Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo asks readers’ help on two stories he and his colleagues are working on:
First, our reporters are digging into the Mukasey confirmation story, trying to find out just what went down yesterday, what the deal was that Reid held out for, how it was exactly that the presidential candidates didn’t get back or weren’t given enough time to get back for the vote. So this one’s particularly for our regulars up on Capitol Hill. Drop us a line, confidentiality guaranteed, and let us know what you know. I hear that at least some of the presidentials got little or no warning that the vote was imminent.
and the Bernie Kerik (Guiliani’s pal) saga:
So we’re going to put together what we hope will be a definitive list of Kerik criminality and ridiculousness. So send in your favorite Kerik scam or scandal for inclusion in our list. You can also post your entries in this discussion we’ve just started over at TPMmuckraker.com.
There are already some interesting results showing up in that discussion.
on Nov 9th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
“trying to find out just what went down yesterday …”
I suspect that’s one of those topics which will produce lots of juicy speculation, but no definitive answer – because those who know won’t be talking.
on Nov 11th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Well, for those of you scoring at home (or if you’re alone), Josh posted that at 11:28am and Greg Sargent got enough sources by 6pm to write Reid Allowed Vote On Mukasey In Exchange For Military Funding Bill.
But it’s not like TPM’s new media mojo helped them crack this story. At the end of the day (or the start of it, I guess), it’s still the time-honored practice of cultivating sources.
Manu Raju of The Hill got sources to talk to him as well, and he posted a story by 4:28pm Furday: Democrats say Mukasey filibuster would have been wrong move: “A Republican leadership aide said Democratic leaders rejected the idea of a filibuster because the GOP was threatening to strip a must-pass stopgap resolution from a $459 billion Defense Department appropriations bill if the nomination were blocked.”