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At a joint media appearance by Tony Blair and George Bush this week, a Reuters reporter asked about the Downing Street Memo, which allegedly proves the Bush administration was planning for war eight months before the invasion. And suddenly the memo was in play in the American press - even though reporters have known about it for more than a month. Bob talks to USA Today reporter Mark Memmott about the nature of the coverage.
For millions of Americans, the final word on the filibuster is Frank Capra s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The 1939 film depicts 24 hours of uninterrupted oratory by a heroic junior Senator, who ultimately succeeds in defeating a corrupt political machine. But Slate senior writer Tim Noah tells Brooke that Mr. Smith embodies not only an outdated portrayal of the filibuster, but perhaps the biggest obstacle to eliminating the legislative maneuver altogether.
The rhetoric was heated this week on Capitol Hill, as the two parties neared a high-stakes showdown over the President's judicial nominees. Perhaps not as heated, though, as last Sunday, when several conservative Christian groups staged a telecast that was broadcast nationwide via a vast Christian media infrastructure that has been building for years. Religion writer Jeff Sharlet tells Bob about the many ways in which mainstream media are blind to the story of what many see as the coming spiritual war.
The State Department has abruptly stopped publishing its annual report on international terrorism. The move follows news that the number of terrorist attacks in 2004 represented a 20-year high. U.S. officials say the report's methodology needs retooling. But others accuse the State Department of squelching information that contradicts the President's message about progress in the so-called War on Terror. Bob talks to Knight Ridder's Jonathan Landay, who broke the story.
This week, the U.S. Circuit Court in Washington D.C. denied the appeals of Time Magazine's Matt Cooper and The New York Times' Judith Miller, both convicted of contempt last year after refusing to divulge their sources to a grand jury. Bob and Brooke reflect on the latest developments in the case, with the help of New York Times legal reporter Adam Liptak.
If politicians learned anything from Watergate, it’s that the best way to manage a scandal is to be forthcoming, and that the coverup is often worse than the crime. But in today’s polarized Washington, crisis management is changing. Witness the case of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who is waging an aggressive counter-attack against a range of ethics charges. Brooke talks strategy with Washington Post staff writer John Harris.
The notoriously drab White House press room may soon be getting a face lift. Renovation plans reportedly include a temporary relocation of facilities across the street. And that's raised the suspicions of some reporters, who see it as another attempt to reduce their already skimpy access to the President. From what we've seen on ABC, however, we're sure everybody will be grateful when they see the results.
Bob and Brooke relay the latest in the ongoing Valerie Plame investigation. Journalists Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller continue to face jail time for not revealing their sources. Legal appeals on First Amendment grounds have failed, however, according to some, it is possible that no crime was committed by the leaker who revealed Plame’s identity as a CIA official. No crime, no case. David Berkman “Mayor Of Smoke” Album: Leaving Home Label: Palmetto Jazz Chris Lightcap Quartet “Big Mouth” Album: Bigmouth Label: Fresh Sound New Talent
