Buck Naked Politics

FBI Thwarts 4 Homegrown Terrorists Who Were Planning to Blow Up Bronx Synagogues

by Damozel |  Their arrest began with them planting bombs -- fake bombs, thanks to the "assistance" of an FBI informant -- in cars outside the Temple and Jewish Center.(NYT)  Fortunately, the FBI have been aware of the plot since June 2008, thanks to a federal informant. 

Law enforcement officials identified the four men arrested as James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, all of Newburgh. Some of the men were of Arabic descent, and one is of Haitian descent, according to law enforcement officials. At least three were United States citizens, according to officials. They are all Muslim, a law enforcement official said.

Mr. Cromitie, who is of Afghan descent, had told the informant that he was upset about the war in Afghanistan and that that he wanted to “do something to America.” Mr. Cromitie stated “the best target” — the World Trade Center — “was hit already,” according to the complaint.

TPMtv's "The Day in 100 Seconds" (May 13, 2009 Video)

Detail from painting, The Triumph of Death, by Pieter Breugel the Elder, via  via Olga's Gallery

In which SC's  Lindsey Graham thinks every principle on which our nation was founded should give way before cowardice and fear for one's own skin.  Meanwhile, our country's moral standing is shown to be damaged and our security not enhanced by the administration's use of torture....after the jump.

FBI Agent to Testify About Amateur Torture 'Experts' Today

by Bill Kavanagh:  Look for Ali Soufan, who was the FBI’s agent in charge of debriefing Abu Zubaydah until he discovered a coffin had been brought to Zubaydah’s cell by the CIA, to testify today before Congress about the torture techniques that CIA “experts” employed with high-value Al Qaeda prisoners. 

Soufan claims that Zubaydah confided to him that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, once his “rapport building” technique had begun to pay off—and before the CIA’s own outsourced amateur consultants arrived in Thailand to take over with their torturous methods.  Der Spiegel’s article on the CIA's outsourcing of interrogation and torture to civilian psychologists is available at the link.  Many thanks to David Martin, who pulled this article from the internets.

Jon Stewart on the Jane Harman Scandal ("This Conversation Does Not Exist")

by Damozel | "The FBI investigates a possible corruption case involving two congresswomen, an Israeli lobby, and a popular kids' program."  All she had to do to become head of the committee dealing with espionage was to help out a couple of people accused of espionage...."It's like strangling a manatee to become head of the EPA."

After the jump....

The Daily Show Unedited Interview: Cliff May Wants to "Push the Boundaries" of Torture

by Damozel | Okay, kids:  "Cliff May defends America's waterboarding techniques in this complete, unedited three part interview" with Jon Stewart (after the jump).  Grit your teeth down on the bullet and prepare to listen (after the jump).  WARNING:  Not for those who hold old-fashioned ideas about America or its role in the world or for the weak of stomach, who aren't cowards, and who don't think it's all right to sacrifice any principle to protect your own skin..

FBI Special Agent: "For Seven Years I Have Remained Silent"

  by Damozel | Ali Soufan, an F.B.I. supervisory special agent from 1997 to 2005, says in a "must read" New York Times op-ed:

FOR seven years I have remained silent about the false claims magnifying the effectiveness of the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding. I have spoken only in closed government hearings, as these matters were classified. But the release last week of four Justice Department memos on interrogations allows me to shed light on the story, and on some of the lessons to be learned.

One of the most striking parts of the memos is the false premises on which they are based. The first, dated August 2002, grants authorization to use harsh interrogation techniques on a high-ranking terrorist, Abu Zubaydah, on the grounds that previous methods hadn’t been working...

Pelosi Now Recalls Being Briefed on Harman Wiretap; Harman Launches Media Blitz, Trips Up Badly (Round Up)

photo by Deb Cupples |   by Damozel | On Tuesday Speaker Pelosi didn't remember being briefed on any wiretap involving Rep. Jane Harman, but it's all come back to her now.  It seems there was this tradition of briefing "for the top Democrat and top Republican in the House to be alerted any time a member shows up on wiretaps or other surveillance devices." (WaPo)  And even though she did know, she wasn't "in a position" to pass on the information to Harman.

"Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged today that she had indeed been briefed about a wiretap that recorded conversations involving Representative Jane Harman...But Ms. Pelosi said today that although she was briefed, the Justice Department had not provided her with details and that Ms. Harman was not the subject/target of the surveillance."

