Sen. Frank Lautenberg is the prop master. You'll recall, of course, his awesome
Chickenhawk Chart, which made an appearance on the Senate floor. Today, he's unveiling a countdown (or should I say count-up?) clock which keeps track of
exactly how long Congressional Republicans have gone without investigating the Plame leak (742 days, 15 hours, 22 minutes and counting as of this writing). He also includes a Harper's Index-style rundown of some salient facts. My favorite are the last two:
Number of days after the article outing Ambassador Wilsonís wife appeared that the White House required its staff to turn over evidence relating to the leak: 85
Approximate hours between then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzalezís advance notification to White House Chief of Staff Andy Card that he would require staff to turn over evidence relating to the case and formal notification to staff of that requirement: 12
Minimum number of times an Administration official leaked classified information about the identity of Ambassador Wilsonís wife: 11
Minimum number of times after the beginning of the Justice Departmentís investigation that White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan claimed Karl Rove was not involved: 5
Minimum number of times since evidence linking Karl Rove to the leak was made public that Press Secretary McClellan has refused to comment on the case, citing an ongoing investigation: 7
Minimum number of hearings held by Senate Republicans to investigate accusations against President Clinton involving the Whitewater case: 20
Total hearings held by Senate Republicans to investigate the leak of the covert identity of Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife: 0
Of course, those last two numbers won't ever change - unless, that is, the GOP decides to reopen the Whitewater investigation.