Not Seeing Storm Troopers, Not Scratching My Head
People still seem to be missing the forest for the trees on last week's al-Haramain activities.
A Few Thoughts on the Torture Tape Inventory
We can discern a few details from the torture tape inventory the ACLU just got.
Burris' Partner Fred Lebed Spoke of Favors for Blagojevich
It seems that Fred Lebed, Roland Burris' partner, may have been thinking of favors he could do to support Burris' candidate to be Senator.
Most Convictions Against Siegelman Upheld
Three Republican-appointed judges have upheld most of the convictions of Governor Don Siegelman--while throwing out two counts of Mail Fraud. Their arguments aren't very convincing.
Justice Ginsburg to Senator Bunning: "Screw You"
Apparently, one of the things motivating Justice Ginsburg to get back to her regular schedule is Jim Bunning's prediction of her imminent demise. Heck. If one of the most conservative Senators wants to motivate one of the most liberal Justices to stay at work, I'll take that.
The Secret State Continues to Crumble
The DC Court of Appeals just ruled that it--the Court--and not the Administration gets to determine whether information will be of use to a detainee in a habeas petition. And if it is, the Court ruled, then the Administration must turn that over in some form.
Elena Kagan Confirms Her Vacuity and Farce
Yesterday's Judiciary Committee consideration of Obama Solicitor General nominee Elena Kagan proved that confirmation hearings are not totally useless, we learned something new about Kagan before the SJC. She was for honest and open answers to Senator's questions at confirmation hearings before she was against it.
Dana Jill Simpson and Greg Craig
Dana Jill Simpson is pissed that Greg Craig didn't recuse himself from negotiations over Rove's testimony. And in the process, she dished that Richard Shelby fronts a corrupt aviation firm through the corrupt judge who presided over the Siegelman trial.
The HJC Agreement with Rove and Miers
Here's the written agreement between HJC and the Bush Administration for Rove and Miers' testimony. Some highlights: The House Judiciary Committee (the “Committee”) will interview Karl Rove and Harriet Miers, but there will be no additional interviewees / witnesses (subject to the one exception [possibly Bill Kelley]). [snip]The scope of the interviews will be limited to:
The FISA Dance in the Wake of 9/11
Looseheadprop asks some good questions about the September 25, 2001 opinion on FISA David Kris requested from OLC. While I think I can explain the timing of that opinion, what truly disturbs me is the move to eviscerate the Fourth Amendment (to justify warrantless wiretaps) precisely as PATRIOT went to Congress.
Breaking: Turdblossom and Harriet to Testify
I guess Karl Rove doesn't look so tough now that he's out of office. He and Harriet will soon give a deposition to the House Judiciary Committee.
Spanking Spak and Spec
Arlen "Scottish Haggis" Specter has debased himself to fronting for the intellectually flaccid Hans von Spakovsky. Really. Is this what the conservative movement has come to?
Rush Holt: Investigate the Anthrax Attacks
Rush Holt has introduced legislation to create an investigative commission into the anthrax attack.
Sheldon Whitehouse Destroys David Rivkin's "Gallery of Horribles"
In which Sheldon Whitehouse trims David Rivkin's hedges.
Senate Judiciary Hearing on Truth Commission Liveblog
The Senate Judiciary Committee with host some "wise men" to help them figure out how our nation comes to grips with the crimes committed in the last eight years.
"Not Much Patience for Failure"
8 years of George Bush:"All right. You've covered your ass, now."Five years of FUBAR in Iraq KatrinaAlberto GonzalesTwo landslides losses for the GOP The collapse of our entire economic system And now this:
"What is amazing is that Steele was elected because of his communications skills, and it is those skills that are damaging the Republican Party.
Where Are the Other Memos?
DOJ only gave us a small subset of the OLC memos the ACLU has requested. And it appears that Steven Bradbury's "no harm no foul" memos withdrawing older guidance still leave giant loopholes to permit abuse.
Correcting the Confused al-Haramain Reporting
I've got so many links to really confused reporting on what happened in the al-Haramain case on Friday (see here, here, and here, for starters), that I'm going to take the trouble of trying to correct it. DOJ is not "defying" any judge, not the Appeals Court nor the District Court. Instead, they're intensifying efforts to prevent details of their warrantless wiretap program from coming forward.
OLC Restores 4th Amendment after Hounding from Congress
Christy asks why it took so long to publish Steven Bradbury's October 2008 opinion restoring the 4th Amendment. Two very good reasons: because they were still relying on it for domestic wiretapping. And they didn't want to reveal they hadn't withdrawn the memo until after being hounded by Congress to do so.
Breaking: Previously Unreleased OLC Opinions Now Released
A bunch of DOD-related OLC opinions just got released (h/t Spencer)
Of note, the one eviscerating the 4th Amendment has been released, and a key one on FISA that I believe Steven Bradbury didn't include in his FOIA response on opinions relating to FISA.
Consider this a working thread.
