President Obama Officially Halts GITMO Show Trials

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h/t Amnesty International

President Obama has ordered an abrupt halt in the Gitmo Show Trials. From Peter Finn at the Washington Post:

In one of its first actions, the Obama administration instructed military prosecutors late Tuesday to seek a 120-day suspension of legal proceedings involving detainees at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — a clear break with the approach of the outgoing Bush administration.

The instruction came in a motion filed late Tuesday with a military court handling the case of five defendants accused of organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The motion called for "a continuance of the proceedings" until May 20 so that "the newly inaugurated president and his administration [can] review the military commissions process, generally, and the cases currently pending before military commissions, specifically."

In the legal field, this is known as an act taken "in the interests of justice". An incredibly welcome move by an administration literally only hours into its initial term. You have to hand it to President Obama, Guantanamo is a sensitive topic, especially with the neocon screechers, yet he proved the courage of his convictions and acted immediately upon being sworn in.

It appears that the action was foreshadowed at Camp Delta, as Carol Rosenberg of McClatchy already had reported, even before Obama was sworn in, that the trial of Omar Khadr had been put on hold:

A military judge on Tuesday postponed next week’s trial of Canadian captive Omar Khadr, easing pressure on the new occupant of the White House to make a swift decision on military commissions.
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Until Tuesday, the Khadr case was shaping up to be an early test of Obama’s pledge to close the prison camps.
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But Parrish’s indefinite delay — he set no new trial date — also derailed Pentagon plans to airlift a jury panel of U.S. military officers to this remote base this weekend.

The stay of all proceedings at Guantanamo for at least 120 days is, as stated, wonderful news; however, the better question is what it portends for the future disposition of the legal cases of the detainees including Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his co-defendants accused of organizing the 9/11 attacks.

Notably, the defense teams do not appear quite as thrilled as one might would expect by the move, citing fears that the government is simply trying to clean up the tribunal process minimally in order to continue on. Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, who represents Read more →

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Colin Powell Tees Off A Parting Shot At Bush & Cheney

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Inauguration Day was not kind to the Bush/Cheney cabal (nor should it have been for that matter). The sheer enormity of the crowds on the Capitol Mall and in the streets of Washington DC was a powerful message on the joy of the new and the disdain of the old.

From the subtle pricks of President Obama’s words proclaiming an "end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics", to the massive crowd on the mall chanting and singing "Na-na-na-nah, hey, hey, goodbye" as Bush fled tail between his legs on Marine Executive One, it was really a fairly overt slap in the face to the banished cabal.

But, as Steve Benen points out, it’s pretty devastating when even you own men are blistering your backsides like former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell did with Bush/Cheney today. From an Interview with CBS anchor Katie Couric:

…Barack Obama’s election to the nation’s highest office a "reaffirmation of American principles values that will help us overcome some of the difficulties of recent years with respect to the attitude of the world toward us."

Speaking with CBS News Managing Editor Katie Couric, Powell said America’s prestige abroad has improved since Mr. Obama won a decisive victory over Senator John McCain.

"I think it has really, really been an remarkable event in terms of getting everybody to stand back and say, look at what we have seen here in America," Powell said. "The America we remember is back again."

Ouch. That’s a cold shot baby.

And, guess what, the cold shots were fired across the bow of Republicans in general today. From McClatchy:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and fellow Republicans received a reception Tuesday that rivaled the frigid winter weather, as hundreds of attendees greeted GOP lawmakers with boos, chants, hisses and — in some cases — stony silence.

The chilly display toward McConnell, who was flanked by other high-ranking Republicans as he took the stage at President Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony, was a momentary break in the otherwise jubilant spirit of the day.

Well, what do you know, the people have it all figured out as to the degraded state of America and who is to blame; I wonder when the big media sources, their blathering heads and pin head pundits will catch on?

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Today IS The Day!

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photo by michael foley

Today 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.

I can just feel the difference already, can you?

Let’s get it on people!

UPDATE:

Loo Hoo reminded me of Marie Roget. Although I knew her only from the blog, I loved Marie Roget. I know many others did as well. She was a self proclaimed "fire breathing progressive". She lived to see the day today, and tragically, was not able to complete the journey with us. Marie lives on through us today, and this video was one of her favorites. It is wonderful.

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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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If your local football coach was 3 wins and 23 losses for the season, you could rest assured of two things; one, you are a Detroit Lions fan and, two, the coach is getting fired. Well, there was an interesting little article that was published in today’s New York Times, and the upshot is that 3 and 23 is exactly what the Bush/Cheney regime’s record is when their Guantanamo Detainee cases see the sunshine of a real court. Clearly we have pretty much been endlessly detaining a lot of innocuous people on unsubstantiated evidence.

Describing the release last weekend of Haji Bismullah, an Afghan detainee held at Guantánamo Bay for nearly six years, the Times notes:

The decision was part of a pattern that has emerged in the closing chapter of the administration. In the last three months, at least 24 detainees have been declared improperly held by courts or a tribunal — or nearly 10 percent of the population at the detention camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where about 245 men remain.
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While Mr. Bismullah’s case was decided by a military panel, the rulings for the other 23 detainees occurred in habeas corpus hearings in federal court. Since a Supreme Court decision in June gave detainees the right to have their detentions reviewed by federal judges in habeas cases, the government has won only three of them.

