Looking Back: The Ordeal Of Sarah Taylor
Bloggers have pointed out the significance of the Sarah Taylor ordeal in the wake of last Monday's report detailing the wrongdoings of Monica Goodling. Sarah Taylor was second in command to Karl Rove at the White House Political office from 2001-2007. Here are are few recaps of a woman who handled herself even more poorly than Goodling did (albeit it could be argued that Goodling purjured herself in her testimony).
The Sarah Taylor appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 11th of last year was significant because her claim to executive privilege was undercut by her testimony. First, she claimed that she couldn't answer most questions because she was covered by the President's claim of executive priviledge. But as the hearing went on, with her lawyer present, she went against the claim and answered a few selective questions. Every now and then, she opened a window for the senators to look through, and they only had more questions (and they do to this day).
Damozel: The Ordeal Of Sarah Taylor
Here, Senator Patrick Leahy corrects Ms. Taylor about the oath she took when she joined the White House staff:
Her testimony under questioning from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse proved to be most interesting. Here, Whitehouse almost nails her for admitting to violations of the Hatch Act (discussing campaign or party strategy in Federal offices):
Keep in mind that this is someone who was involved in sending and receiving e-mails using her RNC e-mail account, outside the White House servers, and thus outside the review of Congress:
Dahlia Lithwick: Sara Taylor plays the Senate judiciary committee like a harp