Fearing backlash, CIA sought and received support
Washington Post Oct 15, 08 7:17 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Bush administration gave its blessing in writing for the CIA to use waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques in two secret memos that have only now come to light, the Washington Post reveals. Intelligence officials sought to get something on paper in 2003—more than a year after the secret interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects began—to cover their backs in the event of public criticism, according to security sources.
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Opinion
By injecting politics into hiring, Gonzales & Co. shatter public's faith
Washington Post Jul 29, 08 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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New confirmation that the Justice Department used political criteria in hiring for career positions shouldn’t just outrage the maybe-liberals they discriminated against, derailing careers because they were gay, say, or had a wife who was a Democrat, a former Clinton administration official writes in the Washington Post . It’s a major blow against the entire institution, argues Jamie Gorelick.
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Pakistani man alleges abuse in post-9/11 roundup; top fed brass claims immunity
Los Angeles Times Jun 16, 08 3:01 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Supreme Court today agreed to hear an appeal from John Ashcroft, with the former attorney general insisting top government officials cannot be sued by immigrants who allege they were beaten and abused after 9/11. Lower courts have refused to dismiss a suit from a man who was held for 6 months before being deported to Pakistan—without being charged, the Los Angeles Times reports.
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VP battling House subpoena for key aide on interrogation policy
Reuters May 7, 08 10:13 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Whether a key Dick Cheney aide can be forced to testify is at the heart of a pending blow-up between Congress and the White House over a probe into interrogation techniques, Reuters reports. The House Judiciary Committee plans to subpoena Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington—but the vice president insists Addington, a key interrogation-policy player, can't be forced to testify.
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Meetings show high-level approval of CIA's 'enhanced' detainee treatment
ABC News Apr 10, 08 3:16 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Senior White House officials explicitly approved interrogation technique details in several meetings beginning in 2002, sources tell ABC. It was previously known that the CIA drafted a “Golden Shield” memo approving highly specific tactics for use on al-Qaeda detainees, but that top officials—including Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld—personally condoned the policy, on multiple occasions, is a new revelation.
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'Deferred prosecutions' cheaper, but may tempt companies to cheat
New York Times Apr 9, 08 9:43 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Instead of indicting major corporations for fraud and other forms of malfeasance, the Bush administration is relying more and more on deferred prosecutions, allowing companies to pay a fine and accept monitoring instead of going to trial. The name of the monitor and the details of the agreement are often kept secret, the New York Times reports.
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Nation's firearms laws in the balance as Supremes hear arguments
USA Today Mar 18, 08 9:08 AM CDT
(Newser)
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One of the oldest and most hotly debated constitutional amendments—the right to bear arms—comes under scrutiny by the Supreme Court today. The court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of Washington DC's stringent ban on handguns. The ruling, which will arrive in June, is sure to have a major impact on the national debate over firearms, USA Today notes.
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Ex-AG denies charges in House hearing
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Mar 11, 08 4:22 PM CDT
(Newser)
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John Ashcroft angrily denied congressional Democrats' allegations today that a lucrative no-bid contract the Justice Department awarded him represents a conflict of interest, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Democrats characterized the contract as a “backroom sweetheart deal” because Ashcroft's ex-subordinates selected his firm to monitor a medical supply company under investigation for providing kickbacks. The deal could be worth up to $52 million.
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Fine reaches $5K a day
until she discloses source
Associated Press Mar 8, 08 7:16 AM CST
(Newser)
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A judge yesterday held a former USA Today reporter in contempt of court for refusing to disclose her sources in stories about the 2001 anthrax attacks, the AP reports. He also ordered her to pay daily fines reaching $5,000 out of her own pocket until she cooperates . The reporter wrote about an ex-Army scientist under scrutiny in the attacks.
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Claims they leaked
info, caused 'severe emotional distress'
Los Angeles Times Jan 13, 08 5:02 PM CST
(Newser)
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A former army doctor identified as a "person of interest" in the 2001 anthrax attacks is suing three US officials for leaking information about him, the Los Angeles Times reports. In his five-year-old suit, physician Steven Hatfill claims the case caused him "severe emotional distress" and hindered his ability to find work. "Some of the most damaging information leaked in this case [came] straight out of the U.S. attorney's office, " said Hatfill's attorney.
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Mueller's notes call hospitalized Ashcroft 'barely articulate'
Washington Post Aug 17, 07 12:11 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Newly released notes taken by the FBI director in 2004 contradict Alberto Gonzales' Senate testimony about the internal conflict over the warrantless wiretapping program. Robert Mueller's heavily redacted notes refer to hospitalized AG John Ashcroft as "feeble" and "barely articulate," the Washington Post reports—a far cry from Gonzales' claim that his predecessor was "lucid."
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He's a creep but
not a criminal, says Post’s Marcus
Washington Post Jul 31, 07 4:52 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Alberto Gonzales’ Senate testimony last week was a disgraceful exercise in dodging, but the perjury charge Democratic senators have been hawking ever since doesn’t hold water, says the Washington Post ’s lefty Ruth Marcus. In an “unexpected position,” the writer defends Gonzales, saying he may have minced words in testimony about his Ashcroft sickbed visit—but probably didn’t lie.
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