Marcy Wheeler is an independent journalist writing about national security and civil liberties. She writes as emptywheel at her eponymous blog, publishes at outlets including Vice, Motherboard, the Nation, the Atlantic, Al Jazeera, and appears frequently on television and radio. She is the author of Anatomy of Deceit, a primer on the CIA leak investigation, and liveblogged the Scooter Libby trial.
Marcy has a PhD from the University of Michigan, where she researched the “feuilleton,” a short conversational newspaper form that has proven important in times of heightened censorship. Before and after her time in academics, Marcy provided documentation consulting for corporations in the auto, tech, and energy industries. She lives with her spouse in Grand Rapids, MI.
Steven Aftergood must have had an extra dose of turkey over the weekend, because it seems like Steven Aftergood week here at TNH. Today, he has a liberated CRS report on the implementation of Bush’s EO 13438, which authorizes the seizure of the assets of people determined to “threaten stabilization efforts in Iraq.” At least according to the Congressional Research Service, the EO allows for incredibly broad application, since it allows
That was the answer John Ashcroft gave to Kathleen when she asked him whether David Addington called Ashcroft’s wife to pressure her to let Alberto Gonzales and Andy Card into Ashcroft’s hospital room, or whether Dick Cheney called personally.
I asked Former Attorney GeneralJohn Ashcroft EW’s question “did President Bush call your wife directlyto tell her that Gonzales and Andrew Card were on the way to thehospital” I then asked “or was
So far the RNC has spent $231,615 looking for Turdblossom’s missing emails.
The Sleuth has learned, the hunt for those missing gigabytes has cost the RNC more than $250,000.
According to an RNC filing with the Federal Election Commission, the committee paid $231,615 in October to Stroz Friedberg,a forensics firm chock full of former FBI agents hired to retrieve thelost electronic data.
In the latest episode in the ongoing saga of disappearing GOP emails, the WSJ reports that Scott Bloch, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, invited Geeks on Call in last year, apparently to delete a bunch of emails computer files.
The head of the federal agency investigating KarlRove’s White House political operation is facing allegations that heimproperly deleted computer files during another probe, using a privatecomputer-help company, Geeks on Call.
[snip]Recently,
He opines, from deep inside the Beltway, that “real America” is doing just peachy in this economic crisis.
“We obviously have problems in the housing sector and we have problemsin the financial sector, but … real America is doing just fine,” hesaid.
From which I assume he means those “real Americans” who have neither investments nor a house nor a low income.
And then, he gets out while there are still lifeboats available.
Top White
The whole Joe Klein affair is another of the things I’m hoping to return to on Monday. But for now, take a look at their “correction.”
In the original version of this story, Joe Klein wrote that theHouse Democratic version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act(FISA) would allow a court review of individual foreign surveillancetargets.
There was a rumor floating the Toobz yesterday that Trent Lott got out of the Senate in a hurry because of boy trouble–perhaps something that Larry Flynt dug up. That rumor has since been denied by the boy in question.
But Scott Horton points us to something that is rather more intriguing:
Luckily, Harry Reid has put off the Senate vote on the FISA amendment, because I never finished my series showing that the current amendment will legalize data mining. Man oh man oh man, am I looking forward to meeting the deadline I’m on, celebrating a late Turkey Day with friends this weekend, then going into a blog and bill paying frenzy next Monday.
Remember how Dick Cheney very charitably forgave Harry Whittington, the old man who had the audacity to get hit by Dick Cheney’s birdshot?
Well, Aravosis catches Bush doing Cheney one better: Bush has the kindness to forgive Gore for winning the the 2000 election.
Bush forgives Gore for Bush stealing the 2000 election.
Steven Aftergood has an important post describing the squabble between the intelligence appropriations subcommittees and the intelligence committees. He explains how, even though the intelligence committees are trying to exercise more oversight over intelligence activities, the appropriators (which have increasingly become the defense subcommittee appropriators, as more intelligence activities have moved under DOD) have undercut those efforts.
The efficacy of intelligence oversight in the Senate has beendrastically undermined by procedural hurdles that