Memo to Sens. Leahy and Specter: Choose Your Forensic Expert Wisely

Talking Points Memo makes a point of talking about an AP report in the New York Times indicating that the Senate Judiciary Committee is insisting on input into the selection of a "mutually trusted computer forensic expert."

Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), the senior GOP member of the committee, made the following statement:

"Such a process would help to restore the public's confidence in the White House's desire to comply with the Presidential Records Act," the senators said.

Memo to Sens. Leahy and Specter: find a balanced team of government forensic experts who are career civil servants.

As those of us at ePluribus Media have investigated the vast strands of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy", we know that its web is far-reaching and often deceptive. [See a terribly small glimpse of an unimaginably big picture here - and I do mean small glimpse.]

Making the right choice on forensics is going to make or break this investigation and any subsequent prosecution.

Don't screw this up.

•  Absurdity.

  White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Saturday that Fielding called Leahy and Specter to say that allowing the committee input into picking an independent consultant is a good idea.

  Input? As if the White House gets to make the final choice on who the Senate Judiciary Committee hires to investigate them?

  Sheer absurdity.

  by wanderindiana on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 01:35:53 PM PDT

  •  ePluribus Media is going on my own blogroll

    KA~ching in what might be your tip jar, and a REC for the crew @ Epluribus.

    Yeah they gotta get this right.... the 1st time.

    by Roger Fox on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 01:41:32 PM PDT

    •  Here

      http://www.dailykos.com/...

      by Roger Fox on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 07:56:02 PM PDT

  •  Excellent and timely note.

    Well done, my friend.

    Thanks -- rec'd.

    Never, never brave me, nor my fury tempt:
      Downy wings, but wroth they beat;
    Tempest even in reason's seat.

    by GreyHawk on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:25:41 PM PDT

  •  If the White House would trust them, I would NOT!

    Absurdity is indeed the correct description.

    Screw bipartisan bullshit, we're well past that ruse anymore.  

    Well, OK, I thought we should have been well past that by the 2004 Election.  Honestly, though, how many times do Americans need "to sing the song...won't get fooled again!"??

    by luaptifer on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:27:36 PM PDT

•  They don't quite get it yet;

  they are no longer the deciders. Others are,  others who don't quite believe them. And no blue dresses are necessary.

  by wozzle on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 01:43:33 PM PDT

  •  I don't know. I think they get it

    but can't afford to accept it.  The whole bunch of them likely risk jail time (look at what's been dug up in a few months time) and will fight tooth and nail on every issue to avoid it.  At this point, they're probably looking for a "best" outcome in a field of poor choice.  The problem for them is there are too many asses to save and too many interested in it being their own.

    by goodasgold on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 01:51:28 PM PDT

•  Agreed

  There are too many foxes in this henhouse already.

  by standingup on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:28:26 PM PDT

•  Here's Johnny ! Offer Up a One Million Dollar

  reward for Saved E- Mail Files that lead to the Arrest and Conviction ! My first thought was maybe this would be crass, but then, I figured what the hell, we want the TRUTH..We want Bin Ladin for 25 Million Reward..So what is wrong with offering any GOP schmuck or Whoever that has SAVED E-Mails from the Perpetrators. I have saved E-Mail messages in seperate folders in my Inbox on Yahoo for up to TEN YEARS and they are like the day they were received...So ONE MILLION DOLLARS for the truth ! Bring in dem HDs...Not every GOP schmuck is a happy Camper, so lets Reward Em ! Bring it on for karl-dick n shrub..

  by Johnny Rapture on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:57:34 PM PDT

•  No one is that good

  I'm afraid the network of influencial "King Makers" isn't going to just roll over.  They are way smarter and been doing this dirty tricks stuff too long.  It's like a corporate Department of Dirty Tricks, but instead of South America, it's focused on election machinery.

  by electiledisfunction on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 02:57:38 PM PDT

  •  OK, Git it Up and git it on..You can do it, if

    you just concentrate ! An Angel has just been electiled to receive it's wings..and talk about hapeee talk..talkee,talk. No more disfunction..

    by Johnny Rapture on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 03:01:32 PM PDT

•  I can envision it now, rethug Hard Drives

  up for Auction on E-bay for gods sake the bastion of rethuglican greed...Every HD, is guaranteed to have at least 10 karl rove E-Mails..! Lets start the bidding at say 250 K...With a Purchase Now Option of a Million Five ! Beat the bastards at their own game ! GREED, greed is good

  by Johnny Rapture on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 03:10:45 PM PDT

•  My money is on Fred Cohen

   I think maybe Fred would be the man for the job ... the Wiki is a little thin but he definitely has the credentials in the field.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/...

