ON THE PROWL
Max Out Fundraising must be tightening up a bit for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Traditionally, fundraising events include two-tiered giving: one for $1,000, a second for...
...Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign team...
...These people are nuts--they actually think they can take these guys on in some way...
...Halfofthetrouble we'vehadinthesecondtermwas theresultofthewayourcommunicationsshopwasrunoutof Bartlett'soffice.It'snocoincidence thatthingshavegottenawholelot betterwithEdGillespieincharge...
...Stahl, Cooper, and Sawyer all received ethics clearance from their news organizations to attend the private luncheon.O NT H EP R O W L N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 T H E A M E R I C A N S P E C T A T O R 1 7...
...Conyers's lawyers have told him free speech isn't subversive, but some of his people aren't so sure that somepolitical speech can't be tied into it...
...Bartlett is said to be asking upwards of $25,000 per speech...
...According to a majority committee staff member, there has never been a plan to subpoena or publicly deal with the radio hosts on free speech issues...
...on George...
...Fred Thompsonspentonlynine hours rehearsing for his first debate appearances...
...He had a ton of catching up to do...
...Not Just Waxman WithwordcomingoutthatHouse OversightandGovernment ReformCommitteeChairman HenryWaxmanwasputtingsome ofhis50orsoinvestigativestaffers onthehuntagainstconservativetalk-showhostsRush Limbaugh,SeanHannity,and MarkLevin,HouseJudiciary CommitteeChairmanJohn Conyers,Jr.andhischumson hiscommitteearetryingtoget inontheact...
...John Edwards's stalled presidential campaign...
...But the Giuliani campaign is now demanding that if hosts want the candidate to actually show up, the event can only be at the $2,300 level...
...Rather, "there might be a written report without public testimony...
...Talk afterward at CBS News was that the discussions were more about media strategy for former Sen...
...We've always thought it was about protecting someone else...
...During an early October House Oversight hearing on the Blackwater security firm's activities in Iraq, Waxman's staff used materials provided by outside trial attorneys who are suing Blackwater in civil court...
...According to Thompson insiders, the man from Tennessee spent far more time prepping than his people are letting on, going so far as to budget prep time on his daily schedule, and construct a stage in his McLean, Virginia offices to hold rehearsals...
...Itwas allaboutcontrol,andneverabout howtobestthegettherightmessageoutattherighttime,"saysa formerWhiteHousecommunica-tionsstaffer...
...WhileWaxmanwouldprobably relishapublichearingonthesocalled"FairnessDoctrine"and conservativeradio,Conyershas hadsomethingWaxmandoesn't: outsideinvestigatorswhoarenot beingmonitoredfortheirwork.In January,ConyerssignedacontractwiththeWashingtonpowerhouselawfirm,Arnold&Porter, andasubcontractor,accounting firmDeloitte&Touche,toassist DemocratsontheJudiciary Committeeinaninvestigationof theU.S.Attorneyfirings...
...The prep work for these debates started back in May," says a Thompson adviser...
...For example, that former Sen...
...The rules are such that itwould be difficult to oust her, but we want someone to step up and make it clear we aren't happy with the state of affairs...
...That's because, according to commission and law enforcement sources, some of what Berger removed and destroyed from the National Archives, a crime for which Berger pled out, were pages from the "Millennium AfterAction Review," a document drafted by National Security Council staff during the Clinton administration...
...for the Clinton people...
...He worked very hard to get ready to go...
...Traditionally, fundraising events include two-tiered giving: one for $1,000, a second for $2,300 per person or $4,600 per couple...
...People are saying it in private, and some people are saying it publicly, but Nancy Pelosi hasn't done the job people thought she was going to do," says one Democratleaning lobbyist, who has held fundraisers for both Pelosi and Hoyer...
...Steny Hoyer would pursue the Speaker's seat if Democrats retook control of the House...
...Gillespie joined the White House in the spring, replacing Bartlett as counselor to the President...
...Now, with 2008 looming large, there are lobbyists close to Hoyer who are pressing him to think about a challenge if the Democrat-controlled House cannot push through major legislation before the end of the year...
...Steny Higher Before the 2006 congressional election cycle, there was much talk about whether Rep...
...That's the M.O...
...Nine hours doesn't come close to the time he put in...
...Berger's role in the Hillary Clinton campaign is unclear, though he was already editing and reviewing policy papers for the campaign before the offer to join in an advisory role came in late September...
...Hoyer, serving as majority leader, is viewed as the best-connected Democrat on the House side for fundraising and influence...
...Bartlett's Communications FormerseniorBushadviserDan Bartletthasbegunspeakingfor moneyaroundWashingtonand elsewhere,andhe'sshowingthe samekeenpoliticalinsightthat servedtheBushadministrationso well.Duringanoff-the-record speechattheU.S.Chamberof Commerce,Bartlettbad-mouthed RudyGiuliani,MittRomney,and FredThompson,whilesingingthe praisesofMike Huckabee.Whilehe downplayedHuckabee's chances,hestilltouted himasaseriouscandidate.Hisanalysisleft U.S.Chamberattendees cold...
...We've always believed that Berger didn't ruin his own good name because he was protecting himself," says a former 9/11 Commission staffer...
...The documents included a series of recommendations for combating terrorism, including 1 6 T H E A M E R I C A N S P E C T A T O R N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 O NT H EP R O W L specifics regarding al Qaeda...
...Even with all that prep and study time, some advisers were nervous, pushing the media to lower the expectations bar as low as possible in the hopes their candidate would exceed it...
...It was an off-the-record meal with, among others, Diane Sawyer, Lesley Stahl,Anderson Cooper,andMichael Berman, who partnered with JFK, Jr...
...Extra Hours While every campaign likes to build mythologies around its can-didates--Mitt Romney doesn't dye his hair, Rudy Giuliani's phone calls from wife Judith aren't pre-arranged, etc.--some are harder to believe...
...The Judiciary Committee has oversight on issues involving subversive activities that could affect the domestic security of the United States," says a House Republican staffer, who in the past has worked on the Judiciary Committee...
...Bartlettiscredited insidetheWhiteHouse forcreatingoneofthe weakestcommunicationsshopsin recentpresidentialhistory...
...As a result, several fundraisers on the East Coast have been canceled when the hosts were unable to guarantee the minimum the campaign required...
...Networking Elizabeth Edwardsspentpart of an October day in New York City lunching at the media-centric restaurant Michael's...
...This isn't about a Republican Party that was well organized, this is about incompetence...
...Almost none of those recommendations were accepted, and law enforcement investigators believe the materials Berger destroyed would have confirmed that the decisions not to pursue tougher anti-terrorism polices were made at the highest level of the White House...
...That contract was to expire in October, but word on Capitol Hill is that some Arnold & Porter staff have been assisting Conyers in other matters beyond the stated contract terms...
...After all, it was Berger who, according to FBI sources, saved former president Clinton from a lot more embarrassment before the 9/11 Commission than he'd already taken...
...Conyers and Waxman are both using outside assistance from lawyers to further their political agendas...
...Berger's Indispensability It shouldn't come as a surprise that former President Bill Clinton's favorite national security adviser, Sandy Berger,wasbroughton board Sen...
Vol. 40 • November 2007 • No. 9
