Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea’s ex-president, died Saturday after jumping off a cliff while hiking near his rural home in the country’s southeast. Roh had been implicated in a corruption scandal and left a suicide note behind, according to The New York Times.
The New York Times:
Mr. Roh, 62, died while he was hiking on a hill in Bongha, a village near the southeast corner of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, Mr. Roh’s former presidential chief of staff, said during a news conference. He left a brief will for his family, Mr. Moon said.
Mr. Roh suffered fatal head injuries and was declared dead in a hospital in Pusan, the largest regional city, said Park Chan-jo, a police officer. Mr. Roh was accompanied by a bodyguard during his morning hike.
President Lee Myung-bak, Mr. Roh’s successor, found the news “difficult to believe,” his office said.
Mr. Roh, who had prided himself on being a clean politician during his term from 2003 to 2008, was questioned for 10 hours on April 30 by state prosecutors over his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal that has already landed some of his relatives and aides in jail.
Cheryl Saban: Lessons Learned This weekend I’ll bow my head and offer my respect, admiration, and gratitude to our service men and women, past, present, and future. And as a peacenik, I will also be praying that one day, we’ll find another way to resolve our differences.
House Rejects Effort to Probe Pelosi On CIA Claim That GOP effort to get a congressional investigation into Nancy Pelosi’s claim that the CIA lied to her about torture? Looks like it didn’t get too far. The Associated Press reports that the House voted by 252-172 to block the…
NYT Reporter: Maybe 1 In 7 Detainees Didn’t “Return” To Terrorism New York Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller is now casting doubt on the claim in her front page story today, pounced on by the right and quickly picked up on cable, that one in seven detainees released from Guantanamo “returned to…
For Memorial Day: A Tribute to the Soldier in Pink Boxer Shorts Since I have written so often, and for so long, about soldier suicides, and trauma among veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan and back at home, it was a relief to find a fun read yesterday in the new New York…
Wilsonianism–or Trotskyism-Trumanism? In response to Tony’s post, I’d like to emphasize something that John wrote: Finally, it was really Truman and the coming of the Cold War that led to the reinvention of liberal internationalism, creating what I would call liberal…
Durbin Calls On Gingrich To Apologize For Attacking The CIA In 2007 Last week, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich called on Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to resign her current position as Speaker. He said that she “disqualified herself” over her comments that the CIA was “misleading” Congress. As ThinkProgress pointed out, Gingrich himself has accused the CIA, among other U.S. intelligence agencies, of misleading Congress and undermining […]
Last week, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich called on Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to resign her current position as Speaker. He said that she “disqualified herself” over her comments that the CIA was “misleading” Congress.
As ThinkProgress pointed out, Gingrich himself has accused the CIA, among other U.S. intelligence agencies, of misleading Congress and undermining the president. In response to the release of the 2007 Iran National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) — which concluded that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program — Gingrich said that he believed the NIE and its authors were “damaging to our own national security.” He said that the document was “a deliberate attempt to undermine the policies of President Bush by members of his own government by suggesting that Iran no longer poses a serious threat to U.S. national security.”
Today on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) brought up this point. He said that if Gingrich is so offended by Pelosi’s comments, then he should also apologize for what he said in 2007:
DURBIN: I’d just say that I’m afraid Mr. Gingrich is suffering from a little political amnesia here. He’s forgotten that in year 2007, he criticized the National Intelligence estimate in regard to the capability of Iran to develop nuclear weapons and said that — if I remember the quote correctly, I’m looking down here — that what they did damaged our national security and misled the American people. Mr. Gingrich, would you like to make an apology to our intelligence agency for what you said in 2007?
GINGRICH: I said that particular report was intellectually dishonest. It was a public, non-classified report, and we were debating it. I said it was intellectually dishonest. I never said the CIA lied to the Congress, which would be illegal. It would be a felony.
Watch it:
During the exchange, Durbin also brought up Rep. Pete Hoekstra’s (R-MI) criticisms of the CIA, including his 2008 statement that the CIA “may have been lying or concealing part of the truth” in testimony to Congress regarding a 2001 incident in which the CIA mistakenly killed an American citizen in Peru. “We cannot have an intelligence community that covers up what it does and then lies to Congress,” Hoekstra said of the incident. “Should he apologize?” asked Durbin. Gingrich, of course, responded that there was nothing wrong with what Hoekstra said.
Transcript:
DURBIN: I’d just say that I’m afraid Mr. Gingrich is suffering from a little political amnesia here. He’s forgotten that in year 2007, he criticized the National Intelligence estimate in regard to the capability of Iran to develop nuclear weapons and said that — if I remember the quote correctly, I’m looking down here — that what they did damaged our national security and misled the American people. Mr. Gingrich, would you like to make an apology to our intelligence agency for what you said in 2007?
GINGRICH: I said that particular report was intellectually dishonest. It was a public, non-classified report, and we were debating it. I said it was intellectually dishonest. I never said the CIA lied to the Congress, which would be illegal. It would be a felony.
DURBIN: Well, what would you say about Republican congressman Hoekstra, who did in fact say that the intelligence community had lied and misled the American people when it came to the killing of an individual in Peru. Should he apologize?
GINGRICH: Chairman Hoekstra, as he was at the time, was engaged in a specific incident. The Inspector General of the CIA actually did the right job. The investigating board of the CIA did the right job. There was a specific case. They reported that it was wrong, and the CIA actually insisted on telling Congress the truth. And if you check with Chairman Hoekstra, he’ll tell you he agrees with me on this particular issue.
Powell, Answering Critics, Urges GOP to ?Reach Out’ Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell yesterday reaffirmed his allegiance to the Republican Party and called for a “no-holds-barred, candid” debate about the party’s future.
Stimulus Funds for Energy Efficiency May Aid Owens Corning NEWARK, Ohio — Tracy Posey is No. 11. Until she was laid off a year ago, she worked on an assembly line, packing fiberglass insulation the consistency of cotton candy. She found work, but longs for her old job at the Owens Corning factory where “glass wool” was invented more than 75 years ago.
Justice Department Investigates Mountaintop Technologies Over Murtha Earmarks In tiny, cash-strapped Monongahela, Pa., the city clerk was stunned when federal investigators arrived this fall with a subpoena seeking information on a crime-fighting grant she’d never heard of. She takes pride in tracking every dollar in the municipal budget.
The Hollywood Liberal is an anti-war, anti republican, from right here beautiful Hollywood California.
This site was originally started to help get The Worst President Ever G.W. Bush Jr. Out of office. Now that we have accomplished that
the goal is to get Obama to start acting like a Democrat, and not an butt kissing Republican Wannabee. We will continue to fight for that goal
. Thanks H.L.
