Entries by emptywheel

Compartmentalization, Syrian Airstrike Style

/in /by

Apparently, Crazy Pete Hoekstra’s been complaining again that the Bushies are keeping secrets from Congress. He co-authored a WSJ editorial several weeks ago to complain that only senior leaders in Congress (including Crazy Pete) knew the truth about the Syrian bombing. In the op-ed, Hoekstra sounded like he had found another casus belli.

It has briefed only a handful of very senior members of Congress,leaving the vast majority of foreign relations and

Share this entry

The Constitutional Right to a Press Pass

/in , /by

I get asked about press passes a lot–I guess because I once had one. And the more I think about it, the more I’m raring for a constitutional challenge to the way many press passes are assigned in this country.

You see, historically, just about the only meaning of Freedom of the Press that would have made sense to our founders was freedom from having the government choose official reporters by licensing

Share this entry

Illegal Spying on Hackers

/in /by

I’m going to have plenty to say on Shane Harris’ story revealing that the NSA used hackers and foreign cyberhacks as their excuse for illegally accessing customer data prior to 9/11. First, though, I’d like to remind readers of this earlier Shane Harris story (with Tim Naftali)–to my mind the best reporting on this topic outside of the Risen-Lichtblau early scoop.

A former telecom executive told us that efforts to obtain call

Share this entry

Pakistan and the Serious People, One

/in , /by

I’m going to do a series on Pakistan–and how the blindness of the “serious people” got us into big trouble there. I’m going to use Matt Bai’s inaccurate slam on me as a foil to show how the serious people allowed themselves to get distracted from a brewing crisis that carries real consequences.

Share this entry

Falafel Foresight

/in /by

On December 19. 2005, just days after Risen and Lichtblau revealed the illegal domestic wiretap program, I wrote the following:

I’m proposing it’s not an indirect link to Al Qaeda, that the NYT isusing this language to shield the technical details (if these peoplewere really linked to Al Qaeda, the FISA warrant would be a cinch).

Share this entry

Terminate

/in /by

Telecom lobbyist John Ashcroft is back on the influence circuit again, trying to admonish us that refusing the telecoms immunity will kill people. Only he usually doesn’t refer to telecom immunity as such. Instead, he calls on Congress to “terminate” the lawsuits against the telecom companies.

There are many complex and difficult issues associated with thesedebates, but whether to terminate the huge lawsuits that have beenfiled against the nation’s major telecommunications carriers

Share this entry

Where’s Duke?

/in /by

Seth Hettena notes that one of Mark Geragos’ most effective lines in the Brent Wilkes trial was the insinuation that the government backed off calling Duke Cunningham as a witness.

During his closing argument to jurors, defense attorney Mark Geragosasked jurors to keep one question in mind. If the governmentprosecutors believed Brent Wilkes had plied Congressman Randy “Duke”Cunningham with more than $600,00 in bribes, why didn’t they put theex-honorable gentleman on the

Share this entry

Did I Say Bear Hunting?

/in /by

I haven’t seen any bears. I found a few beers, though.

Here’s a quick hits list of things I may return to on Wednesday, when I resume normal blogging.The Pats beat the Colts … ugly. Shane Harris reveals that the rationale for asking Qwest to break the law before 9/11 was hackers.

Share this entry

Gone Bear Hunting–Light Posting

/in /by

Okay, not bear-hunting. But mr. emptywheel and McCaffrey the MilleniaLab and I are going on a road trip–I’m calling it mr. emptywheel’s NFC North driving tour. Where I’m going, the WiFi gods really are jealous gods, so I can’t even guarantee I can check in. Though I think I’ll find WiFi in time to check in for the Pats-Colts game on Sunday.

Share this entry

Bush and Schumer

/in , /by

David Kurtz reports that the Mukasey nomination will come down to the Senate Judiciary Committee vote (and TPM is tracking votes so far). I believe this sets up some really interesting tension between Bush and Chuck Schumer.

You see, events thus far have made it very important for Bush to get Mukasey approved.

Share this entry