Spying Stopped In Wash DC Itself!!!

Lieberman Unwelcome at Party Lunches

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) have agreed that Lieberman will no longer attend Democrats’ weekly caucus lunches or the biweekly chairmen’s lunches used to formulate policy, senior Democratic aides said Tuesday.

Aides said the agreement came out of a meeting between the two, initiated by Lieberman, that occurred prior to the August recess.

A spokesman for Lieberman denied there have been any recent discussions between the Senator and Reid about his attendance at the policy luncheons and stressed that Lieberman “totally, completely of his own volition” decided he would skip certain sessions.

“Sen. Lieberman has voluntarily decided not to attend luncheons when he believes it’s likely there would be discussions of presidential politics,” spokesman Marshall Whitman said, adding that Lieberman has never been told to stay away from the luncheons.

The decision comes in the wake of Lieberman’s attacks on Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) at the GOP convention last week, and essentially formalizes a deal Reid and Lieberman had cut earlier this year under which Lieberman would not attend meetings that included discussions of sensitive campaign or political issues.