DOJ's Cake-Eating on Journalists Will Build Support for Faulty Journalist Shield
As many people have reported, SCOTUS today declined to take Jim Risen's appeal of the Fourth Circuit's decision requiring him to testify in Jeff Sterling's trial. As I noted at the time of the decision, this effectively guts any reporter's privilege…
Why Is DOJ Hiding Three Phone Dragnet Orders in Plain Sight?
The ACLU and EFF FOIAs for Section 215 documents are drawing to a head. Later this week, EFF will have a court hearing in their suit. And last Friday, the government renewed its bid for summary judgment in the ACLU case.
Both suits pivot…
Will Successful Bergdahl Negotiations Get US-Taliban Peace Negotiations Going Again?
This weekend's swap of Bowe Bergdahl for five Afghan Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo has triggered responses on a large number of fronts. For now, I will leave it to others to sort through whether Obama was required to inform Congress, whether…
NSA Is Still Hiding Where They're Hiding the Internet Dragnet
On Friday, ACLU got a mystery declaration in their FOIA lawsuit for Section 215 records: a declaration from NSA Deputy Associate Director for Policy and Records Diane Janosek. It was filed back on February 8, 2013, along with a bunch of FBI…
Does NSA Consider Facial Matches "Connections"?
James Risen and Laura Poitras have a new Snowden story on the many ways the NSA collects and matches images.
While once focused on written and oral communications, the N.S.A. now considers facial images, fingerprints and other identifiers…
EFF Accuses the Government of Spoliation of Evidence
I've written about these accusations in the past. EFF got a preservation order in its NSA lawsuits back in 2008. Only after the government asked for permission to destroy phone dragnet data earlier this year did they learn the government has…
Snowden: "A Classified Executive Order"
Yesterday, I noted that the subject of Edward Snowden's emailed question to NSA's Office of General Counsel pertained to one of the under-reported themes of his leaks, the way NSA uses EO 12333 to collect data on Americans that either clearly…
Graphing the Afghanistan Surge Out of Existence
On Wednesday, Jason Leopold tweeted this image that had been released by the White House:
Marcy quickly responded, "Funny how you can graph surge out of existence."
So how did the White House make Obama's surge of troops into Afghanistan…
NSA's Training Programs Are a Mess
In addition to the way NSA claims to be operating under EO 12333 at times when it might be operating under some law passed by Congress, there's another reason why Snowden's question to NSA's Office of General Counsel is worthwhile (though…
Snowden's Emailed Question Addresses One Abuse Revealed by His Leaks
In an effort to rebut Edward Snowden's claims that he raised concerns via proper channels, NSA just released an email Snowden sent to NSA's Office of General Counsel. The email reveals their own training is not clear about something central…
Trent Franks and the EMP Threat to the Electrical Grid
At a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing for Department of Homeland Security today, Trent Franks implored DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson to consider the threat of electromagnetic pulse or geomagnetic disturbance to the electrical grid…
Causing Exceptionally Grave Harm to National Security by FOIAing FOIA Process
Jason Leopold has a new article at the Guardian based off a FOIA of NSA's FOIA process. Perhaps the funniest part of the documents he received, however, is the number of times the NSA claimed its own discussion of FOIA process -- including praise…
Albright Drops Pretense of Neutrality, Goes All In With MEK Terrorists
I have long criticized David Albright for his behavior in helping those who have tried to fan the flames over the years for a war with Iran. His role usually consists of providing technical "analysis" that somehow always works to support the…
The Law and EO-Breaking Report
One of the things I was most surprised about in the House Intelligence Authorization was a requirement that the Director of National Intelligence report violations of law or EO 12333 to the Intelligence Committees.
SEC. 510. ANNUAL REPORT ON…
Mike Rogers' Senior NSA Retiree Working For Foreign Government Cooling Off
I'm still working through the Intelligence Authorization and proposed amendments, which have been posted but which may or may not get a vote.
I'm particularly puzzled by an Amendment Mike Rogers submitted at the last minute, after having…
Republicans Refuse to Expand Climate Change Analysis in Intelligence Authorization
I will have a few posts on the Intelligence Authorization that passed the House Intelligence Committee last week. (h/t Steven Aftergood)
But before I talked about what made it into the bill, I'd like to highlight what isn't in it: language…
Did Obama's Handling of Karzai When Visiting Kabul Put Bilateral Security Agreement at Risk?
Demonstrating once again that electoral politics trumps all other considerations for his administration, Barack Obama mostly went along with the military's recommendation (successful US political campaigns NEVER contradict the military) on troop…
The Administration's Non-Appeal Appeal on the Awlaki Memo
The Administration has informed the 2nd Circuit it won't appeal its order to release the Anwar al-Awlaki memo. (h/t Mike Scarcella)
But it is going to ask nicely that the Circuit reconsider some of its instructions on redactions.
Granted,…
DOD Reasserts Its Right to Force Feed While Not Denying Force Feeding Is Torture
Last Thursday, as a number of outlets reported, Judge Gladys Kessler declined to renew her own Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting the government from force feeding Abu Wa'el Dhiab. As she wrote, Dhiab was willing to be force fed without…
What If the Democratic Response to Snowden Is to Expand Surveillance?
I got distracted reading two pieces this morning. This great Andrew O'Hehir piece, on how those attacking Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald ought to consider the lesson of Justice Louis Brandeis' dissent in Olmstead.
In the famous wiretapping…