Bush Claims Right to Open Mail

The New York Daily News today reports on a signing statement President Bush quietly issued two weeks ago, in which he asserts his right to open mail without a warrant.

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Ex-CIA Official Testifies About Libby's Calls

A former high-ranking CIA official testified yesterday that, when Vice President Cheney's agitated chief of staff called him out of the blue in June 2003 to ask what he knew about a CIA-sponsored trip to Niger, he jumped to get answers.

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FCC to Feel Unfamiliar Heat From Democrats

As congressional Democrats prepare to give the Federal Communications Commission its toughest scrutiny in years, a rivalry between the powerful agency's two most prominent Republicans is raising questions about its readiness to handle barbed questions and stiff challenges.

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The Bill of Rights, and Sometimes Wrongs

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has raised some eyebrows in legal circles because of the following exchange last Thursday with Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) at a meeting of the Judiciary Committee over the writ of habeas corpus. The Latin term, roughly interpreted as "you have the body," refers to the centuries-old right of prisoners to challenge their confinement.

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Lockheed Chosen For ID Contract

The Transportation Security Administration has decided to award a closely watched contract to supply high-tech identification cards at ports nationwide to Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, according to sources familiar with the choice.

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Ex-Aide Says Cheney Led Rebuttal Effort

Vice President Cheney personally orchestrated his office's 2003 efforts to rebut allegations that the administration used flawed intelligence to justify the war in Iraq and discredit a critic who Cheney believed was making him look foolish, according to testimony and evidence yesterday in the criminal trial of his former chief of staff.

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Lies and Obfuscations

A look back at some of the biggest falsehoods of 2006.

Dec. 22, 2006 - In the spirit of holding our political leaders accountable, this year-end review will tabulate the worst lies told by Bush and company, along with several stories that were underreported in the media. Much of what was generated got lost in the fog of war, but the long arm of history will retrieve these moments. As the president said in his news conference this week, if they’re still writing about No. 1—George Washington—there’s plenty of time before the historians can properly evaluate No. 43. Judging by the mess in Iraq, it could be 200 or 300 years—if ever—before Bush is vindicated.

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Enfeebling the judiciary

When U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales stunned the Senate Judiciary Committee by asserting that the right of habeas corpus -- which enables individuals to challenge the legality of their imprisonment -- is not constitutionally protected, it marked a chilling new assertion of executive power over the judiciary. But it was no aberration.

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Poll: More troops unhappy with Bush’s course in Iraq

The American military — once a staunch supporter of President Bush and the Iraq war — has grown in creasingly pessimistic about chances for victory.

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US military unveils heat-ray gun

The US military has given the first public display of what it says is a revolutionary heat-ray weapon to repel enemies or disperse hostile crowds.

Called the Active Denial System, it projects an invisible high energy beam that produces a sudden burning feeling.

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Cheney: Talk of blunders in Iraq is 'hogwash'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday dismissed as "hogwash" the suggestion that blunders may have hurt the administration's credibility on Iraq and led members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to question President Bush's plan to send more troops to Baghdad.

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Enfeebling the judiciary

When U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales stunned the Senate Judiciary Committee by asserting that the right of habeas corpus -- which enables individuals to challenge the legality of their imprisonment -- is not constitutionally protected, it marked a chilling new assertion of executive power over the judiciary. But it was no aberration.

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Ohio election workers convicted of rigging ’04 presidential recount

CLEVELAND - Two election workers were convicted Wednesday of rigging a recount of the 2004 presidential election to avoid a more thorough review in Ohio’s most populous county.

Jacqueline Maiden, elections coordinator of the Cuyahoga County Elections Board, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer each were convicted of a felony count of negligent misconduct of an elections employee. They also were convicted of one misdemeanor count each of failure of elections employees to perform their duty.

Prosecutors accused Maiden and Dreamer of secretly reviewing preselected ballots before a public recount on Dec. 16, 2004. They worked behind closed doors for three days to pick ballots they knew would not cause discrepancies when checked by hand, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Roger Synenberg has said the workers were following procedures as they understood them.

Ohio gave President Bush the electoral votes he needed to defeat Democratic Sen. John Kerry in the close election and hold on to the White House in 2004.

