Risen Gets Subpoenaed for Merlin Story. Again.
Charlie Savage reports that James Risen just got subpoenaed to reveal the source for the chapter of his book, State of War, in which he described a wacky effort to sell Iran faulty blueprints for a nuclear bomb.
The Obama administration is seeking to compel a writer to testify about his confidential sources for a 2006 book about the Central Intelligence Agency, a rare step that was authorized by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.The author, James Risen, who is a reporter for The New York Times, received a subpoena on Monday requiring him to provide documents and to testify May 4 before a grand jury in Alexandria, Va., about his sources for a chapter of his book, “State of War: The Secret History of the C.I.A. and the Bush Administration.” The chapter largely focuses on problems with a covert C.I.A. effort to disrupt alleged Iranian nuclear weapons research.
Mr. Risen referred questions to his lawyer, Joel Kurtzberg, a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel L.L.P., who said that Mr. Risen would not comply with the demand and would ask a judge to quash the subpoena.
That’s really weird, because (as Savage notes) the same thing happened two years ago.
A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena to a reporter of The New York Times, apparently to try to force him to reveal his confidential sources for a 2006 book on the Central Intelligence Agency, one of the reporter’s lawyers said Thursday.The subpoena was delivered last week to the New York law firm that is representing the reporter, James Risen, and ordered him to appear before a grand jury in Alexandria, Va., on Feb. 7.
Mr. Risen’s lawyer, David N. Kelley, who was the United States attorney in Manhattan early in the Bush administration, said in an interview that the subpoena sought the source of information for a specific chapter of the book “State of War.”
The chapter asserted that the C.I.A. had unsuccessfully tried, beginning in the Clinton administration, to infiltrate Iran’s nuclear program.
The two big differences (note that both of Risen’s named lawyers are at the same firm) are the new Attorney General and the new prosecutor: Savage’s story notes this renewed effort to get Risen’s testimony is being led by William Welch, who led the disgraced Public Integrity section before the Stevens debacle, and who also indicted Thomas Drake, the NSA whistleblower, a few weeks back.
Which, by itself, suggests that Eric Holder made the decision to sic William Welch, a prosecutor discredited by the Stevens case, on a bunch of old leak cases.
Whatever happened to looking forward, not backward?
One more note. I made some wildarsed speculations the last time this happened about who DOJ was really after. I’ll let you all read that post rather than repeat what may well be irresponsible (though elaborate) speculation. What I would like to repeat from that post, though, is that this whole case–particularly if my speculations are correct–takes place, for the second time, against the background of efforts to make a WMD case against Iran.
It’s bad enough that they’re demanding James Risen’s sources, again (and note that this proves my caution about the proposed shield law, which makes explicit exception in national security cases like this one). But it just makes it all the worse that they’re doing so about an Iran-related scheme against the background of efforts to pressure Iran.
‘Looking forward’ only applies to the people who authorized war crimes and the investment banks, it seems.
ok, this means war.
the previous obama/doj shenanigans could be explained as intended to protect a previous president.
this attack on risen, coupled with the attack on the nsa employee, is a unique obama admin initiative – and a shameful one.
the objective is to terrify potential sources for journalists who might reveal govt incompetence – in this case obama admin incompetence.
this is both a break from the ” follow-along” path
the o admin has followed up til now
and a new and severe tightening of constraints on revealing govt info.
if i were a betting person, i would bet that obama personally, or something done in his admin, is bubbling
just below the surface.
the message?
think twice, dude.
be afraid!
Neither is NEW. They’re both at most renewed, or rather sustained. And I saw Thomas Tamm (the NSA whistleblower) in DC a bit back and he’s still worried about being indicted, as well (though their decision on whether to appeal al-Haramain may impact that).
But it’s clear that they are going to try to close out all these old leak investigations.
Merlin is the sort of thing that makes me think the great work Valerie Plame was doing was overstated.
I’ve had the same point. But if my wildarsed speculations are correct, then higher management was pushing people in CPD to suppress the truth on Iran’s lack of interest in nukes, which puts the false plans in a different light.
thos seems to me to be a huge political miscalculation.
but obamacorp, like goldman-sachs, aren’t supposed to miscalculate.
thn there is the possibility that all this “deal justice to the leakers” sanctimony,
is a prelude to a durham grand jury indictment.
