By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:06am
I realize this is a little outside my bailiwick, but I wanted to mention one little historical footnote in relation to last week's decision in ACLU v. NSA.
At the heart of Friday's decision dismissing the ACLU's suit against the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program is the
As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. "There has not been one v
By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:00pm
Rosa Brooks, law professor and LA Times columnist, nails it once again, ridiculing the media's incredulity at the recent Libby commutation, the Cheney power-grab reported in the Post and the rest of the "oh, wow" newfound fright at the Bush admin
By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:46am
So sayeth Sens. Durbin, D-Il., and Leahy, D-Vt. From Mr. Lewis at the Times. Durbin's question came during Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing. I foresee more on this in the days to come.
Mr. Durbin asked Judge Kavanaugh about his role in screening the nomination t
By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 8:34am
Profile on Adm. James Stavridis, head of the military's regional Southern Command, which includes Gitmo in its ambit. The story is more focused on his approach in Latin America, but it also makes this point:
The smart power approach is more than just one admiral leading a small command wit
Last month, Brownback said new congressional rules on trying detainees specify that a detainee must be designated an "unlawful enemy combatant."
Pentagon officials would not release Brownback's most recent decision, but said he ruled the prosecution had presented no new evidence or arguments to change his mind.
By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:20pm
Two partners at Baker Hostetler in DC critique the Al-Marri decision, which I wrote about at some length here.
It's an interesting op-ed, one with which I disagree strongly, but there are a
By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:28pm
And this is what I get. Like, the biggest news in 9/11 detention jurisprudence since, well, I dunno, maybe Hamdan and Rasul. Hell, maybe since the opening of Gitmo itself.
Rejecting Bush administration arguments, the Supreme Court reversed cours
