Changing the Rules
DiFi has a habit of using hearings to introduce new allegations against DOJ and she has done so again today. Here's Christy's version of the interchange:
Read to you what has been dropped from the earlier addition of the DOJmanual. (1) restriction on bringing a voter fraud case close to anelection.
Time to Talk to the Gang of Eight
Alberto Gonzales gave a closed-door briefing to the House Intelligence Committee recently and offered an excuse for barging into ICU to try to get Ashcroft to override Jim Comey. Silvestre Reyes, at least, seems satisfied with Gonzales' explanation.
But Reyes said he was satisfied with Gonzales' explanation and cautioned against drawing conclusions.
"When there are issues of national security at stake, I thinkcertainly one should not question the motivation of individuals," Reyestold reporters.
Crappy Product, Crappy Marketing Company
As many of you know, I used to do work for the auto industry. And I can assure you, the single most important thing Ford could do to turn itself around would be to fire its long-time ad company, J Walter Thompson. Everyone knows it, too, in all parts of the world.
Judy Finally Gets Her Wingnut Welfare!!
A reader sent me the full text of this Judy Miller interview of Shimon Peres in Murdoch's newest plaything. The interview itself is nothing exciting. After all acting a stenographer of other people's thoughts is what Judy does best, which means her stenography is only ever as interesting as Judy's source.
Globalization and Terror and More Obstruction at DOJ
Kudos to Congressman Bill Delahunt. He seems to be on a lonely crusade to get the US Government to treat all kinds of terrorism the same. He has been criticizing DOJ for its sloppy treatment of the terrorist Luis Posada Carriles; DOJ botched its case of immigration violations and Posada effectively went free.
A Tale of Two NIEs
One good thing about the spectacular abuse of intelligence to get us into the Iraq war: the intelligence community is acquiring a habit of releasing key judgments from its NIEs (I understand we'll get an Iraq NIE in time for September's moving of the goal posts). And when I read the claim yesterday that half the content of last week's NIE on terrorism came from detainee interrogations ...
According to one senior
Bush's Cheney's Signing Statement on the Geneva Convention
It's really tough sorting out the new Executive Order on torture. But after a whole day of pondering the details, I think I'm finally getting it. It's yet another Bush signing statement, this time to record his own personal interpretation of the Geneva Convention. After all--that's where this new EO came from:
Eric Edelman, Leaker Extraordinaire
I've been waiting to see if Pat Lang weighed in on the Hillary letter controversy because he's the blogosphere's expert (indeed, an expert in any venue) on the hazards of supply lines and withdrawal. And his response is as good as I expected, starting with his citation of the constitutional basis for Hillary's inquiry.
Did Eric Edelman Steal Robert Gates' Mail?
I've been following the little squabble between Cheney hack Eric Edelman and Hillary. There was his nasty letter and Hillary's excellent response. Now Gates has entered the fray, embracing oversight and (backhandedly) slapping down the nasty Edelman.
I have long been a staunch advocate of Congressional oversight, firstat the CIA and now at the Defense Department.
Let the Sunshine In
I'm with David Kurtz. In addition to offering good reason to begin impeachment procedures, Bush's dangerous claims to executive and deliberative privilege really ought to invite us to reconsider the notion that Presidents need to hide their deliberations.
As long as we're going to be discussing the parameters of executiveprivilege in the weeks and months ahead, can we start by revisiting thenow commonly accepted notion that the President can only get free
The Jurisdiction of DOJ's Inspector General
This is a follow-up on my post on the loophole in the jurisdiction of DOJ's Inspector General, which appears to be preventing DOJ's IG from investigating the role of any lawyer in the USA Purge--which is, after all, just about everyone involved. Here's how Senator Leahy laid out the problem:
Other Inspectors General can investigate misconduct throughout their agencies.
Edelman Says: "Congressional Oversight Emboldens Our Enemies"
Okay, Hillary didn't adopt my recommended response to Eric Edelman's insubordination. Well, she kind of does, insofar as she notes that Edelman is alone in spouting Cheneyisms:
Other members of this Administration have not engaged in politicalattacks when the prospect of withdrawal planning has been raised.
And she demands that Gates choose whether he supports Edelman's insubordination.
I request that you describe whether Under Secretary Edelman's letteraccurately characterizes your views as Secretary of Defense.
This
With All Due Respect to the WaPo
Amy Goldstein was one of the nicest people covering the Scooter Libby trial and Dan Eggen has been doing excellent work covering the USA Scandal. But their article on the White House's assertion that no US Attorney can take up the contempt charges that HJC is about to dump on Harriet and Josh Bolten misses some key details.
Dear Congress
John Bates has issued a ruling I've been anticipating--dismissing the Wilson lawsuit against Cheney, Rove, Libby, and Armitage. If I'm reading correctly, Bates ruled that he has no jurisdiction to rule in this matter.
This Court therefore lacks subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs' tort claim for public disclosure of private facts.
He therefore did not deal with many of the arguments the Wilsons and the defendants raised in this case--including Cheney's claim to
Oh, It Was Eric Edelman Lecturing Hillary??
Update: Thanks to Scarecrow for directing everyone over here--but don't miss Hillary's response to Edelman. She hits all the right notes.
I didn't realize, at first, when I heard that Hillary had been lectured that public discussion of withdrawal reinforced enemy propaganda, who was doing the lecturing.
Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S.
Senate Dems Corner Bush and Gonzales on Their Attempt to Game Appointments
Oh, this is getting fun.
Remember how I pointed out that Steven Bradbury, the guy who wrote the opinion declaring Harriet immune from having to appear before Congress, was not acting with proper authority?
Well, Leahy, Durbin, Feingold, and Kennedy have raised the stakes on that issue.
We write seeking information about a memorandum issued on July 10, 2007, by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), concluding that former White House Counsel
Propaganda Squared
I've been referring to Brigadier Bergner as Baghdad Bergner since he first started giving press conferences. There was the press conference where he blamed Iran for the woes in Iraq, based on the interrogation of one Shiite. There's this press conference where he blamed all the woes in Iraq on Al Qaeda in Iraq.
The IG Loophole
Remember how Senator Whitehouse busted Alberto Gonzales for trying to bury the DOJ's internal investigation of the USA firing into the Office of Professional Responsibility, which has no authority over potential illegalities and doesn't issue public reports? Remember how Paul Clement, who has ostensibly been in charge of DOJ's internal investigation since the time Gonzales recused himself, has at the same time been defending the White House's ability to keep materials
The "PDAG" Who Approved Harriet's Immunity Had No Authority to Do So
There are two big tidbits in the questions Leahy sent to AGAG to "pre-refresh" his memory before he testifies next week. The first is a question that seems to suggest that the "Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General," Steven Bradbury, who wrote the opinion judging Harriet immune from compelled Congressional testimony was acting as Acting AAG of the Office of Legal Counsel, in spite of the fact that his nomination to be