ACLU ad equates/morphs Obama with Bush

By GottaLaff

Ouch. The ACLU took out an ad in the New York Times that morphs President Obama into Bush. I can't think of a bigger insult or a worse juxtaposition:

The military commissions are seriously flawed and unprepared to handle these complex cases. If President Obama reverses his attorney general’s principled decision under political pressure, it will strike a devastating blow to American values and do serious damage to our nation’s credibility. We urge the president to do the right thing and keep these cases in federal court, where they belong.”

Personally, I don't like to equate President Obama with Bush, even in cases like this one. It's too harsh, even if there are similarities. IMHO, Bush is a war criminal, so I reserve comparisons to him for other thugs.

I do, however, agree with the points the ACLU is making.

They also wrote a letter to the president. You can read the whole thing here (click on images to enlarge):


The ad's full text:

What will it be Mr. President?
Change or more of the Same?

Candidate Barack Obama vowed to change the Bush-Cheney policies and restore America’s values of justice and due process. Many of us are shocked and concerned that right now, President Obama is considering reversing his attorney general’s decision to try the 9/11 defendants in criminal court. Our criminal justice system has successfully handled over 300 terrorism cases compared to only 3 in the military commissions. Our criminal justice system will resolve these cases more quickly and more credibly than the military commissions.

President Obama can vigorously prosecute terrorists and keep us safe without violating our Constitution.

As president, Barack Obama must decide whether he will keep his solemn promise to restore our Constitution and due process, or ignore his vow and continue the Bush-Cheney policies.

Tell President Obama not to back down on his commitment to our justice system, and to try the 9/11 defendants in criminal court.

Remind the world that America stands for due process, justice, and the rule of law.

I've written extensively about this subject; you can track all my posts here.

The ACLU took a tough, clear stand. Somebody had to.

Justice Department Intervenes In Gay Rights Suit For First Time In A Decade

By GottaLaff

This is a good example of why it matters who you support/vote for in any election, and why it is vital that you vote, period:

Yesterday, for the first time in a decade, the Justice Department intervened in a gay rights suit. In August, an openly gay 14-year-old student named Jacob — with the help of the ACLU — sued the Mohawk Central School District in upstate New York because officials “did not appropriately respond to relentless harassment, physical abuse and threats of violence” that Jacob received because of his sexual orientation. NPR reported on some of the harassment to which Jacob alleges he was subjected.

The heartbreaking details are here.

So are the heartening ones, including:

Under Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, the Justice Department has had a dramatically different focus than it did during President Bush’s terms. While the Bush Justice Department was focused on installing political cronies, going after mythical voter fraud cases, and the suppression of minority voters while looking out for the voter disenfranchisement of whites. The Obama Justice Department, by contrast, recently announced that it would also start aggressively going after “banks and mortgage brokers suspected of discriminating against minority applicants in lending.”

"It doesn't matter if I vote. The candidates are interchangeable. Someone else will cancel out my vote anyway." Wrong.

This boy's life was changed because of who Americans elected. He knows the ObamAdministration is looking out for him. He won't feel quite as alone and helpless any more.

He may even feel optimistic that change is in the air, no matter how incrementally, and that there's reason for hope... all because enough people exercised their right to vote.

As frustrated as some of us may be with Obama, this is one time we can come together and unite behind him.

Blistering Indictment Leveled Against Obama Over His Handling of Bush-Era War Crimes

By GottaLaff

Jason Leopold, a very thorough, very talented investigative reporter, has done an extensive piece on the Obama administration and its handling of BushCo war crimes.

It's not easy to read some of his words, because the facts aren't what some of us want them to be. As much as I admire President Obama and understand that he's been in office for a very short time, there are a few decisions that I question.

There is no way he can solve every problem (and there are so, so many) facing this country, and I hear complaint after complaint that he hasn't addressed every issue "right now!" That's absurd. He's done an outstanding job of sorting through the mountain of waste product that he inherited, and rectified some hugely important "mistakes".

