The Trail

The court said it does not have jurisdiction, at least at this time, to hear the case brought by Citizens United. That group wants to eliminate a provision of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance act that requires groups funding campaign-related ads to disclose their donors.

A panel of three federal judges had turned down the group's request for a preliminary injunction, which would have allowed them to bypass campaign rules that bar corporations and unions from paying for ads naming candidates in advance of elections. Citizens United argued that "Hillary: The Movie" did not directly tell voters how to cast presidential votes.

The judges said it was unlikely that the group could prevail with such an argument. " 'The Movie' is susceptible of no other interpretation than to inform the electorate that Senator Clinton is unfit for office, that the United States would be a dangerous place in a President Hillary Clinton world, and that viewers should vote against her," the panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled.

Citizens United tried to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, but the government told the court that it should not review a ruling on an injunction. The court apparently agreed. Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the two-sentence order said, would have affirmed the lower court's judgment.

The government noted in its brief that the group could go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

-- Robert Barnes

DRUNKEN DRIVING

Clinton Aide Guilty

NASHUA, N.H. -- A senior Clinton adviser agreed to plead guilty to drunken driving after the arresting officer was activated by the military and ordered to Iraq, making a trial on a more serious charge impossible, police said.

Under the plea, Sidney Blumenthal, a former journalist and White House adviser to President Bill Clinton, will lose his right to drive for 16 months.

Now an unpaid adviser to Hillary Clinton's campaign, Blumenthal, 59, was arrested Jan. 7, the day before the New Hampshire primary and charged with aggravated drunken driving. Police said Blumenthal was traveling 70 mph in a 30-mph zone.

The case had been set for trial last week, but Blumenthal agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of driving while intoxicated with enhanced penalties, Nashua police Capt. Peter Segal said.

In addition to the suspended license, he will pay a $750 fine plus a 20 percent penalty fee assessed by the court when he is sentenced April 18, Segal said.

Blumenthal also will be required to undergo an alcohol intervention program.

-- Associated Press

STAYING IN IRAQ

McCain Convinced

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- John McCain told a friendly crowd of veterans Monday that he remains committed to staying in Iraq after observing during a trip last week how U.S. troops were faring.

"I don't care what anybody says, I've seen it on the ground," said the GOP candidate.

-- Juliet Eilperin