Funmurphys: the Blog

Dennis "Haymaker" Hastert

The Congressional Search kerfufle has taken a couple of new twists: First, President Bush ordered the material seized to be sealed for 45 days. For some reason, this sparked wonderment in some quarters, although not in others. I'm firmly in the camp that this makes sense, for a couple of reasons: one is that the President has to work with Congress, so it doesn't make sense to get into a public shouting match with the leadership he wants to work with over something that really is the pervue of low level government (IOW the President and Congress really shouldn't get involved in a routine police matter). The other is that this allows the President to have a series quiet, private chats with the House leadership that has gone bonkers and allow the whole matter to drift off to oblivion, with the announcement of the resolution time to coincide with something of far more interest to the news media, like another disappearence of an attractive young white woman. And really the President is giving anything up - he made it clear that the evidence would not be returned, and a 45 day delay in a case like this is nothing - the FBI already waited 8 months to seize the material after serving a subpeona.

Another bizare twist is that Hastert has fired a shot across ABCs bow for their repeated claims that he's somehow under investigation (or in their odd phrase, "in the mix" - I never knew investigating Congress was like baking a cake) after the Justice Department has officially stated he isn't. ABC has revealed enought for it to be clear that in fact there is nothing new here. Will the obvious questions this raises be persued? Hell no. We won't go asking about the propriety of an investigator or investigators making these leaks (short answer is that whoever leaked it should be investitgated and fired), nor will we be asking why this leak, now? Speaker Hastert obviously feels that it is retaliation for his complaint over the search of William Jefferson's Congressional Office. Is there another motive? I just hope Denny shows as much fire and tenacity in going after ABC, which they so richly deserve, as he as in going after the FBI over the search (which they don't deserve).

And what's getting lost in all the subsequent plot twists? That all the evidence points to William Jefferson being a crook.