Updating our coverage of last Friday's shameful performance by the U.S. House Judiciary Chairman, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), when he cut witness testimony short in the additional day of hearings on the Patriot Act as requested, under House Rule 11, by the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is introducing a resolution to rebuke the Chariman for his outrageous behavior.

Included in Nadler's resolution, is condemnation of Sensenbrenner's gaveling of the hearings to an early close without hearing unanimous consent, debate or even a second; his refusal to allow witnesses to respond to questions; cutting questioning by minority Congressmen short; unprecedented convening of the hearings when Congress was not in session and other actions less-than-honorable for a United States Congressman.

RAW STORY has the text of the full resolution. Here's the first few grafs of their story...

Sensenbrenner's performance was covered in detail by BRAD BLOG last Friday as it unfolded, with exclusive commentary from Democratic staffers who witnessed it.

DemBlogger has the video of the last few minutes of the hearings as Sensenbrenner gaveled it to a close.

In other news of Republican Majorities Gone Wild, a new policy of denying hearing rooms to Democrats has been instituted by the Judiciary Committee Majority.

According to today's The Hill, "majority staff recently announced a new policy to deny any request from a committee Democrat for the use of a committee hearing room."

That new edict, instituted in time to attempt to shut down the minority's planned Thursday hearing on the Downing Street Minutes/Memo has forced the Democrats to scramble to find a location for the event.

The Hill also confirms the text of the email we reported last Friday from Sensenbrenner's deputy chief of staff, Sean McClaughlin, to a minority staffer while viewing Ranking Minority Member, Rep. John Conyers' (D-MI) "Media Bias" forum held several weeks ago.

The BRAD BLOG has learned that the Dems will hold the hearings, despite the attempt by the majority to shut them down, at the DNC offices on 1:00 p.m. in the Wasserman Room at 430 S Capitol St. SE, Washington, D.C.

The hearings were announced after Conyers received more than 500,000 citizen signatures on a letter signed by at least 94 U.S. House of Representative members. Additionally, The BRAD BLOG has learned that still more House members are said to be signing on to that letter this week.

Later on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. ET in Lafayette Square Park, in front of the White House, a large rally has been called by supporters of Conyers who plans to deliver hist letter to George W. Bush, asking him to respond to the questions raised by the original Downing Street Minutes document.

Additionally, as reported by AfterDowningStreet.org, a coalition of grassroots citizen organizations (both BRAD BLOG and Velvet Revolution, an organization we helped to co-foun, are members of that coalition) local rallies are being planned around the country in support on that same day.

The facts of the Downing Street Minutes are clearly gaining traction and apparently have the hard-right apologists up against the ropes in seeking an exit strategy from their current pickle.

Today they trotted out Bobby Eberle of GOPUSA --- the phony "news" organization, that hired "Jeff Gannon", the phony "journalist" with the phony name --- in a failed attempt to throw cold water on the exploding Downing Street Minutes issues.

As with the debacle that was Election 2004, featuring hundreds (if not thousands) of "irregularities" that occurred in order to ensure a Bush win last November, the Neo-Cons have dusted off the old "Conspiracy Theory" defense again, this time in lieu of being able to slither out of the apparent "High Crimes" demonstrated by the DSM and the myriad of corroborating evidence that has appeared since the initial minutes were leaked (by a Rupert Murdoch paper, no less!)

Having (so far) gotten away with their Election 2004 chicanery with liberal uses of the "Conspiracy Theory" buzzphrase, the assumption is likely to be "Well, it worked so well to deflect from our gaming of the election, let's use it again to smokescreen our lying the country into war!"

Nonetheless, the transparency of the tactic to attempt to belittle those who would like an explanation and/or investigation to examine the behavior of the Bush Administration as described in the DSM --- the facts and intelligence having been "fixed" around the pre-determined policy of toppling Saddam through military means --- clearly signals that the Right is quickly becoming desperate as they find themselves bereft of a way out of this mess. As of now anyway.