Get that?? 3 and 23. Not. Real. Good. Certainly puts the lie to Cheney and Bush’s promises that they were holding only the "worst of the worst" after all these years doesn’t it?

The cases provide a snapshot of the intelligence collected by the government on the suspects and suggest that there was little credible evidence behind the decision to declare some of the men enemy combatants and to hold them indefinitely.
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“The government’s failure in case after case after case to be able to prove its case calls into question everybody who is there,” said Susan Baker Manning, a lawyer for 17 Uighur detainees from western China who were ordered released by a federal judge in October. The Justice Department has appealed that order from a federal district judge, Ricardo M. Urbina, and the men are still at Guantánamo.

Well, I guess, as shocking as it is, this is not exactly breaking news anymore. The brittle patina of legitimacy and credibility, to the extent there ever was any, began to crack with the first major Read more →

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Obama, The Crawford Torture Admission & The Army Field Manual Lie

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dbamericasafe

In an earlier post I discussed the startling direct admission that the United States tortures terror detainees made public in last Wednesday’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.

In this post, I want to explain the troublesome ramifications Crawford’s admission carries for the provisions in the Army Field Manual regarding the treatment and interrogation of detainees. And the Army Field Manual is a singularly important frame of reference because President-Elect Barack Obama famously staked his claim to being a torture reformer during the election by promising to restrict US detainee interrogation techniques to those contained in the Army Field Manual. President-Elect Obama is holding true to his word.

The proposal Obama is considering would require all CIA interrogators to follow conduct outlined in the U.S. Army Field Manual, the officials said.
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However, Obama’s changes may not be absolute. His advisers are considering adding a classified loophole to the rules that could allow the CIA to use some interrogation methods not specifically authorized by the Pentagon, the officials said.

This is where Susan Crawford’s stark admission comes into play. As Crawford admits, most all of the techniques used on al-Qahtani were actually permissible, but the layering of techniques compounded them into unmistakable torture.

Crawford, 61, said the combination of the interrogation techniques, their duration and the impact on Qahtani’s health led to her conclusion. "The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent. . . . You think of torture, you think of some horrendous physical act done to an individual. This was not any one particular act; this was just a combination of things that had a medical impact on him, that hurt his health. It was abusive and uncalled for. And coercive. Clearly coercive. It was that medical impact that pushed me over the edge" to call it torture, she said.

Crawford has exposed to bright sunlight the lie that is Barack Obama’s, and other politicians’, simple minded reliance on the Army Field Manual as cover for their torture reform credentials. Interrogators can stay completely within the Army manual and still be engaging in clear, unequivocal torture under national and international norms, laws and conventions. Read more →

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Turley Speaks Out On The Bush "Policy Of Crime"

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Barack 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. The law is not just to punish, although it is for that; more importantly, it is to set an example for society to see and know, to exhibit what is wrong and not to be tolerated.

Tonight on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown on MSNBC, Professor Jonathan Turley made a passionate plea to Mr. Obama, his Attorney General to be Eric Holder and the incoming administration to do just that: prosecute the malefactors for the egregious conduct and set an example.

There is a difference between criminalizing policy and a policy of crimes, and that is what we have here. We just had three Attorney Generals that couldn’t tell the difference, and the question is whether he will prosecute confirmed crimes.

Indeed, that is the question. Watch the clip, it is must see teevee.

Paul Krugman said much the same in today’s New York Times:

I’m sorry, but if we don’t have an inquest into what happened during the Bush years — and nearly everyone has taken Mr. Obama’s remarks to mean that we won’t — this means that those who hold power are indeed above the law because they don’t face any consequences if they abuse their power.

These two luminaries are speaking the gospel. Spread the word.

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Blagojevich's Lawyers Don't Do Impeachment

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Even more interesting to me than the fact that Blago’s defense attorneys are refusing to defend him in the impeachment trial…

The legal team that has represented embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich in impeachment proceedings in Springfield has stepped down in protest before the governor’s trial in the Illinois Senate, the Tribune has learned.

Blagojevich’s lawyers said the process has become "fundamentally unfair" because they have had too little time to prepare for the Senate trial and have been denied subpoena power to call their own witnesses.

The governor’s lawyers had been asked to file an appearance on his behalf by Monday. The Senate trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 26.

In a statement, attorney Sam Adam and his son, Samuel E. Adam, said they couldn’t in good conscience represent the governor in a Senate trial "without any due process of law, fundamental fairness or the most basic right to confront one’s accusers."

"We cannot and will not degrade our client, ourselves, our oaths and our profession, as well as the office of the governor, by participating in a Potemkin-like lynching proceeding, thus making it appear that the governor is represented by competent counsel when in fact he is not," the statement said.

Edward Genson, another Blagojevich attorney, said he also is recusing himself from representing the governor before the Senate and agreed the trial would be unfair.

"I had never committed to the Senate trial, and I will not file an appearance," Genson said.

That’s interesting–though likely just a stunt to prevent the impeachment from going off smoothly.