However, he has dealt with a few leftovers in a way that made me raise my eyebrows:

Officials from the civil rights organization [ACLU] issued a withering indictment of the Obama administration’s handling of clear-cut cases of war crimes they say were committed by former Bush officials who the Obama administration not only refuses to prosecute but has gone to extraordinary lengths to cover up.

"We're increasingly disappointed and alarmed by the current administration's stance on accountability for torture," said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, during a conference call with reporters. "On every front, the [Obama] administration is actively obstructing accountability. This administration is shielding Bush administration officials from civil liability, criminal investigation and even public scrutiny for their role in authorizing torture." [...]

Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley said the Obama administration "has gutted the hard-fought victories in Nuremberg where lawyers and judges were often guilty of war crimes in their legal advice and opinions."

"If successful in [the Padilla] case, the Obama Administration will succeed in returning the world to the rules leading to the war crimes at Nuremberg," Turley said. "Quite a legacy for the world’s newest Nobel Peace Prize winner."

What’s remarkable about the Obama Justice Department’s amicus brief in the Padilla case is that it didn't need to be filed to begin with. Yoo hired a private defense attorney, albeit one who is paid for with taxpayer dollars, earlier this year when the Justice Department backed out of representing Yoo due to undisclosed conflicts.

There is a whole lot more. Jason's a detail-oriented writer, so please take a look.

I don't have the expertise to know if, legally speaking, the administration is tending to these matters properly or not. But after hearing what Lt. Col. Barry Wingard has told me (military attorney for Fayiz al-Kandari), among others, I do have questions.

And as far as I'm concerned, after living through 2001-8, questions are a healthy thing to have.

Group challenges phone companies’ wiretapping immunity

By GottaLaff

The BushCo wiretaps are being challenged again. Good:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is appealing, on behalf of several plaintiffs, a June federal court decision that upheld legislation that protects the companies, who acted without court authorization, from being prosecuted. [...]

EFF argues that the legislation is "unconstitutional" because it grants "the attorney general the unconstrained power to decide whether to nullify existing federal and state law governing these actions." [...]

EFF, a privacy group that focuses on civil rights on the Internet, is working with the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of 46 plaintiffs to challenge the legislation.

After 9/11, it was "anything goes". BushCo used fear tactics to advance their greedy little power grabs, secrecy, and otherwise criminal and unconstitutional agenda at every opportunity they had.

And that included eavesdropping on fellow Americans.

Supreme Court sides with government in detainee photo case

By GottaLaff

No surprise here:

The Supreme Court has thrown out an appeals court ruling ordering the disclosure of photographs of detainees being abused by their U.S. captors.

In doing so Monday, the high court cited a recent change in federal law that allows the pictures to be withheld.

I've written about this extensively, because without these photos, many defendants will be deprived of evidence (I know this first hand because of my ongoing correspondence with Lt. Col. Barry Wingard; see my links below), and will we as a nation.

I understand the arguments on both sides, but still continue to disagree with the ruling.

******

All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only Fayiz al-Kandari's story here. Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

Lt. Col. Barry Wingard is a military attorney who represents Fayiz Al-Kandari in the Military Commission process and in no way represents the opinions of his home state. When not on active duty, Colonel Wingard is a public defender in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

More of Fayiz's story here, at Answers.com.

ACLU sues Defense, State Dep't., DoJ, CIA for files on Bagram prisoners

By GottaLaff

Go get 'em, ACLU!

After months of asking politely and being refused, the American Civil Liberties Union has sued the U.S. Departments of Defense, State and Justice, along with the Central Intelligence Agency, to obtain files on prisoners in U.S. custody at the Bagram detention center in Afghanistan.

"There is growing concern that Bagram has become the new Guantánamo – except with hundreds more prisoners, held indefinitely in reportedly harsher conditions, with no access to lawyers or courts," said Melissa Goodman, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project, in a media advisory. "Yet the public is still in the dark when it comes to basic facts such as whom our military is holding there, for how long and on what grounds, and the rules that govern their detention, release and treatment. As long as the Bagram prison is shrouded in secrecy, there is no way to know the truth or begin to address the problems that may exist."

