The Latest State Secrets Claim
The Obama Administration threw a desperate new tactic into the warrantless wiretap suits: absolute immunity. It appears to be a probably futile attempt to keep all the cases before Judge Walker from collapsing onto each other.
How JP Morgan Chase Plans to Profit Off the 300,000 People It's Forcing to Lose Their Jobs
JP Morgan Chase is working to put 300,000 people out of work--many of them in Michigan. But lucky for JP Morgan Chase, it has the contract for providing Michigan's unemployment benefits by debit card. So it still stands to make money off those unemployed Michiganders after JP Morgan Chase causes them to lose their job.
Pre-Coffee Deep Thought
As it becomes more likely that Emmett Sullivan will throw out Ted Stevens conviction, Alaska Republicans have called for Mark Begich to resign, on the logic that Toobz is therefore "innocent."
Does that mean she'd be willing to let the Gitmo detainee whom Sullivan may force the government to release should be allowed to resettle in AK, since he is innocent, according to Palin's claims?
Double-Dipping at Gitmo?
The ICRC reveals that four high value detainees may have been hidden at Gitmo around the time the Abu Ghraib scandal broke.
Save American Jobs: Close Your Chase Account
JP Morgan Chase refuses to do what it takes to save 300,000 jobs and the healthcare of 700,000 retirees. So I decided today to no longer be a part of that. I closed my Chase account.
Chrysler's Two Options: What JP Morgan's Insistence on Bankruptcy Will Mean
If Chrysler goes into bankruptcy rather than merges with Fiat, it may mean 210,000 additional jobs lost.
Holder Wants to Stop Playing Mukasey's Whack-a-Mole with Financial Fraud
Eric Holder doesn't think Mukasey's approach to financial crime--to play whack-a-mole with it--was such a smart idea.
Bailed Out Bank, JP Morgan, Dooming Chrysler
The WSJ confirms what we've all probably suspected: the creditors that are forcing Chrysler into bankruptcy are the same banks that have been surviving only with the help of the federal government. And of course, they are refusing to offer the same generosity to Chrysler.
Banks that loaned Chrysler LLC $6.8 billion are resisting government pressure to swap more than $5 billion of that for stock to slash the car maker's debt,
Patrick Kennedy to Introduce Bill to Repeal Gramm-Leach ... Maybe
Yesterday, Patrick Kennedy was gung ho to repeal Gramm-Leach. Today, he sounds much less sure.
White House Flowers: Make a Statement
The White House is looking for a new florist. Not only is this an opportunity to integrate more contemporary arrangements into White House arrangements. But it's also an opportunity to insist that the flowers that go into White House arrangements have been grown and processed under conditions that are safe for workers.
Is Rahm Congressman A?
Rahm appears to be Congressman A named in the Blagojevich indictment. That means he blew off Blagojevich's extortion attempts before it became clear Blago was under investigation. But it also means he may be dragged into the trial.
Blagojevich Indicted
Big surprise ... not.
In addition to Blago and Harris (who were arrested in December), RobBlago, Lon Monk, Christopher Kelly, and William Cellini were indicted. I'm looking for the document now, will update later.
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, his brother Rob and Christopher Kelly, a former top fundraiser for Blagojevich, were all indicted today on corruption charges, the U.S.
What Does Dusty Foggo Know about the Torture Tapes?
Dusty Foggo has a date with John Durham, the torture tape investigator.
Hank Greenberg Sorta Liveblog
For reasons I explained here, I'm not going to do a full liveblog of Hank Greenberg's appearance before Oversight today, though will keep half an eye on it. If you want to follow along, it's on CSPAN3 and this Committee stream (which I can't get to work).
Most interesting detail, thus far, is that Issa insisted that Greenberg's lawyer be sworn in, as well as Greenberg.
Hank's Dog and Pony Show
Hank Greenberg will testify before the Oversight Committee today. I suspect it'll be a dog and pony show designed to exonerate Greenberg, not a useful hearing to learn what happened at AIG.
Car Recovery Czar Ed Montgomery Comes to Michigan
Ed Montgomery was named on Monday to serve as the Director of Recovery for Auto Communities. He seems like a better pick for auto issues than all the other people Obama has named. It remains to be seen, of course, whether having a Director of Recovery will minimize the pain the Mid-West is going through and will be going through going forward.
Cheney's Stay Behind
Sy Hersh's description that Cheney is still getting information (of some sort) from NSA is the most concerning part of his revelation that Cheney's got his agents sprinkled around the government.
Fire Ken Lewis for the $3 Billion in Merrill Lynch Bonuses
Ken Lewis let Merrill Lynch aware $3 billion dollars in bonuses just as Bank of America--with financial support of you and I--took over Merrill Lynch. Which, in itself, is reason why Lewis deserves to be fired at least as much as Rick Wagoner.
What the Scope of the IG Report on Warrantless Wiretapping Tells Us
From the scope of the IG report into the warrantless wiretap program, it seems the investigation is inadequate. But it does tell us more about the program.
Darrell Issa Whines He Didn't Get Enough of Your Tax Dollars to Be a Pest
Darrell Issa wants more of your tax dollars with which to be an asshole.