The Political Chase

BREAKING: FBI Receiving Unauthorized Email Access

(Update I - III below)

When FISA expires tonight, will the FBI still be able to receive unauthorized email access from an entire computer network by an “unnamed Internet provider, which mistakenly turned over all the e-mail from a small e-mail domain,” when it “set its filtering equipment to trap far more data than a judge had actually authorized.”

Mistakenly, yup.

New and improved revelations courtesy of Eric Lichtblau at the New York Times. I suppose he’ll get a grand jury subpoena from the Justice Department that’s just like James Risen’s.

Update I: Well, this should certainly add to the FISA debate when Congress returns.

The episode is an unusual example of what has become a regular if little-noticed occurrence, as American officials have expanded their technological tools: government officials, or the private companies they rely on for surveillance operations, sometimes foul up their instructions about what they can and cannot collect.

The problem has received no discussion as part of the fierce debate in Congress about whether to expand the government’s wiretapping authorities and give legal immunity to private telecommunications companies that have helped in those operations.

But an intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because surveillance operations are classified, said: “It’s inevitable that these things will happen. It’s not weekly, but it’s common.”

Update II: Interesting. How and why does the lead story of the largest newspaper in the world get buried in less than one hour?

This was the Times’ lead story on the web site when I checked it at 7:40 PM ET. And the timestamp indicated it was published “39 minutes ago”. At 8:29 PM ET, I went back to the site and the piece was not referenced anywhere on the front page. I then checked the U.S. section and there was no reference to it there, but it was listed at the top of the Washington sub-section.

As of 9:11 PM ET the timestamp says it was published “32 minutes ago,” or 8:39 PM ET. I captured this image of the front page at 8:59 PM ET.

This is an image from the Washington section as of 9:11 PM ET.

Update III:  Poltergeist. It’s back on the front page (11:07 PM ET), not the lede, but present and accounted for. Go figure.

DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Over CIA Tapes

From AP:

Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed an outside prosecutor Wednesday to lead a criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes.

The CIA acknowledged last month that it destroyed videos of officers using tough interrogation methods while questioning two al-Qaida suspects. The acknowledgment sparked a congressional inquiry and a preliminary investigation by Justice.

”The Department’s National Security Division has recommended, and I have concluded, that there is a basis for initiating a criminal investigation of this matter, and I have taken steps to begin that investigation,” Mukasey said in a statement released Wednesday.

Mukasey named John Durham, a federal prosecutor in Connecticut, to oversee the case. Durham has a reputation as one of the nation’s most relentless prosecutors. He served as an outside prosecutor overseeing an investigation into the FBI’s use of mob informants in Boston and helped send several Connecticut public officials to prison.

”The CIA will of course cooperate fully with this investigation as it has with the others into this matter,” agency spokesman Mark Mansfield said.

CIA Inspector General John L. Helgerson, who worked with the Justice Department on the preliminary inquiry, has recused himself from the investigation. Prosecutors from the Eastern District of Virginia, which includes the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Va., are also recused.

Mukasey named Durham the acting U.S. attorney on the case, a designation the Justice Department frequently makes when top prosecutors are recused. He will not serve as a special prosecutor such as Patrick Fitzgerald, who operated autonomously while investigating the 2003 leak of a CIA operative’s identity.

The CIA has already agreed to open its files to congressional investigators, who have begun reviewing documents at the agency’s Virginia headquarters. The House Intelligence Committee has ordered Jose Rodriguez, the former CIA official who directed the tapes be destroyed, to appear at a hearing Jan. 16.

Rodriguez’s attorney, Robert S. Bennett, had no comment.

Update: The AP incorrectly stated an outside prosecutor was appointed. John Durham will not have the authority of a special or independent prosecutor (e.g., Patrick Fitzgerald). An independent prosecutor would not be required to report to the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General. Durham will still report to the Deputy Attorney General, like any other U.S. Attorney.

Conyers to Mukasey: I said appear

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers responded to Attorney General Michael Mukasey’s refusal last week to appear before his committee this week regarding the CIA destroying videotapes of detainee interrogations. Although Judge Mukasey may have interpreted Conyers’ request as an opportunity for them to get acquainted — Mukasey being new and all — but that was not what Conyers had in mind.

It appears Judge Mukasey’s refusal to testfy may have not only insulted the Chairman, it may have inspired a notion of "cover-up of the cover-up." Conyers raises the tenor of the letter by saying: "Our interest in hearing from a Departmental official is more urgent in the wake of your December 13th response to the Committee’s December 7th letter requesting information." In other words, you have more than peaked my interest.

Chairman Conyers succinctly reminded Mukasey that the Attorney General does in fact report to Congress and the DOJ isn’t the only investigative body in town.

[T]his Committee has jurisdiction over the Department and an obligation to perform meaningful oversight of the Department’s activities…We also note that congressional precedent dictates that parallel congressional and executive investigations occur frequently, and therefore should not be used as a shield against proper and necessary oversight.

I do not know if Conyers specifically requested Mukasey to appear but, if he did, Conyers cut him some slack, but not much. Don’t send any water boys, because he expects "the Department will provide a high level official to testify." And be prepared to explain "the Department’s attempts to forestall legislative or judicial inquiry."

Chairman Conyers’ letter:

December 17, 2007

The Honorable Michael Mukasey
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

I am writing to follow up on communications by my staff to the Department regarding the Judiciary Committee’s hearing this Thursday, on the “Applicability of Federal Criminal Laws to the Interrogation of Detainees.” The committee has requested orally to the Office of Legislative Affairs that the Department provide an official to testify at this hearing. Our interest in hearing from a Departmental official is more urgent in the wake of your December 13th response to the Committee’s December 7th letter requesting information pertaining to the destruction of the CIA videotapes showing interrogations of detainees. In that December 13th letter you refused to provide our Committee with any of the requested information, other than a statement that an investigation is pending. Letters to other congressional committees similarly declined to provide information and asked that congressional investigations be delayed for an indefinite period of time. The Department has also resisted judicial inquiry into these issues.

