1. 9-11. Not the first scandal, and certainly not the last, but the most important. What happened at the White House before and after the terrorist attacks is at the core of the commission's investigation. Why did the president not want this commission? Why has he slowed its progress? Will the final report be classified? Simply put, what did the president know, and when did he know it?
2. WMD. The missing WMDs, a story that has found its way to the back pages of the newspapers, is also currently under investigation. The president had trumpeted intelligence before the war and freightened the American people of weapons that may have not even existed. The case for war was made on the claims that Iraq readily had WMD. Not long after the war, the administration was referring to "weapons programs," and then, the "intent of weapons programs." Did Bush tell the American people lies as he brought us to war?
3. Valerie Plame. Shortly after former Ambassador Joe Wilson debunked the administration's claim that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium in Niger in an op-ed piece in the New York Times, conservative columnist Bob Novak published that his wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA officer. Plame had been a covert operative. Novak cited senior administration officials in his column, in what many insiders see as payback for Wilson's public statements. "Under federal law, it is a crime to reveal a covert officer's identity if it is done with the intention of exposing the officer's undercover status." (Washington Post) A grand jury is currently investigating who in the White House committed the crime.
4. Prisoner Abuse. The most recent, and current, scandal surrounds the military's tactics in interrogating detainees in Iraq. The White House has condemned the actions but may have ordered them.
5. Energy Commission. Back in April 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney convened secret meetings with the energy industry in formulating the nation's energy policy. The commision concluded that the energy policy should focus on less conservation, drilling in the arctic, and reviving nuclear power. Cheney has refused to "declassify" who was at this meeting. Thanks to the secret meetings, however, the average price of gasoline rose to a record high ($2.07) this past week.
6. Medicare. Illegal activites in the White House and the Congress make this scandal a possible barnburner. The big losers: Medicare participants and taxpayers. (See GAO: Bush Actions Illegal.)
