Musakey Won’t Call Waterboarding Torture

By David Morgan, Reuters The Pentagon on Wednesday urged Congress to avoid an early closing of the U.S. military prison in Cuba, despite widespread recognition that the infamous jail has eroded U.S. standing in the world. Defense officials told the U.S. House of Representatives that it could take about three years to try 60 to…

The Japan Times Rumsfeld prosecution could set precedent By CESAR CHELALA NEW YORK — There is now enough evidence to try former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for war crimes, Manfred Nowak, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, recently told “Frontal 21,” a German television program. Nowak’s statement confirms what human rights and legal organizations…

By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers Under a little-noticed provision in the USA Patriot Act, the Treasury Department has ordered severe restrictions against foreign banks or countries for reasons beyond the stated purpose of the law and without producing evidence. Section 311 of the 2001 Patriot Act was drafted to halt terrorist financing and money…

For Cheney, Political Toll May Follow Libby Verdict The New York Times By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG – Published: March 7, 2007 “There is a cloud over the vice president,” the prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, told the jury in summing up the case last month. “The trial has been death by 1,000 cuts for Cheney,” said…

By Dan Eggen, Washington Post After nine months of noisy controversy over his troubled tenure, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales is leaving office quietly today with a low-key farewell address to Justice Department employees in Washington. Gonzales, who has made only three public appearances since announcing his resignation on Aug. 27, is expected to dwell…