What the Hack?

(Reuters) – Les Hinton was adamant. Asked in 2007 by a British parliamentary committee whether the News of the World had “carried out a full, rigorous internal inquiry” into the use of illegal phone hacking by the newspaper and was “absolutely convinced” it was limited to a single reporter, Hinton did not hesitate.

“Yes, we have,” the then-executive chairman of News of the World’s owner News International told the select committee, “and I believe he was the only person, but that investigation, under the new editor, continues.”

Four years on, Hinton may have serious reason to regret those words.

Original movie poster

With Justice For None

From CROOKS & LIARS:

From the moment he entered the White House, President Obama’s attitude towards the crime, corruption and politicization of the Bush Justice Department has been to “look forward and not backwards.” As we’ve seen for the third time in just the last several days, that’s working out just fine for the Bush lawyers.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Nora Dannehy [assigned by Gonzales’ successor Michael Mukasey]  announced she would bring no charges against Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, Monica Goodling or any of the key players behind the purge of 9 U.S. attorneys.

Original DVD cover

Uh-oh, Chimpy, now you’ve gone and made him mad!

From The Washington Post:

In his first few months after leaving office, former vice president Richard B. Cheney threw himself into public combat against the “far left” agenda of the new commander in chief. More private reflections, as his memoir takes shape in slashing longhand on legal pads, have opened a second front against Cheney’s White House partner of eight years, George W. Bush.

Cheney’s disappointment with the former president surfaced recently in one of the informal conversations he is holding to discuss the book with authors, diplomats, policy experts and past colleagues.

…snip…

“In the second term, he felt Bush was moving away from him,” said a participant in the recent gathering, describing Cheney’s reply. “He said Bush was shackled by the public reaction and the criticism he took. Bush was more malleable to that. The implication was that Bush had gone soft on him, or rather Bush had hardened against Cheney’s advice. […]”

Original DVD cover

Oh look! Deadeye Dick has even scared Pickles, Jenna, and not-Jenna!

“Left Hanging in the Wind”? He Should Have Been Hanged!

From The Washington Post:

Former vice president Richard B. Cheney said yesterday that he strongly disagreed with President Bush’s decision not to pardon I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, saying his former chief of staff had been left “hanging in the wind.”

Original DVD cover.

617-27-054

From NPR:

Bernard Madoff has gone from a $7 million penthouse to a tiny jail cell in Manhattan. Madoff pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday, but implicated no one but himself. Investigators continue to pore over records, trying to figure out, among other things, who helped Madoff engineer the $64 billion fraud that may be the largest in U.S. history. Madoff will be sentenced on June 16.

Original DVD cover.

More Tsuris From Burris

From The Washington Post:

CHICAGO — Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.), appointed late last year to replace President Obama in the U.S. Senate, has informed Illinois lawmakers that he did not tell them the complete story about his contacts with close associates of Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) before he got the job.

Original DVD cover.