And all of that even while their only other current defense ("But we went to the U.N. afterwards, so that must prove...something!") seems to be falling flat on its face.

From Eberle's sad little attempt at propaganda (emphasis added)...

RAW STORY has the raw docs, and now a "Path to War" timeline to go with them. AfterDowningStreet.org has the executive skinny, with the significance of some of the most troubling passages in each of the newly authenticated British documents.

These documents were leaked late last week, but hadn't yet been confirmed as authentic. RAW STORY is now confirming their authenticity.

...As the body count continues to mount.

There are now a total of 1,702 American Troops whom supporters (Republican and Democrat alike) of this unnecessary, pointless, stupid and likely criminal war will no longer be able to "support".

If you missed last night's BRAD SHOW, well, what were you thinking?!

Frankly, I could have turned around and done four mour hours with each of our amazing guests last night! If you didn't catch it, or any portion of the show, I'd strongly recommend that you tune into the BRAD SHOW ARCHIVES and listen to 'em all if you find the time! We do believe it was some top-notch radio with some extraordinary guests and a few newsworthy items amongst the interviews!

A couple of quick post-show thoughts, stuff that didn't get on air, and a few other reminders of note...

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

The following very important message is for YOU, and it's from our friend Steve...

Attention Parents of the Men and Women of America's Armed Forces!

You have nothing to worry about! Should your sons and daughters be captured and held captive by enemies forces, the example that has been set for their treatment by our government will serve as a model for the humane treatment they can expect to receive!

As Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) repeated over and over again on today's Fox "News" Sunday, the "honey-glazed chicken" they may receive on Sundays (UPDATE: David Edwards caught that too, here's video, RealPlayer or Windows) will more than make up for the rest of the humane treatment we have shown prisoners that America holds captive in Gitmo and elsewhere around the world. All of which is condoned by the U.S. Military, and, specifically, by Sec. of Defense, Donald Rumseld.

We are certain that this excerpt from this week's TIME magazine, as reported by RAW STORY will put you at ease...

It's notable that Washington Post today is finally giving the matter of the Downing Street Minutes coverage at all, much less that they have advanced the story with new information, from new memos on today's Sunday front page! And, unlike previous Page 1 articles by WaPo's Walter Pincus, it looks like this one will stay there!

Today's front-page report covers new revelations from a briefing paper prepared for Tony Blair eight months before the War on Iraq, and states the Bush Administration were not preparing for what would be a "protracted and costly" postwar occuption of Iraq...

For our money, the delinquency of the Bush Administration in preparing for a Post-War Iraq, which has already cost the lives and limbs of thousands of U.S. Troops, is perhaps more reprehensible even than the revelations from the original "Downing Street Minutes" that the Administration would be "fixing" the intelligence around the policy of toppling Saddam through military means and lying both Congress and the American People about it.

And these jerks have the gall to speak to us about "supporting the troops"?!

The hell with impeachment, these folks deserve jail time for the death and destruction they have so carelessly and callously wrought!

All of that, in addition to more breaking news out from today's Sunday Times of London (as mentioned as it broke on last night's BRAD SHOW via RAW RADIO!) revealing that the Blair Administration knew that the war would be illegal, but that they had committed to going into it with the Bushies months before acknowledging it publicly. They endeavored to find a way to make the action "legal" in those pre-war months when it was assessed by the Brits as being an illegal incursion.

Amazing.

John Conyers' Hearings on all of the above, with members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, will occur this Thursday at 2pm ET. Please contact C-SPAN and ask them to carry the hearings live. For that matter, so should CNN, MSNBC, FNC as well as all three of the broadcast networks at this point!

Listen up via www.BradShow.com and chat here in tonight's Open Thread hosted by the delightful KIRA who is once again holding the water for that layabout, slacker Winter Patriot this week.

