Open Thread

March 27th, 2008 9:43 AM

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: antiwar Democrats were paid by Saddam to visit Iraq in October 2002 (paragraph breaks removed):

Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The three anti-war Democrats made the trip in October 2002, while the Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Iraq. While traveling, they called for a diplomatic solution...The lawmakers are not named in the indictment but the dates correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California.

What do you think about this nonsense? How much press coverage do you expect this will get? What kind of penalities will these three receive?