Turley bloggers we have arrived. Stephen Colbert last night embraced my testimony against the D.C. voting rights bill with the type of clinging and infectious hug not seen since the Sadie Hawkins dances at the French Leper Colony.
Continue reading “With Friends Like This . . . : Stephen Colbert Endorses Turley Testimony”
Category: Congress
Peanut Corporation of America owner Stewart Parnell has invoked his privilege against self-incrimination to refuse testimony before Congress. It was the smart move. Parnell is in the same position as Roger Clemens and other baseball players accused in the steroid scandal. The most likely charge that they faced was not from the original allegations but their testimony before Congress, the grand jury, or statements to investigators.
Continue reading “No Nut: Peanut Company President Parnell Takes the Fifth Before Congress”
This has been a uniquely bad week for civil libertarians. The Obama Administration appears to be rushing to dispel any notions that Obama will fight for civil liberties or war crimes investigations. After Eric Holder allegedly assured a senator that there would be no war crimes investigation and seemed to defend Bush policies, Harvard Law Dean Elena Kagan, Obama’s Solicitor General nominee, reportedly told a Republican senator that the Administration agreed with Bush that we are “at war” and therefore can hold enemy combatants indefinitely. In the meantime, Obama himself seemed to tie himself in knots when asked about investigating war crimes and leading democrats are again pushing for a symbolic “truth commission.” I discussed these issues in this segment of Countdown this week.
Continue reading “Top Obama Aides Embrace Bush’s War on Terror Rhetoric and Enemy Combatant Policy”
Further entries on Sunday will be delayed due to my deployment on the Cutter U.S.S. Taney (USCGC Taney (WPG/WHEC-37)).
My two eldest sons and I are scheduled to sleep over on the Taney on Saturday night. Men going off to sea on a warship is nothing new, but not since the Fighting Sullivan brothers has one family decided to serve in the same ship.
CIA director nominee Leon Panetta gave startling testimony in his confirmation hearings this week by retracting a statement critical of the Bush Administration’s rendition policy and proclaiming that CIA employees will not be punished for any war crimes that they committed. I discuss the testimony on this segment of Countdown.
Continue reading “Leon Panetta Pledges That No CIA Employees Will Be Prosecuted For War Crimes”
The appointment of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her recent confirmation as Secretary of State raises a very interesting constitutional question. As discussed previously here, the Constitution would appear to block Clinton from being able to serve in this capacity under Article I, Section 6. Now, Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit on behalf of U.S. Foreign Service Officer and State Department employee David C. Rodearmel to make just such a case.
Continue reading “Hillary’s Emolument: Lawsuit Filed To Challenge Constitutionality of Clinton Confirmation as Secretary of State”
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has an interesting trickle down theory. According to Giuliani, the outrageous bonuses for Wall Street figures (many paid for by public funds) are a vital part of economic recovery for average New Yorker. According to Giuliani, the relatively few super rich recipients are a major source of money for the thousands of people who serve their whims and fulfill their wishes for exotic foods, fast cars, and impeccable service. It is basically the same economic theory advanced by that pre-Friedman scholar Marie Antoinette in the eighteenth century but under Giulianiomics, we don’t let the peasants actually eat the cake . . . just serve it.
In a striking departure from the Bush Administration, Ambassador Susan E. Rice, US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, called for an investigation into possible war crimes committed by Israel in the recent Gaza fighting. While correctly noting such violations by Hamas, Rice noted that there are now credible accounts that need to be investigated. The question is now whether the Administration will apply the same standard to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes that are now clearly identified in the Bush Administration involving an official torture program.
Continue reading “Obama Administration Calls for War Crimes Investigation in Gaza War — But Remains Undecided on Any Prosecution of U.S. War Crimes Under the Bush Administration”
Karl Rove is promising to defy the subpoena issued by John Conyers — citing instructions from Bush lawyers shortly before the end of the Administration. The statement may indicate that President Bush is preparing for a novel fight: asserting executive privilege against the position of the sitting president (who would presumably support Congress in this matter). In the interview, Rove compares himself to the Great White Whale in Moby Dick.
Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R., Mo.), the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has told The Washington Times that Eric Holder privately assured him that there would be no prosecution of Bush officials for torture or unlawful acts. The story is reminiscent of last week’s statement by Gen. Michael Hayden that he was assured by President Obama that there would be no investigations or prosecutions allowed for war crimes committed by the Bush Administration. I discussed this story and the recent ACLU demand for the release of the torture and surveillance memos on this segment of Countdown.
One of the items in the stimulus bill that has been overlooked is $100 million in grants for faith-based organizations. As I discussed this week in my column, Obama has pledged to not only continue but massively expand President Bush’s faith-based initiatives.
Continue reading “Obama Starts To Fulfill Faith-Based Promise With $100 Million in Stimulus Package”
This week, I testified again in opposition to the current legislation to create a new form of non-state voting member in the House of Representative for the District of Columbia. The hearing before the House Judiciary hearing was quite lively and it appears that the bill has the votes to pass. My testimony is linked below.
Continue reading “Congress Re-Considers D.C. Vote Legislation”
John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has subpoenaed Karl Rove to testify about the Bush administration’s firing of United States attorneys. The subpoena could force an interesting constitutional fight since President Obama would now be in a position to waive executive privilege and Attorney General nominee Eric Holder could allow the matter to go to a grand jury. I discussed this issue last night on Countdown in this segment.
Continue reading “House Judiciary Committee Subpoenas Karl Rove in Critical Constitutional Showdown”
As we approach the one-week anniversary of the Obama administration, it is a bit early to judge the level of true change brought by the 44th president. However, it is becoming increasingly clear what is not going to change (at least for the better) in the Obama administration. With all of the euphoria of the inauguration, many supporters fought back a strange and long-lingering sensation: doubt. There was little room for doubt in the collective celebration of our first African-American president and a new course after a ruinous eight years under George W. Bush.
Continue reading “Faith-Based Part II: Obama’s Expansion of the Bush’s Faith-Based Programs”
Norman Hutchinson, 48, is a member of the Religion of Jesus Church who lives in Mexico, Maine. He has filed a lawsuit in the Oxford Courthouse in Paris Maine against the state, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Mexico Police Department to protect his right to use marijuana for religious reasons.
Continue reading “Mexico Man in Paris Sues State of Maine in Oxford Court Over Religious Use of Pot”