Hastert lashes out at Justice Dept (repeats "intimidation" charge)

[brooklynite]

Hastert lashes out at Justice Dept

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Dennis Hastert accused the Justice Department Thursday of trying to intimidate him in retaliation for criticizing the FBI's weekend raid on a congressman's office, escalating a searing battle between the executive and legislative branches of government.

"This is one of the leaks that come out to try to, you know, intimidate people," Hastert said on WGN radio Thursday morning. "We're just not going to be intimidated on it."

Asked later Thursday whether he thought he Justice Department retaliated against him with the leak, Hastert replied: "All I'm saying is, here are the dots. People can connect any dots they want to."

"I thought it was an interesting sequence of events," he added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060525/ap_on_go_co/raid_on_congress_39

- - -
But, I thought it was all the media's fault. Is he saying that Gov't officials did say that an investigation is underway?

[Virginia Dare]

1. The man is drowning in his own filthy swill...

nobody there to throw him a lifeline. Pity. :nopity:

[MessiahRp]

2. You know this is a GOOD thing...

Hastert getting pushed by the DOJ will get Republicans in Congress to retaliate against Bush and the illegal activites Gonzales has been using the DOJ to carry out... and it might spill onto the NSA activities...

Let them have their petty infighting war... the retaliation might finally make some of these guys move on BushCo.

Rp

[rodeodance]

3. ABC does not seem to be backing down from their claim (here):

....The Illinois Republican, in his interview with the Chicago radio station, was responding to an ABC News report that quoted an unnamed law enforcement source as saying that he was "in the mix" of the Justice Department's investigation into influence peddling by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

"We are not going to dignify or speculate about the motives of anonymous sources providing inaccurate information," said Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.

Within minutes of that report late Wednesday, the department issued the first of two denials that it was investigating Hastert. The speaker demanded a retraction from ABC News, which stood by its story. Hastert on Thursday threatened to sue the network and reporters and executives for libel and defamation.

"We will take any and all actions necessary to rectify the harm ABC has caused and to hold those at ABC responsible for their conduct," wrote Hastert's counsels, J. Randolph Evans and Stefan C. Passantino. The letter was addressed to network President David Westin and reporter Brian Ross.

"Our response to the letter is our reporting on the story," said ABC News Vice President Jeffrey Schneider.

[rodeodance]

4. Brian Ross sticks by his story:

....Correspondent Brian Ross stood by his report, saying he has checked with his sources who say the story accurately represents the facts "as they know them."

"There's enough there for them (the FBI) to take a look at the speaker" and other members of Congress, Ross said in an interview.

Hastert aimed his broadsides at the Justice Department amid a swirl of recriminations on Capitol Hill, including warnings by some lawmakers of a voter backlash against members of Congress "trying to protect their own."

Hastert's aides, at the same time, were in talks with the White House about the possible transfer of material seized by the FBI during its weekend raid of the office of Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record), perhaps to the House ethics committee, according to several Republican officials.

[Breeze54]

8. Links? please?

;) Thanks!

[Mojorabbit]

5. The thing is they ARE probably trying to intimidate him

and that is scary in itself. This is the level our govt has sunk to

[yellowcanine]

6. If so, it sounds like they succeeded. He sure sounds spooked to me.

And that may be a good thing, in a perverse sort of way.

[Roy]

10. The word "investigation" will spook any republican.

Just the hint at the prospect of having to speak under oath will terrify any republican into a coronary.

[MadMaddie]

9. This is true..but...the Republicans are suffering from their own

self inflicted gun shot.....they just missed the heart.....every thing that they have touched to attack the American people is turning to shit and coming back in their faces....they are bleeding a slow pridictable death of their party....good riddance...

[AlinPA]

7. Around 5:00PM EST, I heard him in an interview (NPR?) where he

softened and said something like "No...not really.." when asked if they were trying to intimidate him.

[radfringe]

11. the hell with dots... :D

I want to connect the documents. The curtain on the window is the sudden concern with constitutionality and following the 'rules' / law -- I want to see what is behind Curtain #1...

As much as Hastert and others scream about this as being a constitutional crisis - it keeps coming back to to a yell for the documents to be returned.

I stand by what I've been saying - there's something in those documents that as the repubs VERY CONCERNED...

<b>Hastert replied: "All I'm saying is, here are the dots. People can connect any dots they want to."</b>

have some Dots Denny.



Meanwhile - can we start singing... OHHHH-Denny Boy - the feds, the feds are calling....