George Jahn Once Again Grants Anonymity for Dubious Iran Accusation
Just under two weeks ago, AP's George Jahn released the infamous cartoon around which he built a dubious nest of mostly anonymous charges that Iran had conducted work toward developing a neutron trigger device for nuclear weapons, using an explosive…
Dallas Trash Talk
That's right mofo's, we gots us a full on food fight here on the Emptywheel blog.
What's it all about? Well, when you get down to it, it is ALL about Dallas.
No, I am not talking about J.R. Ewing (and who shot him - psssst it was Bing…
The Ted Stevens OPR Report: The Return of the DOJ Roach Motel
The long awaited, and much anticipated, DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Report on the misconduct in the Ted Stevens Prosecution has just been delivered to Congress, and thereafter immediately released to the public by the Senate…
Overview of the Pat Fitz Resignation Press Conference
Patrick Fitzgerald just finished his resignation press conference (the blockquotes are my notes).
In his own statements, he focused on comments to the people he works for, and those he works with. That was largely a tribute to the 300 people…
John Brennan, Assassination Czar
Between appearing on Democracy Now this morning and some other things, I'll be out of pocket most of the day.
But I should say that I didn't invent the moniker "Assassination Czar." I'm not sure who did (though I'm happy to provide credit!),…
Afridi's Trial: Similar to Gitmo Military Commissions? Bonus: Rohrabacher Goes Bold
Fallout continues from yesterday's sentencing of Dr. Shakeel Afridi, the doctor who helped the CIA to identify Osama bin Laden prior to the US raid that killed him. Marcy commented yesterday on the poor outcome from Leon Panetta disclosing…
Patrick Fitzgerald Resigns
For better (he's always been an aggressive, though usually fair, prosecutor) or for worse (I really believe he did try to hold Dick Cheney accountable for exposing Valerie Plame's identity), Patrick Fitzgerald has resigned. And he's a more honest…
Flaunting Shakeel Afridi's CIA Ties Appears Not to Have Worked All that Well
When Leon Panetta went on 60 Minutes and confirmed Pakistani doctor Dr. Shakeel Afridi was working for the US when he faked vaccinations in Abbottbad to collect information from Osama bin Laden's compound, I noted the hypocrisy of his public…
US Drone Strike in Pakistan Reeks of Political Retaliation Yet Again
Today, US drones killed four more people in North Waziristan in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). This strike comes at a critical time in US-Pakistan relations, as many believed that the US and Pakistan would announce…
Mark Brewer and Steve Pestka: Taking the "Democratic" Out of the Democratic Party
As MLive reports, the state Chair of MI's Democratic Party, Mark Brewer, has asked the Democratic primary candidates in my congressional district to take the democracy out of the primary.
He doesn't call it that, mind you. His DoubleSpeak…
SCOTUS Cert Grant In Clapper Takes Key 9th Circuit Cases Hostage
Marcy noted briefly Monday morning, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Clapper v. Amnesty International:
SCOTUS did, however, grant cert to Clapper v. Amnesty, which I wrote about here and here. On its face, Clapper is just about the FISA…
The First Torture Cover-Up Was Covered Up By The First Torture Cover-Up Lawyer
Document Exploitation blog has read Jose Rodriguez' book so I don't have to!
Seriously, I will eventually get around to reading Rodriguez' book, when I can get it cheaper than toilet paper. But until then, I'm glad a document wonk has done…
What the White House "Official Announcement" of UndieBomb 2.0 Would Have Looked Like
As I've been tracing, there's a pissing contest going on between the AP and John Brennan over the roll-out of the UndieBomb 2.0 "plot" earlier this month.
When the AP first broke the story on UndieBomb 2.0, it explained that it had held the…
UndieBomb 2.0 Led to John Brennan's Personal Signature Strike Drone Shop
The AP story reporting on John Brennan centralizing control of drone targeting in his own grubby paws keeps evolving. Compare the first two paragraphs of what I believe to be the second version (the first was really a leak from DOD sources describing…
Amano: Agreement With Iran Reached, "Will Be Signed Quite Soon"
It appears that the hopeful signals being sent out by Iran yesterday ahead of the visit by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano have been followed through. Speaking to reporters after his return to Vienna this morning, Amano announced that Iran…
More Failed Targeting Based on Travel Patterns
The other day I noted what happened when the US or its allies applied the standard it is using in the Latif case: targeting people based on claims the route they traveled makes them a terrorist. In Turkey, 34 Kurds were killed because they were…
Riyadh's Station Chief, John Brennan, Takes JSOC's Drone Keys Away
I think I've actually found a story in which John Brennan features but was probably not the original leaker: this one, describing how Brennan is centralizing all drone targeting decisions in the White House.
The Pentagon is likely to be sidelined…
2nd Circuit: President Can Declare Proof that President Authorized Torture Secret
As I showed in a series of posts several weeks ago, the Obama Administration appealed Judge Alvin Hellerstein's order to release a reference to--or at least a summary of it--the President's September 17, 2001 "Gloves Come Off" Memorandum of…
GOP Targets John Brennan and Leon Panetta with Leak Witchhunts
Meanwhile, speaking of leak investigations, the GOP has gone leak investigation happy.
First, Peter King wrote Robert Mueller formally requesting an investigation into the leak about the UndieBomber. He appears to have cleaned up his single-minded…
Obama DOJ Claims Journalists Are Like Drug Users
HuffPo has a good write-up of Friday's Fourth Circuit hearing on whether James Risen is entitled to a reporter's privilege in the Jeff Sterling case. It describes Judge Robert Gregory challenging DOJ appellate lawyer Robert Parker's claims that…