The Harman Scandal Continued

by Damozel |  Mazier and mazier.  It's like a labyrinth, this story:  every time you think you've found its center, you find that you're heading down another twisty little alley way with no idea where the truth lies.  Let's start with why she was being wiretapped.  

According to The New York Times,  Harman ended up on tape because she was "inadvertently swept up by N.S.A. eavesdroppers who were listening in on conversations during an investigation, three current or former senior officials said. It is not clear exactly when the wiretaps occurred; they were first reported by Congressional Quarterly on its Web site."How does that happen?  How does someone who was "one of the very few members of Congress with broad access to the most sensitive intelligence information" get "inadvertently" swept up in government eavesdropping?  My first question -- which, according to Mondoweiss, the man who broke the story has now answered -- is how she got "inadvertently swept up" in the first place? 

"Radioactive": Harman Caught on Wiretap Promising Intervention for AIPAC

by D amozel |  Josh Marshall at TPM said it:  "This story is so radioactive it's hard to know which of fifty different directions to go with it."  Details are here. The part that's new is the allegation that Harman was caught on tape discussing favors to be had and returned during a wiretap, along with an implication that the Bush administration might have used this as leverage to get her to come in on its side on the warrantless wiretapping controversy.  Reading the CQ Politics report on this, as Marshall points out in a subsequent piece, one could certainly infer that Harman was going to side with the administration on warrantless wiretapping anyway, and that Gonzalez intervened "because the administration needed her out there spinning the warrantless wiretap story on their behalf."

Man, I don't even know where to start:  with the alleged [she denies it] line-crossing by Harman; with the surveillance by the Bush administration of members of Congress; or with the continuing saga of the previous administration's well-documented disposition to treat "justice" as exceedingly subordinate to political advantage.   For me, I think it's the last one of these -- and indeed Greenwald calls this "the crux."

Dept of Hollow Laughter: Right Wingers Incensed Over DHS Report on Rise of Right Wing Extremism

by Damozel | The report of the Department of Homeland Security has spawned much grinding and gnashing of teeth among the bloviators of the far right, and especially Michelle Malkin.  And who can blame them?  No anti-government crazy from the far right has ever, ever committed any violent or terrorist act such as blowing up a federal courthouse and killing 300 people or gunning down people in a little Tennessee church....at least not since last weekend.   Nor have any far right nutjobs ever planned to kill a 102 young African-American high school students to express their distaste for an African-American president.   As we all know, only Mooslims ever become terrorists.

No wonder the Malkin's ever-frangible feeeeeeeeeelings are hurt. 

Yet More Evidence of Bush Administration Lies: Cheney Admits that His Talking Points Helped Bring About the Outing of Valerie Plame? (With Music Video)

by Damozel | Deb reported yesterday on Henry Waxman's courage and intrepidity in trying---in vain, but trying---to hold the Bush administration accountable for something. Both he and John Conyers, his Senate counterpart did their all.  I suppose it never occurred to past presidents that if you just said, "Oh yeah?  Make me!" to Congress and the courts, there wouldn't be a whole lot they could actually do about it.  Well, at least not with a Democratic Congress composed by and large of invertebrates.

FBI Finally Starts Investigating Wall Street Firms

The New York Times reports:

"The F.B.I. has now opened preliminary investigations into possible fraud involving the four giant corporations at the center of the recent turmoil — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and the American International Group [AIG], the Associated Press reported."

That's a smart move -- given that Congressman Henry Waxman's House Oversight Committee already launched a probe of Lehman Brothers and AIG last week.  Waxman also set up a tip hotline. When Waxman investigates, damning evidence tends to be unearthed. 

On this issue, perhaps the FBI won't be put to shame by Waxman's committee.

FBI "Improperly Obtained" Journalists' Phone Records?

by Deb Cupples |   According to yesterday's New York Times, the FBI has admitted to improperly obtaining the phone records of reporters for the Washington Post and New York Times Indonesia bureaus back in 2004.

Why are visions of Richard Nixon and the Watergate building (photo left) flashing in my mind?  The Times reported:

Accountability Now PAC Ready to Drop Money Bomb

by Deb Cupples |   Today is the day to donate to Accountability Now and the Strange Bedfellows Coalition. At the very least, it's a good day to learn about their noble and valuable efforts.

In short, Accountability Now is a PAC whose goal is to pressure politicians into promoting the public interests. Originally, it was a backlash against Democrats who betrayed their constituents on Telecom Amnesty (i.e., retroactive immunity for companies that violated our laws while eavesdropping on citizens without valid warrants).