   

  by Iowa Boy on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 03:16:31 PM PDT

•  Keep your epectations low

  The Bush WH and Gingrich GOP don't let anything stop them from burying the bodies when needed. In the absence of fully formed, adult morals this administration and the Gingrich GOP don't respect any laws, ethics, or principles that interfere with their fundamental narcissistic fantasies.

  In this country, we often say "anyone can be president" and I sincerely hope that is true. But that does NOT mean just anyone should be president. Presidents Bush, VP Cheney, former Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld, Sec. of State Rice, former Amb. Bolton, etc. all fail to realize this distinction. They lack the judgment and self-awareness to understand that although they may qualify for an office, they are not qualified to perform its duties.

  As far as the Senate Judiciary committee, Specter is such a wild card. The GOP leadership consider him a RINO. But the Dems don't like Specter because he gets very 'conservative' whenever he needs campaign money from the Weyrich machine. And as a person, nearly everyone in DC thinks he's one of the biggest a-holes on the Hill.

  And yet...in non-election years his politics are frequently reasonable. For many years I blamed Specter for the "magic bullet" theory. But recently, I had to change my mind when the History Channel (?) scrupulously used facts, and supported their choices, to recreate Dealey Plaza. A sniper then took one shot -- that single bullet reproduced every wound on both Kennedy and Connelly and came out "prisitine," just like the Warren Commission claimed (I saw this on TV, so it must be true).

  The questions are whether Specter is ever going to run again, and if he is motivated entirely by ambition or actually has a soul. To the former, he's had cancer for years which in 2005 manifested as advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma. Given his age (77) and his cancer's 5 year progression free rates, I think it's unlikely Specter will run again in 2010.

  So will he do the 'right' thing in his remaining time? Specter's late wife, Joan, was also a politician and downright 'liberal.' And I think Arlen Specter, underneath it all, is pretty moderate. If he isn't running in 2010, then he is arguably "his own man" for the next few years. And yet in 2004, when the GOP leadership tried to have him removed from the top spot on the Judiciary committee, if memory serves the WH intervened. It's a tough call what he'll do with this.

  One thing seems clear, though: he'll probably do whatever the hell he wants.

  by Todd Johnston on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 03:34:59 PM PDT

  •  Specter is ripe for a smackdown.

    Overripe. Cruising for a bruising.

    And I think Leahy and the Democrats could deliver it, because "elections have consequences."

    by wanderindiana on Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 12:44:37 AM PDT

  •  Anagram for Arlen Specter.

    Learn Respect.

    It's about damn time he did.

    by wanderindiana on Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 12:46:20 AM PDT

•   It needs just a little more 'oomph'

  "Such a process would help to restore the public's confidence in the White House's desire to comply with the Presidential Records Act," the senators said.

  How about: 'The public thinks you're lying crooks.  You don't give up those emails - they're gonna know it.'

  hmm...that might need a little polish but it's closer to the truth.

  What can you come up with? ;)

  I don't know. I'm tired of nice.

  by Unique Material on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 07:14:32 PM PDT

•  To hell with a balanced team! You want people who

  will walk into an office, pull hard drives, "ghost" 'em and not give the originals back until they know the copy's good. Then, the copy goes into the original workstation/laptop, and the "owner" of the computer goes back to work. Total downtime per HDD (hard disk drive, sorry) 2-5 hours. Value of HDD as evidence, with chain-of-custody paperwork, in a secure environment? Priceless!

  What you want is an independant investigator, with no political ties, and blanket authority to copy every HDD in sight. Hire geeks like me for a per diem, and we'd have no vested interest one way or another. Make it clear that there will be hell to pay if we deliberately screw up. We may be geeks, but we're not stupid; you can pick and chose, we are legion. (AND AS A CLASS, WE TEND TO DO VERY POORLY IN PRISON.)

  by genwah on Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 07:41:49 PM PDT