The Inspector Generals of Justice, Defense, CIA, NSA, and the Director of National Intelligence released their report on the “President’s Surveillance Program.” This report was mandated by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Spencer Ackerman blogs his run through the report at the Washington Independent. He highlights the finding that Alberto Gonzales’s testimony before Congress was misleading, but not intentionally so. He also reports that the IGs determined that the majority of leads generated by the program had no connection to terrorism. Andy McCarthy has his own rundown, which includes notes that two 9/11 hijackers would have been identified through the program and that Congressional leaders were briefed about the program. The Washington Post keyed in on the report’s finding that only three lawyers at the Department of Justice were briefed on the program, noting that this structure allowed memos to evade “a rigorous peer review process.” And Jack Balkin reminds readers that most of the activities in the report are now legal. Meanwhile, Glenn Greenwald is irritated by the restrictions placed on the IGs in producing their report. And Ryan Singel warns that some criminal prosecutions might be tainted by information gained through the program but not shared with defense attorneys.
CIA Director Leon Panetta revealed that the CIA had actively concealed operations from Congress for years, including some outright lies. Eli Lake reports that one concealed program might have involved assassination. Later follow-ups suggest that former VP Dick Cheney might be behind the concealment. Steven Taylor has this takeaway from the whole situation: “The broader problem here is that the current congressional oversight process over intelligence doesn’t work very well (if at all).” Some Democrats agree and have sought to expand the number of congressmen that must be briefed on CIA activities; President Obama has pledged to veto any Intelligence Authorization bill that includes that requirement (see original link). Interestingly, one of the more prominent bloggers brought into the Obama administration was Marty Lederman, who, last year, proposed a measure remarkably similar to Congress’s (it is doubtful that this issue will involve OLC, however, which is where Lederman is now working).
Pentagon general counsel Jeh Johnson claims that the executive can detain people it claims as national-security threats even if they are acquitted in a criminal trial. Deborah Pearlstein claims that this is not as controversial as many have made it out to be, pointing out that prisoner-of-war detention has never been subject to the results of criminal trial. Jonathan Turley, by contrast, sees this as the “retention and expansion of abusive Bush policies.” And Michael Goldfarb, cheering the decision, calls the assertion of power “no different than it was under Bush.”
President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a deal to reduce nuclear armaments in the two countries by a third. Former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger hopes that this is not the first step towards a nuclear-free world. Dave Schuler has more from both sides.
Attorney General Eric Holder might appoint a prosecutor to investigate claims of torture and detainee abuse. The Washington Post reports that such a prosecutor would only investigate claims against interrogators who went beyond legal authorizations offered by the DoJ. Scott Horton claims, however, that the decision is not final and that the scope may include individuals who formulated “enhanced interrogation” procedures. Glenn Greenwald claims that Horton is the only source peddling that line and offers his own thoughts on the proposal.
Scott Horton looks again at the Office of Professional Responsibility in the DoJ and comes away unimpressed. John Gibeaut notes that Horton is not alone, telling the story of Judge Mark Wolf’s attempt to punish an Assistant U.S. Attorney for Brady violations.
The F-22 Raptor continues fighting through Congress and the White House. The Washington Post reports that the aircraft is much more expensive to maintain that projected, but that this does not deter the plane’s backers, who expect costs to come down in the future and claim that the F-22 is the best response to modern threats. Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. James Cartwright, told Congress that he does not see the Raptor providing the full range of combat support and called for an end to the program. And a whistleblower accused jetmaker Lockheed of defrauding the U.S. over the F-22’s skin. Brian Doherty would like to remind readers that “[t]he F-22 has never been flown over Iraq or Afghanistan.” In related news, the F-35 might be the last manned fighter produced by the United States.
Several United States and South Korean sites were hit by coordinated denial of service attacks. This led Rep. Pete Hoekstra to call for a “show of force” against North Korea.
The Pentagon health department recommended that Defense Secretary Robert Gates ban smoking and the sale of tobacco on military facilities. John Cole (retired US Army) guesses that homosexuals will be allowed in the military before tobacco is not.
K. Daniel Glover reports on the expanding White House communications team and its attempts to control media reports on the President. James Joyner notes that this, while unhealthy, is not too dissimilar from previous presidencies and calls it a “natural evolution of the system.”
Jim Harper has further updates on the White House’s “sunlight before signing” promise. According to his count, since the administration revised its position on the promise to display bills for five days before signing them, nine bills have been signed into law by President Obama. None have been displayed.
The number of “czars” in the Obama administration now exceeds the number of czars in Russian history. Salena Zito worries that this this is an end run around Congress and oversight authority.
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