Special prosecutor Kevin Baxter did not claim the workers’ actions affected the outcome of the election - Kerry gained 17 votes and Bush lost six in the county’s recount.

Maiden and Dreamer, who still work for the elections board, face a possible sentence of six to 18 months for the felony conviction. Sentencing is on Feb. 26.

A message left for Elections Board Director Michael Vu was not immediately returned Wednesday. The board released a statement that said its goal is to restore confidence in the county’s election progress and pursue reforms in addition to those made since 2004.

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Gonzales Questions Habeas Corpus

In one of the most chilling public statements ever made by a U.S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales questioned whether the U.S. Constitution grants habeas corpus rights of a fair trial to every American.

Responding to questions from Sen. Arlen Specter at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 18, Gonzales argued that the Constitution doesn’t explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights; it merely says when the so-called Great Writ can be suspended.

“There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution; there’s a prohibition against taking it away,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales’s remark left Specter, the committee’s ranking Republican, stammering.

“Wait a minute,” Specter interjected. “The Constitution says you can’t take it away except in case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn’t that mean you have the right of habeas corpus unless there’s a rebellion or invasion?”

Gonzales continued, “The Constitution doesn’t say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn’t say that. It simply says the right shall not be suspended” except in cases of rebellion or invasion.

“You may be treading on your interdiction of violating common sense,” Specter said.

While Gonzales’s statement has a measure of quibbling precision to it, his logic is troubling because it would suggest that many other fundamental rights that Americans hold dear also don’t exist because the Constitution often spells out those rights in the negative.

That Attorney General Gonzales would express such an extraordinary opinion, doubting the constitutional protection of habeas corpus, suggests either a sophomoric mind or an unwillingness to respect this well-established right, one that the Founders considered so important that they embedded it in the original text of the Constitution.

Other cherished rights – including freedom of religion and speech – were added later in the first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights.


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Judge Rejects Defamation Suit Against The Times

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 — A federal judge on Friday dismissed a suit against The New York Times by a former government scientist who said he was defamed by a series of columns about the deadly anthrax mailings in 2001.

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Moderate Giuliani Helps Tie Bush, 9/11

By Terry M. Neal
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 31, 2004; 7:37 PM

The underlying theme of the first night of the Republican National Convention was clear: Portray President Bush as a strong, clear-minded and steady leader. The strategy was to repair the schism in the public's mind between the war on terror and the war in Iraq, making the case that they are one and the same. The tactic was to confer the credibility of two of the nation's most popular and well-known moderate Republicans onto the more conservative president.

As the president might say: Mission Accomplished. Butmuch the same way that Republicans say Kerry invited scrutiny on his Vietnam record by putting so much emphasis on his military service at his convention, the convention's first-night emphasis on 9/11 opens the door for increased scrutiny of whether the Bush administration did enough to prevent the terrorist attacks.

Much is bubbling under the surface. The president needs to convince voters that Iraq is not only a part of the war on terrorism, but that he has been a strong leader in the fight against terrorism in general.

A group called 911Truth.org that has criticized the 9/11 Commissior being too narrow in focus promoted a new poll Tuesday morning that suggests nearly half of the people who live in New York city and 40 percent of those who live in the state believe that top government leaders "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act."

Ken Hence, a New York activist involved with several watchdog groups of family members and concerned citizens, including 911Truth.org, was critical of the tactic.

"Clearly this is the top of the agenda to link the president's immediate response to 9/11, not what he did in the nine months leading up to the attack," Hence said. "He's trying to invoke the emotions and pain about 9/11 and present the image of steadfast, firm commander-in-chief. If you look at the record in advance of 9/11 and the lack of the [9/11] Commission to hold anyone accountable, it's just obscene."

But if last night's program made clear, not everyone who was directly touched by 9/11 agrees with this sentiment. Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani defended Bush's work in the aftermath of the attacks, and lodged a sustained criticism against Kerry for waffling on his support for the war in Iraq. One of the best lines of the night came when Giuliani said, "at this rate, with 64 days left, he still has time to change his position at least three or four more times.... Maybe this explains John Edwards's need for two Americas - - one where John Kerry can vote for something and another where he can vote against the same thing."

