US House votes to exempt Hussein’s Iraq from lawsuits
The U.S. House of Representatives, bowing to pressure from President George W. Bush and the Iraqi government, passed a defense bill on Wednesday that would exempt Iraq from lawsuits dating back to the government of executed former President Saddam Hussein. The House, by a vote of 369-46, approved the measure allowing the exemption and authorizing a range of U.S. military programs. The Senate is likely to pass the bill after it returns from recess next week.

House ignores veto threat, passes tougher mine safety rules
WASHINGTON — Democratic backers of a bill designed to force mining regulatory agencies to take a tougher stance with coal operators eked out a victory in the House of Representatives Wednesday but fell far short of a veto-proof majority. President Bush has vowed to veto the measure, which would require the Mine Safety and Health Administration to impose stricter fines for health and safety violations, add safeguards to the oft-criticized “retreat mining” practice, call for a reduction in black lung and other mining-related health issues and improve emergency response to disasters.

Wexler: Cheney impeachment ‘far stronger than Watergate.’ (Think Progress)
[Tuesday] night, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) took to the House floor to urge the House Judiciary Committee to begin impeachment hearings into Vice President Cheney for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Wexler, who has already acquired nearly 190,000 supporters through his website, explained his next steps: “Tomorrow, I will deliver these names to my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee with a letter to my friend, Chairman Conyers, calling for hearings… History demands that we take action, because the case against Vice President Cheney is far stronger than the illegality surrounding Watergate.”
Click through to watch the video of the speech.

McConnell backtracks on waterboarding. (Think Progress)
Earlier this week, The New Yorker reported that Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said that “waterboarding would be torture” if used against him. Today, McConnell appeared to back away from his stance when asked about that comment. “The United States does not engage in torture. We do use enhanced interrogation techniques. … It has saved lives. And so from my point of view, we’ve accomplished the mission within the bounds of U.S. law,” he said.
The lives it has saved, please?  Give us specifics.

Tapes destroyed over CIA’s objections
WASHINGTON - The CIA official who gave the command to destroy interrogation videotapes apparently acted against the direction of his superiors, the top Republican House Intelligence Committee member said. “It appears he hadn’t gotten authority from anyone,” said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich. on Wednesdau, speaking to reporters after the first day of closed testimony in the committee’s investigation. “It appears he got direction to make sure the tapes were not destroyed.” Hoekstra said that raises the troubling prospect that there’s a thread of unaccountability in the spy culture.
Funny that he’s able to say this after closed testimony, and nobody can test its veracity.  We all know who the unaccountable people are, and it’s not just the intelligence community.

Justice Dept. Cites Obstacles in Blackwater Case
Justice Department officials have told Congress that they face serious legal difficulties in pursuing criminal prosecutions of Blackwater security guards involved in a September shooting that left at least 17 Iraqis dead. In a private briefing in mid-December, officials from the Justice and State Departments met with aides to the House Judiciary Committee and other Congressional staff members and warned them that there were major legal obstacles that might prevent any prosecution.
They gave the perpetrators immunity.  That’s an enormous obstacle!

Chertoff Permanently Installs Hand-Picked DHS Staffers, ‘Overextending His Influence’ After 2008
[L]ast week, the Wall Street Journal reported that all of a sudden, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff had decided to replace many political appointees with career staffers… According to Chertoff, they want to create a smooth transition for the next administration… Based on the administration’s track record, however, its real intentions may be .. [that instead] of being able to appoint new, competent officials, the next administration will be stuck with Chertoff’s last-minute choices.
Watch for lots more shenanigans like this, all the way up to January 20, 2009.

White House copied over e-mail tapes
WASHINGTON - The White House acknowledges recycling backup computer tapes of e-mail, a practice that may have wiped out many electronic messages from the early years of the Bush administration, including some pertaining to the CIA leak case.

