Craig reported ready to quit Saturday

by James Oliphant

The United States is losing the legal war on terror. So says an American Bar Association poll released today.

The association’s magazine, the ABA Journal, talked to 50 defense attorneys who have represented clients in terror-related lawsuits. Asked what grade they would give the U.S. legal system in its fight against terrorism, the lawyers gave an average grade of D plus.

The magazine says it attempted to talk to 50 federal prosecutors to balance the results, but that the Justice Department refused to allow them to participate.

Only 30 percent of the lawyers surveyed said that terror prosecutions brought in court since 9/11 have made the country safer. Only 14 percent of the lawyers said anti-terrorism laws passed by Congress, such as the USA Patriot Act, have made the country safer.

More interestingly, almost 60 percent said they would take on Osama bin Laden as a client. (Assuming, of course, that he can afford the retainer.)

The Chicago-based association counts more than 400,000 lawyers among its ranks. A release providing more information about the survey can be found here.

Sen. John Warner stands with wife Jeanne Vander Myde, at his University of Virginia announcement that he will not seek re-election. (AP Photo/Andrew Shurtleff)

by Frank James

Sen. John Warner (R-Va), made it official today, announcing he will retire from the Senate at the end of his current term in 2008.

The announcement by the 80-year old Warner throws his Senate seat in play since the state has trended more blue in recent years as the northern part of the state has grown increasingly Democratic.

That, of course, gives Senate Democrats a real shot at increasing their majority if they are able to pick up Warner's seat, which certainly seems doable now that he won't be defending it, as well as a few other Republican seats that are either vulnerable or are being vacated through other retirements.

by Mark Silva

On the occasion of President Bush's announcement of a new press secretary today, the Swamp is offering a reprise of a golden oldie, our profile of Dana Perino, dog-lover, taskmaster and one of the most efficient people to ever enter the halls of the press office.

Perino, "almost 5-foot-1,'' pulled the step out from beneath the podium of the new press briefing room today and prepared to step into one of the biggest jobs in Washington, which she will assume on Sept. 14 -- becoming the first woman to serve as the voice of the White House in the Bush administration. As Bush put it today: "She can handle you all.''

See and hear her remarks above -- note how quickly she gets to the continuing Bush agenda of his remaining time - and read on for her story, written as she stepped in for Tony Snow earlier this year, when he took time out for cancer treatment:

by William Neikirk

WASHINGTON--President Bush offered new proposals today to help many Americans struggling to make payments on risky mortgages to avoid foreclosure and keep their homes.

In announcing his plans, however, the president made this assertion: "It's not the government's job to bail out speculators or those who made the decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford."

But, in essence, his plan would amount to a rescue. It would help many people who find themselves stuck with higher monthly payments on adjustable rate mortgages avoid foreclosure. The government estimated some 80,000 people would be helped, although some 2 million people will see their adjustable mortgage rates rise this year and next.

Bush offered the proposal to show he's on top of the credit crisis in the mortgage sector, a crisis that has spread to other areas of the economy. But he is not alone. Democrats have at the ready even more expensive plans to help out troubled mortgage holders, and are expected to offer them when Congress returns next week.

September will be a critical month for dealing with the credit crunch that has spread across the country and overseas. Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Berenanke said at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., today that the Fed stands ready to cut interest rates if needed, although he made no commitment.

By Dan Morain and Chuck Neubauer

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, who had been a fugitive from a 1992 grand larceny case, was led to jail in handcuffs today after a judge ordered him to post $2 million bail.

Superior Court Judge H. James Ellis ordered Hsu held, although Hsu could post bail later today. Hsu, wearing a well-tailored black suit, turned himself in after news accounts identified him as a fugitive.

President Bush today with Dana Perino, left, who will replace Tony Snow, right, as White House press secretary on Sept. 14. Bush told reporters: "She can handle you all.'' AP photo by Ron Edmonds.

by Mark Silva

Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, will leave next month to devote time to writing, speaking and playing a more active public role in combating cancer, a disease which he has confronted for three roller-coaster years.

