In other news from Washington, a federal judge has ordered the Bush administration to release records on who has visited Vice President Dick Cheney. The Washington Post took the request to court after being denied by the Secret Service earlier this year. The Bush administration has argued releasing the records would compromise Cheney’s ability to do his job. The court ruling comes one month after a similar lawsuit led to the release of records showing two key figures in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal held more than one hundred meetings inside the Bush White House
Thousands Protest Bush and Sen. Allen in Virginia
In Virginia, up to two thousand people held a demonstration Thursday at a fundraiser for Republican Senator George Allen attended by President Bush.
Rep. Jerry Lewis Fires 60 Government Investigators
And finally, Congressional Quarterly is reporting embattled Republican Congressmember Jerry Lewis of California has fired sixty investigators who took part in probes of government fraud and corruption. Lewis is chair of House Appropriations, one of the most powerful committees in Congress. He’s been under investigation for his ties to a lobbyist linked to jailed former Congressmember Randy "Duke" Cunningham and for how he helped oversee an annual $900 billion dollars in Congressional spending. A former FBI agent says Lewis’ firings have stalled dozens of ongoing investigations of waste and abuse.