Bush is evidently angry at Ashcroft over the dirty bomber hype. Ashcroft is clearly out of control.

The Village Voice: Nation: Mondo Washington: Bush Distances Himself From Attorney General by James Ridgeway According to press reports, the White House thinks Ashcroft made too much of Padilla, who has not been charged with a crime. The government attorneys apparently could not get an indictment out of a New York grand jury and, rather than let him go, handed Padilla off to the military. According to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking from Quatar, he might never be tried.

By this morning, there were charges flying around the capital that Bush had known about the Muhajir case for at least a month, and that Ashcroft released the information hurriedly only to divert attention from Intelligence Committee inquiries into the FBI and CIA handling of 9-11. The White House has been desperately trying to stay clear of accusations that the intelligence agencies knew about terrorist threats well before 9-11.