Sound familiar? It should (see bottom of post). I write about this nearly every day. Why? Because, as we say about the Rushpublics, repetition, repetition, repetition works. We need to pay attention to these injustices and not let up until we see real change.

But unlike the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay -- the US naval base in Cuba where over 200 "war on terror" detainees are still held -- the Bagram inmates have had no access to lawyers, no right to hear the allegations against them and only rudimentary reviews of their status as "enemy combatants."

President Barack Obama's administration argued in a filing with the US Court of Appeals in Washington that terror suspects at Bagram should not be allowed to challenge their decision in US courts, a right the Supreme Court has granted to Guantanamo detainees.

US District Judge John Bates ruled in April that foreign prisoners held at Bagram should also be provided that right, enshrined in the writ of habeas corpus. [...]

"When prisoners are in American custody and under American control, no matter the location, our values and commitment to the rule of law are at stake," said Jonathan Hafetz, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project, in an April press release. "Now that President Obama has taken the positive step of ordering Guantánamo shut down, it is critical that we don't permit ‘other Gitmos' to continue elsewhere."

It's time for President Obama to take positive leaps, not steps. From what I've been hearing from reliable sources, DoJ isn't doing the Gitmo prisoners any favors, either.

****

All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only Fayiz al-Kandari's story here. Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

More of Fayiz's story here, at Answers.com.

VIDEO: Bill O'Reilly's Thug Producer Goes After ACLU Lawyer Over CIA Case

By GottaLaff

I want to scream. "Get out of my face!" indeed.

Bile O'LIElly's "despicable" utterance was almost amusing, since he failed to identify which of the two people in the video he was referencing. Why, if I didn't know better, I might believe he was referring to his little pet ClusterFox scumbag:



As far as how I feel about the content of the video, I think you already know. See below.

****************

All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only Fayiz al-Kandari's story here. Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

More of Fayiz's story here, at Answers.com.

ACLU lobbyist, gay rights/pro-choice activist Larry Frankel found dead: Update

By GottaLaff

A day or so ago, I posted about the mysterious death of Larry Frankel. That post fills you in on what an effective activist he was.

Here's a little bit more information:

ACLU lobbyist Larry Frankel was the man found dead in Rock Creek Park on Friday, a local blog reported Monday.

D.C. Police found Frankel lying face down in the creek on Friday morning dressed in jogging clothes, according to the DCist blog.

Frankel was the state legislative director in the ACLU’s Washington office. He had been missing since at least Wednesday, the blog reported.

Frankel is believed to have died of natural causes.

R.I.P.

ACLU lobbyist, gay rights/pro-choice activist Larry Frankel found dead

By GottaLaff

A town hall meeting in York, PA, on October 10, 2007, addressed LGBT discrimination. Featuring Larry Frankel, Legislative Director of ACLU-PA...

This is the kind of mystery I do not like to report:

Longtime Pennsylvania ACLU lobbyist and Executive Director Larry Frankel, who in the last year or so has become the lobbyist for the national ACLU, has apparently been found dead in Washington under mysterious circumstances. This is a breaking news story in which most key facts are still generally unknown.

Frankel was an outstanding lobbyist for the Pennsylvania ACLU in Harrisburg, taking positions on scores to hundreds of bills each year. He was a coalition builder reminiscent of Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate or William Brennan on the U.S. Supreme Court, who aggressively reached out to unlikely allies like the National Rifle Association to help persuade members of the legislature that the ACLU was addressing broad concerns.

His aggressive outreach removed the ACLU from the fringes or margins of state policy and moved it toward the center of direct involvement.

A proud gay man, he was militant on the issue of gay marriage [...]

Larry believed in the importance of facts in making decisions. His correspondence with legislators was full of facts. [...]

He made progress on hard issues, such as the death penalty and mandatory minimum sentences, by documenting their high fiscal costs. [...]

He was a strong voice on freedom of choice, equal rights for women, and freedom of speech. [...] But he was tenacious, factual, honest, and decent, and he earned the deep respect of virtually all with whom he came into contact. [...]

