Gitmo's Indefensible Lawyers

Legal counsel to some of the detainees went far beyond vigorous representation of their clients. Doesn't the public have a right to know?

By Debra Burlingame and Thomas Joscelyn

On the evening of Jan. 26, 2006, military guards at Guantanamo Bay made an alarming discovery during a routine cell check. Lying on the bed of a Saudi detainee was an 18-page color brochure. The cover consisted of the now famous photograph of newly-arrived detainees dressed in orange jumpsuits—masked, bound and kneeling on the ground at Camp X-Ray—just four months after 9/11. Written entirely in Arabic, it also included pictures of what appeared to be detainee operations in Iraq. Major General Jay W. Hood, then the commander of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo, concurred with the guards that this represented a serious breach of security.

Maj. Gen. Hood asked his Islamic cultural adviser to translate. The cover read: "Cruel. Inhuman. Degrades Us All: Stop Torture and Ill-Treatment in the 'War on Terror.'" It was published by Amnesty International in the United Kingdom and portrayed America and its allies as waging a campaign of torture against Muslims around the globe.

"One thread that runs through many of the testimonies from prisons in Afghanistan and Iraq, and from Guantanamo," the brochure read, "is that of anti-Arab, anti-Islamic, and other racist abuse."

How did the detainee get it? More importantly, who gave it to him?

Majeed Abdullah Al Joudi, the detainee in whose cell the brochure was first found, told guards he received the brochure from his lawyer. An investigation by JTF-GTMO personnel revealed that Julia Tarver Mason, a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, had sent it to Al Joudi and eight of the firm's other detainee clients through "legal mail"—a designation for privileged lawyer-client communications that are exempt from screening by security personnel. Worse, the investigation showed that Ms. Mason's clients passed it to other detainees not represented by Paul, Weiss lawyers. In all, more than a dozen detainees received a copy.

At Guantanamo, "legal mail" is strictly limited to correspondence between counsel and a detainee that is related to representation of the detainee, privileged documents and publicly filed legal documents. But even "legal mail," according to the rules mandated by Judge Joyce Hens Green in a 2004 protective order, prohibits lawyers from giving detainees information relating to military operations, intelligence, arrests, political news and current events, and the names of U.S. government personnel. Lawyers are forbidden from discussing other detainee cases not directly related to the representation of their own client.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704131404575117611125872740.html

Justice, CIA clash over probe of interrogator IDs

At odds over photos shown to detainees at Gitmo

By Bill Gertz

The CIA and Justice Department are fighting over a secret investigation into a controversial program by legal supporters of Islamist terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay that involved photographing CIA interrogators and showing the pictures to prisoners, an effort CIA officials say threatens the officers' lives.

The dispute prompted a meeting Tuesday at CIA headquarters between U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald and senior CIA counterintelligence officials. It is the latest battle between the agency and the department over detainees and interrogations of terrorists.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. angered many CIA officials and Republicans in Congress by reopening an investigation last August into whether CIA interrogators acted illegally in questioning senior al Qaeda detainees.

According to U.S. officials familiar with the issue, the current dispute involves Justice Department officials who support an effort led by the American Civil Liberties Union to provide legal aid to military lawyers for the Guantanamo inmates. CIA counterintelligence officials oppose the effort and say giving terrorists photographs of interrogators has exposed CIA personnel and their families to possible terrorist attacks.

As part of the disagreement, a senior Justice Department national security official removed himself from the counterintelligence probe last week after opposing CIA security worries.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/15/justice-cia-clash-over-probe-of-interrogator-ids/

Eric Holder: Osama bin Laden won't be brought in alive

Attorney General Eric Holder told a congressional panel Tuesday that the question of reading Osama bin Laden his Miranda rights is absurd — because he won’t be brought in alive.

“Let’s deal with reality,” Holder said. “You’re talking about a hypothetical that will never occur. The reality is that we will be reading Miranda rights to the corpse of Osama bin Laden. He will never appear in an American courtroom. That’s the reality. ... He will be killed by us, or he will be killed by his own people so he’s not captured by us. We know that.”

Holder’s comments came during a hearing at which Holder and a Republican congressman debated whether bin Laden and notorious killer Charles Manson deserved the same legal rights.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34525.html

Health care foes 11 votes shy of defeating bill

Geithner Says U.S. Will ‘Never’ Lose Aaa Debt Rating (Update1)

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the U.S. is in no danger of losing its Aaa debt rating even though the Obama administration has predicted a $1.6 trillion budget deficit in 2010.

“Absolutely not,” Geithner said, when asked in an ABC News interview broadcast yesterday whether a downgrade is a concern. “That will never happen to this country.”

