The National Enquirer, which published a report this morning that “investigators are attempting to obtain a tape” that proved an illicit rendezvous between President Barack Obama and former US Senate campaign staffer Vera Baker,hasupdated their story this afternoon to retract the claim that there is video evidence of the affair with the alleged testimony of an anonymous chauffeur.
Looks like the National Enquirer Obama sex scandal is unraveling rather quickly.
How perfectly timed to go with the bogus "Catastrophic oil slick is Obama's Katrina" meme. That librul press, always siding with the dictator!
By GottaLaff As expected, John Edwards has to submit to a sworn legal deposition on... well, you know. I can't imagine the details not being dribbled out (as it were) by someone, somehow, somewhere:
"Edwards is forced to testify under oath about his extra-marital sex life -- specifically that much-talked-about sex tape he made with mistress Rielle Hunter -- and whether he might have spent federal campaign funds to keep Hunter lavishly hidden away from the media and under the watchful eye of trusted aide Andrew Young."
But here's the rub (as it were): Rielle wants the depositions to be hush-hush. She's worried they'll show up in the movie (that will have been inspired by The Politician by Andrew Young). But those pesky leaks... you know how they can be.
As for the campaign funds, that's an obscenity unto itself.
Rep. Jerry Moran (R- KS) is trying to turn charges that he's getting a break on his rent at C Street into attacks on his Christian faith. Seriously. [...]
[H]e told the Topeka Capitol-Journal that criticism of his cozy arrangement amounted to "a national effort to exclude matters of faith by public servants."
Moran continued: "I don't think that my interest in studying the Bible with other colleagues of mine in Congress ought to be seen as anything but good or at least personal -- whether you think it's good or bad it ought to be a decision I make as a member of Congress, as a human being."
Yes, that's right, it's all about discrimination against people of faith. Everyone is out to get them, poor little innocent things. Maybe the words "public servant" should be taken seriously by these guys.
Playing the victim card while you're paying a fraction of what you should be for renting upscale digs while sharing said space with a bunch of cheating, philandering "Christians" probably isn't the best way to go.
Senator John Ensign sought financial backing for a troubled Nevada energy company in 2008, and at the same time he urged the company to hire his mistress’s husband, according to people involved in the matter.
At the request of the company, P2SA Equity, Mr. Ensign had two senior aides contact one of the nation’s largest oil pipeline businesses, Kinder Morgan, about forming a partnership, two executives associated with the project said.
And the sexcapades continue... When will it all end? Maybe when all the Rushpublics find new jobs at Voyeur.
Hey, let's play the Reminiscing Game! Remember when John Ensign had an affair? And remember Doug Hampton, his former top aide? And remember Dougie's wife, who had the affair with Ensign? And remember when Ensign lined up lobbying work for Mrs. Hampton's husband?
Me too.
Investigators appear to be looking into whether Mr. Ensign sought to ingratiate himself with P2SA so that he could ease Mr. Hampton out of his office in Washington.
Oh now that wouldn't be good. Not good at all.
The senator’s office said then that he had not provided any assistance to the company. But subsequent interviews showed that his most senior Senate aides intervened in an effort to prevent the Las Vegas business from going under, a fact that Mr. Ensign no longer disputes.
To fake-quote Ensign, "So?"
Here's so:
While the former aide never got work with P2SA, the interaction of Mr. Ensign and his staff with the company appears unusual, interviews with executives at the firm and a review of their e-mail messages showed.
And by unusual, they mean illegal.
Kinder Morgan decided not to partner up with P2SA. It wouldn't benefit them financially. Therefore, Hubby Hampton was not given a lobbying contract.
By GottaLaff Via an e-mail alert. I'm getting lots of those today.
Can an investigation of C Street be far behind?
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury looking into the aftermath of Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign’s extramarital affair with a staffer.
Via Politico. This is getting seriouser and seriouser. Paying people off is no laughing matter.
The Charleston Post and Courier reports the final divorce hearing for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) will be televised tomorrow with Jenny Sanford taking the witness stand to explain why her marriage is over.
As many as three television outlets have showed an interest in being in the courtroom Friday, some looking to broadcast live.
This is big. Bigger than you. Bigger than me. Bigger than health care reform. Bigger than Afghan war deaths. Bigger than unemployment.
Bigger than god.
As I type this, 35 minutes of MSNBC's and CNN's "news"casts have been devoted to the genesis of the Redemption of Tiger Woods.
He boinked 4,000 women and now he's here to say how sorry he is... sorry, that is, that his career needs rehab:
I'm sorry. It's my fault. I had affairs. I cheated. For years. And years. Because I could.
Because, come on, they were so hottt.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry...
... that I got caught.
That will never happen again.
Please look me in the eyes, because I trained for weeks to look into the camera, to exude sincerity and contrition. I even threw in Buddhism, and now I need unequivocal validation that I gave an Oscar-winning performance.
I hit all the keywords, I stayed on message... and now I want my role model status back.
No, seriously. Like you wouldn't believe.
You in the back, your head's not bowed.
I stood in front of a stark blue background, at a starkly plain podium, looking down at starkly humiliated, teeth-gnashing Mom, looked into the stark camera lens, and delivered the hell out of a somber, polished speech.
An then, in hushed, reverent tones, cameth the Panel.
Even High Priest Armstrong Williams was summoned to preach to the congregation.
Yes, flock, The Church of Tiger Woods assembled, the prayer service was underway, and The Panel glanced heavenward, and then proceeded to look to the gods of emotional analysis, solemn parsing, Very Serious Boffo Reviews... and invoke a silent prayer that sponsors will once again release torrents of cash that will once again bring peace and prosperity to the media and the PGA.
