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January 24, 2012 | | DEBATE NIGHT It was the Newt & Mitt show last night as the GOP candidates met on stage for a debate in Tampa. Romney, reeling from his loss in South Carolina, went on the attack, pinning Gingrich as an “influence peddler” during his days at Freddie Mac and repeatedly saying that Gingrich “resigned in disgrace” as House speaker. Did it work? The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz reports on the reaction from the Tampa spin room. Plus, Paul Begala, Michelle Cottle, and more Daily Beast contributors weigh in. CASH MONEY The moment we’ve waited for is finally here. Mitt Romney released a preview of his tax returns to The Washington Post late Monday, revealing an income of $21.7 million in 2010 and $20.9 million in 2011. The money is reportedly all from profits, dividends, and investment interest—and none from wages. In 2010, Romney paid a 13.9 percent tax rate, or $3 million. His 2011 estimate is $3.2 million, which is about 15.4 percent, as he’s told reporters. The 550 pages show that Romney has a Swiss bank account and foreign investments in Luxembourg, Ireland, and the Cayman Islands—all are legally taxed and with little income. The candidate's overall worth is estimated to fall between $190 million and $250 million. He still makes money from his relationship with Bain Capital. Leaving The Arab League observer mission in Syria is set to lose six more member countries on Sunday, as the Gulf Cooperation Council prepares to withdraw. The move comes after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejected the observer team’s proposal to hand over power to a deputy and form a government that includes the opposition. Assad rejected the proposal immediately as “flagrant interference.” Though the head of the team says the mission is succeeding, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported that the GCC does not want to be “false witnesses to crimes committed against civilians.” The six members of the council, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, are urging the U.N. Security Council to take “all needed measures ... to press Syria to implement the Arab League and the Arab initiative on Syria.” CRACKDOWN The Justice Department has charged a former CIA officer with leaking classified information about the capture and interrogation of alleged terrorists, including al Qaeda suspect Abu Zubaydah. John Kiriakou, 47, was a leading member of the team that captured Zubaydah, and became the center of media attention after opening up in an ABC interview about the brutal interrogation technique of waterboarding. Kiriakou, who was released on $250,000 bond after appearing in court, is the second CIA officer and sixth person to be accused of leaks since President Obama took office—exceeding the total number under all previous administrations combined. In a statement released Monday, CIA director David Petraeus said the agency “fully supported the investigation from the beginning,” warning CIA operatives to be more tight-lipped. Unrest Chinese security forces appear to be in the midst of the harshest crackdown on Tibetan protesters since 2008. Forces fired tear gas at Tibetan protesters in Sichuan province, according to an activist group, a day after forces fired on a crowd of demonstrators. At least one, and possibly as any as six people, died in Monday’s clash. China’s state news agency said one protester was killed and five police officers were injured in yesterday’s clash, which it described as a crowd of people, including monks, smashing stores along the town’s main street. | | 
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