Obama Drafts Order To Close Gitmo; Suspends Habeas Cases In DC Circuit
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bmazPresident Obama has drafted an order to close Gitmo and has moved to suspend tribunal proceedings at Gitmo, and the military panels have started entering the orders. As further evidence of the determination to immediately address, and bring a new sense of enlightened justice to, the detainees in Guantanamo, the Administration has imposed analogous continuance motions in pending Habeas cases in United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Bush Opts for Continued Protection Over Payback
In a thoroughly unsurprising move, Bush chose to make sure that Libby will continue to shield his own role in the CIA leak case rather than pay Libby back for taking the fall for Bush and Cheney.
President Obama Officially Halts GITMO Show Trials
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bmazHours after taking office on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases....The request would halt proceedings in 21 pending cases, including the death penalty case against five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 hijacked plane attacks in 2001.
Colin Powell Tees Off A Parting Shot At Bush & Cheney
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bmazInauguration Day was not kind to the Bush/Cheney cabal (nor should it have been for that matter). In many ways and forms, the outgoing cabal literally got pounded, but few cuts were as unkind as those delivered by Colin Powell.
Marty Lederman Takes over John Yoo's Former Position
Marty Lederman will take over the position that John Yoo used to have. And things have changed.
"A Much Better Party Than a Republican Party"
Things are going so well in Washington DC that even the Republicans are admitting we're better than they are.
Thank You Howard Dean, for Showing Us the Way!
Howard Dean has time to get his picture taken for the front page of FDL. Me, I've got a bit of time to bitch about how Rahm treated Dean.
The Bad Side of the Crowds
Lots of people out there--and it's not pretty.
Today IS The Day!
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bmazToday is the day. Now is the time. Change is in the air. Marcy is on the ground, we will update as she checks in. Consider this an open thread for anything you have to say. Spill your thoughts, emotions and hopes. Post any breaking news you see that I, and all of of us, might need to know. Change is here!
Coach Bush is 3-23 In Real Courts On Gitmo Show Trials; Katyal, The Hero Of Hamdan, To Join Obama Administration
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bmazThere is an interesting article published in today's New York Times, and the upshot is that 3 wins and 23 losses is exactly what the Bush/Cheney regime's record is when their Guantanamo Detainee cases see the light of a court in habeas cases. And in most excellent news, Neal Katyal will be Obama's Deputy Solicitor General.
Obama, The Crawford Torture Admission & The Army Field Manual Lie
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bmazIn an earlier post I discussed the startling direct admission that the United States tortures terror detainees made public in yesterday's blockbuster Bob Woodward piece in the Washington Post. As the Bush Administration's hand picked convening authority for the military tribunals otherwise known as the "Gitmo Show Trials", Susan Crawford's admission carries the binding mark of credibility. It also puts the lie to the notion adopted by Obama and many others that reliance on the Army Field Manual is a panacea for reforming the torture regime the United States has enshrined.
Trash Talk: Phred's Hubcap for a Steal!!
Phred skipped town and forgot to take the hubcap she won last week, so you all have a chance to winning it off of her while she's not looking. (She did, however, leave her picks behind--going with the home teams--so you still all have her picks, if not her trash, to contend with.)
Before we get to the Conference Championship games, though, I have to send my apologies to masaccio for stealing
Hints That the FISCR Plaintiff Is an Email Provider
The plaintiff in the FISCR opinion is almost certainly an email provider.
BushCo: You Can't Have Scooter's and Turdblossom's Emails...
The Bush Administration is refusing to follow the order of the Circuit Court to look for Scooter Libby's and Karl Rove's emails before they leave town.
FISA + EO 12333 + [redacted] procedures = No Fourth Amendment
The recent FISCR opinion makes it clear that the government is not relying exclusively on PAA (or, presumably now, FISA) to wiretap Americans. Rather, it is using several measures kluged together to get around the 4th Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure.
The Government Sez: We Don't Have a Database of All Your Communication
The government says they don't have a database of all their communications. But there's lots of reason to disbelieve them.
BushCo Drops All Charges against Andy Card's Cousin
BushCo just dropped all charges against Andy Card's cousin, whom they accused of being a spy for Saddam and/or crazy. And with the dropped charges, they may have succeeded in suppressing very embarrassing information from coming to light.
Turley Speaks Out On The Bush "Policy Of Crime"
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bmazBarack Obama and his new administration need to prosecute the malefactors in the outgoing Bush Administration for the crimes and crimes against humanity they perpetrated while in office; to set an example so it doesn't happen again. Tonight on on MSNBC's Countdown, Professor Jonathan Turley mad a passionate plea for accountability. Must see teevee.
Blagojevich's Lawyers Don't Do Impeachment
In what is almost certainly a stunt designed to hold up Blago's impeachment, his defense attorneys are refusing to represent him during the impeachment trial.
Citi, Morgan Stanley, Not Paying Their Taxes
Add one more thing to the "no one could have imagined" file: The GAO reports that Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have been sneaking their money off shore so as to avoid paying taxes.
The new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, released today by Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Carl M.