We're at 57 minutes now.
Nike has forgiven him.
All rise.
Tiger, The Holy Panel of Newsotainment Punditiots and Nike hath shown mercy, and hath calleth upon us to doeth the same.
After all, Tiger said he was sorry really, really well.
South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford recalls how she made the "leap of faith" to marry husband Gov. Mark Sanford even though the groom refused to promise to be faithful, insisting that the clause be removed from their wedding vows.
Um, hello? What does it take, a sledge hammer?
"It bothered me to some extent, but ... we were very young, we were in love," she said in an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters to air on "20/20" Friday. "I questioned it, but I got past it ... along with other doubts that I had."
Mark: Jen? I'd love to marry you, as long as you have no objections to my going to Argentina one day and cheating on you with my soul mate while I'm there.
Jenny: Ummm, well... I mean...
Mark: I love you. Lots. Sweartogod.
Jenny: Oh wow. That was like, rilly sweet.
Mark: You're hot... (for now).
Jenny: Oh em gee, you are so kewl. WE are so kewl! 'Kay, I'll marry you!
My mind keeps drifting back to Chris Kofinis (who I enjoy a lot when he's on Countdown, et al.) and what he says about his former boss when he's not on air:
Not only, it turns out, did many senior Edwards staffer suspect that John was having an affair, several confronted John Edwards about it, and came away believing the rumors. At least three campaign aides resigned because of their knowledge of the affair well before the national media picked up on those early National Enquirer stories." [...]
The authors describe a moment where Elizabeth, in a such a state of fury, deliberately tears her blouse in the parking lot of a Raleigh airport terminal, 'exposing herself. 'Look at me,' she wailed at John and then staggered, nearly falling to the ground.' (That's page 142.)
And that didn't make it to ClusterFox or TMZ? No amateur cell phone journalists caught that?
I can't begin to imagine what Elizabeth and the kids went through... nor what the Democratic party would have gone through had Edwards won the primary. "Disgusting cad" doesn't begin to describe him.
"For all the high drama of the Obama-Clinton battle and the historic import of the former's general-election victory over McCain, Edwards's story is equally, lastingly resonant: an archetypal political tragedy in which the very same qualities that fuel any presidential bid -- ego, hubris, vanity, neediness, a kind of delusion -- became all-consuming and self-destructive. And in which the gap between public facade and private reality simply grew too vast to bridge."
He could have done so much more good; he was well on his way. But as so many in positions of power do ::coughTigercough:: he believed he was invincible and let his ego, notoriety, and, well, Little Johnny take over.
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) does his first CNN interview expecting to discuss terrorism but gets grilled on his sex scandal instead. It's must-watch video.
"Sir, that's an illegality." Why, it most certainly is.
Wait. What? Confrontation? Attempts to get the truth? On a "news" program? Other than on The Rachel Maddow Show?
Of course, that doesn't mean Sanchez got answers... but kudos!
Tiger Woods is taking an indefinite leave from professional golf to work on saving his family, using the word "infidelity" for the first time in a statement posted on his Web site.
Woods says he is aware of the disappointment that "my infidelity" has caused to his wife and children. He says he might not be able to repair the damage, but he wants to try.
He did not disclose Friday evening how long of a break he would take from the PGA Tour. He again asked for privacy, saying his family would need a "safe haven" to try to heal.
Jon Ralston emails: "Sources confirm that the Senate panel has begun issuing subpoenas for documents, including to key players in the case involving U.S. Sen. John Ensign's scandal. The committee appears to be trying to connect the dots between Doug Hampton's post-Ensign tenure and what role the senator played in getting him jobs that allowed the former chief-of-staff to contact the Senate office and what those contacts involved. You may recall that Hampton retained emails of many of those events. Hampton has alleged that Ensign helped him knowingly violate a cooling-off period."
The deeper they dig, the muddier and dirtier it gets.
Via Roll Call, which is subscription only, so this is all we get until I can track down more information:
Embattled Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) on Monday rejected calls for his resignation based on an extramarital affair with a former aide, saying to do so would take the focus off Republican efforts to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
From The Rachel Maddow Show Oct. 7, 2009. Yet another shoe drops on Sen. John Ensign. We just had the news on Tom Coburn apparently negotiating bribes for Sen. Ensign, and now this.
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford faces ethics charges he broke state laws more than three dozen times by violating rules on airplane travel and campaign money, according to details of the allegations released Monday.
It's up to the state attorney general to decide whether to file criminal charges.
I wonder if he's seeking comfort and consolation from his "soul mate". Nah, that would be a bad move... nearly as bad as abandoning an entire state.
The State of Columbia newspaper also questioned whether Sanford properly reimbursed himself from his campaign cash. [...]
Four GOP lawmakers already have filed a resolution that would force Sanford from office because of "dereliction of duty," and the travel allegations play no part in that move. Their measure deals solely with Sanford's absence from the state, when he led his staff to believe he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was in Argentina.
And this guy continues to make decisions on behalf of his state.
A special House committee in South Carolina will formally consider an impeachment resolution against Gov. Mark Sanford for the first time next Tuesday, the Republican chairman of the committee told CNN Friday. [...]
The measure currently states that Sanford committed "serious misconduct" by secretly leaving the state in June without informing his staff or establishing a chain of command.
Harrison said "the game plan" is for the four Republicans and three Democrats in the group to finalize the language in the resolution before passing it on to the full Judiciary committee, which will then vote in January on whether the measure should be sent to the full House.
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