15 Jul 2011

Thanks to FDL!

We’re still kicking around the tires a bit, but if you’d like to help us kick those tires, the new home for emptywheel is at emptywheel.net. As I’m leaving what has been home for the last three and a half years, I wanted to, first of all, wish Kevin Gosztola

1
15 Jul 2011

Sterling’s Graymail Attempt

As Josh Gerstein reported, back in June, Jeffrey Sterling asked the government for details about which parts of James Risen’s account of Merlin are true and which are false. His lawyers argue that Sterling cannot be guilty of disseminating national defense information if what he disseminated–as the government claims–was actually

4
14 Jul 2011

Happy Trails: Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

It has been an extreme honor and pleasure to have spent the last many years with you at Firedoglake. I cannot thank one and all enough for everything.

30
14 Jul 2011

Reggie Walton Unleashes the Rocket’s Red Glare

. Well well well. who couldda knowd?? Acute prosecutorial foul play has ended the big Roger Clemens perjury trial at it’s gestation. From ESPN: The judge presiding over Roger Clemens’ perjury trial declared a mistrial over inadmissible evidence shown to jurors. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said Clemens could not

51
14 Jul 2011

Darrell Issa Steps in It, Inadvertantly Reveals Improper Use of Congressional Funds to Serve AEI

Republicans are big fans of projection. When they’re neck-deep in conflicts of interest, they like to hide it by accusing Democrats of such conflicts. When they leak stuff, they accuse Democrats. When they mismanage stuff, they accuse Democrats. And yesterday, Darrell Issa got caught doing just that. A year ago,

27
13 Jul 2011

ACLU FOIAs CIA for Documents on Juan Cole

The ACLU has just FOIAed the CIA and Director of National Intelligence for any information on Juan Cole. It asks for, e-mails, letters, faxes, or other correspondence, memoranda, contemporaneous notes of meetings or phone calls, reports or any other material relating to the gathering, collecting, copying, collating, generating or other

14
13 Jul 2011

Obama Administration: Don’t Cut Construction Funding to Bahrain

In its statement of Administration policy on HR 2055–which funds military construction–the Administration expressed concern that the Senate had cut $100 million funding for two projects in Bahrain. The Administration is worried, you see, that such cuts would signal that we do not “stand by its allies.” The Administration is

4
13 Jul 2011

On Two Torture Investigations

Across the pond–in the investigation of British complicity with the torture of Binyam Mohamed and others–the Supreme Court has told the government it can’t present secret evidence. The supreme court has outlawed the use of secret evidence in court by the intelligence services to conceal allegations that detainees were tortured.

35
12 Jul 2011

Our Unilateral Counterterrorism Operations in Somalia

A detainee in what Jeremy Scahill describes as “a secret prison buried in the basement of Somalia’s National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters, where prisoners suspected of being Shabab members or of having links to the group are held”–one with key US involvement–describes his internment this way. I have been here

18
12 Jul 2011

Emptywheel Leaving Firedoglake

It is with very mixed feelings that I announce emptywheel will be leaving Firedoglake at the end of this week. About six years ago, I started blogging on the abuse of power. At first it was the CIA Leak case. Then it was torture. And warrantless wiretapping. And now drones

178