The Sterling Closing Arguments: Who Is the Hero, Who Is the Storyteller?
"Jeffrey Sterling was the hero of Risen's story," prosecutor Eric Olshan finished his closing argument in the Jeffrey Sterling trial. "Don't let him be the hero of this one."
"They are patriots," prosecutor Jim Trump ended his remarks,…
Government Tries to Implicate Sterling with Calls to CIA's House Reporter
The FBI Special Agent who investigated the Merlin leak, Ashley Hunt, testified on Wednesday.
Much of the evidence she entered into the record pertained to the (remarkably limited) phone records between James Risen and Jeffrey Sterling…
Afghan Cabinet: Nominate First, Screen Later
Just under two weeks ago, it appeared that one of the final hurdles in getting the Afghan government functioning after the disputed election may have been cleared, as a full slate for the cabinet was announced. Sadly, even though Ashraf Ghani…
Government Tries to Convict Jeffrey Sterling for Retroactively Classified Documents about Rotary Phones
After a week of ominous language about the dangers of leaking classified documents, the 14 jurors in the Jeffrey Sterling trial Tuesday got their first look at purportedly classified documents.
Martha Lutz, the CIA's Chief of Litigation…
Ebola Outbreak Finally Receding in Sierra Leone; CDC Modeling Was Incredibly Accurate
Back in late September, just a week before Ebola panic hit a peak in the US when a patient in Dallas was diagnosed with the disease, the CDC produced a remarkable study in which they modeled the expected number of Ebola cases both with and without…
Government Pioneers Hairdresser Venue-Shopping in Jeffrey Sterling Case
Here's my latest on the Jeffrey Sterling trial from ExposeFacts.org:
Coming back into the courtroom after a break in the Jeffrey Sterling trial this afternoon, I heard an odd conversation. Apparently the government had unsuccessfully…
Rehman's Jinnah Institute Causes Stir as Pakistani Federal Minister Calls Out Saudi Destabilization
Back when she was Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman rankled the Obama Administration when she said in an interview with Christiane Amanpour that US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal regions "radicalize footsoldiers,…
The Tie between Jeffrey Sterling and CIA-on-the-Hudson
My latest post on the Jeffrey Sterling trial notes that the same guy who called Sterling's performance "extremely sub-par" is also the guy who set up the NYPD's program profiling Muslims.
On Friday, former high ranking CIA officer David Cohen…
Cyber Secret Sources Finally Met a Snowden Leak to Love!
The NYT has a story describing the rise of the North Korean 6,000-strong hacking unit, which (the story explains) the NSA has been watching closely since 2010.
Spurred by growing concern about North Korea’s maturing capabilities, the American…
Working Thread on DOJ IG Report on 702
Charlie Savage liberated a 2012 Inspector General Report on Section 702 which he wrote about here. Here's my working thread on the report.
Cover: This was released sometime (undated) in September 2012. Around that time, Pat Leahy was complaining…
NFL Conference Championship Trash Talk
Back by popular demand, and in the face of kudzu like anti-sports grumps, it is Emptywheel's Famous Football Trash Talk! The field is now down to four Green Bay at Seattle, and Indianapolis at New England.
The early game is the one that Phred…
The Privileges Waging a "War" on Terror Thereby Accords AQAP
"Hey, William Shirer? It's J. Edgar here. I think you're disgusting for reporting from Nazi Germany."
Actually, I have no idea what J. Edgar Hoover thought of William Shirer's reporting from Nazi Germany. I don't even know whether Hoover…
Jim Comey Bullies NYT to Stop Publishing Anonymous Claims about Drone Killings
Best as I can tell, the FBI Director has officially told the NYT to stop republishing anonymous government claims about drone strikes anymore.
“Your decision to grant anonymity to a spokesperson for [an organization] so he could clarify…
The Government's Database Arbitrage
I have long believed that the government put Iran on its list of approved target countries under the Section 215 dragnet not to use for counterterrorism purposes (the terror Iran seems to have sponsored of late is largely US generated), but…
The Jeffrey Sterling Trial: Merlin Meets Curveball
Here's my latest post from the Jeffrey Sterling trial at ExposeFacts.org, I describe how a top CIA officer -- one who works in counterproliferation -- used "curveball unironically," even while presenting information that raised new concerns…
Islamic State Recruiter in Afghanistan Was "Substantially Exploited" at Guantanamo
Many outlets are reporting on the disclosure earlier this week that there appears to be active recruiting for Islamic State taking place in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Here is AP as carried by ABC News:
Afghan officials confirmed for the…
Coverage from the Jeffrey Sterling Trial
I'm covering the beginning of the Jeffrey Sterling trial this week with ExposeFacts.org. This post lays out the opening arguments from yesterday, showing how circumstantial the government's case is. More interesting, if I do say so myself, is…
Per Capita US Support for Pakistan's Displaced Dwarfs Support for Syrian Refugees
John Kerry visited Pakistan yesterday to provide the delayed announcement of $250 million from the US to aid displaced Pakistanis and rebuild infrastructure in the wake of the Zarb-e-Azb offensive against terrorists in Pakistan's tribal areas.…
PATRIOT Extension: Congress Can't Just Extend PATRIOT
I've been remiss in laying out what I think the real solution for Section 215 is; I hope to get to that later this week.
Meanwhile, in the House, the question of what to do about the phone dragnet is already heating up. Adam Schiff, newly…
The Latest Phone Dragnet Addition: Imminent Death Overrides
As I noted in this post, I Con the Record has released the latest phone dragnet order, this one signed by Oregon judge Michael Mosman.
As with the last order (which added language ensuring the government do a First Amendment review even when…