Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Bye-bye Porter, Hello…

A former CIA buddy tells me that Porter's main problem, however, is a key staffer who is linked to both Brent Wilkes and the CIA's Executive Director, Dusty Foggo. My friend also said that it is highly likely that the Goss staffer did participate in the hooker extravaganza. Goss, politician that he is, probably recognized that even though he did not participate in the sexual escapades and poker games, his staffer's participation created a huge problem for him that would be difficult to escape. Why Did Porter Goss Resign? (read Larry Johnson's whole post – it's a doozy)

Well, we have our answer. It loooks like Porter Goss didn't get involved with
hookers, but the same cannot be said for members of his staff. Hello, Foggo?

You knew Scot J. Paltrow and his cohorts over at the Wall Street Journal
had to be snooping around. They're breaking the story in “Goss
Resigned,” dated tomorrow, that Foggo is the focus of a “criminal
investigation,” which “centers on whether Mr. Foggo used
his postings at the CIA to improperly steer contracts to Mr. Wilkes's companies.”
I couldn't believe my eyes, coming so fast on Goss' buh-bye, so started
checking around to make sure I wasn't dreaming or was being too optimistic with my deciphering. Sure enough, Josh
Marshall had it earlier.

Atrios reminded us earlier that Tony Snow's
first day on the job is Monday. That'll be some first day. Whew. I
wonder if he was warned?

Here's Bill Kristol's
take, who sounds like he's holding back on more bad news, but mum's the
word.

The bottom line is that Bush picked someone as weak as himself and it backfired
like everything else he does. Wait until the other shoe drops, because this
is not the end of it. Do you get what I'm talkin' about?

Goss and Negroponte had been friends for years and were in the same fraternity at Yale, where they graduated in 1960. But turf battles erupted as Negroponte's operation grew and Goss was increasingly embattled within his own agency, where some officers viewed him as staunchly partisan and politically weak. Negroponte replaced Goss in presiding over the president's daily intelligence briefing, and he worked to bring CIA personnel and some of its analytical functions into his growing operations. Those steps quickly put him at odds with his friend. Privately, Goss's associates said the two men clashed with increasing frequency in recent months, and they blamed Negroponte for hurting Goss's reputation with the president. But administration officials said Goss never forged a strong relationship with Bush. “It just didn't click,” one official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Bush Ends Goss's Stormy Tenure By Forcing Him Out as CIA Chief

Who's next? This
guy? For a refresher on Porter's likely replacement, the guy who's first
in line, let's go back in the time machine, to a post of mine that features
some of Glenn
Greenwald's fine work. Maybe we should send it to Mr. Negroponte before
he makes his pick. It would make me think twice, or doesn't anyone do that in the Bush administration?