Editor’s note: President Barack Obama put an end last week to the Bush administration’s torture policies by signing an executive order prohibiting so-called “enhanced interrogation” techniques. Meanwhile, there is fierce debate about whether the policies enacted by the Bush administration amount to war crimes. To help answer that question, we dug into our archives and [...]
By Jason Leopold
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a vote Wednesday to confirm Eric Holder as Attorney General following a week-long delay orchestrated Republicans voiced concern that, among other things, Holder would immediately initiate investigations and prosecutions of Bush administration officials who participated in the torture of suspected terrorist detainees.
On Tuesday, Sen. Arlen Specter, the [...]
By Jason Leopold
Halliburton and its former subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root, will pay the federal government $559 million to settle a long-running investigation into allegations the company bribed Nigerian officials to win a lucrative construction contract for a natural gas liquefaction plant while former Vice President Dick Cheney headed the corporation, the company said [...]
By Jason Leopold
George W. Bush is seeking to extend his sweeping concept of executive privilege into his post-presidency, with the first battle likely to be fought over a renewed demand from House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers that Karl Rove finally testify about the politicization of the Justice Department.
On Monday, Conyers reissued a subpoena for [...]
By Jason Leopold
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has proposed extending to 10 years the statute of limitations on war crimes, torture, and domestic surveillance in the event an investigation into the Bush administration’s controversial policies turns up prosecutable evidence against former officials after statute of limitations laws currently on the books expire.
Congress should [...]
Hassan Saied Kehsari and his corporation, Kesh Air International, pleaded guilty this morning in the Southern District of Florida to charges of conspiring to illegally export military and commercial aircraft parts to Iran.
By Jason Leopold
As President Barack Obama reverses some of ex-President George W. Bush’s most controversial “war on terror” policies, a consensus seems to be building among Democratic congressional leaders that further investigations are needed into Bush’s use of torture and other potential crimes.
By Jason Leopold
President Barack Obama will follow through on one of his campaign promises and sign an executive order Thursday ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, aides to Obama said.
Obama administration officials have circulated a five-page draft executive order that aims to shut down the detention facility, which currently houses 245 prisoners, [...]
By Jason Leopold
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday he would back efforts by his Democratic colleagues to investigate the Bush administration’s torture policies to determine whether any officials violated federal and international torture laws.
By Jason Leopold
The Department of Justice is giving “serious thought” to a proposal by a leading Democratic lawmaker to appoint a special counsel to conduct a criminal probe into the interrogation practices enacted during the Bush administration, according to three DOJ lawyers.
