Ashcroft in a Froth

Eleanor Clift brings us a piece in Newsweek about John Ashcroft issuing subpoenas for the medical records of women who've had late term abortions in the last five years.

No, much to his own dismay, it isn't to prosecute them. Hospitals have filed suit against the "partial birth" abortion ban and Ashcroft is seeking documention to defend it.

Meanwhile, Josh Marshall has an interesting scenario playing out about all those documents that Republican staffers stole from insecure Democratic computer systems late last year. Turns out it was going on for a long while, maybe as long as a year and a half, and involves around 5,000 documents. Marshall is calling for outside help on this one, charging that the White House, Justice, and Hill Staffers all strategize together on judicial appointments and would likely have been aware that this activity was going on.

More, I'm sure, soon.