Dana Perino, the principal deputy press secretary, will take Snow’s place on Sept. 14, marking the first time that President Bush has assigned a woman as voice of the White House.

Snow, battling a recurrence of colon cancer which he had hoped was in remission when he became the president’s chief spokesman in April 2006, maintains that it is not the disease, but rather a financial burden which his work has placed on his family, that will force him to leave.

While paid $168,000 a year as press secretary, it is less than Snow, a father of three who has battled cancer since 2005, made as a host of Fox News TV and Radio.

“Cancer has nothing to do with this,’’ Snow said Friday of his decision to leave. “I ran out of money,’’ he said. “I made more money when I was in my previous career... We took out a loan when I came to the White House, and that loan is now gone.’’

The last time the reins of the press room were turned over, in April 2006, former press secretary Scott McClellan, right, ceded to Tony Snow, left. Today, the transitional photo will feature a woman: Dana Perino replacing Snow. White House photo

by Mark Silva

Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, will leave his post on Sept. 14.

Dana Perino, chief deputy, will replace him, an administration official has told the Associated Press. President Bush is to announce the changes during an appearance at the start of the press secretary's televised briefing at 12:45 pm EDT in the White House press briefing room.

Snow, a former host of Fox News TV and radio who is battling colon cancer, already had announced that he would leave before the end of Bush’s presidency due to financial pressures.

Perino has often stood in, during Snow's absences since a recurrence of the cancer that was in remission when he accepted the press secretary's post early last year.

by Frank James

The very helpful people at the National Republican Senatorial Committee were kind enough to inform us that Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) who chairs the committee will be on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulous" Sunday morning show with his Democratic counterpart Sen. Charles Schumer of New York.

According to their advisory:

NRSC Chairman Senator John Ensign will appear on ABC News' This Week with George Stephanopoulos this Sunday, September 2.

Ensign will appear live with DSCC Chairman Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. The two Chairman (sic) will preview 2008 Senate races and discuss the outlook for the remainder of the year.

Of course, the third senator whose presence will be there in spirit though not on camera is the embattled Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho. If Craig is going to quit, which seems increasingly likely, it certainly would help Ensign if he did so before airtime Sunday.

by Sabrina Fang

The Associated Press is reporting that Sen. Larry Craig is contemplating resigning. Here's an excerpt of AP's report:

By DAVID ESPO and MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is considering resigning, Republican officials said Friday, after days of public and private pressure stemming from his arrest in June in a police undercover operation at an airport men's room.

Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Aug. 1, and while he has since said he did nothing wrong, the episode has roiled the Republican party and produced numerous calls for him to step down.

A maze of security barriers at the Convention Center at Darling Harbor, ready for next week's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Sydney, the largest political gathering Australia has ever hosted, with security unprecedented. AP Photo by Rob Griffith.

by Mark Silva

The Pacific Rim summit in Sydney, Australia, next week is likely to mean one thing for the people of one of the world's most beautiful harborside cities: A virtual lockdown.

The security surrounding summits of 21 presidents and prime ministers can make for gridlock, but this one will be Australia's biggest ever, with 16-foot fences raised around some of Sydney's downtown buildings in preparation, and President Bush's motorcade alone is street-clogger.

David Speers of Sky News asked Bush about this as he prepares to depart for Sydney next week. "A lot of Sydneysiders are complaining about the impost of APEC,'' the reporter told Bush, "in particular your security detail and how that will affect the city for a week while you're there, almost a week while you're there. Do you have any message for them?

"Well, first I'm looking forward to coming to the beautiful city, and to the extent that I inconvenience them, I apologize,'' Bush said. "I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about, in terms of ...

"The security lockdown in the city,'' the reporter explained.

