Black Box Report

Some time in the not too distant future, a relieved nation will amuse itself with parlour games, looking back and debating what the biggest scandal of the Bush administration was. To be sure, it's a crowded field - Valerie Plame's outing, the prosecutor purge, the entire leadup to the Iraq War, among others - all good choices. And now we can add the CIA torture tapes to the list. With the appointment of federal prosecutor John Durham to the case by the Attorney General, the rubber is meeting the road:

I think it is safe to say that the CIA torture tape story just hit the big time. Attorney General Mukasey apparently went right past the option of slow-rolling an in-house investigation (does David Addington’s direct line into the AG’s office still connect?) and appointed an outside prosecutor. Better, Mukasey didn’t choose a hack; John Durham has a reputation for taking down big game that ranks up there with Pat Fitzgerald and Elliot Spitzer.

Of course, given the administration's track record of stonewalling and obstruction, it may be best not to get too excited:

Given how investigations of this administration have generally gone (Scooter Libby, anyone?), getting our hopes up over this one is probably unwise, but at least Mukasey is making the right noises.

Of course, right wing blogs who believe torture is just fine and don't like the notion of accountability for this administration, this investigation is already an outrage - before it even starts:

This is just what we needed. Another gutless attorney general. Another out of control special prosecutor. And another media circus. Never mind there is no crime here, or even the possibility of a crime…What a waste of the taxpayers' money, just to placate the howling banshees on the left and in the media.

Mukasey? Just another lefty moonbat. Durham? A Soros-backed liberal flunky on a witch hunt, to be sure. But not even the possibility of a crime? He should check with Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean. But in case he can't, blogger Glenn Greenwald lays it out:

And now we have the 9/11 Commission Chairmen stating as explicitly as can be that the mere concealment (let alone destruction) of these videos constituted the knowing and deliberate obstruction of their investigation into the worst attack on U.S. soil in our history. Combined with the fact that the videos' destruction almost certainly constitutes "obstruction of justice" with regard to numerous judicial proceedings as well, we're talking here about extremely serious felonies at the highest levels of our government.

It's important to point out that Durham is neither "outside" nor "special," nor "independent." And while Durham is reported to be a straight shooter, he still reports to a Department of Justice not exactly known for its transparency. So Talk Left has another suggestion:

Durham's investigation will be conducted in grand jury rooms and in private interviews. Congress needs to conduct its own investigation (without immunizing witnesses who might be appropriate targets of prosecution) into the administration's knowledge or involvement.

No pushing or crowding, now. There's enough scandal here for everyone.

Check, please!

The Iowa caucus is upon us! The first opportunity to really separate the wheat from the chaff. Democrats Richardson and Dodd, languishging in single digits, are rumored to withdraw soon. And after tomorrow, good ol' Fred Thompson may call it a day as well. Which shouldn't come as a surprise considering ol' Fred has not exactly been running a, shall we say, vigorous campaign:

(The) Country Fred Jamboree...has been kinda sorta campaigning in Iowa if by kinda sorta you mean that the only way people got to see him on TV was on TNT's Law & Order New Years Marathon and that's about it since he's running out of money.

Now comes word that Fred may drop out if he doesn't make a decent showing in Iowa which leads to the question: If Fred Thompson quits campaigning, how would we know?

Thompson's been harder to find in Iowa than a palm tree, and his poll numbers show it. Nonetheless, Byron York from The Corner spoke to Thompson campaign advisor Rich Galen, who is hotly denying the rumor:

It would be an understament to say that he is strongly denying the Politico story reporting that Thompson "will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday's caucus."

The story cites "several Republican officials close to Fred Thompson's presidential campaign." Galen told me, "I'm a Republican official in the Thompson campaign, and I'm denying it." Galen also said that no one inside the campaign was a source for the story. "I can't put enough adjectives in front of the 'deny' to accurately describe how vehemently I'm denying the story," he said.

Now, it could be that the advisor doth protest too much, or perhaps Fred's staying in, in light of a recent Zogby poll showing a late-breaking surge for him, up to 12%! The blog Outside the Beltway is skeptical:

It should be noted that Thompson's "surge" is well within the margin of error. This doesn't stop speculation that it is based on the good people of Iowa finally recognizing what a gosh darned good fella Thompson is.

Of course, it could also be that Fred's not dropping out, just applying a little reverse psychology:

One wonders if this might be some kind of rallying cry to Thompson backers to coincide with the caucuses - Vote for Fred or he'll quit! - but I suspect it will have the opposite effect. Voters will hear that Thompson is on his way out, which will dampen enthusiasm for his campaign.

Which would be fair. Fred's never had much enthusiasm for his campaign himself. After all, this is a man who just a few days ago told voters in Iowa, "I'm not particularly interested in running for president." Apparently he'd like to BE president, just not do any work for it or explain why he should get the job.