Republicans defend the prominence of 9/11 in the convention by tying Bush to Giuiliani.

"Those who criticize are those who don't believe in the president's agenda," RNC convention spokesman Leonardo Alcivar said in an interview Tuesday. "And they must also disagree with those like Rudy Giuliani who says that you can not ignore 9/11, the reality of 9/11. Last night's discussion was solemn and appropriate. It celebrated the heroes of 9/11 and allowed for Americans to remember the sacrifices of that day by heroic Americans. The reality of it is that it is an issue that affected the whole world and you just can't ignore it. The issue was dealth with in an honest and forthright manner and addressed with dignity and respect."

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Ex Mass. House speaker indicted

By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jan 4, 3:41 PM ET

BOSTON - A former Massachusetts House speaker accused of lying during his testimony in a voting rights lawsuit plans to plead guilty Friday to obstruction of justice, a person familiar with the agreement said Thursday.
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The lawsuit had claimed that a 2001 state law that redrew legislative district boundaries discriminated against minorities in Boston while protecting incumbents, including the now-former House speaker, Thomas Finneran. A federal court panel eventually tossed out the legislative map, finding it "sacrificed racial fairness."

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Bush to name retired admiral as top spy

By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer
January 4, 2007

WASHINGTON - President Bush has chosen a 25-year intelligence veteran, retired Vice Adm. Mike McConnell, to be the country's second national intelligence director as he reshapes national security strategy with two years left in his presidency.

The current director, career diplomat John Negroponte, will move into the long-vacant job as top deputy to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

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Pat Robertson: Predictions of Death

Pat Robertson predicts 'mass killing'
Wed Jan 3, 5:32 AM ET

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - In what has become an annual tradition of prognostications, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in "mass killing" late in 2007.


"I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network. "The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."

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US evangelical broadcaster forecasts deadly 2007
Wed Jan 3, 9:34 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson says God has warned him of devastating terror attacks and "mass killing" in the second half of 2007.

"The Lord didn't say nuclear, but I do believe it'll be something like that -- that'll be a mass killing, possibly millions of people, major cities injured," Robertson said Tuesday on his faith-based television show "The 700 Club."

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Christian broadcaster predicts terrorist attack
By Andy Sullivan Wed Jan 3, 10:59 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson says God told him a terrorist attack will result in "mass killing" in the United States in the second half of 2007.

"I'm not saying necessarily nuclear, the Lord didn't say nuclear," Robertson said on Tuesday on his television show "The 700 Club." "It'll be mass killing, possibly millions of people, major cities.

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US warns of possible terrorist reprisals after Somali Islamist fall

Wed Jan 3, 11:39 AM ET

NAIROBI (AFP) - The United States warned its citizens in Kenya of possible reprisals by terrorist groups after Somalia's Islamists were defeated by Ethiopian-backed government forces.
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Two days after the Islamists abandoned their last base in southern Somalia, the US embassy in Nairobi urged Americans "to exercise caution due to military operations in Somalia."

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FBI report shows mistreatment of Guantanamo detainees

Wed Jan 3, 2:05 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A Guantanamo official squatted over a Koran in front of a chained detainee and another bearded detainee's head was wrapped in heavy packing tape as he prayed, a newly released
FBI document on mistreatment at the war-on-terror prison reports.
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The incidents were among more than 30 cited by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in an internal 2004 poll on possible abuse witnessed at the US Navy prison facility at Guantanamo, Cuba.


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Chertoff vows emergency systems upgrade

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jan 3, 7:09 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The nation's homeland security chief pledged Wednesday that 75 metropolitan areas would have modern disaster communications systems in place by 2009, even as a report by his agency conceded that many communities have a long way to go.

While providing no concrete detail, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff essentially promised to scrap old radios and ancient grudges that continue to bedevil communications during crises, even five years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.


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9 more bones recovered at ground zero

Wed Jan 3, 10:43 PM ET

NEW YORK - Nine more human bones were found Wednesday in the city's ongoing search for the remains of Sept. 11 victims missed in the initial cleanup after the 2001 terrorist attack.

Forensic anthropologists found five of the bones while sifting through debris from the World Trade Center site at a Brooklyn facility, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the city medical examiner's office. Workers also found four bones while digging up a service road on the western edge of the site, she said.