He was one of the finest human beings to serve as a lobbyist, and his daily work honored the lobbying profession, as well as the ACLU and the gay community.

I searched around and couldn't find anything else on this. If anyone out there knows more, or can link me to other sources, I'd greatly appreciate it.

After the Dr. Tiller assassination, this is more than a little worrisome, but the facts aren't in yet, so... it's wait-and-see time.

H/t: Galelem

DOJ May Skirt Court Order on Interrogation Documents, Go Generic

By GottaLaff

We've all seen what a few disclosures about torture can do. They were revelatory, were they not? More are due out soon, but oh, wait a minute, er... well...

The Obama administration may circumvent the spirit of a judge’s order to disclose hundreds of documents relating to the CIA’s Bush-era interrogation program, delivering instead generic descriptions of the documents and legal arguments for continued nondisclosure. [...]

On July 20, Judge Allen Hellerstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the government needed to complete a review of the documents for declassification in response to an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Monday, Aug. 31.

My original post on more CIA documents coming out Monday is here. Seems there's a glitch:

But after The Washington Independent reported on the forthcoming disclosure, an administration official who insisted on anonymity emailed to say the report was inaccurate. Asked if there would be any disclosures on Monday, the official responded, “Nope.”

Oh. Hm. Damn.

Hellerstein, however, ordered in July that the government had the option of submitting a so-called “Vaughn declaration,” a FOIA term detailing, as Hellerstein wrote, legal reasons “setting forth the justification for withholding the information.” [...] Hellerstein’s office, which declined to comment on the record, said the judge’s ruling from July 21 was still in effect and the Justice Department had yet to file any motions to extend the deadline for disclosure. [...]

The ACLU said late on Friday afternoon that it expected to receive a Vaughn declaration on Monday and not the documents themselves. “This past week, the Obama administration released documents that shed some much-needed light on theCIA’s rendition, detention and interrogation program,” said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU’s national-security project. “Some of the most crucial documents, though, are still being withheld. The documents that the CIA is required to review for possible release by Monday would, if released, fill in some of the remaining gaps in the public record.”

Rachel Myers, a representative for the ACLU, said the organization expects to continue litigating to receive the still-withheld documents.

I'll just sit over here and wait, if nobody minds. I won't be in the way.

Even More CIA Documents to Be Disclosed Monday

By GottaLaff

Polish up them reading glasses folks:

The deluge continues. Word comes that in response to pending requests from the American Civil Liberties Union, another tranche of CIA documents about Bush-era interrogations and detentions could be released as early as Monday. [...]

[...] like about 129 documents from the closed CIA inspector general files, including interview reports, cables, emails and more. And then about 138 documents from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel that the CIA insisted on classifying.

The thread-pulling continues...

ACLU Asks the Supreme Court to Hear Its Case for Declassifying Torture Photos

By GottaLaff

It's Friday Dump Time! And that mean's it's time for Torture Talk!

[...] ACLU is taking its case for declassifying hundreds of photographs documenting the torture of detainees by U.S. personnel — blocked by President Obama after a flip-flop — to the high court:

NEW YORK – The government today asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a court ruling requiring the release of photos depicting the abuse of prisoners held in U.S. custody at overseas locations. In September 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered the government to turn over the photos in response to an ACLU Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. The Obama administration originally indicated that it would not appeal that decision and would release the photos, but abruptly reversed its position shortly before the agreed-upon deadline.

“The appeals court soundly rejected all of the government’s arguments for withholding the photos, and it’s unfortunate that the government has chosen to contest that decision,” said Amrit Singh, staff attorney with the ACLU. “These photos would provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel was not aberrational but widespread, reaching far beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib. As disturbing as the photos may be, it is critical that the American people know the full truth about the abuse that occurred in their name.”

And that concludes today's Friday Dump episode of Torture Talk, brought to you by Hotel Gitmo. Come for a week, stay for 8 years!

All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only Fayiz al-Kandari's story here. Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

More of Fayiz's story here, at Answers.com.

