What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Nixon would be proud, and someone needs to go to jail.

From HotAir  “carpet treatment. However, they probably didn’t expect the Red Scare treatment, either. In testimony before Congress last night, investigators revealed that the VA office initially gave them offices that were wired to record audio and video. They also found a notebook detailing how one manager instructed employees to obstruct the investigation:

Congressional staffers investigating data falsification and whistleblower retaliation at the Department of Veterans Affairs regional office in Philadelphia were given a workspace there that was wired with activated audio microphones and video cameras, the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs said Monday.

Committee investigators also glimpsed a notebook used by the agency’s regional director that bore written instructions to ignore their requests for information, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., said during a late-night hearing.”

“The notepad belonged to Acting Director Lucy Filipov, who insisted on putting investigators into a room where computer microphones and cameras had been activated. One handwritten instruction was “ignore Rory,” one of the Congressional staffers conducting the investigation for Miller. Another note listed two of the whistleblowers that were cooperating with the committee.”

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2. The next scandal is getting the usual response from the White House. Obstruction.

From TheHill  “The director of the White House’s political office defied a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, setting up a new high-profile fight between the White House and House Republicans.

Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said administration claims that White House political director David Simas was immune from testimony were “absurd” and “deeply disturbing.”

“Issa said Wednesday that Congress does “not and should not need a smoking gun” to investigate the administration. He said the committee was justified in demanding testimony from a senior presidential adviser, pointing to when Democrats compelled Harriet Miers, the White House counsel to former President George W. Bush, to testify about allegations of the politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys.

He also played a voicemail in which former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis solicits a campaign contribution while on the job to demonstrate that the Obama administration had previously run afoul of the Hatch Act. Solis was not in any way connected to the political office under investigation.”

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3. It’s way past time.

More from TheWashintonExaminer  “Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, “Independence Day” star Vivica Fox and several other prominent African-American celebrities are urging governments to adopt school choice, charter schools and other alternatives to education to give kids stuck in poor inner city schools a chance at the fame and fortune they have had.

“It’s time for educational choice,” says Sanders in a new video for the American Federation for Children and Alliance for School Choice, which promote alternatives to public education.

The campaign, called “Champions for Choice,” held an event last night in Los Angeles featuring athletes and celebrities in town for the ESPYS, during which star athletes are recognized.

“Many of the athletes,” said Kevin P. Chavous, executive counsel of the American Federation for Children, “come from humble backgrounds. They know what happened to many of their classmates who couldn’t make it out of failing schools. And they know that athletic skills good enough to play in the NBA and NFL shouldn’t be the only way out of poverty for these kids, as is too often the case.”

The former District councilman added, “That’s why they’re supporting school choice.”

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4. The infighting continues in the Mississippi. And further proof the RINO’s can’t be trusted.

From RedState  “I can confirm that the attack ads in Mississippi run by “All Citizens for Mississippi” were funded by Senate Republicans, including Senators Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Rob Portman, Bob Corker, and Roy Blunt. It appears our Senate Republican leaders are willing to risk losing a Senate majority so long as they can get their own re-elected. Yes folks, it is true. I can confirm what we all suspected.

The advertisements attacked Mississippi State Senator Chris McDaniel and painted conservative Republicans and tea party activists as racists. According to documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission, All Citizens for Mississippi received funding from a Haley Barbour backed group called Mississippi Conservatives.

Mississippi Conservatives, in turn, was funded in part by Sally Bradshaw of the RNC’s Growth and Opportunity Project, former RNC Chairman and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the United States Chamber of Commerce, and the political action committees created for Senators Mitch McConnell ($50,000), John Cornyn ($50,000), Rob Portman ($25,000), Bob Corker ($25,000), and Roy Blunt ($5,000).“

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5. And McDaniel continues his fight to see the voting records. Counties with Cochran supporters in charge are not being co-operative.

From TownHall  “The challenger who narrowly lost a Republican primary runoff to incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran is taking his quest to view original voting records to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

State Sen. Chris McDaniel is trying to prove that some people who voted in the June 24 runoff also voted in the June 3 Democratic primary, which would be illegal. His goal is to force another runoff.

On Monday, he asked the court for an emergency order forcing Harrison County Circuit Clerk Gayle Parker to let him see original copies of poll books.”

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