As I have noted before, there are a number of paragraphs in the May 6, 2004 Goldsmith memo authorizing warrantless wiretapping that appear to be badly overclassified. Not only were many of the same paragraphs printed, almost verbatim, in unclassified fashion, in the White Paper released in January 2006. But many of those paragraphs contain [...]

The EO on classification says the Director of CIA has to make intelligence programs special access programs. But it appears that someone at NSC made torture a SAP.

Tom Davis supports Waxman’s report that Bush improperly invoked executive privilege to protect the Cheney interview materials. But I think he was just helping the Bush Administration sustain its firewall protecting Bush’s involvement in the outing of Valerie Plame.

Bush’s new classification, CUI, is worrisome. But just as worrisome is increasing evidence that Bush is just endorsing a system whereby his Administration does whatever it wants, regardless of classification.

Bill Leonard confirms that the classification and declassification surrounding the Yoo Torture Memo is very irregular. Once again, the Administration won’t even abide by its own Executive Order on classification and declassification. But never mind–a little pixie dust can fix that!!

After folks noted this footnote from Steven Aftergood’s request that the Office of Professional Responsibility look into the Pixie Dust* surrounding Executive Order 13292 and Dick Cheney’s claims to be a Fourth Branch…

2 A copy of the OLC letter is attached, and may also be found online here: http://www.fas.org/sgp/isoo/olc072007.pdf . The July 20, 2007 letter did not become public until December 11, 2007 when it was published by Marcy Wheeler on

Steven Aftergood takes on the Pixie Dust ruling that says Cheney gets to follow the same rules as the President for classified information. Aftergood demands a ruling from DOJ on the underlying issue.

Sheldon Whitehouse revealed that Bush has turned his Executive Order governing surveillance of Americans overseas into Pixie Dust. But that’s not the only EO Bush has done that with; he also turned his EO governing the treatment of classified information into Pixie Dust. In fact, he didn’t bother to tell the guy whose job it is to enforce that EO that it was Pixie Dust until four years after the fact!