As you well know, this Committee has jurisdiction over the Department and an obligation to perform meaningful oversight of the Department’s activities, and other committees have oversight responsibilities concerning the CIA. We also note that congressional precedent dictates that parallel congressional and executive investigations occur frequently, and therefore should not be used as a shield against proper and necessary oversight. In light of the importance of the issue surrounding the Department’s investigation into destruction of the CIA tapes, we expect that the Department will provide a high level official to testify on this subject matter, specifically including the Department’s attempts to forestall legislative or judicial inquiry.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Chairman

cc: Hon. Lamar S. Smith
Hon. Jerrold Nadler
Hon. Robert C. Scott
Hon. William Delahunt
Hon. Trent Franks
Hon. Louie Gohmert
Hon. Brian Benczkowski

Copy of original letter here (pdf).

Leahy Finally Moves on WH Executive Privilege Claim

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

Did the rapture come and I missed it? Something finally woke Patrick Leahy up.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ruled today that "White House claims of executive privilege and immunity in the Senate’s investigation of the mass firings of U.S. Attorneys are overbroad, unsubstantiated, and not legally valid."While it’s not clear to me what legal implications Leahy’s ruling may have other than procedural, at least the issue has been moved from cryogenic storage to a thawing table.

More than five months ago (June 13 and July 26) the Committee issued subpoenas to, amongst others, White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, former White House political director Sara M. Taylor, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, and White House deputy political director J. Scott Jennings. The White House promptly declared Executive Privilege to everything under the sun and refused to let most of those subpoena even appear before Congress to formally exert their claim. Limited testimony was given by Taylor and Jennings.

Since the White House thumbed its nose at Congress, other than exchanging strong letters and meaningless rhetoric, nothing has been done to challenge the administration’s claims. Of course, some of that inaction is directly related to Alberto Gonzales. The Justice Department is responsible for prosecuting contempt citations, and Bush ordered Gonzales to not allow any prosecutor to pursue contempt charges (iirc).

In his ruling today, Leahy said:

“I have given the White House’s claims of executive privilege and immunity careful consideration,” wrote Leahy. “I hereby rule that those claims are not legally valid to excuse current and former White House employees from appearing, testifying and producing documents related to this investigation. Accordingly, I direct Mr. Bolten, Mr. Rove, Ms. Taylor and Mr. Jennings to comply immediately with the Committees subpoenas by producing documents and testifying or face possible contempt citations.”

According to Roll Call (subscription), the Committee could issue contempt citations for each person that does not comply — including Karl Rove — as early as December 6. The House Judiciary Committee has already approve contempt citations, therefore the next step is for each committee to get full approval of their respective Houses. The House does not require a super-majority vote, therefore approval is all but assured. If a 60-vote super-majority approval is required in the Senate, my guess is Leahy’s citations will be DOA.

Mike Gravel may be president by the time Congress actually gets around to prosecuting anybody.

WH: We don’t want clarification of Geneva Conventions

In today’s White House press briefing, Dana Perino made it abundantly clear the administration’s interpretation and definition of torture is the sole authority, and the White House wants no input from the international community.

Perino wrongly stated all parties to the Geneva Conventions were supposed to apply their interpretations of the Conventions. When challenged that interpretation of the Conventions was the responsibility of the International Crimes Court, Perino said, “I don’t think we’re seeking their help.”

Click To Play

WH Confirms Opinions, Denies Torture

The White House has acknowledged the existence of legal opinions authorizing “enhanced interrogation techniques,” that were issued in early 2005 and in late 2005. However the existence of those opinions would surely not taint the pristine Bush-Cheney administration — Dana Perino has the chutzpah to still assert, just like her boss, they do not employ torture.

Perino did a soft-shoe shuffle over the whole issue at today’s White House Press Briefing. Paul Kiel has the details.

Panel Demands Secret Torture Opinions

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Sub-Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) demanded the release of secret legal opinions issued by the Justice Department that authorized the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the CIA.

Conyers and Nadler also demanded that Steven Bradbury, the acting head of the Office of Legal Counsel “be made available for prompt Committee Hearings.”

A complete copy of Conyer’s and Nadler’s letter is available here (pdf).

The Bush-Cheney Abyss

Earlier tonight I began writing a reflective post about the failure of Congress to effectively investigate the Justice Department and the White House, and hold them accountable for the various and sundry malfeasance they have committed. After working on it for about an hour, I stopped, deciding to finish later. Moments ago, I just finished reading an incredibly disturbing piece  in the Times that reveals more about the abyss Alberto Gonzales, the White House, and many at the DOJ reside in. I regret not completing and publishing the reflective post.

As a POW in World War II, my father was tortured and imprisoned in inhumane conditions. When he died at the age of 81, he still could not talk about many of the horrific experiences he encountered. There is little goodness one can find in the death of their father, but I’m glad he doesn’t have to read or hear about this on the evening news.

An excerpt from the six-page piece.

When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.

But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.

The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.

Mr. Gonzales approved the legal memorandum on “combined effects” over the objections of James B. Comey, the deputy attorney general, who was leaving his job after bruising clashes with the White House. Disagreeing with what he viewed as the opinion’s overreaching legal reasoning, Mr. Comey told colleagues at the department that they would all be “ashamed” when the world eventually learned of it.

Later that year, as Congress moved toward outlawing “cruel, inhuman and degrading” treatment, the Justice Department issued another secret opinion, one most lawmakers did not know existed, current and former officials said. The Justice Department document declared that none of the C.I.A. interrogation methods violated that standard.

