PrintJanuary 26, 2009
Al Capone and the Obama staff subpoenas
Imagine for a moment that Karl Rove and other Bush White House top level staff were subpoenaed by a federal prosecutor looking into corruption in Texas in early 2002. Then imagine that the news of these subpoenas came via an organization originally set up to combat the malign influence on state officials of Al Capone.
When I learned that Obama top staff including Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod had been subpoened, I did some clicking through to locate the original source for the Obama staff subpoenas. I wound up at the Quad City Times AP story.
Way down in the story we learn that the subpoenas were revealed by a FOIA request to the Governors office that was litigated for more than two years by a group called the Better Government Association. This association has long and storied history. Originally founded in 1923 by a group of citizens concerned about the growing influence of the Capone gang.
If this were Bush, we'd never hear the end of the BGA-Capone subpeona connection.
By the way. I called the Washington Post national news desk last night at 10:12 PM EST (deadline is 11:00 PM) and alerted them to subpoenas, yet there is nothing in today's paper (hard copy).
ABC and NBC had Blogo interviews and plenty on Obama's plan to widen and deepen the recession and put more people in the unemployment line but not a word about the subpoenas.
Clearly, there is a willful, intentional effort to suppress this news today.
