Pelosi: Of Hidden Memos and Covert Ops Hidden in Supplementals
I wanted to point out two more details from the Pelosi press conference the other day when she made her comments about briefings on torture (the complete transcript of this section is below).
First, Pelosi points out that one thing BushCo did was put intelligence-related appropriations through without telling the intelligence committee what they were putting through.
The Bush Administration Did Not Give Legally-Required Prior Notification to Congress
If the torture program began--as Michael Hayden has said--as a covert op, then it would require Bush to have notified Congress of the plan to torture before it happened. That did not happen. In fact, even according to reports from the CIA, it appears the CIA did not have its presidential finding until a year after the torture started.
Porter Goss Escalates Attacks on Pelosi and Harman--But Admits CIA Broke the Law
Porter Goss apparently believes that by attacking Nancy Pelosi publicly, he can get her to back off her support for a torture investigation. But even in his attack, he makes clear that CIA broke the law.
Zelikow, the 9/11 Commission, and Effectiveness
I've been scouring the 9/11 Report to see whether interrogation reports derived from waterboarding provided useful intelligence. It looks like Zelikow will be addressing that issue himself, shortly.
Yet Another Warning against Torture Ignored
The torture architects received a document that warned that torture--yes, it used that term--was likely to elicit false confessions.
Judge Hellerstein Spanks (Figuratively) the CIA
Michael Hayden and the rest of the torture apologists have been wandering around all week claiming that the Administration could have won its FOIA case against ACLU and withheld the torture memos.
If this ruling from Juge Hellerstein is any indication, they couldn't be more wrong. It did five things:Demanded a full "Vaughn" index for the FOIAed materials, describing the people involved and the dates.Refused the government's attempt to limit production of
Why Don't They Claim al-Nashiri's Waterboarding Worked?
As I noted last night, MiniCheney very pointedly avoided claiming that al-Nashiri provided important intelligence as a result of being waterboarded. In a non-sequitur response to Norah O'Donnell's assertion that waterboarding is torture, MiniCheney offered this as rebuttal to O'Donnell's point (at 2:15).
There were three people who were waterboarded, and two of those people are people who gave us incredibly important and useful information, information that saved American lives after
Cheney Cherry Picks Intelligence Again
Greg Sargent got a hold of Cheney's FOIA request for the documents that will prove--he claims--that torture was effective. He's asking for two documents, both of which were stored in his "detainees" file in his files. They are:CIA Report, dated July 13, 2004CIA Report, dated June 1, 2005
(I'm a little confused about what the two different forms refer to, as they seem to refer to the same documents, though of
Is the Harman Story an Attempt to Silence Her about Torture?
It appears more and more likely that the Harman story broke when it did in an attempt to keep her quiet about torture.
Crazy Pete Hoekstra Wants to Be Governor Torture
Crazy Pete Hoekstra wants to be governor. So he's going to spin in the WSJ to try to clear his complicity in torture.
Detainee Abuse Pictures to Be Released May 28
DOD is going to release a whole slew of detainee abuse pictures next month.
Cliff May: N_O Reading, 'Riting, or 'Rithmetic
Some lessons on the 3 Rs for the Cliff May and the other folks at N_O, who apparently don't know this stuff.
Reading
First, read before you write. Because when you write, Under a strict set of rules, every pour of water had to be counted — and the number of pours was limited.
Liz Cheney: I'm Proud My Daddy Is the Prime Mover of Torture
The biggest piece of news from this exchange? Liz Cheney's assertion that (only) two of the three detainees who were waterboarded (speaking of Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed) provided valuable intelligence. Or, to put it another way, Rahin al-Nashiri did not provide valuable intelligence.
GAO: Advanced Hybrids May Not Be Best Way for GM to Rebound
GAO says that advanced technology cars may not have the ROI GM needs to become profitable again.
Jerrold Nadler: We Must Investigate Torture ... and Fix State Secrets
Jane and I had a chat yesterday with Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the Chair of the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties to talk about his call for a special prosecutor to investigate the torture program. Chairman Nadler was clear: "You don't have much choice under the law--you have to investigate." The law requires, he explained, that such allegations be investigated.
And Did James Mitchell Also Write the Psychological Profile of Abu Zubaydah Bybee Used?
Is James Mitchell the "psychologist/interrogator" who performed a psychological profile of Abu Zubaydah declaring him fit to be tortured?
Abu Zubaydah's FBI Interrogator Removes the Legal Cornerstone of the Torture Regime
Abu Zubdaydah's FBI interrogator, Ali Soufan, removes the legal cornerstone of the entire torture regime in an op-ed in the NYT.
Spotted: Aspen Trees, Turning on Roots
Judy Miller looks like she'll be turning on her roots in the near future.
Bush DOJ Reunion Tour
I'm posting this just to make sure I don't forget about it.
John Ashcroft, the U.S. attorney general during President Bush’s first term — and noted singer of “Let the Eagle Soar” (YouTube clip here) — is spreading his wings. Today Ashcroft (pictured, right) announced that his law and consulting firm, The Ashcroft Group, is opening four new offices across the country, each to be led by Bush-appointed U.S.
Ponzi Nation, TARP Edition
Small potatoes, as far as Ponzi schemse goes. But by making claims you're investing in TARP funds? That's gets you on the Ponzi nation list for sure.
Federal authorities this morning announced that Gordon B. Grigg of Franklin has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud, after operating a Ponzi scheme that dated back to 1996.
Joining U.S.