The classified opinions, never previously disclosed, are a hidden legacy of President Bush’s second term and Mr. Gonzales’s tenure at the Justice Department, where he moved quickly to align it with the White House after a 2004 rebellion by staff lawyers that had thrown policies on surveillance and detention into turmoil.

Congress and the Supreme Court have intervened repeatedly in the last two years to impose limits on interrogations, and the administration has responded as a policy matter by dropping the most extreme techniques. But the 2005 Justice Department opinions remain in effect, and their legal conclusions have been confirmed by several more recent memorandums, officials said. They show how the White House has succeeded in preserving the broadest possible legal latitude for harsh tactics.

Dick Cheney and his invertebrate minions (includes GWB) must be stopped and held accountable.

Leahy Reiterates Concerns to Mukasey

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) seems to be frustrated over the lack of response or communication from Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey. Leahy made it clear when President Bush nominated Mukasey that he wanted specific answers to address outstanding issues and concerns, and that Mukasey’s confirmation was contingent upon Mukasey’s and the White House’s cooperation. Apparently, Leahy’s initial request has gone unanswered — like everything else he has sent the Bush-Cheney administration — based on a letter he sent (html, pdf) Mukasey today.

Leahy’s questions and concerns are valid and appropriate. He wants to know who Mukasey’s master will be, George Bush or the Constitution.

I have emphasized most of the salient points of Leahy’s letter below.

October 2, 2007

Hon. Michael B. Mukasey
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP
1133 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036

Dear Judge Mukasey:

I look forward to scheduling and chairing the confirmation hearing on your nomination to serve as the Attorney General of the United States. I also look forward to your response to the Judiciary Committee’s questionnaire, and we may have additional requests for background information that would be helpful to the Committee in preparation for the hearing.

As I told you when we met the day after your designation, I look forward to meeting with you and having a substantive discussion before the hearing. I propose that we meet on Tuesday, October 16, at 10 a.m., if that is convenient for you.

I also mentioned when we first met that I would provide you with some of the topics that concern me. Regrettably the White House has chosen not to clear the decks of past concerns and not to produce the information and material it should have and could have about the ongoing scandals that have shaken the Department of Justice and led to the exodus of its former leadership. Those matters now encumber your nomination and, if confirmed, your tenure.

We will need to explore with you how you would ensure the independence of federal law enforcement from political pressure, what steps you would take to restore morale at the Department and the public’s trust in the Department, and whether you would uphold constitutional checks on Executive power.

The mass firings of the U.S. Attorneys appointed by this President were unprecedented. I will inquire whether you share my view that the integrity and independence of federal law enforcement should not be compromised by political operatives from the White House. I will ask for your assurance that the Department of Justice and, in particular, our U.S. Attorneys, will not be employed in upcoming elections to seek to affect the outcome. The Department of Justice should be working to protect Americans’ right to vote and have their vote count, not seeking to swing close elections into a partisan column by leaking allegations of corruption or bringing last minute legal actions alleging voter fraud.

A related matter of significant concern to a number of Members of the Committee is the recent rewriting of the Department of Justice’s guidebook on “Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses.” It not only changed from the “red book” to the “green book,” but the traditional practice of not bringing last-minute investigations and actions was turned on its head. The traditional version of the protocol, part of which I read to former Department of Justice official Bradley Schlozman at our June 5 hearing, provided: “In investigating election fraud matters, the Justice Department must refrain from any conduct which has the possibility of affecting the election itself. . . Thus, most, if not all, investigation of an alleged election crime must await the end of the election to which the allegation relates.” As recently revised under the outgoing, discredited leadership group, it provides great latitude for the Department of Justice to influence the outcomes of elections. Will you reassure us that under your leadership that these guidelines will be changed back to the time-honored rules? That is a concrete step you can take at the outset to set a new tone.

Another aspect of this concern is your close association with a candidate for the Republican nomination for President. Given that longstanding relationship, what assurances can you give the Committee, the Senate and the American people, should he be the Republican nominee, that you will not improperly use your position? The White House press operation suggested last weekend that you would recuse yourself from matters involving Mr. Guiliani. Is that true, and would that recusal include the Republican presidential campaign if he is the Republican nominee?

From our earlier meeting I know that you knew and worked with Judge Harold Tyler. I have admired Judge Tyler. He, too, was faced with restoring the Department of Justice when he served as the Deputy Attorney General in 1975, following the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Nixon. Likewise, I think we both view Attorney General Robert Jackson’s 1941 speech to U. S. Attorneys as striking the right chord on the role of the Department of Justice and the independence of federal prosecutors. If they, Elliot Richardson and Edward Levi are your models, I will look forward to working with you to restore the Department.

In that connection, I note that as the House Judiciary Committee was considering contempt citations for former White House officials this summer, a senior Administration official said that a U.S. Attorney “would not be permitted to bring contempt charges or convene a grand jury in an executive privilege case” and that a U.S. Attorney would not be “permitted to argue against the reasoned legal opinion that Department of Justice provided.”

Under applicable statutes and practices, contempt citations against Administration officials by the House and Senate would be certified to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to bring before a grand jury for its action. If the House or Senate certified a contempt citation against current or former White House officials arising from the U.S. Attorney investigation, would you permit the U.S. Attorney to carry out the law and refer the matter to a grand jury as required by 2 U.S.C. § 194? If the White House sought to prevent the U.S. Attorney from bringing contempt charges to a grand jury as required by law, would you take any action to prevent the U.S. Attorney from doing so?

More generally, what would you do as Attorney General if you learned that a White House official had called a U.S. Attorney asking for information about an on-going criminal investigation? What would you do as Attorney General if you learned that a Member of Congress had called a U.S. Attorney asking for information about an on-going criminal investigation?

