLay off the front page of the paper...
President Bush, nearing the end of his search for a successor to retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, has whittled his list to a handful of candidates and could announce his decision by week's end.
Legal analysts monitoring the selection process, however, say the list has been narrowed to about five or six candidates, mostly federal appellate judges and a few individuals who have never worn a judicial robe.
Often mentioned are federal appellate judges Alice Batchelder, J. Michael Luttig, Edith Jones, J. Harvie Wilkinson, Priscilla Owen, Samuel Alito, Karen Williams and Michael McConnell.
Also said to be under consideration are corporate attorney Larry Thompson, White House counsel Harriet Miers, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.