US Department of Justice, Office of Special Counsel

Indictments in the CIA leak case may be issued this week.

You can find the latest information if they are issued at special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's website. (Reuters)

The Watching Washington Videocast.

Starts Monday.

Think of it as a Security Camera to Help You Watch Washington.

DeLay Smile May Foil Democrat Campaign Ads

A simple smile and a nice suit -- complete with his House of Representatives lapel pin -- probably dashed Democrats' hopes of using former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's (R-TX) mugshot in campaign ads next year.

But the mugshot could land the Congressman in even more legal trouble.

[Rep Tom DeLay's mugshot, left. "Smiling Bob" from Enzyte "male enhancement" commercials, right]

What if Enzyte sues for copyright infringement? (WashPost)

Report: Second VP Staffer Cooperating

The Raw Story has identified a second aide to Vice President Dick Cheney who is cooperating in the CIA leak probe.

Earlier, sources had identified John Hannah -- a Vice Presidential aide and architect of the Iraq War -- as working with special prosecutor Patrick Gitzgerald in exchange for a "deal."

Raw Story now reports that David Wurmser is cooperating with the investigation as well. (Raw Story)

Mr DeLay's Day in Court

CNN reports that former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) has made his first court appearance in Texas. He's charged with conspiracy and money laundering. Afterwards, he accused the prosecutor of abusing his power.

Campagn Cash Coming In

Democrats outraised Republicans in the race for the US Senate in the last quarter. The But the National Republican Senatorial Committee has more money on hand than the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee :

MONEY RAISED
DSCC: $8.7 million
NRSC:: $7.3 million.

CASH ON HAND
DSCC: $19 million
NRSC: $28.2 million

The House counterparts broke down this way between the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC):

MONEY RAISED
NRCC: $9 million
DCCC: $12.6 million

CASH ON HAND
NRCC: $17.7
DCCC: $11.3

On the House side, the NRCC has twice as much money on hand as compared to this point in the 2004 campaign. (The Hotline)

Pardon?

A grand jury investigating illegal political patronage jobs in Kentucky has indicted the state Republican Party's treasurer and a GOP district chairman.

The treasurer, Dave Disponett, also serves on the state Board of Elections.

A state law makes it illegal to consider political support for hiring people to state jobs.

Earlier this year, Governor Ernie Fletcher (R-KY) pardoned 11 current or former members of his administration who'd come under investigation by the grand jury.

Guess he missed these two. (Anchorage Daily News)

Is this "Treason?" -- Conservatives Attack Coulter

A bunch calling itseld Citizens for Principled Conservativism (CPC) is producing a documentary attacking Conservative talking head Ann Coulter.

Brad's Blog quotesCPC head honcho Daniel Borchers as saying people who use Ms Coulter's approach hurt the Conservative movement:

"Coulter's greatest fault, however, is not her provocative policy ideas or discriminatory remarks. Ours is a country of free thought and free speech, and Coulter is entitled to her opinions. Coulter's offense is rather that she portrays herself as a Christian conservative, a representative of the views and principles of the Religious Right, and then uses that adopted identity to spread hate and fear, thus stigmatizing all those who embrace Christian conservatism."

The documentary -- still in production -- is called The Truth About Ann. (Brad's Blog)

A Bridge Too Far

Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK) said "he would resign and 'be taken out of here on a stretcher" if the Senate killed money for two bridges the Senator got in August's highway bill.

The controversial bridges include a quarter billion dollar span to an island with only 50 people living on it.

Sen Tom Coburn (R-OK) has proposed eliminating pork in a reconsideration of the highway bill. He wants to kill the two Alaska bridges worth $450 million...and shift $75 million of that to repair a Lousiana bridge damaged in Hurricane Katrina. (Florida Times Union)

Deja Vu All Over Again

Nixon Meets Elvis, 1970
(above)

Bush meets Bono, 2005 (right)

Smile for the Camera, Rep DeLay

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) avoided the perp walk and has gotten his booking out of the way.

The Smoking Gun has his mugshot (left). He was photographed and fingerprinted at the Harris County, Texas sheriff's office.

Rep DeLay makes his first court appearance Friday. (TSG)

The Halls of Power(ball)

Sen Judd Gregg (R-NH) was one number away from winning a share of the $300 million plus Powerball last night.

He got all the numbers but the Powerball itself. He'll have to settle for a mere $853,000. He's one of 47 people to match the first five numbers. (PoliticsNH.com/HT: PoliticalWire.com)

Minimum Wage Hike Fails

Two Senate plans to raise the minimum wage have been shot down.

Sen Ted Kennedy (D-MA) would have raised the minimum wage by $1.10 to $6.25 over a year and a half. That plan died 51-47.

Republicans proposed the same raise -- with tax breaks and exceptions for small businesses. That plan died 57-42.

The minimum wage has stayed at $5.15 an hour since 1997.

Since then, Congress has allowed automatic pay increases of $24,500 for each of its members.

A single parent with two children earning the minimum wage earns $10,700 a year. That's $4,500 below the poverty line. (AP)

Pay TV

If you don't have cable or satellite, chances are your television won't work four years from now.

That's because television stations are switching over to digital signals. The old TV sets will have to have a special box to get over the air signals.

The boxes won't come cheap.

So Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) wants to help you out. You'd only have to pay $10 for a box. The federal government would foo the bill for the rest. That'd cost Washington about $3 billion.

But since Washington auctioned off the spectrum for those digital signals -- they expect to make about $10 billion from TV stations. (WashPost)

Bad Dog

The latest from our Department of Irony: the man who wrote New Mexico's new "Dangerous Dog" bill -- has been hospitalized after his own dog attacked him.

Governor Bill Richardson's (D-NM) top crime advisor, Bob Schwartz, wrote the bill that allows felony charges against owners of dangerous dogs if they attack someone. He also lobbied hard to get it passed in the last legislative session. (Yahoo!)

Tom DeLay Prepares for his Mug Shot

A Texas court has issued an arrest warrant (right) for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). It's a routine matter following his recent grand jury indictment.

Rep DeLay's bail is set at $10,000.

He's expected to be booked Friday on conspiracy and money laundering charges in Austin. (SF Chronicle) [Click on image to see larger version at The Smoking Gun]

Spinning out of Control

MSNBC's Howard Fineman sums up the whole Plame Affair investigation in a concise, three-sentence paragraph:

"In essence, the Bush-Rove campaign machine was redeployed in the service of selling of the Iraq war and, later, in defense of that sale. Did they go over the line in doing so? We’re about to find out."

He points out that Karl Rove, a political advisor and consultant, was given unusual power compared to previous administrations. (MSNBC)