McCain

Does the U.S. Owe Torture Victims?

Lawyers for Maher Arar, a 34-year-old Syrian-born Canadian who was arrested at JFK airport, taken to Syria, interrogated and tortured, argue he has a right to sue for damages. If the Second Circuit sides with Arar, the government could face many more lawsuits.

Report: Jesse Jackson Jr. Neck Deep In Blagojevich Scandal

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a short-list candidate to fill the Illinois Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, is “Senate Candidate No. 5″ in the complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, ABC News is reporting, citing unnamed federal law enforcers. From ABC:

Obama: Blagojevich Should Step Down

The Washington Post is reporting that Robert Gibbs, spokesman for President-elect Barack Obama, said Obama has added his voice to the cacophony calling for the resignation of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested yesterday on federal corruption charges.

Blagojevich: ‘I Want to Make Money’

Politico does the heavy lifting in digging through the 78-page federal criminal complaint (PDF) against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, and man, there’s some good stuff in there.

Report: Illinois Gov. in Federal Custody (2nd Update)

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Rod Blagojevich, Illinois’ embattled Democratic governor, was taken into federal custody this morning in Chicago, following a three-year corruption investigation.

Obama and Gore to Meet Tuesday

And just like that, as if to reassure those on “the Left” that he’s still tuned in to their concerns, comes this report, from First Read:

Supreme Court Agrees to Review Another Detention Case

As Atty. Gen. Michael Mukasey busily works to bury the abuses of the Bush administration, the Supreme Court may be getting ready to hand President George W. Bush yet another repudiation of his handling of detainees in the so-called global war on terror.
The high court decided today to review the case of Ali Saleh Kahlah [...]

Conyers and Nadler Press Mukasey on Statements Denying Criminal Liability of Bush Officials

I’m glad to see that somebody isn’t just taking at face value Attorney General Michael Mukasey’s recent statements that Bush administration officials who approved the use of torture shouldn’t be prosecuted and needn’t be pardoned  because they all reasonably believed their actions were lawful.
On Thursday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Constitution, [...]

UPDATED: Why Is Dianne Feinstein Being Misquoted?

Buried in that New York Times story I mentioned earlier about Obama’s quest for a CIA director comes this weird quote from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that kind of sort of seems acquiescent to some forms of torture:
But in an interview on Tuesday, Mrs. Feinstein indicated that extreme cases might call for flexibility. “I think [...]

On Inauguration Day, The Party Won’t Stop ‘Til the Break of Dawn

Are you planning a pilgrimage to the nation’s capital to witness President-elect Barack Obama’s historic inauguration? Are you worried that the festivities might end when, as usual, the D.C. bars close at 2 a.m. on weeknights?
Good news! The Washington Post reports that the D.C. City Council passed emergency legislation yesterday allowing the city’s bars to [...]