(The Cable)  Insiders with ties to the Obama administration tell The Cable that U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has become the heir apparent to National Security Advisor Tom Donilon – a post at the epicenter of foreign-policy decision making and arguably more influential than secretary of state, a job for which she withdrew her candidacy last fall amid severe political pressure.

“It’s definitely happening,” a source who recently spoke with Rice told The Cable. “She is sure she is coming and so too her husband and closest friends.”

(more…)

(Via CST) Sneed hears President Barack Obama, who is this/close to Holder, has set his sights on Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick as a possible replacement “when the heat dies down on the latest hot-button scandals to hit the U.S. Justice Department,” said a top White House source.

Last year, Holder became a hot button over a congressional probe of the sale of government guns to drug cartels.

This time it’s the double whammy of an IRS scandal and the U.S. Justice Department’s seizure of Associated Press reporters’ phone records — which has caused a media uproar. (more…)

(Via Slate)  If you are a customer of Verizon Wireless, you might want to consider switching carriers in light of the Associated Press phone snooping scandal.

When the feds came knocking for AP journalists’ call records last year, Verizon apparently turned the data over with no questions asked. The New York Times, citing an AP employee, reported Tuesday that at least two of the reporters’ personal cellphone records “were provided to the government by Verizon Wireless without any attempt to obtain permission to tell them so the reporters could ask a court to quash the subpoena.” (more…)

Large numbers of people have formulated numerous hypothesis about the various “W8 factors”. The entire construct of the Benjamin Crump deposition is structurally framed around the Crump presentation of the W8 narrative.

That’s why the 5th DCA decision to allow deposition (override trial judge Nelson), or support the judge Nelson ruling (barring deposition), carries so much weight. The 5th DCA delivers rulings on Fridays.

This is more than just a bit of a big deal. It’s a Joe Biden moment.

Simultaneously, we have independently been on the Keyser Soze trail for quite a long time. A very LONG TIME. (more…)

(more…)

Many people have been wondering exactly what was the reason the Eric Holder DOJ used their power to peer into the Associated Press.    Some water-carrying progressives have been claiming the “danger” to national security was so great, the overreaching self-approved subpoena to track 20 phone lines of 100+ reporters was excusable.

Not.Even.Close.  As it turns out, the issue was one of the DOJ retaliating against the AP over the AP decision to ignore a White House request to withhold information for 24 hours just to benefit their ongoing narrative.

AP’s story about the foiled plot was at odds with the calming message the White House had been conveying on the eve of the first anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.  (link)

As the Washington Post outlines;  The DOJ tracking was retaliation for the AP not holding their story for an additional DAY: (more…)

This has all the indicators of reaching the West Wing. Prior Democrats in Congress had espoused the IRS *should* take this approach. With such blatant admissions in 2010, and even 2011 after they lost the House they continued the approach, this is going to be VERY difficult for the administration to firewall.

GOOD GRIEF – Unbelievable stuff from that questioning session today in congress.

Attorney General, Eric Holder, claims he recused himself from the decision making surrounding the wiretapping of more than 100 Associated Press reporters and 20+ phone lines.   However, he states we need to take his word for it because there is nothing documented which provides support for his self-recusal claim.

Not only that, he claims he doesn’t even know “WHEN” he recused himself, and further states he never notified anyone of the recusal itself – nor did he notify the White House. (more…)