TV News LIES

On Thursday morning, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on President Barack Obama to nominate more judges to the federal bench who have backgrounds serving the public interest instead of corporate America.

Of Obama's judicial nominations so far, just ten—fewer than four percent—have worked as lawyers at public interest organizations, according to a report released Thursday by the Alliance for Justice, a network of civil rights organizations. Only 10 nominees have had experience representing workers in labor disputes. Eighty-five percent have been either corporate attorneys or prosecutors. At an event Thursday sponsored by several civil rights organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice and the Alliance for Justice, Warren called for more balance in the system.

House Republican leaders are giving up efforts to couple a U.S. debt-limit increase with provisions backing the Keystone XL pipeline or repealing an insurance-risk provision in Obamacare, two party leadership aides said.

House leaders lack enough Republican support for either option, and they are looking at other possible conditions to attach to an increase in the debt limit, said the aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.

Women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke has filed paperwork to seek the congressional seat being vacated by the retirement of Rep. Henry Waxman with the local party, but her team says she’s just keeping her options open and hasn’t made any final decisions.

The California Democratic Party lists Fluke’s name as having officially filed with the party to run in the California district of the retiring Democrat. Two other candidates have filed to run and three others are considered potential candidates, according to the party’s site.

Top aides to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie face a deadline on Monday to reply to document subpoenas made by state lawmakers investigating a traffic scandal that has threatened the Republican governor's political future.

Lawmakers are investigating an incident from last September, at the height of Christie's re-election campaign, in which aides to Christie ordered access lanes from the town of Fort Lee to the busy George Washington Bridge closed, creating a massive, four-day traffic jam. The closures came after the mayor of Fort Lee, a Democrat, declined to endorse Christie's re-election bid.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s former campaign manager is fighting a subpoena from state lawmakers investigating the George Washington Bridge traffic scandal, according to a letter POLITICO obtained Friday.

Bill Stepien’s legal team is asking the lawmakers to withdraw his subpoena on the grounds that it violates his Fifth Amendment rights — becoming the second person to turn to that constitutional protection since probes of the controversy have begun. The demand suggests lawmakers who have expanded their investigation into the Republican governor’s inner circle could face major roadblocks.

A former New Jersey county prosecutor says he was fired by the Christie administration for fighting efforts to quash the indictment of an ally of the governor.

Bennett A. Barlyn has filed a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal, the (Newark) Star-Ledger reported Wednesday. He was dismissed as Hunterdon County prosecutor in 2010 and now teaches in Pennsylvania.