Terrorism

Federal Judge Acquits Militia Members of Most Serious Charges

A federal judge in Detroit has granted motions for acquittal in a case against seven members of the Hutaree militia who were accused of conspiring against the United States. U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts acquitted five defendants of all charges, and acquitted two others of the most serious charges, report…

Mar 28, 2012 3:11 PM CDT

Counterterrorism Officials to Hold Data on Citizens for Up to Five Years Under New Guidelines

Attorney General Eric Holder has approved new guidelines that allow counterterrorism officials to hold data on U.S. residents and citizens for up to five years, even when there is no suspicion of terrorism. Previously the limit was 180 days, according to the Washington Post, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal (sub.…

Mar 23, 2012 11:27 AM CDT

Holder Calls US Citizenship a ‘Relevant Constitutional Consideration’ in Targeted Killings Overseas

When determining whether the United States is justified in placing terrorist operatives overseas on a so-called kill list without first seeking court approval, their American citizenship is a “relevant constitutional consideration” but “alone does not make such individuals immune from being targeted,” Attorney General Eric Holder told law students at…

Mar 7, 2012 2:43 PM CST

Gitmo Courts Impose Lighter Than Expected Sentences

Military commissions at Guantanamo have been criticized for lacking protections, but so far they have imposed lighter than expected sentences in six out of seven cases. The sentences were more lenient than those often handed out in civilian courts for similar offenses, the Associated Press reports. As one example, the…

Mar 5, 2012 2:17 PM CST

Obama Takes Advantage of Waiver Provision in Terrorism Law

Republicans who back a military detention requirement in a recent terrorism law intend to hold hearings on President Obama’s decision on Tuesday to take advantage of a waiver provision. Obama issued an order that exempts broad categories of terrorism suspects from the military detention requirement and gives civilian authorities broad…

Feb 29, 2012 4:25 PM CST

Appellate Judge and Relative, 8, Are Latest Victims in Afghanistan Assassination Campaign

An appellate judge in Afghanistan and his 8-year-old daughter or niece were shot and killed Saturday or Sunday. According to a government spokesman, the attack occurred when their vehicle was ambushed on the way home from a family visit. However, other accounts said the slayings of Mohammad Nasir, a leader…

Feb 13, 2012 8:42 PM CST

Lawyer Sues Over New Gitmo Policy Requiring Review of Attorney Mail to Detainees

A lawyer who filed suit in Washington, D.C., seeking relief from a rule that requires officials at the Guantanamo Bay military prison to review attorney-client mail, is at least the second to do so. James Connell’s suit, which names Rear Adm. David Woods as a defendant, was filed in federal…

Feb 10, 2012 6:12 PM CST

ACLU Sues DOJ to See ‘Targeted Killing’ Legal Justification Memos

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued to compel the Justice Department release of memos disclosing the legal justification for strikes that have killed U.S. citizens abroad. A lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court Wednesday follows the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-Yemeni citizen and suspected al-Qaida militant who was…

Feb 3, 2012 5:48 PM CST

Full 2nd Circuit OKs Hefty Sanction for 2 Lawyers re ‘Cynical Delusion and Fantasy’ 9/11 Case

Local counsel beat the rap. But in an en banc ruling today, the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that that two other lawyers involved in the filing of a 9/11 case described by a U.S. District Court judge as a “cynical delusion and fantasy” should…

Feb 2, 2012 10:24 PM CST

War Powers Belong to the President

In ordering the U.S. Air Force to attack Libyan targets on the ground and impose a no-fly zone in the air, President Barack Obama sent the U.S. military into combat without Congress’ blessing. This was not always President Obama’s view. Anti-war Democrats vigorously challenged President George W. Bush’s conduct of…

Feb 1, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Only Congress Can Declare War

John Yoo and I agree that the framers rejected the British system of royal prerogative. In his Commentaries, William Blackstone placed all of foreign policy and the war power with the executive. Clearly the framers repudiated that model, which is obvious simply by looking at the text of the U.S.…

Feb 1, 2012 11:20 AM CST

Unknown Knowns: Torture Suits Against Rumsfeld May Revive a 40-Year-Old Liability Case

Asked in 2002 whether there was any evidence that Iraq had supplied terrorists with weapons of mass destruction, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld famously opined: “As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we…

Feb 1, 2012 9:40 AM CST

4th Circuit Nixes Damages Suit by ‘Enemy Combatant’ Jose Padilla Over Alleged US Torture

In a move decried by the American Civil Liberties Union as a sad day for the rule of law, a federal appeals court today upheld a lower court’s ruling that an American citizen who claimed he was illegally detained and tortured at a U.S. military jail in South Carolina cannot…

Jan 23, 2012 11:41 PM CST

DOJ Charges Former CIA Agent with Leaking Classified Info in Post-9/11 World

A former CIA officer has been criminally charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly leaking classified information that may have been used by journalists. The criminal complaint (PDF) filed today against John Kiriakou, 47, in the Eastern District of Virginia obscures details of the accusations against him, the…

Jan 23, 2012 9:15 PM CST

ABA President Calls for Probe of Attorney-Client Privilege Violations at Guantanamo

ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III is urging U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to reverse a new Guantanamo policy that appears to violate attorney-client privilege. In a letter to Panetta dated Dec. 21, Robinson says lawyers for detainees are reporting that their privileged attorney-client communications are being intercepted and…

Dec 22, 2011 6:36 PM CST