Why Is the State Department "Hunting" for Deals for Bush's Oil Buddy?

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emptywheel
Man, Condi Rice has got to be tired of getting damning letters from Henry Waxman. This one shows that, despite very specific denials from the Bush Administration that they knew anything about Bush buddy and uber-donor Ray Hunt scoring one of the first oil deals with Kurdish Iraq, the State Department was in fact very well informed about the deal.
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David Ignatius: Cheney Can't Even Get Potentially Illegal Covert Ops Right

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emptywheel
Man, what would Reagan say? Dick Cheney can't even pull an effective Reagan, launching potentially illegal covert ops involving Iran.

Banana Republicans: $1.7 Million to Right Wing Death Squads, $2 Million to McCain

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emptywheel
Carl Lindner, who just hosted a fundraiser that netted McCain $2 million, oversaw Chiquita Banana's payments to a right wing death squad to the tune of $1.7 million.

I Don't Think "FISA" and "Expire" Mean What Obama Thinks They Do

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emptywheel
When Obama's adviser says that FISA is about to expire, is he simply sloppy, or ignorant?

Counter-Intelligence and Secret Service Officers as Inspectors General

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emptywheel
You think Bush has some intelligence-related issues he's hoping to hide at Department of State? If so, then I'm not surprised he nominated a counter-intelligence officer to take over as State's IG.

Does Jerry Doe Know Anything about Merlin?

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emptywheel
Is Jerry Doe one of James Risen's sources on the Merlin story? Here's why such a speculation might make sense.

Jerry Doe "Proved Fucking Right"

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emptywheel
Jerry Doe, the CIA operative who says he was fired because his intelligence contradicted the generally accepted doctrine that Iran and Iraq and one other country wanted to develop nukes, claims that the Iran NIE proves he was fucking right.
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Pentagon Charges the Third Detainee Who Was Water-Boarded

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emptywheel
The trial of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri will test the ability of the Gitmo Show Trials to actually try someone we admittedly tortured.

DOJ's Attempt to Shield Obstruction of Justice

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emptywheel
The DOJ is getting downright dangerous in its attempts to shield the President and Vice President's authorization of leaking of a CIA NOC's identity.

Fitzgerald's Successful Argument to Keep the Bush and Cheney Reports Out of Discovery

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emptywheel
Back in the discovery period leading up to Scooter Libby's trial, Ted Wells made a valiant attempt--based on Fitzgerald's notice that he was going to include reference to the insta-declassification of the NIE--to get Bush and Cheney's interview reports in discovery. But Fitzgerald refused, arguing those reports were Jencks material (meaning he'd only have to turn it over to the defense if he put Bush or Cheney on the stand in the

Those Democratic Committee Chairs Aren't COORDINATING, Are They?

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emptywheel
I wonder whether DOJ told Waxman something in their refusal to respond to his subpoena that made him believe another Committee--say, HJC, investigating whether the President commuted Libby's sentence to protect his own ass--might have a better chance at getting the FBI reports from the Bush and Cheney interviews?

Donate to Darcy Burner

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emptywheel
Donate to Darcy Burner, because we need better Democrats.
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The Obama & Olbermann Master Plan For Criminal FISA Prosecutions

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emptywheel
Okay, the words "Master Plan" in the title are a joke. So is the idea of criminal prosecutions, by a future Obama Administration, for Bush era FISA violations that has been hawked, to the point of near belligerence, by Keith Olbermann both on his show and in a running flame war with Glen Greenwald. Here is why.
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But What about Congressional Oversight?

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emptywheel
Sy Hersh seems intent on pushing Democrats to start withholding funding from Cheney's illegal war-mongering in Iran.
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The Barnacle Branch Still Evading Oversight

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emptywheel
Once again, Dick Cheney is playing games to avoid oversight. Once again, what he's doing without oversight seems to be backfiring, making Iran stronger.

Are Cheney and Bush in a Lover's Quarrel?

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emptywheel
Cheney and Bush seem to be squabbling more lately. Let's hope the squabbles get serious and they take each other out.

$5.8 Million for Hatfill. $0 for Valerie Wilson.

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emptywheel
Steven Hatfill will no longer have to complain that he can't get a job anymore because he was once the leading suspect to be the anthrax terrorist. The government just signed a $5.8 million settlement with him, which includes a cash payment now and then $150,000 annual payments for the next 20 years.
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