ACLU: End indefinite detention, end Gitmo military commissions

By GottaLaff

I get e-mails:

Dear ACLU Supporter,

This week and next, the mammoth Defense Department Authorization bill is on the Senate floor.

This must-pass legislation could easily become a vehicle for amendments to stop the closing of Guantánamo Bay, undermine efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the Bush torture program, and -- most troubling of all -- promote a new system of indefinite detention without charge or trial. In fact, the bill already has language that would allow the Guantánamo military commissions to continue to convict people based on coerced confessions.

Email your senators and tell them not to let the Defense Department Authorization bill become a vehicle for undermining civil liberties.

Your voice and that of hundreds of thousands of other ACLU activists are being heard in Washington. After months and months of pressure and newer, more disturbing revelations, Attorney General Holder is close to appointing a special prosecutor to investigate torture. And we have allies in the White House and in Congress who are committed to cleaning up the mess left by the Bush administration.

There are also some dangerous proposals being considered -- including indefinite detention without charge or trial. That is why it is so critical for you to contact to your senators today and ask them to:

• Support the President's commitment to shutdown Guantánamo by January 2010.
• End Guantánamo military commissions, and charge and try any alleged terrorists in federal criminal courts.
• Totally reject indefinite detention without charge and without trial. Nothing could be more un-American than giving the federal government the power to imprison people indefinitely without charge or trial.

Please help the ACLU create a drumbeat letting Congress and the White House know that Americans want them to move forward. Congress should not codify and expand Bush Administration policies.

Email your senators and tell them not to let the Defense Department Authorization bill become a vehicle for undermining civil liberties.

With critical civil liberties issues about to hit the Senate floor, we have to be as vocal as possible. Please take a moment right now to contact your senators. And please stay alert to fast-moving events in the days ahead.

Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero Executive Director American Civil Liberties Union

P.S. The news last weekend that Attorney General Eric Holder is actively considering launching a torture investigation is encouraging. It is because of the hard work of ACLU attorneys and advocates and the voices of activists like you that we are at this point. We’ll be counting on you to make sure he follows through -- and to insist that an investigation is as thorough and far-reaching as it needs to be.

All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

Newly Released CIA Documents Describe Systematic Torture of Detainees

By GottaLaff

Within the next week or so, I'll be posting series of rather lengthy posts about conversations I've been having with the lawyer of a Gitmo detainee. I'll have quotes from the detainee and some insight into the Obama administration regarding Gitmo and its prisoners.

I have been told by the lawyer that I am most likely now being monitored because of my frequent correspondence/phone calls with him.

In the meantime:

The CIA released still-highly redacted documents in which Guantánamo Bay prisoners describe abuse and torture they suffered in CIA custody. The documents were released as part of an American Civil Liberties Union Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking uncensored transcripts from Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) that determine if prisoners held by the Defense Department at Guantánamo qualify as "enemy combatants." In previously released versions of the documents, the CIA had removed virtually all references to the abuse of prisoners in their custody; the documents released today are still heavily blacked out but include some new information.[...]

These statements include:

• Abu Zubaydah: "After months of suffering and torture, physically and mentally, they did not care about my injuries that they inflicted to my eye, to my stomach, to my bladder, and my left thigh and my reproductive organs. They didn't care that I almost died from these injuries. Doctors told me that I nearly died four times." "They say ‘this in your diary.' They say ‘see you want to make operation against America.' I say no, the idea is different. They say no, torturing, torturing. I say ‘okay, I do. I was decide to make operation.'"

• Al Nashiri: "[And, they used to] drown me in water."

• Muhammad: "This is what I understand he [CIA interrogator] told me: you are not American and you are not on American soil. So you cannot ask about the Constitution."

• Khan: "In the end, any classified information you have is through…agencies who physically and mentally tortured me."

Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:

"The Obama administration should make good on its commitment to transparency, stop suppressing information about torture and abuse and hold accountable the officials who put unlawful policies in place."

More information about the ACLU's CSRT FOIA, including the documents released today, is available online at: www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/csrtfoia.html

Please take a look at this, while we're on the subject: "Torture, the painful truth."

