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Petraeus Strikes Plea Deal Over Leaking Classified Data

March 3, 2015 at 1:41 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

“David Petraeus, the best-known military commander of his generation, has reached a plea deal with the Justice Department and admitted providing his highly classified journals to a mistress when he was the director of the C.I.A,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Petraeus has agreed to plead guilty to one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, a misdemeanor. He is eligible for up to one year in prison but prosecutors will recommend two years of probation and a $40,000 fine.”

Politico: “The deal struck between Petraeus and the Justice Department would save Petraeus from the scrutiny of a public trial where details of his personal life and affair would be made public. He remains married to Holly Petraeus.”

Boehner Caves on Homeland Security Funding

March 3, 2015 at 10:04 am EST By Taegan Goddard 78 Comments

Speaker John Boehner “told his restive flock Tuesday that he will allow a vote on a clean Homeland Security spending bill later today, citing concerns about terrorism and pinning blame on the Senate for failing to pass limits on President Obama’s immigration actions,” Roll Call reports.

“The Ohio Republican told his members the Senate’s DHS bill would be brought up for a vote after it arrives back in the House later today, according to a source in the room. That effectively leaves it up to the courts to rein in Obama — or not.”

Said Boehner: “Unfortunately, the fight was never won in the other chamber. Democrats stayed united and blocked our bill, and our Republican colleagues in the Senate never found a way to win this fight.”

Rauner Says New Jersey Is a ‘Disaster’

March 3, 2015 at 8:25 am EST By Taegan Goddard 37 Comments

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) had some harsh words for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who campaigned hard for his election last year, the AP reports.

Rauner said that New Jersey “is lost” he said the situation in the state is a disaster.

He added: “They’re going down the drain, and they ain’t turning it around.”

O’Reilly Caught on Tape Contradicting His Own Book

March 3, 2015 at 8:22 am EST By Taegan Goddard 33 Comments

An audio recording clearly refutes claims Fox News host Bill O’Reilly “made in his 2012 book, Killing Kennedy, and again on air, that he had stood on the doorstep of the home where Lee Harvey Oswald friend George de Mohrenschildt committed suicide in 1977, and had actually heard the fatal shot being fired,” Bloomberg reports.

“The audio tape of the phone call between O’Reilly and Florida investigator Gaeton Fonzi shows that O’Reilly was not in Florida on the day of de Mohrenschildt’s suicide, and only learned of it when Fonzi called him.”

How Republicans Can Win in 2016

March 3, 2015 at 8:18 am EST By Taegan Goddard 95 Comments

A must-read: 2016 and Beyond: How Republicans Can Elect a President in the New America by Whit Ayres.

“If the 2016 Republican nominee wins the same percentage of the white vote that Mitt Romney won in 2012 — 59 percent — then he or she will need to win 30 percent of the non-white vote to be elected. That is far greater than the 17 percent of the non-white vote that Romney achieved in 2012, or the 19 percent John McCain won in 2008, and better even than the 26 percent of the non-white vote that George W. Bush won his 2004 reelection campaign.”

“On the other hand, if the 2016 Republican nominee wins no more of the non-white vote than Romney’s 17 percent, he or she will need to win 65 percent of the white vote to win. That is a level of white vote achieved by only one Republican nominee in the past forty years: Ronald Reagan in his 49-state landslide reelection sweep in 1984, when he won 66 percent of the white vote… Republicans can complain about these trends, wring their hands over them, and get heartburn as a result. What they can’t do is change them.”

McDonnell Seeks to Have Conviction Thrown Out

March 3, 2015 at 8:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

Former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) “fired the opening salvo in a bid to get his public corruption conviction thrown out, arguing in a filing that the case against him was ‘built on a boundless definition of bribery,'” the Washington Post reports.

“There is some indication he could find success there. The appeals court overturned the district judge’s ruling that McDonnell report to prison by Feb. 9, allowing the ex-governor to remain free on bond while it takes up the case. It is a signal that the judges think there is an issue worthy of their consideration.”

O’Malley Will Not Run for Senate

March 3, 2015 at 8:11 am EST By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) announced he will not run for retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s (D-MD) Senate seat, CNN reports.

Said O’Malley: “I am hopeful and confident that very capable public servants with a desire to serve in the Senate will step up as candidates for this important office. I will not be one of them.”

Christie Sinks to a New Low in New Jersey

March 3, 2015 at 8:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard 16 Comments

A new Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind survey in New Jersey finds just 35% of registered voters say they approve of Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) job performance, compared to 51% who disapprove.

Those figures mark the lowest approval and highest disapproval ratings ever recorded by the poll.

Quote of the Day

March 3, 2015 at 7:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

“Y’all have got a difficult problem.”