What will you do to ensure that legal advice from the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is independent and protected from political influence?

While you can set an example and a tone at the Department of Justice, you cannot effectively manage it by yourself. Who will be the members of your team to help turn the Department around?

Other key issues arise from this Administration’s abuse of secrecy and expansion of executive power. Policies enacted by this Administration have encouraged Department of Justice officers to withhold information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the bedrock statute that opens our government to its citizens. Will you commit to review and consider overturning these policies, and supporting legislation Senator Cornyn and I have sponsored to reform FOIA, so that the presumption of openness which is at the heart of FOIA is restored for the American people?

The Attorney General who recently resigned apparently believed that the President has a commander-in-chief override of the laws of this country, which contributed to his violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), his signing statement reservations, and other overreaching. We must explore those topics. For example, do you believe that the President has authority to override legal requirements and immunize acts of torture contrary to our treaty obligations and laws? Do you believe that before Congress amended the FISA this summer, the Authorization for the Use of Military Force passed in the days following September 11, or Article II of the Constitution gave this President authority to override the requirements of that law with respect to wiretapping Americans?

In connection with these matters the Judiciary Committee has been seeking the historical legal analysis of the Department of Justice and this Administration. We have made numerous requests and have even had to subpoena the FISA documents. I want to know whether you will work with us and provide those materials so that we can examine the legal justifications that have been utilized by this Administration to excuse its conduct.

Similarly, in light of the failure of the White House Counsel to provide even a privilege log to substantiate his blanket claim of executive privilege for all information relating to the U.S. Attorney firing scandal, we need to consider that matter together. I want to know your view of executive privilege. Do you view it as a communications privilege or something else? Do you think it extends to the actions and emails of political operatives in matters in which the President was not personally involved?

With so much to do and so much damage that needs to be repaired, I had hoped that the White House would have taken advantage of the time since the resignations of Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Rove to work with us to fulfill longstanding requests for information so that we could all agree about what went so wrong at the Department of Justice and work together to restore it. Instead, they have left you to answer the unanswered questions and left longstanding disputes unresolved.

Sincerely,

PATRICK LEAHY
Chairman

TPC Round Up - Cover-Ups, Tasers, and Staged Rallies

HEADLINES

• State Department Official Investigated for Cover-Up
• NSA Claims No Warantless Wiretapping
• Democrats Demand Troop Withdrawal Deadline
• U.S and British Officials Downplay Iraq Differences
• Immigrants Protest at Capitol
• Student Protestor Tasered at Kerry Speech
• Rice Scolds U.N. over Iran Strategy

TPC MOST POPULAR

Will Wes Clark be Hillary’s VP?
Telegraph: Bush-Cheney Planning War with Iran
Bush Selects Mukasey for Attorney General
Bush and Reid spar, Mukasey is nominated

WASHINGTON

“Howard J. Krongard, the State Department’s inspector general, has repeatedly thwarted investigations into contracting fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan, including construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and censored reports that might prove politically embarrassing to the Bush administration, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform charged” on Tuesday “in a 13-page letter,” the Washington Post reports. See TPC related post.

“The National Security Agency has not conducted wiretapping without warrants on the telephones of any Americans since at least February, the nation’s top intelligence officer told Congress on Tuesday,” the New York Times reports. “Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, told the House Judiciary Committee that since he took office that month, the government has conducted electronic surveillance only after seeking court-approved warrants.” See TPC related post.

“President Bush, cheered on by Iraq war veterans and their families on the White House’s South Lawn, urged lawmakers Tuesday to back his plan to withdraw some troops from Iraq but keep at least 130,000 through next summer or longer,” AP reports. “‘I ask the United States Congress to support the troop levels and the strategies I have embraced,’ Bush said, to loud cheers and chants of ‘USA! USA!’”

“President Bush defended himself Tuesday defended himself from criticism by former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who said Bush has not been a good shepherd of the economy,” according to a FOX News interview with the president. “Our fiscal record is admirable and good. After all, the deficit as a percentage of GDP is low relative to the 30-year average. It’s about 1.5 percent of GDP which is good, and we submitted a budget that shows we can get to balance.” See TPC related post.

“Internal discord in the office of U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose has led to an investigation of complaints that she retaliated against dissenters,” the Star-Tribune reports. “The internal upheaval that roiled the upper ranks of the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota last spring has prompted an investigation by an independent federal agency that looks into whistleblower and discrimination complaints involving federal employees.” TPC reported on Ms. Paulrose back in April as the DOJ scandal was unfolding.

CONGRESS

“Unable to garner enough Republican support, Senate Democratic leaders said” on Tuesday “that they are abandoning a bipartisan effort to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq by next spring,” the Washington Post reports. Instead, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid, D-Nev., “will again push for a firm deadline, this time June 2008, along with a stronger effort at cutting off war funding.” See TPC related post.

“Four new Senate Republicans signaled Tuesday that they may vote for a Democratic amendment aimed at giving U.S. troops in Iraq more time at home between deployments, helping Democrats inch closer to a rare victory on the conduct of the Iraq war,” The Hill reports. “The talks came amid tense backroom negotiations over the terms of the Iraq debate in the Senate, which is expected to dominate the floor schedule during the next two weeks. ”

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., “and 11 other members of Congress have been subpoenaed to testify in the trial of a defense contractor charged with bribing jailed” former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif.,, USA Today reports. “All of the lawmakers said they do not intend to comply with the subpoenas.”

“Even as Senate Democrats on Tuesday softened demands that the White House provide thousands of documents in advance of a hearing to confirm Michael Mukasey as attorney general, they warned that it remained highly improbable that a vote on his installation would occur before the October recess,” Roll Call (sub. req.) reports. “The White House has asked Democrats to complete the confirmation process by Oct. 8 — a date on which Democrats said they are unlikely to meet.”