Talk to us LIVE! CALL-IN#: 323-650-1286

Tonight's guests...

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"These attacks are contrary to the passionate - but respectful - political debate the public deserves."
-- House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), in a letter sent just two days ago to Howard Dean. That would be two days prior to Sensenbrenner's Judiciary meltdown this morning.

(Hat tip to Liz from Rapid Response Network for the find.)

As originally reported here yesterday, Democrats on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee invoked a rarely used rule to extend Committee hearings on the renewal of the Patriot Act.

Apparently, they inappropriately called witnesses to testify today from whom the Republicans did not wish to hear. And thus, in what can only be seen as an unprecedented tyrannical abuse of Majority power in the U.S. House of Representatives, Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), suddenly and without warning, gavelled the hearings to a close! Unilaterally, without debate, and in the middle of ongoing testimony!

The extraordinary video clip of Sensenbrenner's appalling display, was captured by C-SPAN. Take a look at the meltdown...

BuzzFlash describes the remarkable incident in some detail as follows...

UPDATE: We must go on the air on Tony Trupiano's show in a just a few minutes, so this must be quick for now. (Link to that interview, with a lot more information on my conversation with a Democratic staffer who was in the room, is now below.)

To clarify some confusion on this matter, what had been referred to as "Democratic Hearings" today in some places, actually were not Democratic-only hearings (unlike the hearings that took place in January on Ohio Election Irregularities, and the recent Media Bias forum held by Conyers and other Dems).

Today's hearings were called under the archane provision of House Rule 11, which, we are told, allows the Minority to call for an additional day of hearings and to choose their own witnesses if they are unsatisfied with the hearings as held by the Majority.

The U.S. House Judiciary Democrats have been unable to do that previously on issues like Election 2004 and Media Bias because the Majority hadn't called a hearing at all on those matters, and thus, they were forced to call their own hearings.

We are told by a Democratic Staffer who The BRAD BLOG has just spoken to, and who was present at today's debacle, that the Majority has been quite disturbed by those previous hearings for some time, and, in fact, during the airing of Conyers' Media Bias forum (it ran as taped on C-SPAN at 8:30pm ET a few Saturdays ago), an email was sent to a Judiciary Committee staffer which said, in effect, "I'm watching your forum right now, hope you enjoyed it, it will be your last."

We'll have more detail after we're off the air, but the staffer just explained to us that the Minority was displeased with the witnesses called previously in the Commission hearings on renewal of the Patriot Act, and attempted to work with the Majority to call additional witnesses.

According to the staffer, they were told, "'You're gonna get your hearing, but it's gonna be 8:30am on Friday morning'...Never in the history of the Judiciary Committee have we been able to find a time when a hearing has been scheduled like that. The Congress was not in session today. We've never been able to find an instance when a hearing was called when Congress wasn't in session."

"The irony, when we're debating the Patriot Act," we were told, "of cutting off the debate and acting so anti-democratic when that's going on, is unbelievable!

"In the committee with sole jurisdiction over civil rights and civil liberties, for the chairman to say, I don't want to hear about guys who are getting their testicles shocked, it's breathtaking arrogance, it's testimony to abuse of power and how this place is now run. They've become everything they said they deplored when they took over the house in 1994."

Conversations with the House Democratic leadership on currently ongoing. The BRAD BLOG has learned that they are "very very concerned" about this matter, and that "the issue will be elevated."

"Ms. Pelosi is very concerned about this," said the staffer.

The signature drive for John Conyers Downing Street Minutes letter to George W. Bush is at just over 411,000 signatures gathered in somewhat fewer than 24 hours as of 3:02am PT.

Be number 500,000.

And thank you for caring.

We meant to blog about this earlier, but were waylaid by the power outage today and other matters... In any case, a DU'er announced last night that a meeting of the Hocking Democratic Central Committee was to take place tonight to discuss the recent firing by the Board of Elections of Ohio Recount Whistleblower, Sherole Eaton.

