Memo Theft (Washington Post)

[stevedeshazer]

FOR MONTHS, Democrats and Republicans have agreed that there's a scandal somewhere in those Democratic judicial nomination memos that were leaked last year to the Wall Street Journal editorial page. But they've been unable to agree on what the scandal was. For many conservatives, the issue was what the memos said -- their portrayal of Democratic Senate staffers at the beck and call of liberal interest groups. Democrats meanwhile ignored the memos' embarrassing contents and focused on the way they were pilfered from Democratic computers by Republican staff. Last week, as the magnitude of the snooping became clear, Republicans shifted gears and agreed with their Democratic colleagues that the acquisition of the memos was wrong and possibly criminal.

The change is attributable to an investigation by the Senate's sergeant at arms -- an investigation that, though not yet finished, has concluded that thousands of memos were improperly taken. The investigation led to the resignation of a lawyer from the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a lawyer who had worked on the Judiciary Committee and had tapped into the memos. Another Judiciary staffer has also left. Mr. Frist and Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) had taken a beating from conservative groups for responding seriously to Democratic complaints, and Republican senators had previously complained about the investigation itself. But after senators were briefed on the status of the investigation, Republicans supported Mr. Hatch's actions and rejected the criticism by outsiders. Some suggested that Republican memos had been tapped as well.

link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44683-2004Feb15.html

[nolabels]

1. This should be good, probably not this time, but soon

The pubs will realize they are also but small Fry in the fish bowl also. When that big corporate juggernaut comes a calling, just remember we told them so.

on edit:
I Despise the GOP :puke: but I still need a country to be able to live in, and at the rate its going it will be bankrupt more sooner than later

[aquart]

3. Uh, it's bankrupt NOW.

Just so's you know.

[yellowcanine]

2. I particularly like this NYTimes quote.

"Faced with a difficult-to-defend situation, many Republicans simply withdrew from the field of battle, quietly slipping out of the room. Senators Jon Kyl of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina joined Mr. Hatch in agreeing that what had happened was terribly wrong."

Did they slip out of the room or slink out of the room?

[countmyvote4real]

4. They slithered. n/t