The House Federal Workforce Subcommittee split along party lines yesterday “over proposed legislation that would ban discrimination against federal employees and job applicants based on sexual orientation.” the Washington Post reports. “Republicans asked for a roll call, and Democrats, as the majority party, prevailed, 5 to 3.

“Twelve years after conservative Republicans in Congress were blamed for shutting down the government, they are introducing legislation to ensure that government continues to function no matter what,” The Hill reports. “Anticipating a showdown with Democrats that could force government offices to close, President Bush is backing the legislation.”

IRAQ

“The top two American military and diplomatic officials in Iraq sought to play down differences over Iraq policy as they met with senior British officials on Tuesday, at a time of mounting pressure here for the withdrawal of Britain’s remaining 5,200 soldiers from southern Iraq,” the New York Times reports. “At a news conference with Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, Gen. David H. Petraeus sought to ease strains that developed this month when British commanders withdrew the 500-man contingent that comprised their last remaining troops in central Basra.”

“The U.S. military has introduced ‘religious enlightenment’ and other education programs for Iraqi detainees, some of whom are as young as 11, Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone, the commander of U.S. detention facilities in Iraq, said yesterday, the Washington Post reports. “Stone said such efforts, aimed mainly at Iraqis who have been held for more than a year, are intended to “bend them back to our will” and are part of waging war in what he called ‘the battlefield of the mind.’ ”

“A preliminary Iraqi report on a shooting involving an American diplomatic motorcade said Tuesday that Blackwater security guards were not ambushed, as the company reported, but instead fired at a car when it did not heed a policeman’s call to stop, killing a couple and their infant,” the New York Times reports. “The report, by the Ministry of Interior, was presented to the Iraqi cabinet and, though unverified, seemed to contradict an account offered by Blackwater USA that the guards were responding to gunfire by militants.”

“A vast internal migration is radically reshaping Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian landscape, according to new data collected by thousands of relief workers, but displacement in the most populous and mixed areas is surprisingly complex, suggesting that partitioning the country into semiautonomous Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish enclaves would not be easy,” the New York Times reports. “In Baghdad alone there are now nearly 170,000 families, accounting for almost a million people, that have fled their homes.”

NATION

“About 1,000 highly skilled legal immigrants, carrying placards and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with American flags, rallied Tuesday at the Capitol to protest long delays and vast bureaucratic backlogs in the immigration system,” the New York Times reports. “The immigrants, including doctors, medical technicians and computer engineers from India and China, came from as far as California and Washington State to call on Congress to provide more permanent visas for highly educated immigrants and more resources for the overburdened immigration system.”

“Video of police Tasering a persistent questioner of Sen. John Kerry became an Internet and TV sensation Tuesday, generating fierce debate about free speech and the motives of the college student involved — a known prankster who often posts practical jokes online,” AP reports. “University of Florida President Bernie Machen said Monday’s takedown, in which the student loudly yelled, ‘Don’t Tase me, bro’ was ‘regretful.’”

“Advocacy groups sued the FBI and the Department of Justice on Tuesday for failing to turn over records they requested on surveillance in the Muslim-American community,” AP reports. “The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the Muslim groups, alleges that the FBI has turned over only four pages of documents to community leaders, despite a Freedom of Information Act request filed more than a year ago. The documents were not related to surveillance.”

WORLD

“U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice scolded the U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency” today “over its Iran strategy and called for diplomacy with ‘teeth’ to end Tehran’s nuclear plans,” Reuters reports. “While repeating the U.S. stand that ‘all options’ remained on the table — a reference to military action against Tehran — Rice sought to ease fresh concerns over talk of war.”

“A multinational force commanded and led by British troops has launched a major offensive against the Taleban in the southern Afghan province of Helmand,” BBC News reports. “The operation involves about 700 men, mostly infantry and engineers. ”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan “refused on Tuesday to rule out the possibility of military operations into northern Iraq to root out armed Kurdish separatist groups that he said had taken refuge in the border region,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Erdogan also criticized some Western countries for what he called their increasingly hawkish stance against Iran.”

“Pro-Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan attacked a military checkpost” today “and captured seven paramilitary soldiers,” Reuters reports. “The raid was the latest in a series of bloody militant attacks on security forces and abductions of soldiers since July, when a pact with militants broke down and commandos stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad.”

Leahy issues statement after meeting with Mukasey

Patrick Leahy issued this statement after meeting with AG nominee Michael Mukasey. As indicated in this statement and press accounts yesterday, Leahy intends to put Mukasey’s nomination in a holding pattern until the White House provides previously requested/subpoenaed information/documents related to the Committee’s investigation of the Justice Department.

I’m not sure I agree with Leahy’s tactic, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe Leahy would unjustifiably slow the process.    

Remarks Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
After Meeting With
Prospective Attorney General Nominee Judge Michael Mukasey
September 18, 2007

I begin this process of Senate review of the President’s nomination with hope and with optimism. The last thing I or any of us want is to be disappointed in those hopes.

Replacing an Attorney General is part but not all of what needs to be done to restore trust in the Justice Department. The confirmation process can be a catalyst for resolving outstanding issues between the Senate and the Administration. I hope that will happen now.

There are a number of issues that arise from that dark period that still need resolution. Cooperation from the Administration in making progress on our longstanding oversight requests is still needed and will be helpful in moving forward.

I am pleased to report that recent discussions that I have had with Mr. Fielding, the White House Counsel, have been encouraging on that score. I take him at his word that he will work to provide the Judiciary Committee with information and documents that we need. This is relevant to the next nominee and future Attorneys General so that past excesses and mistakes are not repeated.