What, like throwing CIA a bone before their spooks get indicted? My guess is it is more about locking shit down and intimidating leakers and the press.
So there’s no way to know what specifically is being investigated, other than old leaks? Thnx in advance for yr response.
Oooh, that is a Marcy question I think.
Oh. EW, pardon me for not asking you directly, but is there any way to know what specifically is supposed to be investigated by this particular grand jury? Thnx.
And I must add for those interested, to not just go to your “31 Responses to ‘Does Jerry Doe Know Anything About Merlin?”, but to the post preceding it, “Jerry Doe ‘Proved Fucking Right'” also. Wow. Just wow.
You’re kidding. Risen’s lawyer’s name two years ago was really David Kelly? Like, le wow.
Interesting that a discovered laptop was the basis for some of the fear-mongering over Iran….
From wiki:
Wonder if this was the same plans? Ya know; plant it and then claim to find it. The dates don’t jibe but interesting coincidence.
Right, now you see where I’m going. The laptop was pretty transparently bogus, as Dafna Linzer wrote for years. It was the last thing they had Colin Powell roll out, in a reprise of his UN Speech, before he left the Admin.
fatser @ 9 & 11…Great question.
JohnJ, very interesting observation.
Now, I find my interest drawn to the following from EW’s link to her previous speculations:
(my bold)
Has anyone thought about what just might happen should proof come out on that front especially in light of 9-11? BTW, was the Russian nuclear scientist (from the older story here) still in Russia or was he an émigré?
And I would not be surprised if EW’s Ghorbanifar Timeline grows with this story.
This is another neo-con conspiracy. We know that neo-cons helped Al Qaeda double agents commit more terrorism. We know neo-cons helped Prince Bandar finance 9-11. Sibel Edmonds says neo-cons were involved in massive nuclear weapons proliferation.
In Stae Of War, Risen says the CIA provided NUCLEAR WEAPONS plans to Iran. This is certainly criminal and probably illegal. But it is consistent with neo-con strategy to provide assistance to their phony terrorist armies such as Al Qaeda. They want another war with Iran. War profiteering is a growth industry.
Henry Kissinger and GE started giving Iran nuclear technology 40 years ago. Halliburton supplied Iran with advanced technology. The neo-cons are using “national security” to conceal their involvement with providing nuclear weapons to Iran and terrorists.
I’m betting we still don’t have any sources inside Iran’s nuclear program. And I doubt Israel does, either.
I wonder if Risen will go to jail to protect his source.
And I wonder why now? Why not 6 months ago or 6 months hence? Is there something coming out in tomorrows document dump that will explain things?
Boxturtle (Or is this just vindictivness on the part of ObamaLLP?)
Well, we have one apparently verified and one rumored defector in our hands. So we have actually started getting real sources on Iran.
That said, I think timing might be more about William Welch’s tasking than anything else. He left PIN in October, so it may be they did more work on these leak cases and now are indicting/subpoenaing reporters.
Perhaps…but remember Curveball. Not that Iran would dare to try to fool us a second time.
Boxturtle (They’re still snickering from the last time)
Why the hell do you put such an ethically and professionally tainted face like Welch on sensitive cases like these though? He and Morris ought to be parked in general crimes or something until they can reestablish that they can prosecute a case fairly and professionally again.
Because you want a specific result and you’re confident you have enough on Welch that he’ll deliver.
Boxturtle (Was this a contest? What do I win?)
Oh, I absolutely agree. That’s why I highlighted his role in this.
If MSM would make sure that every time they print his name as lead counsel they put in a reference to the effect, “Welch is currently under investigation by a Federal District Court for his handling of the prosecution of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens …” Holder might pull his horns in a bit.
Or not.
Supposedly, those plans had intentional defects in the details. And remember, 40 years ago The Shah (a CIA tool) was in charge and we gave him lots of good stuff.
I’m waiting for those plans to surface and be used as proof that Iran is actually building a bomb.
