Anyone who lived through Whitewater knows how Republicans used a parade of little lies and fake scandals to divert attention from their own wrongdoing and damage anyone who stood in their way. Paul Krugman writes about how it is happening again — abetted chiefly by the GOP propaganda organ, Fox News, but also by others in the media. See: Nancy Pelosi for the latest example.

And speaking of duplicity: The LA Times’ Tom Hamburger (former Arkie) has a good story about the parallel GOP-provided computer and communication system used by White House aides. Could be illegal. Could be a political problem, at a minimum. Such as how it illuminates the dishonest plan to install Karl Rove henchman Tim Griffin as a permanent interim U.S. attorney in Little Rock without Senate confirmation.

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In the U.S. attorney case, Rove deputy Jennings used the RNC e-mail system to write to D. Kyle Sampson, then Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales’ chief of staff, in August 2006 about replacing Arkansas U.S. Atty. H.E. “Bud” Cummins III with former Rove protege Tim Griffin.

“We’re a go for the U.S. atty plan. WH leg, political and communications have signed off and acknowledged that we have to be committed to following through once the pressure comes,” Jennings wrote in an e-mail from the gwb43.com domain name. Sampson noted in a related e-mail that “getting him appointed was important to” Rove, then-White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers and other officials.

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The gwb43.com account, and others like it, have been traced to the Republican National Committee computer servers, Waxman’s staff said.

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