USDA Recommends That Food From Clones Stay Off the Market
The U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday asked U.S. farmers to keep their cloned animals off the market indefinitely even as Food and Drug Administration officials announced that food from cloned livestock is ’safe’ to eat.

Court limits trusts’ tax deductions
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court upheld limits Wednesday on income tax deductions for trusts and estates, ruling against the family that created Pepperidge Farm.

Court upholds NY judicial nominee system
ALBANY, N.Y. - A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upholds New York’s system of choosing trial judges is likely to renew calls for legislative reform, but even some proponents of change say their chances of success are slim.

Ex-Congressman Indicted In Terrorism-Funding Case
A former Republican congressman from Michigan who has dedicated himself to building ties between Christians and Muslims was indicted in federal court yesterday for alleged ties to an Islamic charity that sent money to suspected terrorists… The allegations … are unusual because they involve a former politician with strong Christian support who is charged for his connections to alleged Islamic militants.

Clinton, McCain Top National Poll (Political Wire)
The latest Pew Research national poll shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic presidential race with 46%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 31% and John Edwards at 13%. Key finding: Obama’s gains have come from higher income Democrats; Gender is more of a benefit for Clinton than race is for Obama. On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain leads with 29%, followed by Mike Huckabee at 20%, Mitt Romney at 17% and Rudy Giuliani at 13%. Key finding: McCain’s gains have come almost entirely from moderates and independents; Huckabee leads among evangelical Christians; Romney leads among non-evangelical conservatives.

Rove Chides Clinton For ‘Hiding’ Documents While He Refuses To Turn Over Documents To Congress (Think Progress)
In an address to a group of state GOP executive directors at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting, Karl Rove attacked that “the woman,” Hillary Clinton, for not releasing records of her time in the White House. This, according to Rove, “raises legitimate questions about what she’s hiding”… As the subject of a contempt resolution for hiding documents, Rove is hardly one to talk. Just last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-7 to approve a contempt citation against Rove for withholding information relating to the firing of U.S. attorneys.

Obama Pledges Support for Animal Rights
Democrat Barack Obama says he won’t just be a president for the American people, but the animals too. “I think how we treat our animals reflects how we treat each other,” he said. “And it’s very important that we have a president who is mindful of the cruelty that is perpetrated on animals.”
Specifics, Senator Obama?

Huckabee defends his call to re-write the Constitution.
[Tuesday] night on Fox’s Hannity and Colmes, Mike Huckabee was forced to defend his quest to “amend the Constitution” to “God’s standards.” Huckabee said his comments were in reference to his support for a “human life amendment” and a “traditional marriage amendment.” He added, “I’m not suggesting that we re-write the Constitution to reflect tithing or Sunday school attendance. I want to make that very clear.”
That’s where this kind of thing will lead, though, Gov. Huckabee.  That’s why the Founders put separation of church and state into the Constitution.

Democratic Ballot Recount Underway In N.H.
The state on Wednesday began the process of recounting the Democratic ballots cast in last week’s primary. Shortly before 8 a.m., the ballots that had been stored in Manchester were loaded onto hand trucks to begin the journey to Concord. The recount was requested by candidate Dennis Kucinich, who paid $27,000 to the secretary of state to begin the recount.

Study prompts concern over voting machines
Problems with machines and software used to count votes in Missoula have prompted the League of Women Voters of Montana to ask the secretary of state to decertify the suspect election equipment. The flaws came to light in a two-year, $1.9 million study released last month in Ohio.

Bill advocates paper ballots and audits
TRENTON, N.J. - A New Jersey congressman hopes to introduce a bill in the House that would offer $600 million to voting districts across the nation that convert to paper ballots or put in audit systems in time for the November presidential election.

UN official: US neglects Katrina victims
NEW ORLEANS - A United Nations official who has toured parts of Louisiana and Mississippi devastated by Hurricane Katrina says the thousands of victims of the storm resemble poor people displaced by natural disasters in other parts of the world.