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Torturous Logic

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emptywheel
I agree with Jeff. Given the news that the torture tapes never entered the US, given Porter Goss' apparent command not to destroy the torture tapes "in Washington," and given the terms of the Federal Records Act, I think the CIA and the Administration stretched logic with each and every request for the torture tapes so as to claim they never were required to hand over the tapes.

Tommy K's Everywhere

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emptywheel
The NYT reports that Tommy K wasn't the only one defrauding mortgage companies in the last few years of lax oversight. What I'd like to know is, did these other mortgage fraudsters funnel money to Republican coffers?

Merry Christmas

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emptywheel
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and every other relevant greeting out there. A holiday toast to one and all!
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But the Tapes Weren't IN Washington

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emptywheel
The LAT has a story suggesting Jose Rodriguez destroyed the torture tapes against Porter Goss' wishes, and that Goss simply didn't punish him for the act. But two details suggest an entirely different story: that Goss gave Rodriguez very clear instructions that the tapes should not be destroyed in the US, but should be destroyed in the country they were stored in.
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Immunity

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emptywheel
I'm all in favor of holding the several people in the White House who intervened to destroy evidence responsible for their actions. But as we begin to hear about Jose Rodriguez considering immunity it might be well to remember what I pointed out when Rodriguez was first floating the idea of immunity. In the hands of a less than shrewd majority and a politically reliable minority leader, immunity can be counter-productive. In the case of Monica Goodling, the Dems basically gave Monica a get out of jail card for nothing in exchange. Until I see that Crazy Pete Hoekstra's heart is in the right place on this issue (which would, frankly, astound me), then I'd suggest we want to be very careful before we give Rodriguez something for nothing.

Secret Schmoozing

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emptywheel
Given the discussions about the NIE we've had recently, I wanted to point out Marc Lynch's observation that the Saudis and the Iranians have been flirting lately--under the radar of the US press. What is Dick Cheney going to say when he discovers his BFF King Abdullah is schmoozing the Iranians behind his back--during the Hajj no less?
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Executive Privilege

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emptywheel
A number of people have pointed to Charlie Savage's great article on the responses of Presidential candidates to a bunch of questions about executive power. Most of the questions either explicitly or implicitly ask candidates whether they repudiate certain of Bush's acts, so I'm not sure they help Democratic voters distinguish between primary candidates. The exception is the question on Executive Privilege.
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Recycling Torture Timelines

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emptywheel
Per Jeff's suggestion, I took a closer look at Zelikow's memo on how the CIA stiffed the 9/11 Commission on evidence relating to interrogations of Abu Zubaydah and al-Nashiri. I'll come back and comment on it in more detail--but I was struck by how closely the requests coincided with the beginnings of the Abu Ghraib scandal and Tenet's resignation.
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Timing, Again

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emptywheel
Marty Lederman suggests that BushCo timed their terror tape destruction for a moment when they might technically evade obstruction charges for doing so. That might explain the general dodginess surround public reports of White House opposition to the torture tape destruction.

What Is It about Lawyers Named Goldsmith?

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emptywheel
Lord Goldsmith tried in vain to prevent the Poodle from spiking the investigation into BAE. That's not surprising. What is surprising is the language Tony used to dissuade Goldsmith.
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Emptywheel's Famous Football Trash Talk Thread - Holiday Edition

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emptywheel
The weekend is upon us, which means it is time for some trashing and burning (Note: not for you folks working for Cheney at his "ceremonial" office, you have trashed and burned quite enough this week). Here is the lineup for this week. Who and what do you have on the burner? Trash it up!
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The Wheels Of Justice

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emptywheel
Top of the morning to one and all. As Marcy and family hit the road on their much delayed Christmas expedition, it occurs to me that it is time to grease the wheels of justice and get them rolling down the road of accountability. EW and Mad Dog are right about the implications of the new AP article.
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Dates

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emptywheel
The AP has a story out that seems to clear all the White House lawyers of supporting the destruction of the torture tapes. All of them, that is, except David Addington. But it also raises still more questions about timing, focusing (as a WaPo article yesterday did) on discussions in 2004. If the substantive discussions happened in 2004, then why did the tapes get destroyed in 2005?

Dick and Ed and the NH Phone-Jamming

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emptywheel
Now that we know that Dick Cheney's lawyer was working DOJ to make sure that James Tobin would not be indicted until after the 2004 election, it's probably worth returning to another few aspects of this story that involves the White House.

Dick Cheney's Lawyer Spikes the Phone-Jamming Case

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emptywheel
McClatchy has a long story out detailing how indictments for the New Hampshire phone-jamming case got stalled. The whole thing is worth reading. But I'm particularly intrigued by the role of Terry O'Donnell, who was apparently responsible for getting Tobin's indictment stalled until after the 2004 election. That's rather curious, since O'Donnell is actually Dick Cheney's personal lawyer.
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2004

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emptywheel
It seems the NYT was not the only one who knew that Addington, Gonzales, and Bellinger got a briefing on the terror tapes. It appears the whole SSCI knew that too. But Hayden said those briefings took place in 2004, not in 2003, as the NYT implies. Which is it?
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Why Is Dana So Touchy?

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emptywheel
In all fairness to Dana "Pig Missile" Perino, she probably doesn't want to become the next Scottie McClellan, forced to say things from the podium while Dick Cheney is hiding his criminal ways behind those public statements. Still, Dana comes off very badly in yesterday's attempt to explain why anonymous sources at the White House are saying one thing and she's saying another.

"Trent Lott Called"

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emptywheel
It sure looks like there is solid evidence that Trent Lott only returned to the Senate this term to "get" State Farm. Which would sure suggest that his realization that such efforts were falling apart might explain his hasty retirement.
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In Which Country Were the Tapes Stored?

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emptywheel
The NYT's article has one more detail of note--again, reporting something that is intuitive, but not something that had been confirmed before AFAIK. That's that the torture tapes were stored in the country--singular--where the interrogations of Abu Zubaydah and al-Nashiri took place.
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Sub-Heading: White House Panics

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emptywheel
The White House has gone to the trouble of making the NYT correct their headline indicating that news of the involvement of Addington and Gonzales in discussions of the terror tapes differs from the story the White House was pitching--that Harriet Miers was the only one involved. While the White House is correct that they never officially claimed that Harriet was the only one involved, someone has certainly been shopping that story for over a week. Which is why it behooves those who received that story to out their source, particularly if that person is in the White House.
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