911 commission bribes

* Anonymous Liberal: "Democrats, however, cannot seem to internalize this idea. They approach politics as if the rules of reasonability and civil discourse are immutable or have been set by some neutral referee. When someone like Howard Dean steps over this arbitrary line, Democrats join the GOP in immediately calling "foul." When a Republican steps over the line, however, more often than not his Republican colleagues act collectively to move the line. Suddenly we find ourselves in a debate over whether outing a CIA agent is actually a good thing, or whether a law that has been on the books for three decades and repeatedly reaffirmed by this President should be violated. It doesn't matter what the consensus was five minutes ago."

* "In a shocking development, prosecutors in the trial of accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui told the court this morning that a Government attorney had violated the Court's ban on speaking with witnesses. The Judge has recessed the trial and may dismiss the death penalty case against Moussaoui as a result." (link)

* and in another shocking development:

" The Pakistan foreign office had paid tens of thousands of dollars to lobbyists in the US to get anti-Pakistan references dropped from the 9/11 inquiry commission report, The Friday Times has claimed.
[snip]
It claimed that some of the commission members were also bribed to prevent them from including damaging information about Pakistan.
[snip]
“The disclosure sheds doubt on the integrity and honesty of the members of the 9/11 inquiry commission and, above all, the authenticity of the information in their final report,” it said.

The report quoted an officer as saying that dramatic changes were made in the final draft of the inquiry commission after the lobbyists got to work. The panel was formed to probe the September 11 terror attack and make suggestions to fight terrorism.

After the commission tipped the lobbyists about the damaging revelations on Pakistan’s role in 9/11, they contacted the panel members and asked them to go soft on the country. The Friday Times claimed that a lot of money was used to silence these members.
[snip]
The Pakistan foreign office defended the decision to hire the lobbyists, saying it was an established practice in the US." (link)