Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri Delays His Own Trial until after Presidential Election
As Muna Shikaki and Carol Rosenberg just tweeted, Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri requested--and the military judge granted--that his trial not start until November 9, 2012. Which would put it several days after the Presidential election.
The logic…
SCOTUS and GPS Tracking: US v. Jones and Secret PATRIOT
As I read the transcript of the SCOTUS hearing in the US v. Jones yesterday, I was most interested in what the comments suggest about the government's secret use of the PATRIOT Act to--presumably--use phone geolocation to track people. (Here's…
Did the US Authorize Albright and Sanger to Publish the IAEA Iran Report?
Major media organizations around the world are reacting to the IAEA's report on Iran's nuclear technology.
Okay, anyone who reads my posts knows that the sentence above should include a link to the IAEA's website and its posting of the…
Truth, Justice, and the American Way of Empire
One of my first reactions to the news that Nicolas Sarkozy told Obama he doesn't like Bibi Netanyahu is to note that Sarko is right.
"I cannot bear Netanyahu, he's a liar," Sarkozy told Obama, unaware that the microphones in their meeting room…
If Gun Walking Is Wrong, Why Isn't Nuclear Blueprint Walking?
In his statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, Attorney General Holder tried to stave off questions about Fast and Furious by asserting that "gun walking" is wrong.
I want to be clear: any instance of so-called “gun walking”…
Richard Blumenthal Asks Eric Holder Where the Foreclosure Prosecutions Are
It took until Richard Blumenthal's turn in Eric Holder's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee today before Holder got asked about foreclosure fraud. Blumenthal generously suggested that, "I know the foreclosure crisis is on your…
Eric Holder: Torture Inquiries, Ted Stevens Prosecutorial Misconduct Investigations Almost Finished
Eric Holder is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee right now. [watch here]
In response to two questions from Orrin Hatch, Eric Holder revealed that the John Durham investigation into torture and the Office of Public Responsibility…
The Declining Credibility of the IAEA
Yesterday, I pointed out that the IAEA is preparing to release a report on potential development of nuclear weapons in Iran almost exactly two years after the departure of Mohamed ElBaradei as its leader. As discussed in that post, one of…
Jamie Dimon Owns Obama's Testicles
Jamie Dimon owns Barack Obama's testicles. That's the only explanation I can think of for why, rather than firing his JP Morgan Exec Chief of Staff for being incompetent, Obama simply shifted him over to serve as the public face of his Administration.
Ten…
Gitmo's Commanders and My 4-Year Old Niece Play Games
I enjoyed watching my 4-year old niece wallop Mr. EW in a game of "Matches" last week. She kept making up new rules every turn, ensuring Mr. EW didn't know precisely what the rules of the game were.
It provided me an excellent opportunity…
CHINA! and RUSSIA! and [an unnamed ally that is likely Israel] Are Stealing Our Stuff!
Last week, ODNI released a report on cyberwarfare that is raising eyebrows for the way it named China and Russia as the sponsors of cyberespionage explicitly.
Jack Goldsmith wonders what naming them will accomplish.
I am sure that naming…
Two Years After ElBaradei's Departure, IAEA Joins Anti-Iran Drumbeat
As I noted on Thursday, the "sport" of predicting when Israel will attack Iran has now moved from the progressive blogosphere to many conventional news outlets. This week will see a major escalation in the anti-Iran rhetoric after the…
The Waffle House Terrorists "Citizens Who Threaten Our Safety and Security"
When the Waffle House Plot broke last week, I joked that maybe the FBI will start profiling Waffle Houses rather than mosques; they'd probably have more luck finding terrorists there.
But I wanted to make a few points about the plot in addition…
Tide, Tigers and Other Pro Football
ESPN tells me that the BIGGEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME EVAH is being played today between Number 1 LSU and Number 2 Alabama. Got a pretty tough hill to climb to beat the Stanford/USC game last weekend though; we shall see. No question about these…
The Implications of DOJ's FOIA "Lies"
On Thursday, we learned it has been the practice of DOJ for nearly a quarter century to provide misleading information in response to FOIAs asking for certain kinds of information--broadly, ongoing investigations, informants, and foreign intelligence.
In…
The Dangers of Hiring BAE's Mercenaries
How stupid was Moammar Qaddafi, who reportedly hired the same mercenary firm that tried to take out Equatorial Guinea's dictator in 2004?
A total of 50 private soldiers, including 19 South Africans, are reported to have travelled to Libya…
CIA's "Vengeful Librarians" v. DiFi: Open Source Grudge Match
The AP's story on the CIA's social media monitoring project is an important article, if unsurprising.
At the agency's Open Source Center, a team known affectionately as the "vengeful librarians" also pores over Facebook, newspapers, TV news…
Columnist Endorses War Crimes Against al Qaeda Because They Murdered a Journalist
I had never heard of Alex Beam before today, but his column in today's Boston Globe crossed my email (h/t dakine01) and I am still fuming at his cavalier endorsement of war crimes. Perhaps even more infuriating, though, is that Beam's endorsement…
Is DOJ Trying to Hide Valerie Plame at the Sterling Trial?
While I was away in South Carolina, the government released the redacted copy of Leonie Brinkema's order on several issues relating to the Jeffrey Sterling case (the government immediately appealed aspects of this ruling).
There are several…
DOJ Admits It Has Been "Lying" for 24 Years; Journalists Applaud
I'm sort of mystified by yesterday's reporting on the DOJ letter to Chuck Grassley and Pat Leahy regarding FOIA. Basically, the letter announced that DOJ has been "lying" on FOIA responses for 24 years, and that DOJ will only change its approach…