"Thank you for sharing that with me,'' Bush said. "I got a lot on my mind, and one of the things that's on my mind is I'm looking forward to coming to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. If I inconvenience people, that's not my intent. My intent is to represent my country in an important meeting in a country that I admire a lot and a country with whom we've got great relations..

"I hope people understand why it's done,'' he said of the security, "and I just hope it doesn't disrupt their lives too much.''

President Bush and President Hu Jintao of China last fall, during the last APEC summit. White House photo by Eric Draper

by Mark Silva

As President Bush prepares for a summit of Pacific Rim leaders next week in Australia, the foreign press is most inquisitive about his thoughts on China these days.

“Is China an issue for the world?’’ Bush said in a White House interview this week with foreign reporters. “Absolutely. But I don't view it as a negative issue, I view it as an opportunity to work with a -- one of the really significantly growing economies in the world.

“Here's the way I view it: First, I view that a growing middle class in China is good for U.S. exporters; it provides opportunity,’’ the president said, with the White House releasing the transcript of the interview today. “By the way, it's not only good for U.S. exports, it's good for Australian exporters, and it's good for Japanese exporters, and it's good for Singaporean, Malaysian -- anybody who is making a product somebody wants, it's just a good opportunity.’’

The president will leave Monday for a Sydney summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, an assembly of 21 nations that touch on the Pacific – from Australia and Asia to North and South America.

by Greg Miller and Chuck Neubauer

Money has brought both trappings and trouble for Norman Hsu. Major contributions to the campaigns of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other candidates have made the apparel executive an insider in elite political circles. He shows up in cozy pictures with politicians, at lavish fundraising events, and on the boards of prestigious organizations.

But Hsu's history includes more unsavory episodes and associations. In 1990, he allegedly was kidnapped by Chinese gang members in San Francisco as part of an apparent effort to collect a debt. A year and a half later, he pleaded no contest to a charge of fleecing investors in what authorities called a Ponzi scheme of fraud. Along the way, he left a bankruptcy filing and bitter investors who accused him of making off with their savings.

by Frank James

A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.

Senate Republicans increased the pressure on embattled Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho to resign, with the head of the Senate Republican re-election efforts saying that's what he would do if he were in Craig's plight.

The police officer who arrested Sen. Larry Craig in a Minneapolis airport restroom for allegedly soliciting a sexual act accused the senator of lying about the behavior that led to his arrest, according to a recording of the policeman's interview with the lawmaker.

President Bush will propose some relief for homeowners threatened by foreclosures, including having the Federal Home Administration expand eligibility for its insurance program to homeowners with bad credit records and urging creditors to refrain from some foreclosures.

by Christi Parsons

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware may be a single-digit contender in the early polling of the Democratic presidential campaign, but his book has become a best-seller.

Biden's recent success with a New York Times best seller has given him a new source of esteem. At one point this month, "Promises to Keep " ranked directly behind runaway favorite "Freakonomics" in the non-fiction category.

To be sure, total sales somewhere between 8,000 and 15,000 copies don't promise an uptick in opinion polls. Prominent friends and longtime colleagues have helped promote the book by hosting parties where local booksellers typically offer copies for purchase. But an appearance at No. 15 on the New York Times best-seller list is a valuable achievement for the marketing of a book -- and a candidate -- even if it was there only one week before dropping several slots.

Biden claims to be more shocked than anybody else. But, then, a book seems almost a prerequisite for a presidential campaign -- consider how many there are.

For more on the story, see the Tribune's report today:

Craig might be singing a different tune today if he had fought the charges.

by Mark Silva

"Am I gonna have to fight you in court?'' Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho asked the police officer who arrested him in a Minneapolis airport men's room in June.

"No, no,'' Sgt. Dave Karsnia told him. "I'm not gonna go to court unless you want me there.''

