More recently, Rather broke into programming to announce that George W. had picked Colin Powell to be his Vice Presidential running mate. It wasn't true, but no one has been arrested and no band has put it to music. Yet.

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"Federal Judge Richard Cudahy said Friday that he was the "inadvertent" source of the leak that a new grand jury had been seated in the investigation of the case involving President Clinton and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky." ( CNN's website, August 18, 2000)

To read more about Judge Cudahys background click here

"For starters, Cudahy is a lifelong Democrat and former chairman of the Wisconsin State Democratic Party. His Democratic roots come as a sharp counterpoint to the conservatism of the division's presiding judge, David Sentelle of the D.C. Circuit. The third member of the panel, Peter Fay, a senior judge on the 11th Circuit, was appointed to the bench by President Richard Nixon." (Carrie Johnson, "Quiet Judge Cudahy Makes His Presence Felt," Legal Times, August 23, 1999)

* Gore Campaign Chairman Bill Daley: "Well, I'm sure some people would say it's just a coincidence. It's hard to believe that it's coincidental, but the American people are smart, Wolf, they see through this sort of stuff. They see the political nature of this sort of activity, and so I think they will dismiss it as far as any impact, obviously, on Al Gore, because they know these issues are important that you'll hear from Al Gore tonight about. And so they're very smart people, and they're much more smarter than most people give them credit, I think, in some political circles." (CNN, August 17, 2000)

* Gore Campaign Spokesman Mark Fabiani: "Americans are going to have serious questions about the timing of today's leak. People are wise by now to these Ken-Starr-like tactics." (ABC News, 8/17/00)

* "But it's certainly suspicious. And Americans have the right to wonder whether what went on today is similar to what we've seen for the last couple of years from the Republicans. They don't want to talk about the issues so they try to talk about scandal and events that are now years old. And people are too smart for that. They want to move on." (CNN's "Larry King Live," August 18, 2000)

* Gore Spokesman Chris Lehane: "The timing seems very odd that it comes out today, given the fact that it (the formation of the grand jury) occurred more than a month ago. Republicans want to focus on the past. Gore and (Joseph) Lieberman want to focus on the future," ( CNN Website, "Grand jury probing Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, sources reveal, Timing of news condemned by White House, Gore campaign," August 17, 2000)

* Gore Spokesman Doug Hattaway: "People are sick and tired of seeing the judicial system manipulated for political purposes. It seems clearly calculated to have a political impact. But we believe the voters are focused on the future and the issues that matter in their daily lives," ( MSNBC News Website)

* Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY): "If Clinton was to drop dead, the Republicans would dig him up,"(Pete Yost, "New Grand Jury Investigates Clinton," The Associated Press, August 18, 2000.)

* "It's just a Republican dirty trick. . . . The American people are fed up with it. If they want to reopen impeachment, then I challenge them. Let's have hearings and get on with it." (Michelle Mittelstadt, "Democrats Question Timing of Latest Clinton Grand Jury," The Dallas Morning News, August 18, 2000)

* Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill): "The timing of the news 'hours before Al Gore is to give this speech'warrants a federal investigation.'" (Pete Yost, "New Grand Jury Investigates Clinton," The Associated Press, August 18, 2000.)

* House Majority Whip David Bonior (D-Mich): "You can bet your bottom dollar that the Republican Party was . . . . I think the American people are going to reject this kind of behavior." (Pete Yost, "New Grand Jury Investigates Clinton," The Associated Press, August 18, 2000.)

* White House Spokesman Jake Siewart: "he timing of this leak reeks to high heaven, but given the record of the Office of the Independent Counsel it is not surprising," (MSNBC News Website)

* Former Democratic Governor of Texas, Ann Richards: "And I'm going to tell you that the Bush people are really good. I've been there, done that, felt that. And they leak that stuff like crazy and then stand back and say, 'Oh, my, my' how badly they feel about that, that should never have happened. And you will never find their fingerprints on it." (Ann Richards, CNN's Larry King Live, August 17, 2000)

* Sen. John Breaux (D-La): "I think the timing of this is truly unbelievable. I mean, I've heard of a lot of political things that I have heard in this conference, in this convention, this has got to be the most political act that I think I have seen in my lifetime. This is something that common decency says you don't do during a party's political convention. I think it's something that they should have waited on it, the American people are ready to get this behind us - they don't want to hear anymore about this." (Fox Special Report With Brit Hume August 17, 2000, Thursday)

* Democratic Consultant Mark Mellman: "I think people will be offended by the clear, partisan political nature of what they're doing. . . From the get-go, people have believed that it was politically motivated." (Jodi Enda, "Reports of New Clinton Grand Jury Surface on Day of Gore speech," Knight Ridder Washington Bureau, August 18, 2000)

* Dan Rather Blamed GOP: "You don't have to be a cynic to note that this has all the earmarks of a carefully orchestrated, politically motivated leak." (CBS News Website, August 18, 2000)

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