Citi, Morgan Stanley, Not Paying Their Taxes

/
emptywheel
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.

Coming Soon: The O'Bama Heritage Center

/
emptywheel
The Irish, never missing an opportunity to capitalize on American tourist nostalgia, are turning the homesite of Obama's Irish ancestors into a tourist site.

This Miracle Brought to You by America's Unions

/
emptywheel
They're calling the successful rescue yesterday of 155 passengers aboard a US Airways jet a miracle. And that miracle was brought to you by union men and women.

Holder Nomination Hearing, Part Three

/
emptywheel
Up now on the Committee Webcast.

Holder Nomination Hearing, Part Two

/
emptywheel
Sorry. Started a little late. I think Lindsey Graham is beating up on Holder because he once worked for Blago, but that's just a guess.

Magistrate Judge Calls "Bull" on WaPo's Gloss--Calls for More E-Mails

/
emptywheel
The WaPo presented a very credulous view of the status of lost emails in a story many of you have emailed to me--suggesting that "all" of the lost White House emails have been found. A Missing White House E-Mails Traced, Justice Aide Says A Justice Department lawyer told a federal judge yesterday that the Bush administration will meet its legal requirement to transfer e-mails to the National Archives after spending more than

FISA Appeals Court Opinion

/
emptywheel
I'll get to these later. But if you want to start reading them, be my guest. Opinion Order

Eric Holder Hearing Open Thread

/
emptywheel
This should be the only really contentious one. Go to CSPAN3 or the Committee Webcast to see it. Note, in a bit of timing jujitsu, Biden and Hillary are giving their farewell speeches on the floor of the Senate at 10 and 11, meaning CSPAN2 will be covering those speeches and not this hearing, meaning (in turn) that this hearing won't be available to most Americans watching on teevee.
, , , ,

The US Torture Regime - Where Is The Swift Justice?

/
bmaz
Earlier, Marcy and Spencer wrote about the somewhat startling admission today by Susan Crawford that the United States tortured Mohammed al-Qahtani. Sounds like an admission against interest; I wonder when the war crimes trials will be starting?

An Appropriate Detroit Welcome for Bob Corker

/
emptywheel
Bob Corker came to Detroit today to suck up some more press attention.

The Inventory of Blagojevich Wiretaps

/
emptywheel
All told, we now know of at least seven taps and bugs that were used to monitor Rod Blagojevich in the weeks leading up to his arrest.

More Archiving Headaches for the Poor Bush Administration

/
emptywheel
This time, with a judge telling them to go look again for those missing White House emails. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia today granted the National Security Archive’s emergency motion for an extended preservation order to protect missing White House e-mails. With the transition from the Bush Administration to the Obama Administration taking place in six days, and all the records of the Bush
,

What about Abu Zubaydah?

/
emptywheel
Susan Crawford, who's in charge of Gitmo show trials, admits that Mohammed al-Qahtani was tortured. Why wasn't she asked about Abu Zubaydah?
,

One Night of Indigestion for Obama

/
emptywheel
I wouldn't have wanted to dine with the three horsemen of right wing banality. But if Obama wants to, more power to him.

Those Evil Dems Are Preventing Bush from Archiving Properly

/
emptywheel
Poor George Bush. Those mean Democrats are preventing him from fulfilling his duty to archive the evidence of his crimes.
,

The OLC Opinion Eliminating the 4th Amendment (and "Justifying" the Warrantless Wiretap Program)

/
emptywheel
Remember that OLC opinion abolishing the 4th amendment? Well, it pretty clearly provides the basis for the Administration's illegal wiretap program.

Shorter Schloz' Criminal Referral

/
emptywheel
Is here. Or rather, the Inspector General's report describing his criminal referral for lying to Congress. We have referred this matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for a decision on whether the evidence warrants a criminal prosecution. We provided to the prosecutor the evidence we gathered in the course of our investigation, including transcripts of interviews and relevant documents and e-mails.

Hillary Confirmation Hearings Open Thread

/
emptywheel
When Senators hold confirmation hearings for their own, it's really more of an organized love fest than a contentious hearing.

Orrin Hatch to Support Holder Yet the Delay and Kabuki Continues

/
emptywheel
Given that Orrin Hatch will support--and has always said he would support--Eric Holder, the big drama over his difficult confirmation must be intended to serve some other purpose. As I've been saying, one thing it will do is postpone the time until Obama has a working DOJ.