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Prosecutors in the trial of al-Qaeda loyalist Zacarias Moussaoui will be allowed to present new witnesses about aviation security after the first witnesses were compromised, a federal judge ruled Friday. Judge Leonie Brinkema initially decided to exclude all aviation security evidence after it was revealed earlier this week that lawyer Carla Martin had improperly contacted officials from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) who were witnesses for the case. But she partially reversed that decision Friday and said prosecutors could present exhibits and a witness or witnesses if they had no contact with Martin. Moussaoui is on trial to see if...

One of the mysteries of the CIA-leak case involves the series of events through which the publication of CIA employee Valerie Wilson's identity led to a Justice Department investigation, which in turn led to the appointment of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. Just how did that process work? Was it influenced by political pressure? Was there a consensus of opinion that an investigation should go forward -- or was it a matter of some debate? ... But now there are clues, contained in recently released court papers, that the documents which Fitzgerald does not want to release might reveal that the...

Frustrated by the Senate Judiciary Committee's slow progress on politically sensitive immigration legislation, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) introduced his own bill last night to secure the nation's borders and crack down on illegal immigration. Frist's bill will go directly to the full Senate. But he said he will allow Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) to substitute a committee bill if Specter's panel could approve one March 27. Otherwise, the majority leader will stick to a strict, two-week schedule to finish work on what he conceded would be "as challenging a bill as any we'll have to...

At last we have a genuine bipartisan consensus. A Congress whose members cannot work together to prevent the coming Social Security crisis, to keep the nation out of debt or to fix the health care system has finally agreed on something: Foreigners shouldn't be allowed to own or manage our critical infrastructure. Amazingly, this consensus has even outlived the Dubai ports deal that created it. U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he's still looking to pass a bill forbidding foreign-owned companies from possessing or operating any "asset that is included on the...

WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on Wednesday challenged the government in a dispute over classified information, saying prosecutors should not be allowed to present the information to a judge out of the presence of the defense. At issue, according to a court filing, is data that Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald wants to present to U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton. The prosecutor wants to convince the judge that Libby is not entitled to have it in preparation for his trial next January. The government's assertion that it must proceed in this way in order to protect national security...

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the “National Security Surveillance Act of 2006”. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to intercept communications between people inside the United States, including American citizens, and terrorism suspects overseas. (2) One of the lessons learned from September 11, 2001, is that the enemies who seek to greatly harm and terrorize our Nation utilize...

This post captures most if not all of the presentation by Senator Feingold of his Resolution relating to the Censure of President Bush. It has several sections: The text of the resolution @ 37 . SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONSSenator Frist's introduction and the procedural dickering over time Senator Feingold's speech Senator Specter's rebuttal Senators Durbin and Sessions comments Scott McClellan - White House - comments from BEFORE the speech was given The material spoken from the Senate can be found at ... 10 . CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ... SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - March 13, 2006)    SENATE RESOLUTION...

When the Bush administration launched its secret, warrantless eavesdropping program on communications between the United States and foreign countries, it briefed eight members of Congress. None of them raised public objections to this obvious threat to Americans' civil liberties under the Fourth Amendment. Now, Senate Republicans have cut a deal with the White House. In exchange for avoiding a full Senate inquiry into the eavesdropping, the White House has agreed to inform two seven-member "terrorist surveillance subcommittees" of Congress about the details of how the program works. We don't see that this is much of an improvement. Before, there were...

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made clear Wednesday that the White House is not seeking congressional action to inscribe the National Security Agency's monitoring into U.S. law, even as members of Congress negotiate with the Bush administration about legislation. Gonzales maintained the program is legal the way it is. "There's a general consensus - quite frankly - that this is a needed program" designed to listen to al-Qaida's communications, Gonzales told the National Association of Attorneys General Wednesday. "The concern I think that people have, which is a natural concern, is that, is this a limited program?" Gonzales said administration officials...

UNITED NATIONS, March 9 The Security Council is considering a statement listing multiple failures by Iran to meet the demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency over its nuclear program and urging it to comply, but making only passing mention of punishment for continued resistance. A draft of the document, which the Council members have indicated they hope to issue next week as a nonbinding presidential statement, says the Council continues to hope for a negotiated solution "that guarantees Iran's nuclear program is for exclusively peaceful purposes."... The United States has suggested that if Iran does not accede to the...