— Former Vice President Dick Cheney, quoted by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) in The Hill, offering advice to House Republicans on their problems passing a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

A Terrible Start for Republicans

March 3, 2015 at 7:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

“The opening weeks of the 114th Congress have been nothing short of a disaster for Republicans, who declared upon taking control of both chambers last fall that the era of governing by crisis and fiscal cliffs was over,” The Hill reports.

“Since their declaration, House GOP leaders have yanked several high-profile bills from the floor after rebellions from rank-and-file members. Counting an emergency measure to keep the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) running through Friday, Congress has sent President Obama a total of only four bills, even as Republicans promised to get off to a fast start this session.”

Clinton Only Used Personal Email at State Department

March 3, 2015 at 7:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard 47 Comments

Hillary Clinton “exclusively used a personal email account to conduct government business as secretary of state, State Department officials said, and may have violated federal requirements that officials’ correspondence be retained as part of the agency’s record,” the New York Times reports.

“Mrs. Clinton did not have a government email address during her four-year tenure at the State Department. Her aides took no actions to have her personal emails preserved on department servers at the time, as required by the Federal Records Act.”

Washington Post: “It was not clear why Clinton, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, created the private account. But the practice appears to bolster long-standing criticism that Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, have not been transparent.”

Clinton Left Largely Defenseless Without Campaign

March 3, 2015 at 6:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

“Hillary Clinton is still weeks away from announcing her candidacy for president, but she’s already absorbing her share of damaging mid-campaign-style salvos from reporters and Republicans — without actual campaign staff to defend her,” Politico reports.

“Clinton, backed by Cheryl Mills, her most trusted adviser, has bucked the advice of many top Democrats — former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe personally urged her to staff up late last year — by pushing the hiring of many key staffers into the spring, until after her formal declaration. That has left Clinton, a defense-minded politician who coined the term “War Room,” without a rapid response team to offer robust explanations to reporters probing the fundraising and management practices of her family’s foundation — or even to muster an organized corps of surrogates to get out the talking points.”

Obama Wants Iran To Halt Nuclear Work for 10 Years

March 2, 2015 at 5:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

President Obama told Reuters that Iran should commit to a verifiable freeze of at least 10 years on its nuclear activity for a landmark atomic deal to be reached, but said the odds were still against sealing a final agreement.

Obama also said that “a rift over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress opposing the Iran deal on Tuesday was a distraction that would not be ‘permanently destructive’ to U.S. Israeli ties. But he said there was a ‘substantial disagreement’ between his administration and the Israeli government over how to achieve their shared goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”

Perry Staffs Up for White House Bid

March 2, 2015 at 4:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

“Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who is planning to make a second run for president in 2016 after his unsuccessful campaign four years ago, is putting more pieces of infrastructure in place,” the New York Times reports.

“The latest moves are for a super PAC, which can raise high amounts to support a candidate, that will back his effort. The super PAC is to be steered by Austin Barbour, a Mississippi-based lobbyist and political operative, according to three people privy to the staffing decisions at the group.”

Buffett Says Warren Should Be ‘Less Angry’

March 2, 2015 at 4:13 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 55 Comments

Billionaire Warren Buffett isn’t a fan of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) populist rhetoric, Business Insider reports.

Said Buffett: “I think that she would do better if she was less angry and demonizing. I believe in ‘hate the sin but love the sinner.’ And I’m not sure that I’ve fully convinced Elizabeth Warren that that’s the way to go.”

Kirk Predicts Doom for Chicago If Emanuel Loses Runoff

March 2, 2015 at 4:07 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 27 Comments

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) suggested that Chicago could go the way of financially strapped Detroit if voters fail to reelect Rahm Emanuel (D), USA Today reports.

Said Kirk: “The people who are running against Rahm don’t have the gravitas with the bond market. I would worry about the value of the Chicago debt if Rahm was not re-elected.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

March 2, 2015 at 2:36 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

“My wife always reminds me I depress everybody so much that I need to pass out tranquilizers.”

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), quoted by the Boston Globe, joking about his curmudgeonly demeanor.

GOP Leaders, Conservatives Plot Next Moves

March 2, 2015 at 2:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

“House Republican leaders don’t expect to have a plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security until mid-week, potentially setting up another frantic shutdown fight later this week,” Politico reports.

“With a Friday deadline looming, Republican leaders are set to meet Monday afternoon to begin to plot their way out of what’s become one of the worst jams of John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) speakership.”

“Just hours after the leadership meeting, another emerging power center — the House Freedom Caucus, led by Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan — will gather Monday night to plan their next moves. Sources in the newly formed group say its members aren’t moving to oust Boehner, but some conservatives would support removing the speaker if it came up.”