Turkee Trash Tawk
Welp, here we are for another Thanksgiving at the Wheelhouse. And thankful you all are hear with us. This will be a pretty abbreviated trash because there are only three games on the docket for today. First up, as always, is the traditional…
Thanks Be for Michigan's Bounty -- Better Load Up for Another Tough Winter
Yesterday, Michael Whitney linked to a flawed Thanksgiving quiz, as it seemed to be missing the correct answer on most questions. My answers, if given a choice, would read:
1: What time do you start eating dinner? A: Around 2, when you start…
Obama Should Only Nominate Jeh Johnson If He Plans on Breaking Up DHS
There are multiple reports that President Obama is considering nominating Jeh Johnson to head DOD.
I get the attraction. Obama and Johnson get along well. Johnson only recently left DOD, so he knows it -- and the legal loopholes it exploits…
In Response to NYT Lawsuit, FBI Reclassifies 26 Words
Last week, a number of people hailed the further declassification of DOJ Inspector General's Report on FBI's use of Exigent Letters.
That enthusiasm is misplaced, however. What too few people noticed is the thankless work Charlie Savage…
Benghazi: A Poster Child for Covert Ops Blowback
You've no doubt heard that, last Friday (a pre-holiday Friday, as some people are already on their way to Thanksgiving), the Benghazi scandal ended with a fizzle.
The House Intelligence Committee released its report on the Benghazi attack,…
Ferguson/Wilson Grand Jury Return Thoughts and Working Materials
Last night was quite a night in the greater St. Louis Missouri area, especially the towns of Ferguson and Clayton, where the St. Louis County seat and courthouse is located.
First, at the insanely reckless, and inexplicably late hour of…
A Radical Proposal of Following the Law
Mieke Eoyang, the Director of Third Way's National Security Program, has what Ben Wittes bills as a "disruptive" idea: to make US law the exclusive means to conduct all surveillance involving US companies.
But reforming these programs doesn’t…
As Obama Embraces Multi-Fronted War, He Fires Chuck Hagel
In recent days, the press has reported that President Obama signed an order (or on second thought, maybe it's just an unsigned decision that can't be FOIAed, so don't start anything, Jason Leopold) basically halting and partly reversing…
Another Iraq Failure by Petraeus: Graft-Ridden Military
Back when the Bush Administration and their neocon operators were most proud of their "accomplishments" in Iraq, their poster boy for this success most often was my favorite ass-kissing little chickenshit, David Petraeus. As the public finally…
Another Informant Lost in a Defeat List?
Sky News reports on an investigation into Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who killed British soldier Lee Rigby in May 2013.
The report apparently admits that MI5 tried to recruit Adebolajo -- but it claims it didn't have him under…
The Masked US Marshals Who Nabbed Chapo Guzmán
In the middle of a story about a masked US Marshal who was injured in an operation against the cartels in Mexico in July, Devlin Barrett reveals what was obvious, but never confirmed, at the time. US Marshals (and other US personnel) were involved…
Lake Effect Trash Talk
Whoo boy, there is a bit of snow that shuffled in to Buffalo recently. So, with the Kittehs over in Foxborough taking on the steamrolling Pats, Buffalo will be the "home team" in Detroit for their game against the Jets. And tickets will be free,…
The Drone Rule Book Has Made It Easier for Our Partners To Drone Kill With Us Again
As I noted earlier, one of the questions that National Counterterrorism Center nominee Nick Rasmussen got asked in his prehearing confirmation questions pertained to the Drone Rule Book.
He was asked about his role in writing the "US Policy…
On the USA Freedom Act's Data Handshake
As I noted yesterday, part of the effort to pass the USA Freedom Act involved what I call a "data handshake:" A deal whereby all four major telecoms would keep call detail records 2 years, without a mandate to do so.
At Foreign Policy, I…
The "DSOP Accommodation"
In what may serve as the public transition moment from Dianne Feinstein to Richard Burr (in part because Saxby Chambliss was absent), the Senate Intelligence Committee considered the nomination of Nick Rasmussen to head National Counterterrorism…
Dianne Feinstein Describes the Data Handshake
I'm going to transcribe some comments Dianne Feinstein made Tuesday night about how proponents of USA Freedom Act got around a data mandate requiring telecoms to keep data longer than they otherwise would. The short version? Rather than a data…
Yes, the Government Does Spy Under Grandfathered Approvals
Charlie Savage is catching no end of shit today because he reported on a provision in the PATRIOT Act (one I just noticed Tuesday, actually, when finding the sunset language for something else) that specifies ongoing investigations may continue…
The 2009 Last Ditch Attempt to Undercut the FISA Court
As I laid out in this timeline, sometime in fall 2009, the NSA submitted an end-to-end report describing the Internet dragnet. Then, weeks later, David Kris wrote Reggie Walton, admitting that the had been collecting data outside the categories…
Amano, Sanger Still Trying to Disrupt P5+1 Deal With Iran
Monday is the deadline set by the P5+1 group of nations and Iran for achieving a final agreement on steps to assure the world that Iran's nuclear program is only aimed at the civilian uses of producing electricity and providing isotopes for…
The 2009 Challenge to the Dragnet
Ken Dilanian has a story about someone who looks a lot like Chris Inglis raising questions about the phone dragnet in 2009.
A now-retired NSA senior executive, who was a longtime code-breaker who rose to top management, had just learned in…