The "Purported" Detainee Assessments
When I posted on the new guidelines the government has given Gitmo lawyers on how they can use the Gitmo Detainee Assessment Briefs released by WikiLeaks, I had not yet seen the guidelines. Here they are.
What's most interesting to me about…
Durham Targeting More Contractors?
Time reports that John Durham has sent out recent subpoenas for grand jury testimony pertaining to torture and war crimes, specifically as it relates to Manadel al-Jamadi, the dead Iraqi depicted in one of the most graphic Abu Ghraib photo.
It…
FBI Aspires to Be the Stasi
Charlie Savage describes changes the FBI is making to its Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide. On its face, the changes he describes are downright bad. The changes allow FBI agents to:
Make a database "assessment" search of a group…
F1 Trash: Bernie Ecclestone Takes a Swing At Sultans of Bahrain
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bmazBernie yanks the Bahraini GP and Vettel looks on track for another win in Montreal.
The Quiet Death of Habeas Corpus
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bmazWhen our children askin the future how the Great Writ of Habeas Corpus, the foundation of law, died, this is the time and this is the answer.
The Chambermaid's Revenge: IMF Hacked
Usually, the apparent purpose of hacks is fairly banal. To steal defense secrets. To profit organized crime. To embarrass a political opponent.
But a reported sophisticated hack on the IMF is far more intriguing.
Because the fund has been…
Anglo-Americans at Cyberwar: Two Weeks of Cupcakes
I've been meaning to return to this Ellen Nakashima story on our cyberwar efforts. As you recall, it lays out the turf war between the CIA and DOD over clandestine cyberops, partly by telling the story a fight over whether or not to disrupt…
The Gitmo Lawyers' Information Gulag
Charlie Savage reports on the new "relaxed" standards that will allow Gitmo defense lawyers to glance at the Gitmo Detainee Assessment Briefs released by WikiLeaks. (h/t fatster)
In guidance to the lawyers — who have security clearances,…
Did Thomas Drake Get iJustice?
There's an interesting discussion at the end of Josh Gerstein's article on the Drake plea agreement. He points out that after Judge Bennett ruled that the government needed more descriptive substitutions for some of its exhibits, DOJ did not…
Plea Bargain a Concession that DOJ Indicted Thomas Drake for Unclassified Information
There's something that's missing from the coverage of the Thomas Drake plea bargain. Yes, this is a huge victory for Drake. A huge victory for whistleblowers. Yes, it proves that William Welch is an even bigger hack than the failed Ted Stevens…
Michael Leiter Resigns, Undermining Claimed Rationale for Mueller Extension
National Counterterrorism Center head Michael Leiter resigned yesterday.
I'm agnostic about whether that's a good thing or not. NCTC got most of the blame for missing the UndieBomber, which Leiter exacerbated by going off on a ski vacation…
Thomas Drake Signs Plea Agreement; Government Attempt to Expand Espionage Act Fails
Thomas Drake just signed a plea agreement, admitting to Exceeding Authorized Use of a Computer. (h/t Steven Aftergood) The plea says:
The defendant intentionally accessed a computer and exceeded his authorized access; by doing so, the defendant…
ACLU FOIAs WikiLeaks Cables
Back in April, the ACLU FOIAed a bunch of State Department cables that had been released via WikiLeaks. The State Department made no response. So now the ACLU is suing to get the cables.
The suit is interesting for several reasons. First,…
"Collections Sites" and the Thomas Drake Case
I wanted to look at the the three documents that the government is withdrawing in whole or in part in the Thomas Drake case. Ellen Nakashima implies that three of the documents are three of the five charged documents.
According to people following…
Thomas Drake to Government: "Bring It"
Apparently, the government is scrambling in the Thomas Drake case.
According to Ellen Nakashima, they offered him two plea bargains yesterday, both involving no jail time. He rejected both.
Drake has repeatedly told friends that he will…
E. Coli EFMs
Chris Savage (Eclectablog) continues to track what the Emergency Financial Managers have been doing around Michigan. In new developments, the EFM for Pontiac MI, Michael Stampfler, broke the Police Dispatcher's union contract, dissolved the…
Thomas Drake's Public Domain Motion
There's something else that has been going on as the case against Thomas Drake has gotten narrowed because the government withdrew some of its exhibits. Drake's lawyers have been arguing that some of this information--and, I believe, some of…
The Government's Thomas Drake Case Crumbles
As I noted the other day (and Josh Gerstein first reported), the government has chosen to withdraw two exhibits and redact discussion of a certain technology from another in the Thomas Drake case.
Ellen Nakashima appears to reveal that those…
The Oil Weapon and the Fight for Hegemony of the Middle East
Saudi Arabia's efforts to get OPEC to raise production has foundered on opposition, mostly from those on the other side of the fight for hegemony of the Middle East and the world, starting with Iran. The vote came down to Saudi Arabia, Qatar,…
Robert Mueller: Anna Chapman and Mohamed Mohamud Are Bigger Threats than Lloyd Blankfein
As part of Robert Mueller's reconfirmation hearing, he stated--and then was repeatedly asked--what threats face our country. Here's how he described these threats in his hearing statement:
The FBI has never faced a more complex threat environment…