They have a very good and unique opportunity when the Plame leak came out to get legislation back on the books for an independent counsel approach, but they didn’t take it. Instead Schumer sold Comey’s “let’s inhouse it” approach and when the inhouse appointment immediately revealed that he would not be making any reports to Congress, they sat silent.

With everything that has come out and with the completely irresponsible, bored dilletante approach of the IG and OPR offices for over a half decade when the scandal began to surface, Congress sat back and did nothing. They need the red hair and big shoes to go along with the painted on raised eyebrows and O shaped red lips.

The first round of accountability is Congressional accountability. If they aren’t willing to do their job, to impeach every actor so that there is a Constitutional bar (and not just and IG tsk tsk) to future gov service, then the feigned disgust with DOJ’s internal coverups doesn’t sell well.

60 et seq I don’t know what the new proposals are, but would doubt that they are serious with this Congress and these Republicans and Democrats. Under the old indep counsel approach, absolutely the counsel could go after whatever they wanted, past or present. They were not limited to a narrow mandate, although initially appointed for a matter they could go where things took them. Unfortunately, they could go so far and it was so hard to get them removed that things like deliberate and knowing violation of state taping laws didn’t even get them jerked or even disciplined.

As I understand the workings (and this isn’t certified) under the outside special prosecutor regulations promulgated by DOJ (and which can be changed by them pretty much at will, since they are only regs) the prosecutor is appointed for fairly set mandate only, and appointed by the AG – not the courts or any independent entity or individual. So they can pick to meet a predetermined outcome with no problem. The outside special prosecutor could open up the field of what they went after if they felt that the evidence was taking them other places and they were set up to be able to make reports to Congress. However, the outside special prosecutor had to run things by the AG if they branched out. The AG could shut them down cold if he so chose. So he could prevent the Special Prosecutor from branching out or indicting etc. If the AG overruled the Special Prosecutor, however, the AG was required to go and advise Congress that he had done that and the Spec Prosec could make their own case with their report to Congress. Then Congress could exercise some kind of oversight and demand appointment of someone to investigate what the AG shut down, but unless the AG moved off center, they would have to resort to legislation to actually get someone else. At least, though, the Spec Pros could put on his/her own pressure and inform Congress of findings.

What was done with the Plame leak was an inhouse appointment, not even an outside Special Prosecutor, so it was a very limited mandate subject to control and override from the [acting]AG’s office and that is pretty much what has happened with Mukasey’s appointment now too. No one in house has the right to go to Congress with their disputes and arguments about what the AG overrules and they are subject to the chain of command and, as Fitzgerald pointed out in his letter, to having their delegation of authority and mandate changed at any time and at the will and whim of the supervising AG.

Congress hasn’t paid any attention to any of that, though, and is happy to go along with a totally ineffective system that is all about allowing political appointees to run amok and each protect the other. In other departments that would be bad enough, in DOJ it is devastating to the nation as a whole. But it’s all about the covering for each other. Comey will file affidavits to cover for Thompson and Ashcroft in Arar’s case and make nice over Biskupic in testimony and extol the virtues of the FBI interrogations that coerced false confessions in Higazy and smile reassuringly over the torturebased absolute isolation and abuse of Padilla without charges — for years.

OLC will write opinions that say anything. AG will set up cya “investigations” and Dems in Congress will make sure nothing gets done so that they can have their chance at a few years of manipulating the thoroughly corrupt system and reaping their own benefits.

I’m guessing Fine didn’t say a whole lot about the delegations to Sampson and Goodling from Gonzales and the extent to which they make the whole thing look like a thought through scheme — didn’t say much about the OLC opinions on the scheme where even the basically useless OLC made concerned noises about how Gonzales couldn’t delegate to the extent he wanted and he had to at least get written info from them and sign off etc.

It is depressing. When the best that anyone can point to in DOJ is someone like Comey, who has been right there in the whitewashes on Padilla, on Higazy, on Arar and who has tried to cover for Biskupic etc. when that’s what defines “the best” then you just can’t hope for much.

And the profession has been appalling as well, indicating that it has no interest in or stomach for getting crosswise with Congress and the Executive.

So you start with a failed Congress and you can’t really help but end up with failures everywhere else – and with failures actually celebrated as success.

My passport is up for renewal in a few years. Wondering if anyone here has investigated the use of ‘Faraday cage’ passport holders to block the transmission of the embedded RFID chip to RFID scanners.

Since credit careds (Chase is one) are including embedding RFID chips too, our wallets are in need of Faraday cage type protection, too.

Acts of War

By Scott Ritter

29/07/08 ” TruthDig” — – -The war between the United States and Iran is on. American taxpayer dollars are being used, with the permission of Congress, to fund activities which result in Iranians being killed and wounded, and Iranian property destroyed. This wanton violation of a nation’s sovereignty would not be tolerated if the tables were turned and Americans were being subjected to Iranian-funded covert actions which took the lives of Americans, on American soil, and destroyed American property and livelihood. Many Americans remain unaware of what is transpiring abroad in their name. Many of those who are cognizant of these activities are supportive of them, an outgrowth of misguided sentiment which holds Iran accountable for a list of grievances used by the U.S. government to justify the ongoing global war on terror. Iran, we are told, is not just a nation pursuing nuclear weapons, but is the largest state sponsor of terror in the world today.

http://www.informationclearing…..e20377.htm

## I am asking the folks at Firedoglake to invite Scott Ritter and Juan Cole to discuss the push by the Iraqi warmongers push for a military confrontation with Iran. If you think this is a good idea please chime in

Why Bush folded on Iran

Reality, of the military and petroleum-based variety, forced the administration to change course. Now Bush sounds like Obama.

“It was just a year ago that war with Iran seemed imminent. Last August David Wurmser, a major neoconservative figure who had just left Cheney’s staff revealed that the vice president was talking about having Israel hit Iran’s nuclear research facilities. At the same time, Afghanistan expert Barnett Rubin went public with what he was told by a Bush administration insider — that Cheney would make a big push for a strike on Iran in the fall of 2007. Journalist Seymour Hersh reported that Cheney was attempting to reconfigure the Iraq war as a struggle with Iran. And, indeed, Cheney did make threats against Iran at institutions of the Israel lobby such as the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.”

By Juan Cole
http://www.salon.com/opinion/f…..index.html

Just what our nation needs to have journalist like Bob Novak and Judy Miller given even more protection for undermining U.S. national Security

Justice Department asks court to keep wiretapping challenges secret
John Byrne
Published: Wednesday July 30, 2008

“This bill has quite literally no public value for citizens or civil liberties,” constitutional law scholar Jonathan Turley said earlier this year. “It is reverse engineering, though the type of thing the Bush Administration’s famous for, and now the Democrats are doing–that is, to change the law to conform to past conduct.

“It’s what any criminal would love to do,” Turley added. “You rob a bank, go to the legislature, and change the law to say that robbing banks is lawful.”

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/….._0730.html

##Jonathon Turley nails it

http://www.usnews.com/articles…..erdue.html

(1)Miers & Bolton lawsuit — In Bates’s hands… will be issued in
early August — probably will be appealed? Final Decision — whenever
(2)Rove subpoena issue — Nancy will decide in September
(3)Waxman issue on Cheney’s discussion with Fitzy — On hold
(4)IG Report on Gonzo and the 8 Barristers — Working feverishly…
cannot give a date….
(5)Missing e-mails…According to RAW, “Tuesday, after concluding that some White House e-mails have not been properly preserved on back-up tapes, U.S. District Court Judge John M. Facciola ordered the Bush administration to locate the missing communications on portable devices and individual workstations.” WH looking?

Time warping