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Democrats set homeland security changes

By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer
Jan 4, 2007

WASHINGTON - Hours after taking control of Congress, House Democrats disclosed a plan they said would strengthen homeland security after five years of complaining that Republicans weren't doing enough.

Democrats say their legislation bill would implement the unfinished 9/11 Commission recommendations that fall under the Homeland Security Committee's jurisdiction.


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4 cities cut, 4 added for terror grants

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer
January 4, 2007

WASHINGTON - Four U.S. cities will get a fresh infusion of federal anti-terror grant money, and four others will be cut off from such grants, under a new government list of urban areas considered at serious risk of attacks and eligible to share $747 million.

The list obtained Thursday by The Associated Press shows the four newly eligible cities are El Paso, Texas; Norfolk, Va.; Providence, R.I.; and Tucson, Ariz.


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Federal judge says foreign Guantanamo detainees may not sue

But judge also says attempt to deny habeas corpus to legal immigrants is unconstitutional.

By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
December 14, 2006 at 12:15 p.m.

In a decision that backs a key portion of the Military Commissions Act (MCA), a federal judge has ruled that foreign prisoners held at the US prison camp Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, may not sue in US courts for their freedom. But US District Judge James Robertson also ruled that the law's attempt to deny that right to legal US immigrants was unconstitutional.

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US military may recruit foreigners to serve

Pentagon considering several 'disputed proposals' including fast-track citizenship for volunteers.

By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com
December 26, 2006 at 11:30 a.m.

Struggling to fill its depleted ranks using American citizenry, the US military is considering recruiting more non-US citizens, according to Pentagon officials.

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Amicus, IG-Metall and two US labour groups join forces to confront the power of the multinationals

Birth of the first global super-union

Oliver Morgan, industrial editor
Sunday December 31, 2006
The Observer

British, American and German unions are to forge a pact to challenge the power of global capitalism in a move towards creating an international union with more than 6 million members.

Amicus, the UK's largest private sector union, has signed agreements with the German engineering union IG-Metall and two of the largest labour organisations in the US, the United Steelworkers and the International Association of Machinists, to prevent companies playing off their workforces in different countries against each other.


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TSA Nears Decision on Contract for Government ID Cards

By Griff Witte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 2, 2007; Page D02

Competition is heating up among contractors to supply the government with identity technology as one agency prepares to award a major contract and another readies a request for bids.

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President's Statement on H.R. 6407, the "Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act"

Today I have signed into law H.R. 6407, the "Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act." The Act is designed to improve the quality of postal service for Americans and to strengthen the free market for delivery services.

President George W. Bush signs H.R. 6407, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., joined by, from left to right, Postmaster General Jack Potter, Sen. Thomas Carper of Delaware, James C. Miller III, Chairman fof the Postal Service Board of Governors; Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Rep. Danny Davis of Illinois and Rep. John McHugh of New York. White House photo by Eric Draper The executive branch shall construe sections 3662 and 3663 of title 39, United States Code, as enacted by section 205 of the Act, not to authorize an officer or agency within the executive branch to institute proceedings in Federal court against the Postal Regulatory Commission, which is another part of the executive branch, as is consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and the constitutional limitation of Federal courts to deciding cases or controversies.


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Lawyer Ends Up Dead After Taking On Rove

Wednesday December 27th 2006, 10:26 pm

It’s fishy as hell.

Paul Sanford, a prominent Aptos, California, attorney, who accused Karl Rove of treason in the Plame outing case, took a leap from the Embassy Suites Hotel in Monterey Bay on Christmas Eve. Police describe it as “probable” suicide, even though it appears Sanford was not depressed.

“Friends and associates expressed disbelief at the news of Sanford’s death and that it was ruled a suicide, saying Sanford seemed happy and had made many plans for this week and in coming months. [Business associate and friend Shawn Mills] said he and Sanford recently decided to open a shared law office to serve Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, something Sanford was looking forward to doing,” reports the Monterey Herald. “Mills said he had spoken to Sanford’s wife, Paula, and that she also was in shock. He said Sanford, a father of two, was a devoted family man.” Sanford “would never have intentionally put his family through that trauma. Something’s not right, it doesn’t make sense.”


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