On June 29, 2007, Congressman Norm Dicks sent George Bush an eloquent letter urging him to close Gitmo. It said, among other things, Since the time that captured “enemy combatants” were first brought to Guantanamo Bay in 2002, the detainment facility has undermined America’s image as the model of justice and protector of human rights [...]

Zachary Roth raises a really important point about Lindsey Graham (aka Rahm’s Attorney General). Though in recent days Graham has come out against Liz Cheney’s McCarthyism, he was one of the Republicans who started this whole witch hunt last November by signing a letter (authored by Chuck Grassley) asking for a details on those who [...]

Rahm’s mouthpiece is reporting that the White House is all set to cave on civilian trials for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. President Obama’s advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal, administration officials said, a step that would reverse Attorney [...]

I wonder how Greg Craig–ousted from the Administration because he tried to do the right thing on Gitmo–feels about this. In December 2008, Obama, Emanuel and Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) met in Obama’s transition headquarters in Chicago to discuss detainee policy. According to Graham, Obama turned to him at [...]

This letter was sent to Pelosi and Boehner today, but I can’t help but think the intended recipients are Lindsey Graham and Rahm: The Honorable Nancy Pelosi The Honorable John Boehner Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner: We write to express our opposition to any legislation or amendments that would restrict the ability of [...]

I guess, once Rahm Emanuel designated him the Acting Attorney General, Lindsey Graham realized he could demand even more from the Administration. Because now he is saying he will only support closing Gitmo if he can also pass a law authorizing indefinite detention. “I’ve been talking to the administration for the last couple of days. [...]

In her piece on Holder’s efforts to uphold the rule of law last week, Jane Mayer explained that Rahm Emanuel opposed the idea of civilian trials for the 9/11 plotters because it would piss off Lindsey Graham. Emanuel, who is not a lawyer, opposed Holder’s position on the 9/11 cases. He argued that the Administration [...]

I first teased out Rahm Emanuel’s role in reversing Obama’s early efforts to reclaim our country from torture last July. In August, my comments at Netroots Nation focused on Rahm’s role in preventing accountability for torture. I kept tracking Rahm’s campaign to prevent accountability here, here, and here. Today, Jane Mayer has an extended profile [...]

The WaPo confirms that, as I speculated, Cheney was the “not available” briefer. So why weren’t we told?

Lindsey Graham says that if the Bush Administration were trying to commit a crime, then they wouldn’t brief Democrats on what they were doing. And, as it turns out, that’s precisely what the Administration did–not brief Democrats.