EXECUTIVE WATCH

Sen. Ted Kennedy

Sen. Edward Kennedy succumbed to brain cancer.  Kennedy had been a senator for 46 years.  His death leaves the Democrats with 59 senators instead of the filibuster-proof 60 (though they have been effectively operating with 58 senators recently, Kennedy being absent while undergoing cancer treatment and Robert Byrd staying at home in West Virginia).  Kennedy had urged Massachusetts to change the state’s procedure for choosing a replacement senator; currently, the law requires a special election 145 to 160 days after the vacancy arises.  Doug Bandow says that the Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for that mess.

Attorney General Eric Holder appointed John Durham as a special prosecutor with the mandate to investigate detainee abuse allegedly committed by the CIA.  The New York Times has a look at the bureaucratic struggles that this probe is aggravating.  Notable amongst those are the frustration of CIA efforts to end DoJ inquiries and the general sense of irritation at White House Cousel Gregory Craig for his troubles with message management.  Quin Hillyer makes no secret of his support for CIA in this struggle and worries that CIA director Leon Panetta is already on his way out of the administration.  Rep. Peter King says that Holder has “declared war” on the CIA.  Contrast that with Glenn Greenwald, who says that Holder’s investigation is designed to find a few bad apples while leaving the policymakers safe.  David Cole agrees that the investigation should push further.

The Obama administration directed the Office of Legal Counsel to release a wide range of memoranda on various aspects of the War on Terror.  They have helpfully been made available on the DoJ website.  John Elwood has helpfully reviewed and categorized them at the Volokh Conspiracy.  Scott Horton has helpfully read one of the memos; you can learn how an “extraordinary rendition” is done, step-by-step, by reading his summary.

The Washington Post reported that waterboarding and other techniques were effective in getting alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to talk.  Thomas Joscelyn predicts that this is just the first of several documents and reports that will justify “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

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