’04 Pentagon Report Cited Detention Concerns
“A previously undisclosed Pentagon report concluded that the three terrorism suspects held at a brig in South Carolina were subjected to months of isolation, and it warned that their “unique” solitary confinement could be viewed as violating U.S. detention standards.” (WaPo)
Clinton-Appointee Judge Upholds Bush In Detainee Ruling
“A federal judge upheld the Bush administration’s new terrorism law Wednesday, agreeing that Guantanamo Bay detainees do not have the right to challenge their imprisonment in U.S. courts.
“The ruling by U.S. District Judge James Robertson is the first to address the new Military Commissions Act and is a legal victory for the Bush administration at a time when it has been fending off criticism of the law from Democrats and libertarians.
“Robertson rejected a legal challenge by Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden whose case prompted the Supreme Court to strike down the Bush administration’s policy on detainees last year.
“Following Hamdan’s victory, Bush asked for and got a new law that established military commissions to try enemy combatants and stripped them of the right to seek their freedom in U.S. courts.
“Hamdan’s case was sent back before Robertson, a nominee of President Clinton who was a prominent civil rights advocate in private practice.” (AP)
Federal Judge Asked to Decide if Padilla Is Competent for Trial
“Saying that he was mentally damaged as a result of his three years and eight months in a naval brig in South Carolina, lawyers for Jose Padilla asked a federal judge in Miami yesterday to determine his competency to stand trial on terrorism conspiracy charges.” (NYTimes)
U.S. Subpoena Is Seen as Bid to Stop Leaks
“Federal prosecutors are trying to force the American Civil Liberties Union to turn over copies of a classified document it received from a source, using what legal experts called a new extension of the Bush administrationâs efforts to protect national-security secrets.
“The novelty in the governmentâs approach is in its broad use of a grand jury subpoena, which is typically a way to gather evidence, rather than to confiscate all traces of it. But the subpoena issued to the A.C.L.U. seeks ‘any and all copies’ of a document e-mailed to it unsolicited in October, indicating that the government also wants to prevent further dissemination of the information in the document.” (NYTimes)
Will Murtha Stand In the Way of Earmark Reform?
Harper’s Ken Silverstein questions whether Rep. John Murtha, heading up the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, will hinder the Democrats’ proposed earmark ban by examining a Spring fundraiser Murtha holds, frequented by defense contractors.
“Each spring in the House of Representatives the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee approves its version of the mammoth Pentagon spending bill, taking the opportunity as it does so to quietly award billions of dollars worth of grants (known as earmarks) to well-connected defense companies. And every year, shortly before the bill is approved, Congressman John Murtha (D., Penn.), a powerhouse on that subcommittee, holds a major fundraising event that rakes in big bucks from firms hoping for federal money.”
Swiftboat Vets and MoveOn Settle With FEC
“Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and MoveOn.org Voter Fund, two outside groups that played key roles in the 2004 presidential election, reached an agreement with the Federal Election Commission to pay nearly $450,000 for various violations.
“The groups, along with the League of Conservation Voters, settled charges that they failed ‘to register and file disclosure reports as federal political committees and accepted contributions in violation of federal limits and source prohibitions,’ the FEC said in a statement Wednesday.
“The commission approved the three settlements on a vote of 6-0.” (AP)
Judge Hits FEMA On Katrina Counting Errors
“A federal judge on Wednesday called the Bush administrationâs handling of a Hurricane Katrina housing program âa legal disasterâ and ordered officials to explain a computer system that cannot count evacuees with precision or explain why they were denied aid.” (AP)
Pork Moratorium Throws Spending Process In Doubt
“The announcement this week that the new Democratic Congress will eliminate all 2007 spending earmarks and instead pass a stopgap measure to keep the government funded for the entirety of this fiscal year has caused widespread confusion and anxiety, both within the Bush administration and on K Street, as lobbyists scramble to figure out how their clients will be affected.
“‘We donât know what that means,’ said Sean Kevelighan, spokesman for Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman. He added, ‘Thereâs no real clarity above and beyond the statement that was released.'” (Roll Call)
Guam Governor Stands By Sanchez In Abramoff-Related Indictment
“Gov. Felix Camacho is standing by Tony Sanchez, the former Superior Court of Guam administrator who was indicted in local court Tuesday in connection with the local court’s payments to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
“Sanchez is a staff assistant to the governor and is a former chief of staff at Camacho’s office.
“Though the governor said yesterday he was not aware of the details of the indictment, ‘under our judicial system, the American … system of justice, an indictment is merely an accusation and Mr. Sanchez is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“‘He remains employed in my office,’ the governor said.
“Sanchez and California attorney Howard Hills were indicted by a Superior Court grand jury in connection with the $324,000 in payments from the local court to Abramoff between 2001 and 2002.” (Pacific Daily News)
William Myers Nomination In Danger
“The nomination of Boise lawyer William Gerry Myers III, which has been stalled in the Senate for three years, may have almost reached an end. Now that Democrats have control of Congress, a consensus has formed on Capitol Hill that Myers – who has stirred up some of the fiercest Democratic opposition of all Bush’s judicial nominees – has almost no chance of getting through.
“‘I think he’s definitely a well-qualified nominee, but whether he can make it through a Democratic Congress is a different story,’ said Dan Whiting, spokesman for Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who first submitted Myers to Bush as a potential nominee.
“That’s especially true now that some have suggested Myers may have misled senators about meeting lobbyist Jack Abramoff during questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, lawmakers say.” (AP)
White House Seeks To Keep Cheney Records Secret
“The Bush administration asked an appeals court Wednesday to overrule a federal judge and allow the White House to keep secret any records of visitors to Vice President Dick Cheney’s residence and office.
“To make the visitor records public would be an ‘unprecedented intrusion into the daily operations of the vice presidency,’ the Justice Department argued in a 57-page brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia.
“The government was responding to an October order, by U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, to release two years of White House visitor logs to The Washington Post. The newspaper, researching the access lobbyists and others had on the White House, sought Secret Service records for anyone visiting Cheney, his legal counsel, chief spokesman and other top aides and advisers.” (AP)
Bill Jefferson Thankful â Publicly, at Least â For Lesser Assignment
“On Wednesday the Steering Committee said Jefferson, who won a runoff election last Saturday to claim a ninth term representing his New Orleans district, would join the Small Business Committee, one of the more low-profile committees in Congress.
“Jefferson, in a statement, said he appreciated the granting of his request to join Small Business because ‘it allows me to focus on areas of our (Katrina) recovery that deserve more attention such as the Small Business Administration loan program.’
“He also thanked the steering committee for protecting his seniority on Ways and Means, the committee that sets tax, welfare and trade policy, ‘and the opportunity to return at a later date.'” (AP)
Leahy Promises FBI Oversight
“Patrick Leahy said his panel also will look at recommendations by the Iraq Study Group that law enforcement officials from the FBI and other offices in the Justice Department be sent to Iraq to boost a police force riddled with corruption. Leahy noted reports that police helped Saddam Hussein’s nephew escape from a prison near Mosul.
“‘The police force has proven to be one of the worst failures of the occupation,’ said Leahy, D-Vt. ‘I look forward to the Judiciary Committee contributing to these efforts by exploring the dozen recommendations relating to the Iraqi justice system and the training of Iraqi police forces.'”
“Leahy said he would also deal with what he says are the administration’s human rights abuses by creating a new subcommittee focused on legislation on such issues as torture and detainee treatment. Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois will chair the new panel, Leahy said.” (AP)