ACLU: ObamAdministration will defend Patriot Act ‘gag order’ letters

By GottaLaff

Here we go again:

The Obama administration will not ask the Supreme Court to review the national security letter provision of the Patriot Act, which has been criticized as unconstitutional by civil rights groups and curtailed by a lower court following a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.

By not seeking a review, the ACLU said, the administration is committing itself to defending the Bush-era rule.

The ACLU’s full press release here.

CIA Refuses to Turn Over Torture Tape Documents

By GottaLaff

CYA is more like it:

The CIA claims the integrity of a special prosecutor's criminal investigation into the destruction of 92 interrogation videotapes will be compromised if the agency is forced to turn over detailed documents to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) describing the contents of the tapes, according to newly released court documents.

In a May 5 letter to US District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Lev Dassin, the acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the Justice Department recently had discussions with prosecutors working on the criminal investigation into the destruction of the interrogation tapes and was informed that "the production of documents ... would conflict and substantially interfere with the [criminal] investigation" into the destruction of the interrogation tapes.

"As the court is aware, the scope of the tapes investigation includes the review of whether any person obstructed justice, knowingly made materially false statements, or acted in contempt of court or Congress in connection with the destruction of videotapes," Dassin's letter says. "The Government thus respectfully requests that [a previous court order demanding the CIA turn over detailed descriptions of the contents of the destroyed tapes] be withdrawn or otherwise stayed until the tapes investigation has been completed."

Amrit Singh, an ACLU staff attorney, said the move is "a classic CIA delay tactic."

More here.

CIA Refuses to Turn Over Torture Tape Documents to ACLU

By GottaLaff

I have to admit, I'm torn. And I'm torn because I really don't know if this is, indeed, a delaying tactic, or if it's legitimate, or both. Somebody fill me in (I feel a Clancy coming on....) . I plead semi-ignorance:

The CIA claims the integrity of a special prosecutor’s criminal investigation into the destruction of 92 interrogation videotapes will be compromised if the agency if forced to turn over to the American Civil Liberties Union detailed documents identifying the individuals responsible for destroying the material, the reasons for the purge, and the torturous tactics depicted on the tapes, according to newly released court documents.

In a May 5 letter to U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Lev Dassin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the Justice Department recently had discussions with prosecutors working on the criminal investigation into the destruction of the interrogation tapes and was informed that “the production of documents...would conflict and substantially interfere with the [criminal] investigation” into the destruction of the interrogation tapes.

“As the court is aware, the scope of the tapes investigation includes the review of whether any person obstructed justice, knowingly made materially false statements, or acted in contempt of court or Congress in connection with the destruction of videotapes,” Dassin's letter says. “The Government thus respectfully requests that [a previous court order demanding the CIA turn over detailed descriptions of the contents of the destroyed tapes] be withdrawn or otherwise stayed until the tapes investigation has been completed.”

Amrit Singh, an ACLU staff attorney, said the move is “a classic CIA delay tactic.”

In court papers, she said the government is using the criminal investigation “as a pretext for indefinitely postponing” its obligation to produce documents related to the destruction of the videotapes.

That rings true to me. The judge seems to agree with that ringing of truth I hear:

“The Government makes no mention of an expected timeline for completion of [Special Prosecutor John] Durham['s] investigation,” the ACLU’s said in court papers. “Nor has Mr. Durham provided a declaration in support of the Government’s position.”

Hellerstein seemed to agree. He pointed out in a two-page order that Durham had not stepped forward to state that his probe would be hindered if documents related to the destruction of the tapes were turned over to the ACLU.

Much more here.

H/t: The Joshua Blog

Note to Talking Heads!!

Since the new meme du jour from the Wingers is, "Why selectively release memos that reflect badly on the Bush Administration? Why didn't they release the other memos?"**, please note-

Torture Documents Released Under FOIA

The ACLU filed a request on Oct. 7, 2003, under the Freedom of Information Act demanding the release of information about detainees held overseas by the United States. While many documents have been released, many vital records are still being withheld by the government.