I met with Judge Mukasey today hoping that after we get cooperation from the Administration and are able to conduct a fair and thorough review process, all Senators will be able to vote in favor of his confirmation.  I want to avoid the kind of witch hunt from the Right that scuttled the President’s nomination of Harriet Miers.

I see Judge Mukasey’s nomination as another chance to clear the decks of some important unfinished business that goes to the heart of accountability in government. It is also another chance for a fresh start in the relationship between Congress and the Justice Department headed by a new Attorney General.

The big job of Attorney General of the United States has gotten bigger, with the erosion of public trust and sagging morale throughout the Department of Justice. The next Attorney General will need to begin the process of restoring the Department of Justice to its proper mission so that it is worthy of its name.

State Dept. Corrupt Too

Bush and Cheney make Nixon look like a saint. We can now officially add the State Department to the list of Bush-Cheney Administration Scandals and Corruption.

In similar fashion to the Justice Department, where Alberto Gonzales was the chief law enforcement officer, the State Department’s Inspector General, Howard J. Krongard, “has repeatedly thwarted investigations and censored reports that might prove politically embarrassing to the Bush administration,” according to charges made by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA). Waxman is Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government.

Waxman sent a scathing 14-page letter (pdf) to Krongard, detailing the charges against him. The Oversight Committee published a summary of the letter on its Web site:

Since your testimony at the Committee’s hearing on July 26, 2007, current and former employees of the Office of Inspector General have contacted my staff with allegations that you interfered with on-going investigations to protect the State Department and the White House from political embarrassment…

The allegations made by these officials are not limited to a single unit or project within your office. Instead, they span all three major divisions of the Office of Inspector General — investigations, audits, and inspections. The allegations were made by employees of varied rank, ranging from line staff to upper management…

Some of the specific allegations include the following:

• Although the State Department has expended over $3.6 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, you refused to send any investigators to those countries to pursue investigations into wasteful spending or procurement fraud and have concluded no fraud investigations relating to the contracts.
• You prevented your investigators from cooperating with a Justice Department investigation into waste, fraud, and abuse relating to the new U.S. Embassy in Iraq and followed highly irregular procedures in exonerating the prime contractor, First Kuwaiti Trading Company, of charges of labor trafficking.
• You prevented your investigators from seizing evidence that they believed would have implicated a large State Department contractor in procurement fraud in Afghanistan.
• You impeded efforts by your investigators to cooperate with a Justice Department probe into allegations that a large private security contractor was smuggling weapons into Iraq.
• You interfered with an on-going investigation into the conduct of Kenneth Tomlinson, the head of Voice of America and a close associate of Karl Rove, by passing information about the inquiry to Mr. Tomlinson.
• You censored portions of inspection reports on embassies so that critical information on security vulnerabilities was dropped from classified annexes and not disclosed to Congress.
• You rejected audits of the State Department’s financial statements that documented accounting concerns and refused to publish them until points critical of the Department had been removed.

Pretty ugly, isn’t it?

The allegations are based on testimony Waxman received from seven “current and former officials on Krongard’s staff, including two former senior officials who allowed their names to be used, and private e-mail exchanges obtained by the committee.” The Post published the following exchange of emails “between staff members as they discuss Krongard’s decision not to cooperate with the Justice Department on the embassy probe.

“Wow, as we all [k]now that is not the normal and proper procedure,” an investigator wrote to Assistant IG John A. DeDona. DeDona forwarded the e-mail to the Deputy IG, William E. Todd, saying, “I have always viewed myself as a loyal soldier but hopefully you sense my frustration in my voicemail yesterday.”

Todd wrote back: “I know you are very frustrated. John, you need to convey to the troops the truth, the IG told us both Tuesday to stand down on this and not assist, that needs to be the message.”

DeDona responded: “Unfortunately, under the current regime, the view within INV [the office of investigations] is to keep working the BS cases within the beltway, and let us not rock the boat with more significant investigations.”

Waxman included a subpoena in his Hallmark Greeting Letter for various and sundry documents, letters, work product, etc.

I’m beginning to wonder if there are enough people in Congress to support the number of investigations required to review the Bush administration’s massive corruption that went unchecked for six years.

TPC Roundup - White House v. Congress

HEADLINES

• Democrats Threaten to Delay Mukasey Confirmation
• Congress Continues Negotiation on Children’s Health Bill
• Clinton Releases Health Care Plan
• Iraq Withdraws Blackwater USA License
• Muslim Charity Trial Ends
• National Foreclosures Up 36%
• Musharraf Military Command in Limbo

TPC MOST POULAR

(updated 11:41 AM ET)

Telegraph: Bush-Cheney Planning War with Iran
Will Wes Clark be Hillary’s VP?
Bush Selects Mukasey for Attorney General
Judge Mukasey and the rule of law

WASHINGTON

• “Two Senate Democrats warned Monday that the Judiciary Committee would delay confirmation of President Bush’s choice for attorney general unless the White House turned over documents that the panel was seeking for several investigations,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Bush announced the selection of Michael B. Mukasey, a retired federal judge from New York who has presided over several high-profile terrorism trials, during a morning Rose Garden ceremony.”
• “The White House on Monday rejected demands by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that the administration release thousands of documents related to the U.S. attorneys scandal and other Justice Department controversies before hearings begin on” Bush’s nomination of Mukasey, Roll Call  (sub. req.) reports. “A showdown between Leahy and President Bush over largely procedural matters could turn what is widely seen as a relatively noncontroversial nomination into a political lightning rod for both parties.”
• “The White House in recent days told nearly a dozen Cabinet secretaries to send letters to Capitol Hill rejecting Democrats’ proposed new funds for their agencies, escalating a confrontation between lawmakers and President Bush over domestic spending priorities,” the Washington Post reports. “The Democratic Congress is considering 2008 spending bills that increase funding for politically popular programs including health care for veterans, education, medical research and infrastructure improvements.”
• “The top U.S. intelligence official is asking Congress for even more changes to a law that he says limited the government’s ability to eavesdrop, not just on terrorists but also on more traditional potential adversaries,” AP reports. “Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, says China and Russia are aggressively spying on sensitive U.S. facilities, intelligence systems and development projects, and their efforts are approaching Cold War levels.”
• “The White House threatened on Monday to veto a bill that would add 15 years to a post-Sept. 11 government insurance program that supporters say is critical for major projects like the new World Trade Center,” the New York Times reports. “The legislation, known as the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, was originally passed by Congress after the 2001 attacks. It is due to expire this year, and the House had planned to vote this week on a 15-year extension.”

