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Friday, May 5, 2006

Goss Out

Posted by DAN SAVAGE on May 5 at 11:09 AM

The head of the CIA resigned today. Gee, I wonder if his resignation has anything to do with crooked lobbyists hiring hookers to service federal officials at the Watergate.

Says Josh Marshal:

Here at TPM HQ we were listening to the president’s announcement. And the talking heads on CNN were speculating whether Goss’s departure might be part of Josh Bolten’s ‘new blood’ shake up in the Bush administration. I don’t suppose it anything to do with the fact that Goss is neck deep in the Wilkes-Corruption-and-Hookers story that’s been burbling in the background all week. We don’t know definitely why Goss pulled the plug yet. But the CIA Director doesn’t march over to the White House and resign, effective immediately, unless something very big is up.

Says Georgia10 at Kos:

This isn’t part of some White House shake-up. This is a scandal-plagued Bush appointee resigning just as an investigation into another Republican corruption scandal hits too close to home.

Former Republican lawmaker and current CIA Director Porter Goss’s name has surfaced time and time again in the Republican bribe scheme, which began with a focus on disgraced Republican Congressman Duke Cunningham and his Republican lobbyists (hmm, do I think I mentioned “Republican” enough in that sentence?)….

You will recall that Ken Silverstein, based on a source, noted that the prostitution scandal could touch a former lawmaker “who now holds a powerful intelligence post.” Speculation abounded that Porter Goss fit that description perfectly.

It may not be the hookers. It may not be his possible participation in a million-dollar bribery scheme affecting our national security. It may be that he hated his job, and the CIA hated him. Or it may just be that Goss decided to spend time with his family.

But the press has a duty to find out why one of our nation’s top intelligence officials just up and quit all of a sudden.

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1

You're connecting entirely too many dots for your own good. Apply Occam's Razor: The good man just wants to spend more time with his family.

(Actually, the GOP Go-Pee take-home message I'm taking home is this: Sucks to be us,)

Posted by fight 4 your right 2 party | May 5, 2006 11:30 AM

2

There is a good deal of backstory available at tpmmuckraker.com that suggest Occam's Razor does not apply this time, F4YR2P.

This is going to be the biggest Republican scandal yet, and not the last.

Posted by D Huygens | May 5, 2006 1:34 PM

3

Interesting, the CIA chief resigns suddenly and yet the front page of CNN is swallowed up by Patrick Kennedy's drunk driving entering rehabopalooza. Is a drunk Kennedy behind the wheel really news anymore, especially if there isn't a dead woman involved? Apprentl;y it is MUCH bigger news then the sudden resignation of one of our top intelligence chiefs WHILE WE ARE AT WAR! The Gross story gets 3rd or 4th billing.

Posted by Longball | May 5, 2006 3:12 PM

4

"(S)uggest Occam's Razor does not apply this time ..."

Yeah, yeah. I know. Brought in the Razor so we paleos can cut out throats & end the misery.

(There are two undeniable facts of life in this American life:
(1) When somebody says it's not about the money, you know immediately that it's about the money;
(2) When a politician says he wants to spend more time with his family, we should start looking in the closets & under the beds (said an obscene politician named Lyndon Johnson) for a dead girl or a live boy.

I don't know that Goss has cited Goss Family Values as the excuse for his inexplicable retirement, but he will any minute now.

(CNN? I went to Drudge, just to be sure that this wasn't one of Dan's little tricks.)

Posted by Gomez's Morticia | May 5, 2006 3:21 PM

5

I don't think it's the hookers or the bribery. I think it's the fact that the CIA has been flushed down the toilet by Bush, and Goss -- who participated eagerly in the flushing -- has been elected fall guy. The head of the CIA is no longer an important position under the new reorganization, and the CIA itself is in danger of becoming no longer an important agency.

Which is a problem, because if 911 tells us anything, it tells us we need better intelligence. But at Goss's CIA, all the smart people have left the agency, and morale is terrible, and the only thing anybody gives a shit about is INTERNAL intelligence -- "who leaked that?"

None of this was Goss's idea -- it was Cheney's & Rummie's (Bush doesn't have ideas). He was just chosen as the guy to clean house, which he did by burning all the furniture.

I swear, this administration couldn't have done more damage if they were on al Qaeda's payroll.

Posted by fnarf | May 5, 2006 3:29 PM

6

Good FNARF, now let's see if Pablo chimes in with his usual lunacy and douchetardedness...

Posted by Longball | May 5, 2006 3:38 PM

7

Dittos, fnarf.

Posted by PB | May 5, 2006 4:00 PM

8

I think Cheney and Rove are about to be indicted, and Goss doesn't want to be called as a witness.

He's probably planning on a long vacation in France, IMHO.

Posted by Will in Seattle | May 5, 2006 4:15 PM

9

The noteworthy bit here is that his resignation was effective immediately. When these people leave for personal reasons, or really almost any non-scandal reason, they give it some time.

Posted by Tone | May 5, 2006 5:39 PM

10

You're right. Oh, I think a big stinky indictment is about to go off in Washington....

Posted by fnarf | May 5, 2006 7:10 PM

11

It could also be because of all the torture that has been authorized, and the USA having to answer questions to the UN committe against torture in more the six years.

Posted by Claudia | May 5, 2006 8:10 PM

12

President Bush is just cowtowing to the democrats and the liberal media with all this reorganizing. He's doing something to an organization that most of you probably care less about anyway
and it still doesn't make you happy.
What is it going to take to appease you all from this administration? You all will never be satisfied and will probably jump ship regardless even if we had a democratic President.

GBH "Give me Valhalla"

Posted by pablo | May 8, 2006 7:14 AM

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