I'm Confused. Are THESE Leaks Permissible, or Not?
As you read this Reuters story, remember that the House voted to mandate investigations into leaks that undermined Israel's case for war against Iran and that the biggest new news in David Sanger's reporting on StuxNet is that Joe Biden and…
The Goldman Sachs Department of Justice™ Would Like to Apologize to Mr. Blankfein for the Inconvenience
By now you've heard that Goldman Sachs will not be prosecuted for lying to its customers and having its CEO lie to Congress.
“The department and investigative agencies ultimately concluded that the burden of proof to bring a criminal case…
John Brennan's Incredible Claims
I'm working on a longer post on John Brennan's Yemen speech yesterday. But I wanted to point to both Gregory Johnsen and Yemen Peace Project's responses to his speech. Johnsen calls Brennan's claim we spend over 50% of our Yemen funds on develop…
How Drone Strikes against American Citizens Are Like Clinton's Blowjob
The government has submitted its response in the ACLU/NYT suits for the authorization it used to kill three American citizens. I'm working on a more thorough response, but for the moment, I want to point to one detail that would be funny if…
Making Orders of Magnitude of Fraud Disappear
Yesterday, I wrote a post based on this Reuters story about how banks negotiated settlements that hid the greater part of their crimes (in this case, Standard Chartered Bank's tampering with SWIFT to hide transactions for Iran). The key point…
John Brennan Channels Scott McClellan Dodging Leak Questions
When Margaret Warner asked John Brennan about the leak witch hunt today, he said, in part,
First of all, there are investigations underway, so we have to be mindful of that and respectful of that investigative process.
Secondly, the…
John Brennan Vows to Combat the "Bad Guys" Attacking Our Critical Infrastructure
John Brennan just gave a speech, purportedly about our policy in Yemen. But it ended up being largely about infrastructure, That's partly because his speech focused on how, rather than spending 75% of our Yemen funds on bombs, we're now spending…
The Superintendent of Financial Services Draws the Curtain Back on the Get Out of Jail Free Industry
As Yves and I suspected, NY Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky was breaking the unwritten rules that regulators should help banks avoid any consequences for violating sanctions and other violations when he released details…
NGOs to Congress: Don't Hide Our Secret Government
I noted last week that the Senate Intelligence Committee had acceded to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's request that it repeal the requirement that his office produce a yearly report on the number of people with security clearances.
On…
Blackwater's Slap on the Wrist for Gun Smuggling and Arms Trafficking
Viewed from one perspective the facts that Blackwater has admitted to amount to running guns--precisely the crime that Fast and Furious attempted to combat. Viewed from another perspective, Blackwater's actions amount to the same kind of thing…
9th Circuit: No Way to Punish the Government If They Illegally Collect (But Don't Use) Your Telecommunications
As Josh Gerstein just reported, the 9th Circuit has thrown out a decision against the government in the al-Haramain wiretapping suit. While they don't comment on Judge Vaughn Walker's judgement that al-Haramain had standing and had proven they…
Why Is the Superintendent of Financial Services Policing our Iran Sanctions?
NY's Superintendent of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky, yesterday dropped the hammer on the UK's Standard Chartered Bank, accusing it of doctoring financial documents to facilitate the laundering of Iranian money through its US banks.
Like…
If Mitt Had Had His Way, San Diego Would Have Had to Lay Off Another Teacher So He Could Send More $$ Overseas
Had Mitt Romney gotten his way when he asked to have his La Jolla home tax assessment lowered in the wake of the financial crash, San Diego County would have lost enough money to hire a teacher, at a time when the district has been laying off…
This Time, We Were Warned
I noted after the Aurora shooting that trying to make sense of senseless violence gives us a way to avoid confronting what Michael Moore described as our culture's violent nature.
But this time around, the documented ties between the killer,…
It's Not Just Whether Nidal Hasan's Emails Stuck Out, It's Whether Abdulmutallab's Did
I've been meaning to return to the Webster report on Nidal Hasan's conversations with Anwar al-Awlaki. This conversation between Gunpowder & Lead and Intelwire about how alarming those emails were will be a start provides a good place to…
When One Mormon Gossips about Another Mormon Not Paying His Taxes
For the record, I think Mitt has multiple reasons to hide his tax returns. I think it's largely about what his returns would say about his business practices, it's partly about his tax shelters, and, one way or another, it's about his relative…
Peter King Rejoins the Leak Witch Hunt
Yesterday I suggested that it was quite possible that the story that Obama signed a Finding authorizing support for Syrian may have come from Congressional, not Executive Branch, sources.
First, this story is based on the leak of a covert Finding–precisely…
In MI This Year It's All about the Referenda
MI's Supreme Court just ruled that, in spite of the purportedly improper font size used on petitions, the referendum to overturn MI's Emergency Manager law will be on November's ballot. This may be a tough vote: obviously if we can get rid of…
Tony Bologna, John Pike, and Stop and Frisk: A Bad Couple of Days for Abusive Cops
In a move that might make cops think twice before they go nuts on kettled protestors, NYC has decided not to defend Anthony Bologna, the officer filmed spraying defenseless protestors with pepper spray in NY.
New York City has distanced itself…
Washington Post Contradicts ISAF Narrative on Afghan Troop Capabilities
If you visit ISAF's website this morning, you are greeted with the yet another dose of ISAF's propaganda campaign aimed at building an image of the capability of Afghan forces that is far beyond reality. Today's headliner from ISAF is proudly…