ROME, March 10 A month before tight national elections, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was besieged today by two new embarrassments: Prosecutors asked that he be put on trial for corruption, and his health minister resigned over accusations that he spied on political opponents ... Still, this race, at a time of no economic growth and growing frustration among voters here, might be different. Polls indicate that Mr. Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, is running behind his center-left challenger, Romano Prodi. There are other problems as well, including an earlier resignation of a minister and continuing disarray among his center-right allies. ......

A federal judge ordered the CIA on Friday to turn over highly classified intelligence briefings to Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide to use in the aide's defense against perjury charges. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton rejected CIA warnings that the nation's security would be imperiled if the presidential-level documents were disclosed to lawyers for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's former chief of staff. The judge said the CIA can either delete highly classified information from the briefing material and provide copies of what Libby received six days a week, often with Cheney. Or, Walton said, the CIA...

MAR. 9 12:29 P.M. ET A New Jersey judge on Thursday axed a bid by officials from two states to end Port Newark's lease with a company that plans to sell operations at major U.S. ports to an Arab-owned company. Superior Court Judge Patricia K. Costello denied a request by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to immediately terminate its 30-year agreement with London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. However, the judge said the bi-state agency's lawsuit against the company can continue. ... Under the $6.8 billion deal, DP World would take over major commercial operations...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryMarch 7, 2006 Executive Order: Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security with Respect to Faith-Based and Community Initiatives By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to help the Federal Government coordinate a national effort to expand opportunities for faith-based and other community organizations and to strengthen their capacity to better meet America's social and community needs, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Establishment of a Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the Department of...

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- About 9,500 Burmese refugees scheduled to be resettled in the United States from Thailand this year are in limbo because their indirect support for armed rebels opposed to their repressive government has put them in technical violation of American antiterrorism law, government officials say. ... ... admission to the United States has been jeopardized by a provision in the USA Patriot Act that denies entry to anyone who has provided material support to a terrorist or armed rebel group. ... The delay in issuing a waiver to the statute has led the United Nations to suspend...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA would have a hard time advising President George W. Bush on security threats if a judge forced it to provide all documents sought by a former vice presidential aide accused of perjury, the agency said in a court filing made public on Tuesday. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is charged with lying to the FBI and a grand jury during an investigation into who disclosed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to news reporters in 2003 after her husband accused the Bush administration of twisting intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Libby is...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, who faces perjury charges, asked a judge on Thursday to throw out the case on the grounds that the prosecutor was appointed improperly. Since both Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and former Attorney General John Ashcroft removed themselves from the investigation because of their close ties to the White House, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald reports to David Margolis, a career Justice Department lawyer. Lawyers for Lewis "Scooter" Libby argued that because Fitzgerald does not report to the attorney general, he should not have been appointed by a deputy at...

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary February 22, 2006 Fact Sheet: The CFIUS Process And The DP World Transaction "If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward. The company has been cooperative with the United States government. The company will not manage port security. The security of our ports will continue to be managed by the Coast Guard and Customs. The company is from a country that has been cooperative in the war on terror, been an ally in the war on terror. The...

In an effort to "be informed," I've been collecting various source documents relating to enemy combatant cases. Not making a serious study of it, by any stretch, but the following collection may be a "heads up" about a news story that will probably come out when SCOTUS reports the results of their February 17th Conference. Summary of Hamdan Case Quick Facts about Hamdan Citizen of Yemen Captured in Afgahnistan by Afghanis Classified as "enemy combatant" Held at Gitmo Asserted entitlement to prisoner of war status From Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 415 F.3d 33 ... Afghani militia forces captured Salim Ahmed Hamdan...

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, in his radio address on December 17, 2005, President Bush disclosed that after September 11, 2001, he authorized the National Security Agency, NSA, to undertake wiretapping of American citizens to try to prevent terrorist attacks. The President argued that his actions were, in his words, ``fully consistent'' with his constitutional responsibilities. The President wrongly asserted--Mr. President, the President wrongly asserted--that his authority to order warrantless electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens on American soil is supported by his inherent Presidential powers and the joint congressional resolution that authorized the use of force after September 11. A huge...