Morning Bulletin – Friday, April 24, 2009
A roundup of news, schedules, and key stories from CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:
CIA INTERROGATIONS: "President Obama rebuffed calls for a commission to investigate alleged abuses under the Bush administration in fighting terrorism, telling congressional leaders at a White House meeting yesterday that he wants to look forward instead of litigating the past," report the Washington Post's Shalaigh Murray and Paul Kane.
"In a lengthy exchange with House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Obama appeared to back away from a statement earlier this week that suggested he could support an independent commission to examine possible abuses, according to several attendees who spoke on the condition of anonymity so they could discuss the private meeting freely."
Meantime, "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday rejected calls for an independent commission to investigate harsh interrogation methods used by the Central Intelligence Agency, making such a panel unlikely," add the Wall Street Journal's Naftali Bendavid and Jonathan Weisman.
"The Nevada Democrat said he wanted to wait until an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee is completed. That panel's hearings will be closed and its chairman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), said in a letter to President Barack Obama that the work could take six to eight months. 'I think it would be very unwise, from my perspective, to start having commissions, boards, tribunals, until we find out what the facts are,' Mr. Reid told reporters. 'I don't know a better way of getting the facts than through the Intelligence Committee.'
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) accused the Obama administration Thursday of playing politics with national security. 'I don't see a lot of value in looking back,' Mr. Boehner said. 'The American people are struggling in a very difficult economy. They're trying to get a job or worried about keeping their job. And this is another sideshow here in Washington.'"
However, "If growing political pressure doesn't subside soon, President Barack Obama may have to do something he's resisted doing since he took office: support a new investigation into how the Bush-era CIA interrogated suspected terrorists using techniques that are widely considered torture," write McClatchy Newspapers' Margaret Talev and William Douglas.
"Again Thursday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that Obama thinks that the idea of a commission wasn't 'workable' and that 'something like this would likely just become a political back-and-forth.' Liberal activists on Thursday delivered 250,000 petitions to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding an independent prosecutor. Liberals in Congress are calling for a commission. Obama himself all week refused to rule one out, saying that a bipartisan, independent panel would be the best option.
"The political oxygen in the nation's capital is now being consumed by rancor over the interrogations. That's why several experts on Congress and previous high-profile investigations think that it's increasingly likely that Obama will call for an independent panel, outside Congress, similar to the 9/11 Commission that examined the 2001 attacks. That could help tone down the partisan bitterness over the issue, especially if officials and former officials who testified were given immunity from prosecution. Appointing an independent panel would shift the debate out of Congress so that Obama and lawmakers could resume pursuing his priorities, such as trying to pass an overhaul of health care and tackle global warming."
4957825"Barack Obama, facing perhaps the trickiest political issue of his young presidency, is trying to appease his liberal base without losing control of a potentially volatile inquiry into George W. Bush administration's use of harsh interrogation tactics against terrorism suspects," adds the Associated Press' Charles Babington.
"One step to the left or right could land him in political trouble. If Obama seems inclined to stifle an investigation and possible prosecution of Bush administration officials who approved rough interrogations by the CIA, he may infuriate liberal activists who were crucial to his election. But if Democratic lawmakers appear too zealous in pursuing departed GOP government officials, they might be portrayed as vindictive and backward-looking, undermining Obama's image as a forward-looking figure of hope and progress."
The Washington Post's R. Jeffrey Smith, Michael D. Shear and Walter Pincus reveal that internal Obama administration debate about whether to release the interrogation memos was "intense."
"As President Obama met with top advisers on the evening of April 15, he faced one of the sharpest policy divides of his young administration. Five CIA directors -- including Leon E. Panetta and his four immediate predecessors -- and Obama's top counterterrorism adviser had expressed firm opposition to the release of interrogation details in four 'top secret' memos in which Bush administration lawyers sanctioned harsh tactics.
"On the other side of the issue were Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair and White House counsel Gregory B. Craig, whose colleagues during the campaign recall him expressing enthusiasm for fixing U.S. detainee policy.
"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates had said he supported the disclosures because he saw the information's release as inevitable and because the White House was willing to promise that CIA officers would not be prosecuted for any abuse. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen sided with Gates.
"Seated in Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's West Wing office with about a dozen of his political, legal and security appointees, Obama requested a mini-debate in which one official was chosen to argue for releasing the memos and another was assigned to argue against doing so. When it ended, Obama dictated on the spot a draft of his announcement that the documents would be released, while most of the officials watched, according to an official who was present. The disclosure happened the next day."
ALSO TODAY: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner hosts the G7 Finance Ministers meeting at the Treasury Department and holds a news conference at 4:30 p.m. ET.
He "is expected to outline the Obama administration's efforts to clean up the U.S. banking system during meetings Friday with finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations, a department official said," reports the Associated Press' Christopher S. Rugaber.
"Getting banks to lend again, along with government stimulus spending, is critical to turning around the U.S. and global economies, the official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record. His comments came the same day that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, urged the U.S. and Europe to do more to remove distressed assets from banks' balance sheets. World leaders pledged to take such steps during a summit in London April 2. Postponing such steps, Strauss-Kahn said, would 'postpone the recovery.'"