Boxturtle (With their 20%, internationally monitored, just enough to make one weapon U235 stash)
I would claim that this is ridiculous, to give them workable nuclear weapons plans with a flaw. If they discover the flaw then they have plans for a workable nuclear weapon. This secrecy is another fraud. It is a crime to reveal nuclear weapons technology. It is OK if you are a neo-con, needing more terrorism. The CIA and the nameless NSA spies are endangering the American people, because they are conspiring for more war. Perhaps they want terrorists to explode a nuclear weapon in Dee Cee.
I think it’s a silly idea as well, thoough it’s not the silliest that BushCo ever came up with. A gun type bomb is a VERY simple device most of the details of it are public already, Iran wouldn’t need stolen plans. If it was an implosion design, odds are it helped Iran more than it hurt.
If Iran wants nukes, it’s a certainty they already have a workable gun design and they make well have a working implosion design. They’ve had several years to work on it and we developed the design in less than 5 years starting from scratch. All they lack is fissle material.
But I think Iran is likely going after the Japan model. No nukes by policy but able to assemble one very quickly if needed.
Boxturtle (Iran with the bomb worries me as much as BushCo with the bomb)
Echoing the WOW’s!
Agree with klynn about Ghorbanifar and Frank33 about “They want another war with Iran. War profiteering is a growth industry.”
The neocons want a war with Iran, regardless of if they’re making nukes. And they’re lying and slanting intelligence to support their position.
ObamaLLP does NOT want war with Iran under any circumstances, regardless of if they’re making nukes. And they’re lying and slanting the intelligence to support that.
Tell the truth. Make a decision based on the truth. Live with it.
Boxturtle (And remember, Israel will likely hit regardless)
Are you sure about ObamaLLP? I can’t say that I am…especially if [when] Israel acts.
I whole heartedly agree with:
Tell the truth. Make a decision based on the truth. Live with it.
This has got to be our mantra!
Yes, because at the recent hearings anything that might reveal details about Irans nukes or lack thereof was moved to closed hearings. That means ObamaLLP does not want to talk about it. Their public message is that Iran is 5 years away and they haven’t made the final choice yet anyway.
Obama has enough problems, he doesn’t need a hot war with Iran that won’t really stop a nuke program anyway and he doesn’t need the Neocon’s slamming on him for not hitting Iran. So, yeah, I think he wants nothing to do with that issue.
Boxturtle (Obama really strikes me as a “one thing at a time” person)
Just because they don’t want us to hear them talk about it, doesn’t mean they aren’t talking about it. I agree about Obama being a one thing at a time person, but his handlers are not.
I suspect they’ve also figured out that nuking Iran will do bad things to all our current friends and helpers (and troops) downwind. (I doubt that Cheney cared about them; they’re all disposable to his mind.)
I don’t think there’s been any serious discussion of using nukes against Iran since ObamaLLP took over. Tacticly speaking, there’s no reason to use them. The only target we know of that MIGHT require a nuke to crack is the enrichment plant and if we’re going to bomb anyway it makes much more sense to cluster bomb that area and send in commandos. Also, it’s likely that the new non-nuke bunker buster can crack that plant.
Israel is the wild card. If they decide to hit, they have nothing short of nukes that will crack that and they don’t have the ability to suppress that area long enough for commandos to work. And BiBi WILL hit if he think Iran is going to cross one of his red lines.
Boxturtle (And if he does hit, it’ll add a new dimension to the word “chaos”)
If he does, he’s going to wish he hadn’t. (I can’t imagaine there’s much that will kill US support faster than that. I also think we’ve given them too much support over the last thirty or so years.)
If he does, I bet he gets nothing more than a sternly worded letter from us. As long as that monthly cash transfer takes place from our treasury to his, nothing else matters. Who’s going to lead the charge against Israel? Obama? Schumer? Reid? Pelosi? Clinton?
There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Ambassadors will be recall for consultation or expelled. Senators and congresscritters who are not part of their respective leaderships will publically blast Israel. The UN will call for sanctions.
The Neocons will speak up for Israel. The MSM will give them all the airtime they desire, while highlighting Irans risk to America.
In less than a year, things will calm down.
