The FISA Report
Laura links to a CQ story based on this SSCI report on FISA. As Starks noted in his CQ article, the report reveals that the telecom companies did not have the requisite approval from the Attorney General for the period following the hospital confrontation; rather, they had White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales' approval.
The committee’s published report on legislation (S 2248) that wouldrewrite the rules for government surveillance states thattelecommunications companies participating
About that Need for a Whistleblower Law...
I believe it was just the other day when I was saying it was more urgent to implement whistleblower protection than to write a new journalist shield law. This doesn't change my opinion in that regard.
This summer the House Judiciary Committee launched an effortto collect tips from would-be whistleblowers in the Justice Department.The U.S.
The Wilkes Firestorm
Chrisc, who thankfully made it safely through the San Diego fires, didn't let them distract her from the matter at hand: the Wilkes trial. Mark Geragos took the opportunity of a big natural disaster to sneak his client onto the stand to testify--apparently taking the government by surprise. I'll review a few of the details, but I'd like to compare the account of Seth Hettena and that of Allison Hoffman.
Hot and Cold Running Classification
According to the NYT, the White House has very generously allowed the entire SJC to view the documents justifying the domestic wiretapping program--at least that's what Tony Fratto says.
The White House on Thursday offered to share secret documents on the National Security Agency’sdomestic surveillance program with the Senate Judiciary Committee, astep toward possible compromise on eavesdropping legislation.
Razed
Okay, I mean this to be an honest question. The NYT has scary pictures up--courtesy of William Broad, who was glued to Judy's hip on Mobile Bioweapons Lab stories in summer 2003--showing that the purported nuclear reactor the Israelis took out in Syria has been razed to the ground.
That offers proof, the accompanying article states, that the Syrians were up to no good, and that the bombed site was a nuclear
Trying to Peel the Haggis
The White House must be trying to peel Scottish Haggis away from the Democrats on the SJC who oppose granting the telecoms immunity for illegally spying on citizens. Why else show Leahy and Specter the family jewels--the justification for the domestic wiretap program--without sharing them with the rest of SJC?
The White House has offered leaders of the Senate JudiciaryCommittee access to legal documents related to the National SecurityAgency’s warrantless surveillance program,
Shorter GOP: It's Okay if Maliki's Govt Supports Insurgents, So Long as It's Not OUR Money
I'd like to return to an interchange between Waxman and Condi from the hearing today. Condi made a verygenerousoffer to let Waxman's committee review documents pertaining to corruption. Waxman pointed out that that offer did not allow the committee to discuss what it discovered in those documents publicly.
He raised the example of whether Iraqis were laundering money for use in militias.
The Guards Have Left the Country
The NYT has an interesting article telling the story of the Blackwater guards involved in the September 16 shooting. It does a great work getting the views of 6 current and former Blackwater guards in spite of the company's policy gagging them.
But there are two details, above all, that deserve more attention (particularly since the article simply presents them, without raising any questions about what they mean).
The United States of AT&T Wants Satellites Now, Too
Well, here's another reason AT&T is so desperate for retroactive immunity. It'd suck to have their bid to acquire a satellite TV company derailed as consumers realized AT&T is using that technology to spy on them, huh?
AT&T has been consulting lawyers in Washington about how long it would take to get government approval to purchase either EchoStar Communications Corp.
Condi Must Be Preparing a Dog and a Pony
There are a number of clues that reveal how panicked the State Department--and Condi and those parts of the Administration not trying to undercut Condi at every turn--is about the threats to Blackwater's continued presence in Iraq. For the first time as Secretary of State, Condi is making the rounds of Congressional committees, even deigning to visit her arch-nemesis Henry Waxman.
What Riley Said about Rove
Let's take a look at what Rob Riley had to say about Karl Rove's involvement in Don Siegelman's investigation and prosecution in his affidavit. In the midst of an affidavit full of "I don't remember" and "I don't recall," Riley says some very specific things about Rove.
The first mention comes toward the end of a very long, very hedged statement about the phone call on November 18, 2002.
Madame Secretary Finally Accepts an Invitation
Frankly, I've been holding my breath since I first saw this (tentatively) on Selise's weekly hearing schedule. After all, Waxman has been trying to get Condi Rice to appear before the Oversight Committee since early spring. But they've now announced the hearing, so I'm breathing again.
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearingentitled, “The State Department and the Iraq War†on Thursday morning,October 25, 2007, in 2154 Rayburn
Dick's Shooting Ranch: the Welfare Queen of the Farm Bill
Remember the King Ranch, where Dick Cheney shot an old man in the face? Well, American citizens aren't allowed access to the shootings that happen on the Ranch. But they're paying the bills. NPR and the CIR report that Dick and Rove's buddies have been one of the biggest recipient of subsidies from farm bills from 1999 to 2005, sucking in $8.3 million over the time.
Update on the Government's Response to Nacchio
Two words about this update. First, to clarify from my earlier post: the WaPo article refers to a filing written in February 2007 that was just unsealed yesterday. So in fact, there are several more recent filings from Nacchio that rebut the claims made in this newly unsealed document.
Here's the important part.
They're Scared
I'm watching the HJC hearing on politicized prosecutions. And boy, have the Republicans come loaded for bear, on two counts. First, the Republicans attempted to insinuate that Jill Simpson's allegations about the Don Siegelman prosecution must be false because she did not testify publicly today. Congressman Forbes repeated a tactic Republicans used when Valerie Wilson testified before Waxman's committee--suggesting that Simpson "be referred" to DOJ for investigation.
The Kiddie Porn Excuse
Remember when Alberto Gonzales called for Google to preserve all its search data to support potential child porn investigations? We crazy moonbats suggested that that sounded like an invitation for abuse, that once Google had preserved the records, such records would be accessed for other purposes.
Now Cannonfire points to one such case.
In brief:
The Prosecutors' Response to Nacchio
The WaPo reports that more documents have been unsealed in the Nacchio case--and they show (Prosecutors claim) that Nacchio's claim to have lost business don't hold up.
Qwest Communicationsbelonged to a business alliance that won a rich national securitycontract in the summer of 2001, undermining claims that authoritiesretaliated against its former chief executive for refusing to supportan unidentified government program earlier that year, prosecutors saidin documents released yesterday.
I'm on two deadlines for
Protect Whistleblowers before Extending Reporter's Privilege
I suggested the other day that there were likely to be some unintended consequences if the reporter's shield bill passes as is. What I didn't say in that post is that there is a better way to encourage the free flow of information--particularly in this era when everyone can fulfill the role of journalist:
Henry Sez: Erik Prince, You Owe the Feds $48 Million
Congressman Waxman gets pretty aggressive in his latest letter to Erik Prince, CEO of Blackwater. He basically accuses Blackwater of evading taxes by treating its employees as independent contractors, rather than employees.
I have received documents which suggest that Blackwater may have engaged in significant tax evasion. According to an IRS ruling in March 2007, Blackwater violated federal tax laws by treating an armed guard as an "independent contractor." The implication of
Gonzales Refuses to Answer Questions
Via C&L, John McKay made some really revealing comments in Spokane on Friday.
The U.S. Inspector General may recommend criminal prosecution ofdeparted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the conclusion of aninvestigation, possibly as early as next month, the fired former U.S.attorney for Western Washington told a Spokane audience Friday.
[snip]
McKay said he was summoned to Washington, D.C., in June andquestioned for eight hours about possible reasons for his firing byinvestigators with the Office