The first civilian contractor has been charged with crimes in federal court as a result of the death of a prisoner in Afghanistan.

A contractor working for the CIA was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from the beating death of a prisoner in Afghanistan. The North Carolina man is the first civilian to face criminal charges related to the detainee abuse scandal. The four-count indictment was handed up in Raleigh, N.C., against David A. Passaro for the June 21, 2003, death of a prisoner in U.S. custody. Copies were distributed in Washington ahead of a planned news conference by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

The prisoner, identified as Abdul Wali, was being held at a U.S. detention facility in Asadabad, in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. Court documents say Wali had surrendered voluntarily and was being questioned by Passaro about frequent rocket attacks directed at the U.S. facility. Wali died after Passaro allegedly beat him "using his hands and feet, and a large flashlight" during two days of interrogations, the indictment said.

Passaro has been charged with two counts of assault and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon - a flashlight. He faces a total of up to 40 years in prison.

This a fascinating proposal. A promoter has reserved Giants Stadium on September 1 and is running a petition to ask Bruce Springsteen to lead the music industry in a politically oriented concert timed around the time of the Republican Convention. Please, go over and sign the petition to draft Bruce. [hat tip Matt Stoller]

by TChris

TalkLeft has frequently taken note of Florida's efforts to assure that people who once committed a felony are never allowed to vote, no matter that they've paid their debt to society, changed their attitudes, and lived productive and law-abiding lives for many years. Apologists for Florida -- one of only seven states to disenfranchise felons even after they've completed their punishments -- argue that felons can apply to reinstate their right to vote. Sure they can, but unless they have connections, it's obvious that most of the applications won't go anywhere.

The Office of Executive Clemency has a backlog of 44,000 requests for reinstatement.

Today at its quarterly meeting in Tallahassee, the governor's Executive Clemency Board will consider just 56 applicants from the waiting list.

"It's kind of embarrassing" for the state, contends state Sen. Mandy Dawson, D-Fort Lauderdale, who's been trying unsuccessfully for many years to change the law. Like other advocates, the Daytona Beach native points to the disproportionate number of minorities affected by the original law that went into effect in 1868, shortly after blacks got the right to vote.

Roger Clegg (a former high-level official in the Justice Department) makes the absurd argument that ex-felons shouldn't be allowed to vote because they might vote for legislators who would be "soft on crime." By that reasoning, the government should disenfranchise all voters who might not cast their ballots for politicians favored by Clegg. Clegg's point isn't that reformed felons are unworthy of voting, but that they might not vote for Republicans. And that's exactly the reasoning that secretly underlies Florida's unwillingness to restore the voting rights of the 600,000 disenfranchised Floridians who once commited a felony.

Ex-felons work, pay taxes, and send their kids to school just like everyone else. They should have the same right to representation as everyone else, even if people like Roger Clegg fear that they might vote the "tough on crime" folks out of office.

by TChris

Before Republicans took control of the House, Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) complained that Democrats weren't paying adequate attention to Republican concerns. Now that Republicans hold the majority, he's changed his views. Now he understands that the majority has a "responsibility to govern" -- that is, a responsibility to shut out the other half of the country from the governing process.

As chairman of the House Rules Committee, Dreier ... routinely uses his gavel to crush Democrats' efforts to air their proposals, much less enact them. His party writes legislation without Democrats' input, limits Democrats' ability to amend that legislation and prolongs votes in the House for as long as it takes to win. Republicans redraw congressional lines to elect more Republican members and pressure interest groups to hire more Republican lobbyists.

The "responsibility to govern" is something Dreier says he "didn't completely understand" when his party was in the minority. How educational it is to hold the reins of power. Dreier sees things much more clearly now. But is his party, in fact, governing responsibly?

The linked article summarizes some of the ethical missteps of the governing majority, including: accusations that Republicans tried to bribe Nick Smith by offering campaign contributions in exchange for his support of Medicare legislation; Tom Scully's insistence that Richard Foster withhold accurate cost estimates from Congress as it debated the Medicare legislation; Tom DeLay's pressuring of business associations to hire Republicans as lobbyists; and DeLay's illegal solicitation of campaign contributions.

Democrats lost power when the public came to believe that they'd grown complacent and arrogant in office. After a decade of Republican control of the House, the public is feeling much the same way.

by TChris

If Iraq ever becomes truly sovereign, will the Iraqi government try to hold Donald Rumsfeld accountable for this? Will President Bush?

Pentagon officials tell NBC News that late last year, at the same time U.S. military police were allegedly abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ordered that one Iraqi prisoner be held “off the books” — hidden entirely from the International Red Cross and anyone else — in possible violation of international law.

The Pentagon claims that it's entitled to hold prisoners in secret if they pose a threat. A dubious claim at best, but just silly in this case. The detainee was no longer being interrogated and had been returned to Iraq where he became "entirely lost in the system." You'd think the Pentagon would do a better job of keeping track of prisoners it deems a threat.