Boxturtle (I’m always gloomy before lunch)
Seems to me more like Welch can’t be fired (for some reason) and Holder had to find something for him to do. Remember that Bush thoroughly politicized the DOJ; but Obama could only replace the guy at the top and the kids at the very bottom when he came in. Being a tendentious wingnut can not be a criterion for firing someone, so those guys have to leave on their own, but they can be assigned to the shit cases. There are also different standards of simple competence required for getting hired and getting fired; it’s harder to fire someone, because they’ll take away their institutional knowledge and leave behind pissed off friends.
This is more appropriate for the “Breaking! Torture is Illegal…” thread but that’s so yesterday. I pulled my New Yorker out of the mailbox yesterday and the lead letter is from Brig. General Patrick Finnegan, Dean of the Academic Board at West Point. It completely repudiates torture. Money quote (typos mine):
“…the pictures from Abu Ghraib and the publicity surrounding Guantanamo, waterboarding, and other ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ have created far more terrorists than most people understand. For a country that professes to stand for the rule of law and individual rights, we look like the worst kind of hypocrites.”
I can’t find a non-digital edition version (sign-up required and I like my dead tree edition) right now but it should be online without having to provide personal information next week.
Oh, and check out the article on the Tea Party. There’s some interesting history about financial protests around the time of the US Bicentennial. Interesting stuff.
Here’s the link to Finnegan’s letter:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/letters/2010/05/03/100503mama_mail1
burnt @25
thanks for all the info.
i’m particularly interested in the tea party stuff. i suspect this is all fake grassroots financed by corporate and inherited corporate wealth.
Its not fake grassroots, but as Rachel Maddow has been showing, there are corporate sponsors and Republican stalking horses that are trying to capture the Tea Party grassroots energy for their own purposes.
Bob in AZ
harpie @28
damn. finnegan laid it on the line. appropriately so for an officer associated with training young men to be officers and future leader of our military.
our right-wing commercial provocateurs and timid press (wapoop waffling about “torture”) seem not to understand there are a lot of proud and well-educated american military officers who believe that we should not torture and that we should live by the laws we make.
Yes. Read more about Finnegan and his response to the TV show “24” in this 2/19/07 Mayer article, “Whatever it Takes”:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all
“against the background of efforts to make a WMD case against Iran”
Excellent observation. As we enter the 2012 pre-election period with a moribund economy and a president whose record ranges from lackluster (health insurance bailout) to indefensible (torture, assassination, detention, showtrials, occupation), I can see both parties desparate to out-bogeyman each other in applying the Bush Cocktrine to preemptively prevent Iran from aquiring “minimum means of reprisal”.
I guess Obama is not really content to inherit wars, he needs his very own. No presidential biography is complete without the roll-out a new mass slaugther product in time for the evening news.
QoTD courtsey of John Cole:
“If we replaced the DC press corps with a bunch of misanthropes who want to spit every time the President’s name is mentioned, we’d be a hell of a lot better off than we are with the current bunch of fawning, preening wanna-be elitists.”
“Which, by itself, suggests that Eric Holder made the decision to sic William Welch, a prosecutor discredited by the Stevens case, on a bunch of old leak cases.”
Whatever happened to looking forward, not backward?”
Force Risen to testify under oath about the leak and never require Cheney to testify under oath about his part in outing Plame.
Was Holder responsible for letting Aipac’s espionage team of Rosen and Weissman off the hook?
WTF
Cheney can’t testify. Every time he touches a Bible, the cover catches on fire.
OT: How’d the Brunner rally go yesterday?
Boxturtle (Still wondering how far Risen will go to protect his source)
Excellent. I had five days to prepare (they gave us short notice) Got it in our three papers, an interview set up with Ohio U’s Woub Fred Kite, 90 people showed up. Lots of professor’s , Quakers, College Dems, the Mayor, county commissioners and city council members. Great showing. Good questions. People left fired up. Brunner knocked eveyone off their feet. She is the real deal.
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/43905
Contacted the Rachel Maddow show, Ed, Chris Matthews, Diane Rehm show. Would really like to see one of these folks help her take it up a notch in the next few days. Jennifer shared that the main fund raiser for Lee Fisher is a muckety muck at Aipac. He has about five times the amount of money. But we are all trying hard to push for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner
the college newspapers article
http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/
I think you are wildly mischaracterizing Kozinski, and I wonder how much the Above the Law blogger actually really knew or understood about Kozinski before he went off.
