Mark Benjamin has an unsettling story on Time.com today that investigates whether federal authorities, under the auspices of a Patriot Act provision, are scooping up personal data like the location of citizens’ cellular phones. Read it here.
justice department
A Proposed Plea Deal for John Edwards
According to reports out Wednesday, the Justice Department may be close to bringing criminal charges against John Edwards regarding campaign funds they allege he used to cover up his affair with Rielle Hunter, and to hide both …
Obama Still Against Gay Marriage, Except In Court
President Obama has told the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages. But White House Spokesman Jay Carney said today that Obama’s legal opinion is “distinct” from Obama’s own personal view of gay marriage. “The presidents …
Feds Drop Investigation into DeLay
After six years, a Grand Jury and a thousand pages of documents including staff emails, the Justice Department last week dropped its investigation into former Majority Leader Tom Delay’s ties with disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff. “I think they’d just reached a dead end. They certainly were very thorough – they talked to …
Understanding Today’s Warrantless Wiretapping Decision
Four quick bullet points on Judge Vaughn R. Walker’s decision today in Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. Barack Obama. (See pdf of ruling here.)
1. The judge’s opinion is pointed and fiercely critical of the Obama Administration’s Justice Department lawyers. At one point the judge dismisses the government’s “impressive display of …
