John Edwards indicted on campaign finance charges
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 4th, 2011 4:35 am by HL
John Edwards indicted on campaign finance charges
Former vice presidential nominee John Edwards was indicted Friday on charges of using illegal campaign donations to conceal his mistress from voters, a stunning fall from grace for a politician once considered a serious contender for the White House.
The indictment triggered immediate criticism from a range of campaign finance and legal experts, who said the government’s case is unprecedented and appears weak. They questioned whether it would survive the fierce defense being mounted by Edwards’s lawyers, who say his actions did not constitute a crime.
House rebukes Obama on Libya mission, but does not demand withdrawal
The House on Friday rebuked President Obama for failing “to provide Congress with a compelling rationale” for the military campaign in Libya but stopped short of demanding he withdraw U.S. forces from the fight.
By a vote of 268 to 145, the House approved a resolution that criticized Obama for not seeking congressional authorization for the 76-day-old campaign against Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.
The resolution gives Obama 14 more days to explain his strategy in Libya and to convince Congress the attacks are justified by U.S. interests.
Gates in Kabul for talks on Afghan strategy
KABUL—U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Kabul on Saturday afternoon for a series of high-level meetings with U.S. and Afghan officials at a potential turning point in the nearly decade-long war.
The arrival of Gates, at the tail end of his tenure as defense secretary, comes amid growing Afghan opposition to NATO’s military strategy in Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai this week called for an end to all coalition airstrikes on Afghan homes and reiterated his opposition to night-time raids and civilian casualties. The demands have put the United States in the difficult position of attempting to appease Karzai while at the same time defending their aggressive fight against the Taliban.
Interview with Sen. Jeff Sessions: Obama has failed to lead
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) was on the road Thursday, traveling the ”beautiful state of Alabama,” he told me in a phone interview. Although the scenery there was pretty, the country’s economic outlook is bleak . Sessions is blistering in his criticism of the Obama administration.
I asked him about the Moody’s announcement and whether a downgrade in the U.S., bond rating was a concern. He replied, “ It has been obvious to all of us — to all objective observers — that we need to take strong steps now for the sake of our country and to get off the unsustainable path we are on.” He cautions that the debt crisis, if not addressed now, would be the “most predictable financial crisis in history.” He cites warnings by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner that show that these officials understand the debt is unsustainable.