I am an easy shot Bmaz. I am responding and asking questions. I would think your claim would be directed towards Ew.
One of the best places to go read about the situation with Iran. The Leveretts have a new family member
http://www.raceforiran.com/straight-talk-from-dimitri-simes-on-russias-position-on-sanctions
Scott Horton has a piece up about this.
Justice Department Subpoenas Times Reporter; Scott Horton; 4/29/10
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2010/04/hbc-90006965
Okay, I’m willing to be the skunk at the garden party.
It does look bad that Welch appears to be a discredited toad.
It also looks bad that this is a redux.
Lots of things here look bad.
It is likely that this is about the government covering its butt.
However, recently Biden was treated like crap when he arrived in Israel, and in the past week TPM had some item about Schumer getting sidewise of the WH for whining about what may be official WH irritation with Likudnik pranks. (I say, “LIkudnik pranks” to mean ‘extremists’, as opposed to Israeli’s who feel strongly about their country, but would be more level-headed in at least approaching negotiations.)
Also, recall that Petraeus has said that failure to reach some negotiated solutions between Israel and its neighbors are having extremely harmful effects on US military efforts. That was a huge shift; we’ve never seen anything like that before.
So a case could be made that the WH is pissed, and the military has run low on patience.
In addition, recall that the weekend before leaving the WH, Bush **and his private attorney and also Fred Fielding** met together with Cheney. It was Cheney’s last chance to get Scootie-Poot a full pardon. Bush refused.
Also, recall that no one around these parts can recall Bush as much as making eye contact with Cheney on the Obama inaugural, and also that there have been reports that Bush told Obama he ‘didn’t think it was fair’ to give the privileged, connected Scooter Libby a full pardon on his way out the door.
It’s odd, is it not, that Bush needed **two** witnesses to keep Cheney off his ass on that whole last-minute Scooter Libby pardon deal? And is it not also bizarre that his attorney was present? Why would Bush’s attorney be present?! What’s up with that?
bmaz can skewer me with withering snark if he wants, but I think it’s bizarre. Is it (legally) possible that some kind of legal ‘deal’ was cut — but only on the condition that Bush not fully pardon Libby? After all, Fitz still has “Sealed vs Sealed” wrapped up somewhere, does he not?
I could go on and on…
I agree that this sure looks like SecrecyPlus, but I still think there must be something weird going on.
The Ghorbanifar Timeline makes abundantly clear that the neocons attempted to plant WMD in Iran early in the war. There’s also a March 2007 entry that I don’t recall seeing before about involvement by The Rendon Group. (Isn’t Randy Scheunemann part of that cabal of criminals?)
What’s Durham been up to, I wonder?
I think “Sealed v. Sealed” was an urban legend that people still want to grasp on to, but shouldn’t. Is it possible some deal was cut? I guess, but do not know what kind of deal you are referring to and if you are implying it was with Fitzgerald, I would more than highly doubt it.
bobschacht @49
thanks bob.
yours is the better way to phrase it. i do not want to minimize or treat with contempt the genuine passions of t-p enthusiasts.
“Sealed v Sealed” an urban legend?
I thought its existence had been confirmed, so must have missed the ‘urban legend’ part.
You’re the attorney, so I defer.
But I still think it’s bizarre beyond even normal weirdness that Bush had *two* allies when he met with Cheney over that Scooter Libby pardon request at the 59th minute of the 11th hour. I remember being ammmmazed that Bush didn’t pardon Libby before leaving office.
I figure the Bushies got pissed at the CheneyBots for something and the CheneyBots figure they still have enough sleaze on the Bushies to make their lives hell. Meanwhile, the Bushies are stomping on the fingertips of the CheneyBots as they cling to the edge of the ledge of the rocket ship while the Bushies try to close the pod door and let the CheneyBots float off into space.
I think that makes me an optimist…?
O/T, for any similar-minded folks who’d like to join me in a slow seethe:
Rove welcomes former Alabama AG who hounded Siegelman: ‘Hey, Bud!’
LINK.
OT
Bill Egnor has a very good diary up.