But even more interesting is the notion that Sam Adam Jr.–the guy who brokered Burris’ appointment to the Senate–is refusing to represent "his client." 

That’s because just a few weeks ago, Genson insisted to the IL legislative committee that Adam was not, in fact, part of the defense team. If he wasn’t part of the defense team, then how could he be stepping down now?

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

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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.

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 $10 million to locate 14 million e-mails reported missing four years ago from White House computer files.

Civil division trial lawyer Helen H. Hong made the disclosure at a court hearing provoked by a 2007 lawsuit filed by outside groups to ensure that politically significant records created by the White House are not destroyed or removed before President Bush leaves office at noon on Tuesday. She said the department plans to argue in a court filing this week that the administration’s successful recent search renders the lawsuit moot.

I knew that was optimistic because the National Security Archive told a totally different story:

At a hearing today concerning the risks posed by the presidential transition to the recovery of millions of missing e-mails from the Executive Office of the President (EOP) in the National Security Archive’s lawsuit seeking restoration of those e-mails, the White House acknowledged that it has done little to recover e-mail files from computer workstations and nothing to collect external media storage devices that could hold e-mails.  These admissions came despite the issuance of a report and recommendation in April 2008 by a federal magistrate judge calling for the White House to locate and preserve data from the workstations and external media storage devices.  Earlier today the court issued an order requiring steps to be taken to secure files from individual computer workstations, memory sticks, zip drives, DVDs and CDs.

Now, Magistrate Judge Facciola, working in tandem with Judge Kennedy on this case, issued a new order after the hearing yesterday calling for a more thorough inventory. Here’s NSA’s version of what has happened.

The federal magistrate judge overseeing the White House e-mail litigation today described the issue as reaching “true emergency conditions” with only “two business days before the new President takes office,” and that “the importance of preserving the e-mails cannot be exaggerated,” according to the court’s Memorandum Opinion issued this morning along with an Order and posted on the National Security Archive website, www.nsarchive.org. (see attached PDFs)

Magistrate Judge John Facciola formally ordered the White House to search all Executive Office of the President components’ workstations and portable media for possibly missing e-mail – enforcingyesterday’s order from U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy(http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20090114/order_20090114.pdf) – after government lawyers at a hearing yesterday represented that they would only search those EOP components that create federal agency records and leave out offices that create presidential records.

Today’s order also granted plaintiffs’ requests that a full inventory of all backup tapes and portable media containing White House e-mail be delivered to the Archivist of the United States and filed with the court, and that the full administrative record and all other evidence related to the White House e-mail be preserved under the custody of the Archivist.

“From the outset, the White House has fought tooth and nail against having to preserve sources of missing email as well as other evidence relating to this case,” said Sheila Shadmand Read more →

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The US Torture Regime – Where Is The Swift Justice?

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Earlier, Marcy and Spencer wrote about the somewhat startling admission today by Susan Crawford that the United States tortured Mohammed al-Qahtani. From Woodward and the Washington Post:

"We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani," said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case" for prosecution.

The entire article is worth a read just so that the bare facts of what the United States does in your name can set in. But the real thing that strikes me about Crawford’s admission is the unequivocal starkness of it. "We tortured". "Met the legal definition of torture".

Well okay then. What more could we ask for? Maybe that the statement was made by a Bush Administration official, in a position of authority, someone that actually speaks for and might could bind the government to the admission. Well, as convening authority for the military commissions, Susan Crawford darn well ought to suffice for that.

Sounds like what we have here is what the legal profession, and specifically the criminal justice portion thereof, calls an "admission against interest".

An admission against interest is an exception to the hearsay rule which allows a person to testify to a stament of another that reveals something incriminating, embarassing, or otherwise damaging to the maker of the statement. It is allowed into evidence on the theory that the lack of incentive to make a damaging statement is an indication of the statement’s reliability.

In criminal law, it is a statement by the defendant which acknowledges the existence or truth of some fact necessary to be proven to establish the guilt of the defendant or which tends to show guilt of the defendant or is evidence of some material fact, but not amounting to a confession.

Tonight, on MSNBC’s Countdown, former Navy JAG attorney Charles Swift laid out the background and implications of what our country has done and become (Attached are both the portion with Charlie Swift as well as a followup portion). What we have done is not good. It is not right. And it is not justified. It is a war crime under 18 USC § 2441.

For her next trick, perhaps Susan Crawford can tell us when the war crime prosecutions will be starting.

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The Inventory of Blagojevich Wiretaps

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The Sun-Times reports yet more wiretaps used in the Blagojevich investigation. From the complaint, we knew of:

  • Two bugs in Friends of Blagojevich office
  • Wiretap on Blagojevich home land line

From the motion to release the wiretaps related to the horse racing scheme, we learned of:

  • Wiretap on Lon Monk’s cell phone

And this article reports:

  • Camera focused on entrance to Friends of Blagojevich office
  • Wiretaps on cell phones of three close Blago advisors (this may or may not include the one on Monk)

Recall that when Fitz asked for a 90 day extension, he mentioned the thousands of tapes they had to go through. It sure sounds like thousands to me.

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