CONGRESS

• Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday “unveiled a proposal to provide health insurance to all Americans, placing herself at the center of an issue that provided perhaps the greatest setback of her political career,” the Washington Post reports. “In a speech in Des Moines, the Democratic front-runner said she would expand insurance to the 47 million people who do not already have coverage and would attempt to reduce costs for others without spawning a massive new bureaucracy.”
• “Key lawmakers in the House and Senate negotiated into the night” on Monday “on a deal that would expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by $35 billion over the next five years,” the Washington Post reports. “That would set up a clash with President Bush, who has promised to veto such a plan.”
• “Three senators who are considered potential swing votes on war policy said Monday that a weekend visit to Iraq left them discouraged about prospects for political reconciliation there and convinced that the United States must quickly shift more responsibility for security to the Iraqi Army,” the New York Times reports. “‘We must take decisive action to force the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people to secure the peace for Iraq,’ said Senator Ken Salazar, Democrat of Colorado, as the Senate opened a pivotal debate on the war.”
• “Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) are among the biggest winners in the 2008 Appropriations defense bill, according to data gathered by The Hill and the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS),” The Hill reports. “Senate appropriators disclosed about 936 earmarks worth a combined $5.1 billion in the 2008 defense-spending bill, with top committee members in both parties securing the highest dollar amounts.”

IRAQ

• “At least 12 people were killed and 37 wounded today after Baghdad was hit by two parked car bombs and two roadside bombs, police said,” the Guardian reports. “A car bomb blew up in the centre of the Iraqi capital at 9.30am in a car park near the health ministry and the so-called Medical City complex of buildings, which includes several hospitals and a forensic institute.”
• “Blackwater USA, an American contractor that provides security to some of the top American officials in Iraq, has been banned from working in the country by the Iraqi government after a shooting that left eight Iraqis dead and involved an American diplomatic convoy,” the New York Times reports. “A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, said Monday that authorities had canceled the company’s license and that the government would prosecute the participants.”
• “Despite efforts by U.S. forces to recruit and train women for jobs in the Iraqi security forces, just over 1,000 have been trained, many have quit and those who remain say they are struggling for acceptance,” the LA Times reports. “We’re in our posts because the Americans are here,” the army commander said. “Once they leave, we will all be out.”

NATION

• “As the government’s signature terrorism-financing trial moved toward a close here Monday, federal prosecutors reaffirmed their charge that the largest Muslim charity in the United States was not simply trying to help poor Palestinians but was in fact an arm of the radical Islamic group Hamas,” the New York Times reports. “The charity, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, and five of its officers have been on trial here since July 16, charged with conspiracy, money laundering and providing financial support to a foreign terrorist organization.”
• “National foreclosure filings in August were up 36 percent from July and 115 percent from August 2006, according to a market forecast out today,” the Boston Globe reports. “Nevada, California, and Florida posted the top state foreclosure rates in August, and Massachusetts was ranked 12th, said RealtyTrac, which defines foreclosure filings as default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions.”

WORLD

• “In a controversial step, election officials Monday announced a rule change under which President Pervez Musharraf would be allowed to stand for reelection while still serving as head of Pakistan’s military,” the LA Times reports. “At the same time, though, the Supreme Court began hearing legal challenges to Musharraf’s plan to remain army chief as he seeks reelection by lawmakers as head of state early next month.”
• “France’s foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, sought Monday to tone down remarks he made in a radio and television interview the day before that the world had to prepare for possible war against Iran,” the New York Times reports. “Attacked verbally by Iran and quietly criticized within his own government, Mr. Kouchner shifted the focus away from the threat of war and back to a call for hard negotiations as the way to force Iran to abandon key nuclear activities.”
• “Every effort should be made to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but failing that, the world could live with a nuclear-armed regime in Tehran, a recently retired commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said Monday,” AP reports. “John Abizaid, the retired Army general who headed Central Command for nearly four years, said he was confident that if Iran gained nuclear arms, the United States could deter it from using them.”
• “The Sept. 6 attack by Israeli warplanes inside Syria struck what Israeli intelligence believes was a nuclear-related facility that North Korea was helping to equip, according to current and former American and Israeli officials,” the New York Times reports. “Details about the Israeli assessment emerged as China abruptly canceled planned diplomatic talks in Beijing that were to set a schedule to disband nuclear facilities in North Korea.”