Geithner said investors around the world turn to U.S. Treasury securities and dollar-denominated assets whenever they are worried about global stability. That reflects “basic confidence” in the U.S. and its ability to bounce back from the global recession, he said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aDYv97KxyEtU

'American Idol' Dad Takes On Gillibrand for Senate Seat

FOXNews.com

Former New York Rep. Joe DioGuardi on Tuesday announced his bid for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, returning to politics less known as a former GOP congressman than as the father of "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi.

Move over, Scott Brown, you're not the only politician with an "Idol" connection. 

Former New York Rep. Joe DioGuardi on Tuesday announced his bid for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, returning to politics less known as a former GOP congressman than as the father of "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi. 

DioGuardi served two terms in Congress during the 1980s and has since written a book, but recently has been asked more about his famous daughter, who just did a racy photo shoot for Maxim magazine, than his political ambitions.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/16/american-idol-dad-gillibrand-senate-seat/

The House's healthcare vote could be delayed until as late as Easter, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Tuesday.

Clyburn, in an interview with McClatchy Newspapers, said it is possible that the House vote on healthcare reform could take place long past the vote Democratic leaders had hoped for this week.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/86969-clyburn-says-health-vote-could-delay-until-easter-holiday

Pelosi Says Democrats to Have Votes for Health Bill (Update2)

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, still shoring up support for legislation to overhaul the U.S. health- care system, vowed that Democrats will be ready to pass the bill when the time comes.

“When we bring the bill to the floor, we will have the votes,” Pelosi told reporters yesterday. Leaders plan for the House to vote later this week, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland told reporters today.

Representative John Larson of Connecticut, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, agreed that the leadership will get enough votes, although he said, there’s “tremendous anticipation and certainly anxiety” among lawmakers.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9LVhAa__DKM&pos=9

Incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer is now in a virtual dead heat with former Congressman Tom Campbell in California’s U.S. Senate race.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds Boxer leading Campbell 43% to 41%. Six percent (6%) prefer some other candidate, and 10% are undecided.

A month ago, Boxer posted a 45% to 41% lead over Campbell.

Two other Republican hopefuls, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, remain within striking distance, but their numbers worsened very slightly this month.

Boxer now leads both Fiorina and DeVore by 46% to 40% spreads. Four percent (4%) opt for another candidate, and roughly 10% are undecided.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/california/election_2010_california_senate

House Dems want trip delayed again

The Hill's survey/tracking of House Democrats' positions on healthcare reform legislation.
UPDATED: 3/16/10 at 2:31 p.m.

RECENT UPDATES: Reps. Tom Perriello, Carol Shea Porter, Mike Doyle, Jason Altmire, Dan Maffei, John Boccieri, Steve Kagen, Dennis Moore, Suzanne Kosmas and Scott Murphy

House Democrats not on this list are expected to vote yes. However, some members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who are not mentioned below have threatened to vote no unless the Senate's immigration-related provisions are changed.

All House Republicans are expected to vote no.

If every member votes and all GOP lawmakers vote no, the maximum number of Democratic defections to pass a bill is 37, which would result in a 216-215 tally.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/85693-whip-watch-the-hills-survey-of-house-dems-positions-on-healthcare-

Obama agencies invoking secrecy provision more often than under Bush

"All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government," Obama wrote in a memo to federal agencies Jan. 21, 2009. "The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA."

"The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public," the newly-installed president continued. "They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and down by their Government. Disclosure should be timely."

One year later, Obama's requests for transparency have apparently gone unheeded. In fact a provision in the Freedom of Information Act law that allows the government to hide records that detail its internal decision-making has been invoked by Obama agencies more often in the past year than during the final year of President George W. Bush.

Major agencies cited that exemption to refuse records at least 70,779 times during the 2009 budget year, compared with 47,395 times during President George W. Bush's final full budget year, according to annual FOIA reports filed by federal agencies.

http://rawstory.com/2010/03/obama-agencies-invoking-secrecy-provision-bush/

Stupak insists he still has a dozen

Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak is still telling reporters he has a dozen pro-life Democrats who will vote against the bill if it doesn't include the House-passed restrictions on abortion. When it was pointed out that there have already been some defections from his group, he said he picked up commitments from others.

The numbers are important because Democratic leaders need pro-life Democrats to support the bill in order to pass it.

http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0310/Stupak_insists_he_still_has_a_dozen.html?showall

Nancy Pelosi done playing 'Deal or No Deal'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is playing hardball with her rank and file in the run-up to an historic health care vote.

Instead of the typical wheeling and dealing to pick up much-needed support, Pelosi and her leadership team are warning members that the bill is final, and its language is set, so don’t come seeking major changes or handouts for your district.

Asked if she was willing to change the final legislation at the request of Democratic holdouts, the speaker said, “No.”

That message may sound good to voters angered by the “Cornhusker Kickback” or any other last-minute deals — but it’s sure to make life difficult for Pelosi as she struggles to find the 216 votes she needs to pass the final package.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34455.html