(Eaton was a guest on last weekend's BRAD SHOW to discuss the matter. In case you missed it the interview is archived here [MP3]).

Eaton filed an affidavit during the December recount concerning some chicanery she witnessed by a Voting Machine Company employee from Triad. The employee, Mark Barbarian, she testified, removed a hard drive from the central tabulating machine in Hocking County prior to the recount and instructed her county and others in Ohio, on how to create a "cheat sheet" to ensure that the recount would match the original Election results.

As her thanks for whistleblowing, she was fired this month by the Hocking County Board of Elections.

The legend goes --- as spread frequently and thickly by Ohio Secretary of State and Co-Chair for the Committee to Re-Elect Bush/Cheney, J. Kenneth Blackwell --- that nothing could possibly have been amiss in Ohio's Election, since all of the BoE's are bi-partisan and comprised of two Democrats and two Republicans.

Trouble is, many of those Democrats, we've since come to learn, may indeed be "Democrats" in name only. They serve at the approval and pleasure of Blackwell and the behavior of the Hocking County Democrats on the BoE give every indication that they are anything but Democrats.

As Eaton explained to us on the show last Saturday night, these Boards of Elections are "cooked".

This evening, the Democratic Central Committee met to call those two Hocking County "Democrats", Susie Hughes and Gerald Robinette, on the carpet in a public hearing concerning the Eaton firing.

Once again, DU'er "NoBushSpokenHere" filled us in on the details including a surprise appearance by Eaton herself who was, as of this past Monday, under the knife having brain surgery for an aneurysm.

The good news is she made it through the surgery successfully. The bad news is that the surgery was unsuccessful.

Indefatigable as she is, incredibly, she made it to the meeting tonight to stand her ground and face her accusers. We'll let "NoBushSpokenHere" take it from here:

Shaping up to be a great show so far! Check out our currently scheduled guests...

Tune in via www.BradShow.com this Saturday Night! Join us right here at BRAD BLOG for a LIVE Open Thread during the show! And feel free to DONATE to help keep us up and on the air! I can use all the help I can get!

As fallout from the Downing Street Minutes continues to rock Capitol Hill, more unwanted attention to Administration policies on the war and human rights abuses looks to be on the way.

MoveOn.org joined the call for signatures earlier this morning for John Conyers letter to George W. Bush asking for clarification about several matters in the official British minutes now known as the Downing Street Minutes. That recently released information documents an official UK meeting describing the Bush Administration policy to topple Saddam Hussein through military means and to "fix" intelligence around the policy as early as eight months prior to the war. The BRAD BLOG has learned that MoveOn.org has received well over 240,000 350,000 new signatures to that letter in just the few hours since joining the campaign, and is receiving several thousand new signatures each minute.

But Conyers and Company are not resting. The BRAD BLOG has learned that the ranking House Judiciary Member has just announced additional hearings will be held tomorrow morning concerning the allegations of Human Rights abuses at U.S. Terror Prisons, including Gitmo and Abu Ghraib. The hearings will feature testimony from a representative of Amnesty International, the first such congressional testimony since the group released their recent report on alleged Human Rights abuses at the U.S. run prison camps.

The following Press Release was issued just moments ago concerning hearings to be held tomorrow on Capitol Hill...

UPDATE: Tomorrow's hearing, clearly, is different from the one later announced by Conyers concerning the Downing Street Minutes. That one, scheduled for next Thursday, will feature testimony from Constitutional Attorney John Bonifaz (featured on last weekends BRAD SHOW) as well as CIA Analyst Ray McGovern (scheduled for this Saturday's BRAD SHOW! Do we got your news agenda right here or what?!

UPDATE 6/10/05: Holy Meltdown, Batman! Watch Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) go nuts at this morning's Patriot Act hearings! Full BRAD BLOG team coverage right here...