Author Archive for: emptywheel
About emptywheel
Marcy Wheeler is an independent journalist writing about national security and civil liberties. She writes as emptywheel at her eponymous blog, publishes at outlets including Vice, Motherboard, the Nation, the Atlantic, Al Jazeera, and appears frequently on television and radio. She is the author of Anatomy of Deceit, a primer on the CIA leak investigation, and liveblogged the Scooter Libby trial.
Marcy has a PhD from the University of Michigan, where she researched the “feuilleton,” a short conversational newspaper form that has proven important in times of heightened censorship. Before and after her time in academics, Marcy provided documentation consulting for corporations in the auto, tech, and energy industries. She lives with her spouse in Grand Rapids, MI.
Entries by emptywheel
Did Holder Know About the “Significant Misconduct” When DOJ Claimed Sovereign Immunity?
/58 Comments/in FISA/by emptywheelOn April 3, DOJ submitted a filing that argued that no citizen had the ability to sue if she had been wrongly wiretapped under Bush’s illegal wiretap program. On August 15, we learn that DOJ’s Inspector General “recently” learned of “significant misconduct” in the wiretap program. Did Holder know of that “significant misconduct” when his DOJ made those expansive claims?
Does This Explain DOJ Reluctance to Turn Over AIG Monitoring Documents?
/18 Comments/in emptywheel/by emptywheelTPMM notes that DOJ has been reluctant to turn over to the Oversight Committee the documents pertaining to its Delayed Prosecution Agreement with AIG. Here are some data points that might begin to explain why DOJ would be reluctant to reveal what they knew about AIG and when they knew it.
It’s Not the Water-Boarding, It’s the Blows to the Head
/70 Comments/in Torture/by emptywheelThe CIA doesn’t want the Bradbury OLC memos made public. Given the details of the ICRC report, it’s clear that it’s not because its news. Rather, if the OLC memos are made public, it’ll make it clear Bradbury gave legal cover for these actions even after they had already done physical and mental damage with them.