Boom!

What sound does a political party make when it implodes, actually? We're about to hear it, whatever it is. The GOP is, after all, falling apart completely.

Case in point: Last week, the Washington Post published an article about the series of secret prisons that the CIA operates around the world for anti-terrorist purposes, some in Eastern Europe. As I said before, definitely not gulags.

Earlier today, in response to the leak of what is probably classified information regarding the existence of these prisons, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist drafted a letter requesting, as far as I can tell, an investigation into the leak. I suspect it was an effort at turnabout, as they may have supposed that the leaker was a Democrat. I know, too ironic.

What's great is that the whole thing backfired, and big - Trent Lott has stepped up to throw a rench in the operation, as tgnyc relates:

Lott just said, Tuesday afternoon, that he thinks it was a GOP Senator who leaked the info to the Washington Post last week. He says the details had been discussed at a GOP Senators-only meeting last week, and that many of those details made it into the WaPo story.

Money quote from Lott; "We can not remain silent. We have met the enemy, and it is us."

Atrios quotes Ed Henry on CNN:

Trent Lott stunned reporters by declaring that this subject was actualy discussed at a Senate Republican luncheon, Republican senators only, last tuesday the day before the story ran in the Washington Post. Lott noted that Vice President Cheney was also in the room for that discussion and Lott said point blank "a lot of it came out of that room last tuesday, pointing to the room where the lunch was held in the capitol." He added of senators "we can't keep our mouths shut." He added about the vice president, "He was up here last wek and talked up here in that room right there in a roomful of nothing but senators and every word that was said in there went right to the newspaper." He said he believes when all is said and done it may wind up as an ethics investigation of a Republican senator, maybe a Republican staffer as well. Senator Frist's office not commenting on this development. The Washington Post not commenting either.

OK, so Frist and Hastert vow to get to the bottom of the leak, then it turns out it's either a GOP Senator or Cheney (unlikely) who was the source. Oops. Massive failure of political maneuver. What are they to do?

Well, if you're Frist, damage control is easy - just claim you didn't actually ask for an investigation! Again, Atrios watches CNN so we don't have to:

Senate Majority Leader Frist telling reporters he has not officially signed the letter that he and Hastert drafted earlier today...

Ha! Technicalities! This is almost too fun.