Federal Government

Satellite Surveillance Ground Rules to Promise Legal Compliance

Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff plans to release the legal ground rules this week for a planned satellite surveillance program in the United States. Chertoff had delayed the program after congressional critics raised questions about whether the program will preserve Americans’ privacy and civil liberties. The charter to be released…

Dec 20, 2007 4:12 PM CST

Administration Drops Effort to Influence JAG Promotions

The general counsel of the Defense Department has ditched a controversial plan that would have given the administration a say in the promotions of military lawyers. The plan would have allowed politically appointed lawyers in the Pentagon to veto the promotions of lawyers in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, the…

Dec 20, 2007 1:03 PM CST

CIA to Turn Over Documents About Destroyed Interrogation Tapes

The CIA will turn over documents about the destruction of videotaped interrogations to the House Intelligence Committee, congressional and intelligence officials told the New York Times. The CIA’s top lawyer, John Rizzo, will be made available to testify, but it’s unclear if the official who ordered the destruction of the…

Dec 20, 2007 12:03 PM CST

Mukasey Limits White House Contacts in Pending Probes

New guidelines issued by Attorney General Michael Mukasey limit contact between Justice Department and White House officials in pending civil and criminal investigations. The guidelines say the Justice Department will advise the White House about such pending matters “only where it is important for the performance of the president’s duties…

Dec 20, 2007 11:34 AM CST

Detainees Quietly Released from Pakistan’s Secret Detention System

Pakistan has quietly freed nearly 100 terrorism suspects, apparently to avoid embarrassing revelations about the country’s secret detention system, the New York Times reports. In at least two instances, detainees were handed over to U.S. authorities without formal extradition. In another, a detainee suspected in the death of U.S. journalist…

Dec 19, 2007 12:20 PM CST

At Least Four White House Lawyers Debated Videotape Destruction

White House officials were more involved in discussions about the destruction of videotaped interrogations of al-Qaida suspects than previously reported. At least four White House lawyers were part of the discussions, the New York Times reports. They are Alberto Gonzales, who was White House counsel until early 2005; Harriet Miers,…

Dec 19, 2007 11:37 AM CST

Judge Orders Hearing Into Destruction of Interrogation Videotapes

A federal judge has scheduled a hearing (PDF) Friday to consider whether the CIA violated a court order barring the destruction of evidence by destroying two videotaped interrogations. U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy of Washington, D.C., refused a Justice Department request to stay out of the controversy, the Associated Press…

Dec 18, 2007 4:56 PM CST

White House Visitor Logs Open to Public Scrutiny

In a blow to the Bush administration’s effort to keep its roster of visitors private, a federal judge has ruled that the White House visitor logs are public. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, of the District of Columbia, issued a memorandum opinion (PDF) on Monday that the White House…

Dec 17, 2007 7:12 PM CST

Terrorists Not the Only Targets of Government Secret Surveillance

The government’s data-mining program, in which it enlists telecommunications companies to help find suspicious calling patterns, isn’t being used exclusively to find terrorists. The government has cited the National Security Agency’s reliance on warrantless wiretaps to catch terrorists as it seeks legislation to extend the program and protect cooperating companies.…

Dec 17, 2007 4:52 PM CST

Congress, DOJ Clash re CIA Videotapes Probe

Congress and the Department of Justice apparently may be headed for a showdown over the issue of whose investigation takes precedence concerning videotapes of al-Qaida interrogations destroyed by the CIA. Members of the House Intelligence Committee reacted angrily yesterday to a Justice Department request that the committee postpone their investigation…

Dec 15, 2007 9:47 AM CST

Bush Aides Cited for Contempt in Prosecutor Probe

In the latest move toward a potential constitutional showdown between Congress and the White House, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted today to hold two aides to President George W. Bush in contempt for failing to cooperate with its probe of why nine U.S. attorneys were fired. White House Chief of…

Dec 13, 2007 4:56 PM CST

CIA Chief Says Congress Not Fully Informed About Tapes

CIA Director Michael Hayden told journalists yesterday that his agency had not kept Congress fully informed about videotaped interrogations of terrorism suspects, both at the time the tapes were made and when they were destroyed three years later. Hayden’s comments to reporters “struck a different tone” than a message sent…

Dec 13, 2007 1:03 PM CST

CIA Chief Can’t Answer Key Questions About Destroyed Tapes

CIA director Michael Hayden told the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday that he couldn’t answer key questions about two interrogation videotapes made and destroyed before he took over leadership of the agency in 2006. “Other people in the agency know about this far better than I,” Hayden told reporters after the…

Dec 12, 2007 2:02 PM CST

In Rare Public Opinion, US Spy Court Keeps Prior Rulings Secret

In its third public ruling in its 29-year history, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said today that it will not make public secret rulings striking down portions of a controversial warrantless wiretapping program by the American government. Citing national security concerns, the ultra-secret court denied in its opinion (PDF) an…

Dec 11, 2007 11:09 PM CST

Lawyer: CIA Has Photos of Outsourced Torture of Gitmo Suspect

A lawyer for a Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspect allegedly tortured in Morocco when his interrogation was outsourced by the U.S. says the CIA was present and has photographs of the physical abuse of his client. Binyam Mohamed, a 27-year-old Ethiopian was sliced in the chest and penis by interrogators during…

Dec 11, 2007 6:43 PM CST