Kyle Sampson, Coffin Nail

Thursday's Senate committee testimony by ex-Justice Department Deputy Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson wasn't just the last nail in Alberto Gonzales' political coffin;it's a big one in slamming the lid on the entire George W. Bush Presidency.

You can enjoy Keith Olbermann's great distillation of Kyle's mortal blow, his total exposure of Gonzales' bald-faced lie that as Attorney General had nothing to do with the mega-hack firing of eight (8) U.S. Attorneys:

Specter asked about Gonzales' "candor" in saying earlier this month that he was not a part of any discussions on the firings. He asked about the November 27, 2006 meeting "where there were discussions" and Gonzales allegedly attended. Was Gonzales' statement about taking part in no discussions accurate?

"I don’t think it’s accurate,” Sampson replied. “I think he’s recently clarified it. But I remember discussing with him this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign, and I believe that he was present at the meeting on Nov. 27.”

"So he was involved in discussions in contrast to his statement" this month? Specter asked.

"Yes," Sampson replied.

There it is. The hallmark of the Bush/Cheney reign has consistently been, in ways that dwarf any "is" that ever came out of President Bill Clinton's mouth, lying.

It started with the 2000 vote count in Florida, but the chaos his team was able to stir up was so great that it stayed subliminal...until those infamous sixteen words in his infamous 2003 State of the Union Address; the lie that took his Iraq War gin-up over the top. Hey, Scooter Libby was even convicted of lying.

The scandal swirls closer and closer to Karl Rove and George Bush himself. For Rove it has always been about his megalomaniacal drive to create a "permanent Republican majority". Although he claimed the way he was doing it was "to design a legislative and philosophical agenda" that would dominate, it turns out he's always been hedging his bets with bogus accusations of Democratic election fraud, accusations actually engineered for maximum voter-suppression. The U.S. Attorneys that were fired appear likely targeted because they were from swing states Rove was targeting, and they weren't doing Karl's dirty work.

So far there's tangential evidence that Karl was at the center of the decisions, an email cc that won't completely do the trick. Oh, and he replaced the Arkansas U.S. Attorney with his protege, another unscrupulous campaign hack. But with all of his non-governmental emails being subpoenaed, if they do see the light of day who knows what we'll learn.

Then there's Harriet.

She may take down Rove, maybe it's his turn to fall for his El Presidente, but the most likely way Bush will be drawn into the swirlybowl is via Harriet Miers. Yes, the one he tried to stuff on the Supreme Court, like Gonzales another one of his personal attorneys from all the way back in Texas. Harriet recently resigned her White House job, but she's all over the

Much of the hearing focused on why prosecutors’ names were added to or dropped off the list. At regular White House meetings that included Ms. Miers and her deputy, William Kelley, progress on preparing the list was discussed, Mr. Sampson said.

Think of all the cracks you've ever heard about El Presidente's intelligence. Then think of all the cracks you heard about Harriet Miers during her short-lived dance with a Supreme Court nomination.

Will anyone really believe she vetted those lists of U.S. Attorneys to replace without the specific approval, in each and every instance, of her boss?

Hammer into nail.



Crossposted to The Daily Reel.