The Pentagon confirms that the detainee has been held since October, but the International Red Cross wasn't notified and the detainee wasn't given an identification number as required by the Geneva Conventions. Rumsfeld's hands-on approach to this detainee invites inquiry into his degree of involvement in the prisoner abuse scandals. At the very least, Rumsfeld's arrogant disregard of international law invites inquiry into his fitness to hold his job.

The New York legislature is close to final approval of a bill allowing doctors to presecribe marijuana for medical purposes.

A bipartisan agreement on legislation that would let doctors prescribe marijuana to ease the pain and other medical symptoms of very sick patients could be reached before the year is out, state lawmakers said Wednesday. A bill initially introduced in 1997 by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, that would legalize pot for medical use was overwhelmingly passed Tuesday by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and is now in the Rules Committee -- the last stop before a full house vote.

This kind of news doesn't happen often and as defense lawyers, it makes our day. From the St. Petersburg Times--Feds Lose Cocaine Case, 16 Go Free:

TAMPA - The federal government took a hit Tuesday in its ongoing efforts against overseas drug smuggling. After a six-week trial involving 16 people from Lithuania and Ukraine accused of smuggling drugs, jurors deliberated for three days and came back with not one guilty verdict. They acquitted 15 of the defendants and couldn't agree on whether the remaining defendant was guilty.

All 16 were charged with possession of cocaine on a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction and could have spent 25 years to life in prison if convicted... The verdict comes nearly a year after the men - crew members of the 500-foot freighter M/V Yalta - were arrested in connection with an apparent attempt to smuggle nearly 4 tons of cocaine.

Link via Drug War Rant, who says:

So they seized a ship with 4 tons of cocaine, but couldn't get a single conviction? Embarrassing. There was a 17th crew member who pleaded guilty in September and agreed to testify for the Feds ... and they still couldn't get a conviction. My favorite quote from the article:

"This verdict is a major black eye to the government in their ongoing Panama Express operation," said Steve Crawford, one of the court-appointed defense attorneys. "The philosophy of 'Let's arrest everybody and see if the evidence is there' lends itself to these kinds of verdicts."

Update: Some commenters have wondered why the acquittal pleases us. The main reason is the draconian penalties the crew members would have received if convicted. 25 years to life for a hired crew member (far lower in culpability than the organizers or owners of the load) is outrageous.

by TChris

Two of the government's key sources of evidence against Zacarias Moussaoui have told conflicting stories. Under the best of circumstances, stories told by informants are unreliable. When the stories don't match, it's time to look for better evidence.

[Ramzi] Binalshibh, the self-described coordinator of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, said he sent $14,000 to Moussaoui in July 2001 on instructions from [Khalid Sheik] Mohammed that he understood to be "part of the 9/11 plot," the commission's report says. The report says "there is good reason to believe" that Mohammed was preparing Moussaoui as a potential substitute pilot because one of the 19 hijackers was considering dropping out.

The language is a bit speculative, but this would be powerful evidence if it could be corroborated. Mohammed would be the logical source of corroboration if Binalshibh is telling the truth, but Mohammed has a different story.

Mohammed, who was al Qaeda's operations chief, "denies that Moussaoui was ever intended to be part of the 9/11 operation," the report says. Instead, it says, Moussaoui was being groomed for a second wave of attacks on the West Coast after Sept. 11. That wave fizzled, and Mohammed said the two other pilots who had been recruited for it already had backed out before Moussaoui was arrested in August 2001.

The government's theory may be that Moussaoui conspired to do something (even if it's not quite sure what), a theory that Moussaoui may be able to refute if he's allowed to question Mohammed and Binalshibh. The government hasn't been inclined to let that happen (TalkLeft background on the issue collected here). Not only has Moussaoui been denied the right to see the complete statements, but his ability to have a fair trial (if he ever has a trial) has been compromised by the public disclosure of portions of statements that don't tell the whole story.

Sources close to the case said the detainees' statements released by the commission are incomplete, adding that Binalshibh indicated at different points in his interrogations that Moussaoui was not part of the Sept. 11 plot. Both the federal judge overseeing the case in Alexandria and a federal appeals court have found that the detainees gave interrogators information that could help Moussaoui's case.

If the public gets to see evidence that hurts Moussaoui's case, shouldn't Moussaoui be able to see evidence that helps him?

Democrats today introduced the Civil Liberties Restoration Act to curtail the abuses of the Patriot Act:

U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine and four other Senate Democrats introduced legislation Wednesday designed to correct what they consider the excesses of the USA Patriot Act and similar national security measures. The legislation would end the special registration program aimed at immigrants from the Middle East, create an independent immigration court and eliminate harsh penalties for some immigration violations.