Since March, people with all sorts of ideological leanings have united with Accountability Now, because we all agree on a couple things: the preservation of our Constitutional rights and the rule of law.

Why is today, August 8, important?  Salon's Glenn Greenwald explains:

Taxpayers Lose Money on FBI Contracts: Incompetence, Complicity or Lack of Concern?

by Deb Cupples |  A willing accomplice or someone who just doesn't care about wasted tax dollars likely thinks it's better to appear incompetent than unconcerned or knowingly complicit in waste, fraud or abuse.  I don't believe for an instant that the folks handling the FBI's private contracts are too stupid to anticipate problems or learn from mistakes.  Some of it is just sooo elementary.

In May 2001, DynCorp got (what was supposed to be) a $132 million contract for the FBI's Trilogy project, aimed at upgrading the FBI's computer networks worldwide.  DynCorp's contract bid beat out bids from other companies including Lockheed Martin. (Washington Technology).

Fast forward to 2004, when the GAO audited the Trilogy project (after cost overruns and  performance problems).  The GAO found the actual costs tush far to be about $537 million and that a major part of the project was unfeasible despite the (tax) money so far spent.

My Visit to the Capitol and Up-Close Observations During the FISA Votes

by Deb Cupples |    I was in our nation's capitol from July 3 - 10.  Among the highlights of my week-long visit was coffee at the Mayflower Hotel with NQ's Larry Johnson.  It was even more fun conversing with him than reading his blog posts.

Another highlight was watching the FISA votes from the Senate visitors' gallery at the capitol. Senators Clinton and Obama were there, as were Leahy, Dodd, Webb and Specter.  It was my version of a star-studded movie premier.  Sadly geeky, I know.

FISA: How They Voted and What it Means

by Damozel | This piece of legislation --- and what Congress has done to the fourth amendment---which protects the privacy of ordinary citizens from unreasonable invasion by the government ---  matters. 

Those who defended the telecoms for breaking federal law at the request of the Bush administration kept talking about the telecoms' subjection to  'the heavy hand of government.'  This was always spurious argument in the case of the telecoms, who had no more obligation than you or I to comply with an unlawful demand to break the law (none) and the same obligation as you or I would have to refuse to comply. And in fact, not all telecoms chose to go along with the demand.    

FISA, on the other hand, unleashes 'the heavy hand of government' on ordinary citizens.

Senator Clinton's Statement on FISA

She voted against the bill, Obama voted for it, and McCain didn't vote, but supported it.  Her speech follows.  I disagree with her that it is a 'difficult issue,' but we all know why she said it.  Here's her statement.

One of the great challenges before us as a nation is remaining steadfast in our fight against terrorism while preserving our commitment to the rule of law and individual liberty. As a senator from New York on September 11, I understand the importance of taking any and all necessary steps to protect our nation from those who would do us harm. I believe strongly that we must modernize our surveillance laws in order to provide intelligence professionals the tools needed to fight terrorism and make our country more secure.

Three Reasons Cited In Support of Telecom Amnesty that Aren't

by Damozel | I happen to think the FISA bill is a terrible piece of legislation -- and not just because of the telecom issue --- but I am pretty sure it's going to pass.  That's not what this is about.

What's bothering me are the reasons I'm hearing from various highly-placed public officials why I and America need this so-called compromise. Do they take me for a fool?  Yes, they take me for a fool.  Either that, or they are banking on the entire American public being as civics-impaired as rumored.  In any case, we're being played, possibly in the hope that if they say enough soothing things about why America needs FISA because national security requires it we'll get bored with the whole thing or frightened and drop it.  (I mean, who really believes anymore that we have any privacy?  Not me.) 

Olbermann Tries but Doesn't Quite Re-Reverse Himself

by D. Cupples |   Monday, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann dropped his pompoms and attempted to re-reverse himself by doing a "special comment" about Barack Obama's recent reversal on FISA (Crooks & Liars has the video and transcript).  Mr. Olbermann made two major mistakes:

1) He said that Sen. Obama has a second chance to fight FISA

2) He indicated that he still believes that Obama has a secret plan to criminally prosecute Telecom folks even if they get immunity from civil suits.

First, there is no second chance to fight the new FISA bill, which the House has already passed and the Senate will likely vote on next week.  The numbers needed to defeat the bill just aren't in the Senate: we've known this for some time.