In light of everything that has unfolded since then -- most notably Craig's guilty plea to one count of disorderly conduct in August in a self-professed attempt to make the case "go away'' -- the three-term senator may have been a lot better off contesting the charges against him. Mark Geragos, a celebrity defense attorney, insists that Craig never would have even gone to court if an attorney had gone in and pressed the case with prosecutors -- it would have been dropped.

"I go into the bathroom here as I normally do. I'm a commuter, too, here,'' Craig told the Minneapolis Airport officer. "I sit down, um, to go to the bathroom and, ah, you said our feet bumped. I believe they did, ah, because I reached down and scooted over and, um, the next thing I knew, under the bathroom divider comes a card that says police...''

"OK,'' Karsna said. "I don't want to get into a pissing match here.'

"We're not going to,'' said Craig, who pleaded guilty to one count against him two months later and now faces a call for resignation from Republican colleagues.

Sgt. Dave Karsnia, the airport police officer who arrested Craig. AP photo/ WCCO-TV, Minneapolis

"You're gonna get out of here,'' the officer told the senator in June. "You're gonna have to pay a fine and that will be it. OK. I don't call media, I don't do any of that type of crap.''

"Fine,'' said the senator. ".... I'm not going to fight you in court.''

But it isn't fine, and the choice the senator made has changed the story of his life. See the tape here, and excerpts below:

by David Lerman

Ending months of speculation, Virginia Sen. John Warner will announce today whether he will seek re-election next year or end a 30-year Senate career and put up for grabs a long-held Republican seat.

The 80-year-old Republican centrist, who first took office in 1979, has called a news conference to announce his decision on the steps of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he received his law degree 54 years ago.

A decision to retire would trigger a mad scramble for an open seat that could instantly become one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country.

Former Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner, who is no relation, has been urged to run for the seat, particularly if the senator steps down.

Republicans, meanwhile, could face a bruising nomination contest between U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, a Fairfax County moderate, and former Gov. Jim Gilmore, a conservative. Former Sen. George Allen, who lost his seat last year, also has been touted by some as a potential candidate.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events for Friday, August 31, 2007 as collected by the Associated Press.

Aug. 31 - Sept. 2. AHMADIYYA MUSLIM CONVENTION — The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community holds a three-day convention, Jalsa Salana, to discuss peace as taught by Islam and its founder the Prophet Muhammad. Topics to include the proper interpretation of Jihad and whether Islam sanctions punishment for apostasy.
Location: Dulles Expo Center, 4368 Chantilly Shopping Center Chantilly, VA

11:45 a.m. BLUE PLANET — Runners in the Blue Planet Run to raise awreness for safe drinking water worldwide stop in Washington.
Location: 3rd St. and Maryland Ave. SW.

1 p.m. APEC-TRADE — U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue holds a news briefing on the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings and broader trade issues.
Location: 1615 H St. NW.

All times local in Washington.

by Mark Silva

The airport police officer who arrested Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho in a police undercover operation at an airport men’s room accused the senator of lying to him during an interrogation afterward, according to an audiotape of the arrest released today. (Hear the tape above.)

In the tape released by the Minneapolis Airport Police, the Republican senator, in turn, accuses the officer of soliciting him for sex.

“I’m not gay. I don’t do these kinds of things,” Craig told Sgt. Dave Karsnia minutes after the two men met in a men’s room at the airport on June 11. “You shouldn’t be out to entrap people,” Craig told the officer. “I don’t want you to take me to jail.”

Karsnia replied that Craig wouldn’t be going to jail as long as he cooperates. At one point during the interrogation, the officer told Craig: “You’re not being truthful with me. I’m kind of disappointed in you, senator.”

Meanwhile, more of Craig’s Republican colleagues moved away from him today in the wake of his guilty plea earlier this month to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct.

Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who chairs the GOP’s senatorial campaign committee, stopped short of calling on Craig to resign, but suggested strongly that he should: "I wouldn’t put myself hopefully in that kind of position, but if I was in a position like that, that’s what I would do.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.