"In recent weeks, there have been some encouraging signs that the global economic downturn may be slackening. Conditions in some financial markets have improved and the decline in world trade may be abating. However, real progress requires time, and significant risks and challenges remain. Thus, it is critical that we continue to act together to strengthen the basis for global recovery. We have an agreed strategy and a common imperative to implement our strategy with energy and dedication to our shared objectives."
At 10am ET, former Vice President Al Gore testifies at a House Energy Subcommittee hearing on climate change.
NEXT WEEK: The Senate confirmation vote for Kathleen Sebelius to be Health and Human Services Secretary is scheduled for next Tuesday, reports CBS News producer Jill Jackson.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele agreed, saying in a press release: "Significant questions remain about Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' evolving relationship with a late-term abortion doctor as well as about her position on the practice of late-term abortions. The Senate should not vote, nor should Gov. Sebelius be confirmed, until these questions are answered fully and completely." Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, told the Post that he expects Sebelius to get the 60 votes needed for confirmation.
"Sadly for broadcasters, April 29 -- Wednesday -- also falls in the May sweeps ratings derby, which started last night. In honor of the sweeps, networks had scheduled actual original episodes of scripted shows Wednesday at 8 -- except NBC, which had planned to air a 'Law & Order' rerun. Fox, on the other hand, had planned to air the freshman drama series 'Lie to Me' ... Network execs got word yesterday morning that Obamavision was making another return visit, sending them scrambling to decide whether to air, how to reschedule planned programming, etc."
Also, on Monday, President Obama convenes a multilateral climate change meeting to try to secure a U.N. pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Obama "called the meeting last month to relaunch a process that began under his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, whose commitment to curbing climate change was viewed with skepticism by much of the world," reports Reuters' Jeff Mason.
"The stakes are higher now. The Kyoto Protocol, which caps greenhouse gas emissions, runs out in 2012 and leaders from around the globe will gather in Copenhagen in December to forge a successor treaty. Environmentalists hope renewed engagement by the United States and Obama's push for U.S. leadership on the issue will result in a deal. The White House views next week's forum, which groups 16 major economies including the European Union and the United Nations, as an avenue toward securing a broader pact -- a goal that many believed Bush did not share."
ECONOMY / BAILOUTS
NY Times' Eric Dash, "U.S. to Tell Big Banks the Resuts of Stress Test"
Bloomberg News' Roger Runningen and Julianna Goldman, "Obama Warns Credit Card Companies New Regulations Are Coming"
FOREIGN POLICY
LA Times' Peter Wallsten, Julian E. Barnes and Greg Miller, "U.S. to reveal alleged prison abuse photos": "Defense Department officials worry that the Bush-era images will prompt a backlash in the Middle East."
Washington Post's Karen DeYoung, "Taliban Advance, Pakistan's Wavering Worry Obama Team"
NY Times' Carl Hulse, "Democrats Have Qualms Over War in Afghanistan"
Washington Post's Glenn Kessler, "Clinton Counters Israeli Stance on Palestinians and Iran"
Associated Press' Desmond Butler, "Obama faces dilemma on Armenian killings"
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
Washington Post's Philip Rucker, "President's Critics See a Dull Knife – Budget Watchers Say Cuts Are Just Symbolic"
NY Times' Brian Knowlton, "Obama's Trade Chief Says He Will Push Ahead on Pacts"
Bloomberg News' Nicholas Johnston, "Economy May Force Obama to Abandon Plan to Overhaul Immigration"
Associated Press' Mark Sherman, "Obama legal team wants to limit defendants' rights"
Politico's Kenneth P. Vogel, "Hillary profits from campaign list"
REP. JANE HARMAN WIRETAP
NY Times' Mark Mazzetti and Neil A. Lewis, "Gonzales Said to Have Intervened on Wiretap"
MINNESOTA SENATE RECOUNT
Minneapolis Star Tribune's Kevin Duchschere, "Coleman's appeal lineup: 5 justices"
NY-20 SPECIAL ELECTION
Capital News 9's Curtis Schick, "Sources say Tedisco concession likely"
PolitickerNY's Jimmy Vielkind, "Murphy Close to the Finish Line: Tedisco Needs 75 Percent of Remaining Votes to Catch Up"
FUTURE RACES
2010 MN Governor: Minneapolis Star Tribune's Patricia Lopez, "Entenza announces bid for governor"
2010 CO Senate: Denver Post's Lynn Bartels, "Ritter doesn't fare well in poll"
2010 FL Senate: Associated Press' Brendan Farrington, "Former Fla. Speaker Rubio to reveal Senate plans"
2010 IL Senate: Chicago Sun-Times' Michael Sneed, "Bill Daley says no to Senate bid"
ETC.
CBSNews.com's Brian Montopoli, "Michelle Obama Chats With Kids About First Dog, Secret Trips"
Politico's Ben Smith, "Schmidt, Plouffe on long-shot McCain"
Wall Street Journal's John D. McKinnon and Monica Langley, "Palin Backers Set Up Legal Defense Fund"
NY Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Unemployed, Unapologetic and Unrestrained – It's Cheney Unbound"
Politico's Jonathan Martin, "Brand Dems socialists says RNC bloc"