Terrorism

Clear Shutters: No More Expedited Security Lanes at Airports

The expedited security system put in place post-9/11 to ease travel restrictions on frequent fliers has been grounded. USA Today reports that Verified Identity Pass, which operated its Clear program in 18 airports, has shut down operations. Verified, which was launched by American Lawyer founder Steven Brill, was “unable to…

Jun 23, 2009 4:36 PM CDT

Free Gitmo Detainee, Judge Orders, Says US Position ‘Defies Common Sense’

Finding that a captured videotape of Abd Al Rahim Abdul Rassak shows him being tortured by al-Qaida as a suspected American spy, a federal judge has rejected as ridiculous a U.S. government position that he continues to be a legitimate detainee in a terrorism case. In a 13-page habeas corpus…

Jun 23, 2009 12:26 AM CDT

Sotomayor Hinted at Legal Concerns over Terrorism War in 2003 Lecture

Judge Sonia Sotomayor provided hints that she has concerns about some aspects of the war on terrorism—including expanded government wiretap authority—during a 2003 law school lecture. The New York Times examined the speech (PDF) and some of Sotomayor’s rulings on government actions taken in an effort to combat terrorism. The…

Jun 17, 2009 1:48 PM CDT

Congressman Skeptical About Claims of Accidental NSA E-Mail Intercepts

Some congressional officials are privately expressing skepticism about government claims that overbroad collection of e-mail and telephone calls was accidental. Concerns are being voiced as several congressional committees are investigating the National Security Agency’s terrorism surveillance program, the New York Times reports. The probes were spurred by the disclosure that…

Jun 17, 2009 1:11 PM CDT

Judge Allows Lawsuit Claiming John Yoo’s Legal Memos Led to Torture

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit claiming legal memos written by former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo led to the torture of a convicted terrorist. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of San Francisco allowed most of the claims against Yoo, saying even enemy combatants retain constitutional protections,…

Jun 15, 2009 12:03 PM CDT

Administration Reconsiders Plans to Release Gitmo Detainees in US

The United States may not become the new home for some Guantanamo detainees after all. The Washington Post reports that the White House has “all but abandoned plans” to allow some detainees to live here. Administration officials revealed the change in thinking as the United States released to Bermuda four…

Jun 12, 2009 11:18 AM CDT

American Convicted on Terrorism Conspiracy Charge

A naturalized U.S. citizen was convicted of conspiracy to support terrorists four years after he and an alleged co-conspirator videotaped landmarks in Washington, D.C., and sent the footage to “Jihadi people” he met online. Investigators say they later discovered that Syed Haris Ahmed shared the footage with two men who…

Jun 10, 2009 5:58 PM CDT

Chicago US Attorney Says Book Partly Blames Him for Sept. 11

The corruption-fighting U.S. attorney in Chicago is threatening to sue a publisher over an upcoming book that, in his view, partly blames him for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago sent a letter to HarperCollins warning that he will sue if the book Triple Cross…

Jun 9, 2009 4:41 PM CDT

Guantanamo Detainee Flown to US for Bombing Trial

The first Guantanamo detainee to be tried in civilian federal court arrived on U.S. soil today. Ahmed Ghailani will appear in a New York federal court later today on charges he helped build bombs detonated in U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, the Associated Press and Reuters report.…

Jun 9, 2009 11:19 AM CDT

Supreme Court Holds Iraq Is Immune from Terrorism Suits

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Iraq has immunity from lawsuits brought by Americans abused by the regime of Saddam Hussein. The court in a unanimous opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia ruled that Iraq’s immunity was restored by an order of President George W. Bush issued under a law…

Jun 8, 2009 3:51 PM CDT

Some DOJ Lawyers Who Questioned Waterboarding Agreed it Was Legal

In 2005, Justice Department lawyers differed over the propriety of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects, but all agreed that it was legal. Even lawyers who raised objections to some of the methods—including James Comey and Daniel Levin—agreed they were legal under a 1994 anti-torture law, the…

Jun 8, 2009 12:13 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Suits Claiming Illegal Wiretaps by Telecoms

A federal judge has upheld a law immunizing telecommunications companies from liability for participating in the government’s warrantless wiretapping program and dismissed dozens of lawsuits seeking damages. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of San Francisco tossed the suits yesterday, but allowed a different suit to proceed that was filed…

Jun 4, 2009 11:30 AM CDT

Federal Judge Tells DOJ to Make Gitmo Case Files Public

Siding with the media and lawyers representing detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., today gave the government a July 29 deadline. By that date, the U.S. Department of Justice must either to seek to protect specific information about the cases against…

Jun 2, 2009 12:25 AM CDT

Calling All Movie Buffs & Bloggers to ABA Award-Winning Trial Film Event June 2

The man who created The Response, a film dramatization of the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals that won an ABA Silver Gavel Award this year, will talk about his work and answer questions tomorrow at an ABA public program. Writer-producer and actor Sig Libowitz will be at ABA headquarters in Chicago…

Jun 1, 2009 11:29 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge Threatens US Sanctions in Case Over Claimed Warrantless Attorney Wiretaps

In the latest potential prosecutorial embarrassment for the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal judge in California is threatening to sanction the government in a case brought over claimed warrantless wiretapping during the Bush administration of legal counsel for a now-defunct Oregon charity. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of…

May 26, 2009 10:24 PM CDT