Note the wording- "information about detainees held overseas". Not "information on the success of interrogation methods in thwarting new attacks". You want those memos, then request them here. The CIA released just (and barely) what was requested, as they would.

**Twice earlier on Faux and just now on MSNBC.

CIA Interrogation Tapes Predated Torture Memo

By GottaLaff

Get out the blood pressure cuffs, or as I like to call them, sphygmomanometers. After that, maybe we can all get together and organize a nationwide grassroots tea tantrum... only ours will be for a real cause by real citizens who are outraged enough to undertake a real uprising who are retaliating against a real crime:

The CIA began videotaping interrogations of two alleged “high value” terrorist detainees in April 2002, four months before Bush administration attorneys issued a memo clearing the way for CIA interrogators to use “enhanced interrogation techniques,” the Justice Department disclosed in court documents.

However, in a letter to a federal court judge Thursday, the Justice Department only agreed to provide details on the harshest interrogations of prisoner Abu Zubaydah that occurred in August 2002 – after the Bush administration's lawyers had provided the legal cover for waterboarding and other brutal tactics.

That letter prompted ACLU lawyers to express concern over why the government offered no promises regarding the preceding months. Amrit Singh, an ACLU staff attorney, said the government’s “motivations in confining its [latest] response to the month of August are highly suspect.”

The ACLU is suing the CIA to release documents related to 92 interrogation videotapes that were destroyed by the CIA in 2005 as public attention began focusing on allegations that the Bush administration had subjected “war on terror” detainees to brutal interrogations that crossed the line into torture.

Lev Dassin, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the government intends to provide the civil liberties organization “contemporaneous records that described the interrogations at issue … for the month of August 2002 (approximately 65 documents)." [...]

“It seems like the letter provides no explanation for why records for other months should not be included in the government’s work plan,” the ACLU’s Singh said in an interview. “We already know that an FBI agent who witnessed Abu Zubaydah’s interrogation prior to August 2002 said he believed it to be ‘borderline torture.’”

Much more here.

H/t

Obama Clings to Extraordinary Executive Power

By GottaLaff

At TPC, most of us are pretty supportive of President Obama. But we are also not adverse to calling him out when we don't like what we see. This is one of those times:

Now that the Obama administration has decided to transfer al-Marri out of the South Carolina Navy brig — where he’s been imprisoned without charge for the last seven years — and charge him in federal court, the habeas corpus petition the American Civil Liberties Union filed on al-Marri’s behalf would seem to be moot. After all, the ACLU had asked for their client to be transferred to civilian custody and charged in a regular court. The Department of Justice did just that Feb. 27, charging al-Marri under federal criminal law with providing material support to al-Qaeda.

The Obama Justice Department now asks the Supreme Court to dismiss al-Marri’s appeal. But if the court agrees, it would leave in place the court of appeals’ ruling that the federal government has the right to hold a lawful U.S. resident in prison without charge indefinitely, as long as the president designates him an “enemy combatant.” The court could, alternatively, vacate the Fourth Circuit’s decision, but that would leave the question undecided, except in the district of South Carolina where the court ruled that the government did not have that extraordinary power.

All of which raises the obvious question: Why Is the Obama administration clinging to the right to hold lawful U.S. residents indefinitely without charge on U.S. soil? [...]

In asking the Supreme Court to dismiss al-Marri’s case, the Obama administration wrote that the possibility that al-Marri will be re-designated an enemy combatant and therefore subject to indefinite detention is a “subjective fear” that is “remote and speculative.” But still possible. [...]

So the government reserves the right to use evidence from his criminal trial to re-classify al-Marri as an “enemy combatant” subject to indefinite detention?

The ACLU, which is representing al-Marri, is pleased that the Obama administration transferred him out of military custody. But now they’re left arguing that the Supreme Court should hear a case that, as a practical matter, doesn’t really exist anymore. [...]

As Jonathan Haftez, the lead ACLU lawyer on the appeal, explained earlier today, the Obama Justice Department has “refused to defend an illegal policy. But they have not explicitly repudiated the domestic detention powers. They should have done that.”

Am I missing something?