TPC Roundup - Bombs Literally and Figuratively

HEADLINES

• Bush Drawing Iran War Plans
• Bush to Nominate Ex-Judge Attorney General
• Greenspan Says Iraq War About Oil
• Crocker Blasts Refugee Process
• France Warns of War with Iran
• Gates Sees Extended Stay in Iraq
• Medicare Recipients May Be Denied Drugs

TPC MOST POPULAR

Bush Speech Highlights
Bush Speech Filled With Lies
Counting the ‘Coalition of the Willing’
Few Rise to This Level
John Edwards Ad on Bush’s Iraq Speech

WASHINGTON

• “Senior American intelligence and defence officials believe that President George W Bush and his inner circle are taking steps to place America on the path to war with Iran,” the Telegraph reports.  “Pentagon planners have developed a list of up to 2,000 bombing targets in Iran, amid growing fears among serving officers that diplomatic efforts to slow Iran’s nuclear weapons programme are doomed to fail.” See TPC related post.
• “President Bush has decided to nominate Michael B. Mukasey, a former federal judge from New York…as his next attorney general,” the New York Times reports. If confirmed, “he would preside over a Justice Department that has been buffeted by Congressional inquiries into the firing of federal prosecutors and the resignation of the previous attorney general, Alberto R. Gonzales.” See TPC related post.
• “Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman, said in an interview that the removal of Saddam Hussein had been ‘essential’ to secure world oil supplies, a point he emphasized to the White House in private conversations before the 2003 invasion of Iraq,” the Washington Post reports. “Greenspan … made the striking comment in a new memoir out today that ‘the Iraq War is largely about oil.’” See TPC related post.
• “The Justice Department inappropriately put pressure on a former” Alaska state representative Victor Kohring “to consider pleading guilty in a corruption case, said his lawyer, who wants a federal judge to review the department’s actions,” the New York Times reports. “The case has reached into Washington, where a senator and a member of the House have come under scrutiny.”
• “Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell heads to Capitol Hill this week seeking to extend the government’s power to read e-mails, listen to telephone calls and carry out other surveillance within the USA in national security cases,” USA Today reports. “Democrats, including” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., “are criticizing McConnell’s proposals.”

IRAQ

• “Militants stepped up attacks across Iraq on Sunday, killing at least 30 people in a spate of bombings and shootings that followed a threat by al Qaeda to launch a new phase of violence,” Reuters reports. “Besides the attacks by militants, Iraqi police said security contractors were involved in an incident in which up to 10 people were shot dead in Baghdad’s western Mansour district.”
• “The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned that it may take the U.S. government as long as two years to process and admit nearly 10,000 Iraqi refugees referred by the United Nations for resettlement to the United States, because of bureaucratic bottlenecks,” the Washington Post reports. “In a bluntly worded State Department cable titled ‘Iraqi Refugee Processing: Can We Speed It Up?’ Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker noted that the Department of Homeland Security had only a handful of officers in Jordan to vet the refugees.”
• “Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he would advise President Bush to veto a Senate proposal that would effectively force a major drawdown of American forces in Iraq,” the Washington Times reports.  “The proposal, sponsored by Sen. James H. Webb Jr., Virginia Democrat, that would require that troops be given equal time off to match tours of duty, was dismissed by Mr. Gates as ‘a backdoor way to try and force the president to accelerate the drawdown.’ ”
• “The U.S. military said Sunday that its forces had captured an Iraqi suspected in the killing of a tribal leader who had helped organize local forces against Al Qaeda-linked insurgents in Anbar province,” the LA Times reports. “The slaying of Abdul Sattar Rishawi on Thursday was part of a plot by militants to kill leaders of the Anbar Salvation Council, a coalition of tribes, military officials said.”

NATION

• “An obscure provision slipped into a $120 billion Iraq spending bill in May threatens to leave some poor and disabled Medicaid recipients without prescription drugs in October,” USA Today reports. “In a case of unintended consequences, Congress inserted a rule cracking down on Medicaid fraud that requires that all non-electronic prescriptions for Medicaid patients be written on tamper-resistant paper.”
• “In the first major antiwar demonstration in the nation’s capital since January, several thousand protesters marched from the White House to the Capitol on Saturday, carrying signs and chanting slogans demanding an end to the Iraq war and the impeachment of President Bush,” the Los Angeles Times reports.  “A smaller group conducted a counter-demonstration to support the president and the war, leading to some heated confrontations. But the event was mostly peaceful — until more than 100 protesters jumped barriers around the Capitol and were arrested on the building’s steps late in the day.”

WORLD

• “French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the world should prepare for war over Iran’s nuclear programme,” the BBC reports. ” ‘We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war,’ Mr Kouchner said in an interview on French TV and radio.”
• “A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a local government compound in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing four policemen and four civilians and wounding seven, the district chief said,” Reuters reports.   “He said the attack took place in the Naadali district of Helmand province, which has seen some of the worst violence between the resurgent Taliban on one side and Afghan and foreign troops on the other.”
• “Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf plans to stand down as army chief by 15 November, an official from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) says,” BBC News reports. “Musharraf will resign from the powerful post after the presidential elections, said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the PML’s secretary general.”

Inspector General announces broad investigation of Gonzales

The Justice Department’s Inspector General (IG) informed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is pursuing a broad investigation of outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Although the Inspector General, Glenn Fine, had already started an investigation of Gonzales in June, his letter today was in response to an August 16 request from Leahy to, in effect, expand the investigation.

Leahy released a statement today announcing the IG’s response and summarized his rather lengthy 8/16 request.

I look forward to the Inspector General?s findings on the unprecedented firings of nine United States Attorneys, the improper political hiring of career officials within the Justice Department, the misuse of National Security Letters, and the efforts to bypass the Department?s finding that a warrantless surveillance program was without legal basis. These actions have eroded the public?s trust and undermined morale within our justice system, from the top ranks to the cop on the beat.

Fine wrote (pdf) Leahy:

The OIG has ongoing investigations that relate to most of the subjects addressed by the Attorney General’s testimony that you identified. In particular, the OIG is conducting a review relating to the terrorist surveillance program, as well as a follow-up review of the use of national security letters. In addition, the OIG is conducting a joint investigation with the Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility into allegations regarding the removal of certain United States Attorneys and improper hiring practices.

Although the pressure on Gonzales has been increasing for months, after reading Leahy’s