Is Lindsey Graham the Weakest Politician in the United States?
Apparently with the blessing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is taking huge and significant steps toward a thawing of relations with the West while also moving to lessen the grip of hard line positions…
By "Secret Law" Did They Mean "Not Written Down"?
For years, Ron Wyden and Mark Udall have been calling the secret interpretation of Section 215 "secret law."
I've always thought they meant that figuratively. The law got made by the FISA Court in secret, but there's an opinion there somewhere,…
Hot Numbers and the 2009 Troubles
Starting in 2007, DOJ's Inpector General Glenn Fine did a series of reports on the FBI's use of National Security Letters and Exigent Letters. In response (and as the FBI tried to clean up the mess from its inappropriate use of those tools),…
Oh, So THAT'S Why the Government Is So Insistent Section 215 Had a Role in the Zazi Case?
There's a remarkable passage in the Primary Order for the Section 215 dragnet that Judge Reggie Walton signed on September 3, 2009.
In addition, the Custodian of Records of [redacted] shall produce to NSA upon service of the appropriate Secondary…
Also, the Nail Polish Remover Lobby Didn't Challenge Section 215 Orders
The takeaway from the FISC opinion released today from about 6 outlets seems to be that no telecom has ever challenged a Section 215 order.
But the opinion actually says more than that. It says,
To date, no holder of records who has received…
Working Thread on FISA Order, Opinion
Here.
(2) Prohibition on cell site may be new with this primary order.
(2) The redaction in FN 3 suggests there was at least one change made in program.
(3) Note Court claims it didn't read White Paper. Which means it pretends it doesn't…
How Mike Rogers' Excessive Secrecy in 2011 Might Kill the Dragnet
The FISA Court just released an August 29, 2013 opinion that reaffirms the court's prior support for the Section 215 dragnet.
There's a lot to say about the general legal interpretation of the opinion, which I may return to.
More importantly,…
Dilma Throws Obama a BRIC
I was actually surprised, back in May, when the White House announced a State Visit for Brazil's President, Dilma Rousseff.
After all, not long after Obama visited Brazil in March 2011, the real started gaining value against the dollar, significantly…
Darrell Issa's Net Worth Goes Up 152% in One Year
It is wealth inequality day, in which, on the same day, the Census Bureau releases information on poverty and CQ releases the list of richest members of Congress.
As for poverty: things didn't get statistically worse, but things didn't…
ACLU to Jim Comey: Welcome. Now Fix This.
Jim Comey has officially been in charge of the FBI for less than two weeks.
Today, in honor of Constitution Day, the ACLU just released a report showing how the FBI's expanded mandate since 9/11 has led to Constitutional abuses.
Most of…
NYTimes Finally Finds Concern Over Impunity for War Crimes, But Only Assad's War Crimes
Despite the fact that the US has never faced prosecution for its illegal invasion of Iraq or for the many documented acts of rendition and torture in the Great War on Terror, the New York Times this morning found it possible to rail against…
Happy "Dirty Your Hands" by Partnering with Bashar al-Assad Day
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As I noted last week, 12 years ago today, President Bush signed the Memorandum of Notification that governed -- and as of last year, at least, still…
Wyden/Udall: If Intelligence Community Is Dumb Rather than Malicious, Why Should We Trust Them?
Ron Wyden and Mark Udall just released a second statement on last week's Section 215 dragnet document dump, taking the intelligence community's excuse -- that no one really knew what these programs were doing -- at face value.
If the IC is…
Working Thread: UN Chemical Weapon Report on Syria Released
The UN has finally released its report (pdf) on the analysis of both human and environmental samples relating to the chemical weapon attack in the Ghouta area of Syria on August 21. The report finds unequivocal evidence of sarin in blood, urine…
An Illegal Program Sanctioned with a Rubber Stamp Is Still That Same Illegal Program
Consider this anecdote from Barton Gellman's story on the many violations of the NSA's spying programs.
In one instance, the NSA decided that it need not report the unintended surveillance of Americans. A notable example in 2008 was the interception…
IHS Jane's Claims about Syrian Rebels More Conservative than US Intell Community's
This report -- second-hand from Jane's -- has shocked a lot of commentators.
Opposition forces battling Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria now number around 100,000 fighters, but after more than two years of fighting they are fragmented…
Double Dipping at SWIFT
Spiegel today reveals more details about NSA's "Follow the Money" program, in which it collects credit card information from select geographical regions. In addition, as TV Globo also revealed last week, they are conducting Tailored Access…
US Negotiating Position in Lavrov-Kerry Deal Depends on Expansive Commander-in-Chief Claims
Four weeks ago, our goal in Syria was regime change -- to back the purportedly vetted rebels we've been training covertly in hopes they could defeat not only Bashar al-Assad, but also the more extreme (and better trained and more determined)…
WestFest All Ireland Donkey Derby Trash
Okay, our prickly friend out in the desert claims that he can't put up the trash thread this weekend. Something about work (uh-huh) and an invitation to go tailgating (more believable). And I'm thrilled to get the opportunity, because this weekend…
The Irony of Booz Vice Chair Mike McConnell's Timing
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I'm in the process of going really deep in the weeds on this Section 215 stuff, just adjusting my earlier timelines.
Several of us have noted the curious timing of the discovery of the problems…