Civil rights and immigrant groups praised the proposal as a long-overdue effort to protect civil liberties. "This law is necessary to restore constitutional freedoms that are being encroached upon by this administration," said Corzine, D-N.J. "This law, however, will not compromise the nations security. We can be both safe and free."

Here's the good things the bill would do:

The changes proposed in the Senate bill would end the government's blanket right to conduct deportation hearings in secret, allowing closures on a case-by-case basis, and would guarantee prompt release-bond hearings. The legislation also would require detainees to be apprised of the charges against them within 48 hours and would eliminate criminal penalties for minor technical violations of immigration law, such as failure to report a change of address within 10 days. The bill would limit the secret seizure of private databases and individual records.

Co-sponsors include: Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. U.S. Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and William Delahunt, D-Mass., co-sponsored it in the House.

[link via Patriot Watch]

Between March and May, John Kerry has raised a Democratic record $100 million for his campaign. He's not on easy street though. While his total is $140 million, Bush has raised $216 million and gets an extra month to fundraise because his party's convention is a month later than that of the Dems. So, if you haven't given yet, or if you can give some more do it now. Kerry's fundraising ends with the Democratic convention and then he only gets Government financing.

When you donate, drop him a line asking him not to pick Dick Gephardt as his veep candidate. Matt Yglesias, writing for American Prospect , tells you why. So does Left Coaster.

Don't miss This Won't Hurt Much in the Guardian--it's funny, and it shows the absurdity of the Administration's parsing of words when it comes to torture. It's written by Terry Jones, "Terry Jones is a writer, film director, actor and Python." How can you go wrong with Monty Python?

Earlier today, the Senate adopted the Durbin anti-torture amendment by unanimous voice vote. Senators McCain, Specter, Levin, Feinstein, Leahy and Kennedy joined as cosponsors. We just received a copy of Sen. Durbin's floor statement on the amendment and will post it in a few hours.

Update: It's now on the AP wire.

Update: Here is Senator Durbin's floor statement (pdf).

by TChris

Wes Owens, 19, decided to throw a "pasture party" on his parents' property in East Texas. Also attending were Colt Amox, 21, Cory Hicks, 24, and Dallas Stone, 18. They planned to smoke and drink and listen to music around a campfire. Along the way, they picked up Billy Ray Johnson, a middle-aged, mentally disabled black man, who was "a big hit at parties" because of his penchant for dancing.

What happened next is disputed, although Amox admits that he punched Johnson, who fell unconscious. Hicks had obvious reasons to fear being associated with a battery; he was a jailer for the Cass County Sheriff's Dept. Owens and Stone may have been afraid their underaged drinking would be revealed if they took Johnson to a hospital. According to the district attorney, all four took Johnson to a dump and dropped him onto an anthill. Hicks returned three hours later, then called the Sheriff to report that he'd found Johnson laying unconscious.

Johnson woke up three days later. Ants had ravaged his body. The four men have been charged with injuring a disabled person. Hicks and Amox go on trial June 28.

Whether this crime is race-related is unclear. The linked article presents both sides of a story that is both tragic and fascinating. It also provides background on some other incidents that may or may not be race-related in Linden's recent history.

by TChris

The U.S. military, growing more attentive to the need to respond to criminal acts committed against Iraqis in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, reportedly intends to charge an officer with murder for shooting a wounded Iraqi citizen. Soldiers fired on a vehicle carrying suspected al-Sadr loyalists on May 21, severely injuring the driver and a passenger.

After the vehicle came to a stop, the Army captain allegedly approached the car and shot the wounded driver, killing him instantly. Military officials told NBC's Jim Miklaszewski that the soldier was apparently acting in good faith, shooting the badly wounded driver to "put him out of misery."

Shooting a horse to put it out of its misery might be an act of good faith. Shooting a human, rather than providing medical care, is murder. The officer in question has not been publicly identified.

by TChris

Continuing the Bush administration's tireless efforts to persuade the public that the invasion of Iraq was necessary to protect the U.S., Vice President Cheney this week reiterated the claim that Saddam Hussein had "long-established ties" to al Qaeda. Responding to those comments yesterday, President Bush claimed that the presence in Iraq of Islamist militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was "the best evidence of (a) connection to al Qaeda affiliates and al Qaeda."

If that's the "best evidence," it isn't strong enough to persuade the 9/11 Commission that a link existed between Hussein and al Qaeda. According to a staff report released today:

"There is no convincing evidence that any government financially supported al Qaeda before 9/11 -- other than limited support provided by the Taliban after bin Laden first arrived in Afghanistan."

The report by commission staff said al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had met with a senior Iraqi intelligence officer in 1994 and had explored the possibility of cooperation, but the plans apparently never came to fruition.

The administration never lets facts stand in the way of assertions, so expect no retreat from the claim that invading Iraq was necessary to protect the U.S. from another al Qaeda attack. Just remember the report's bottom line: "We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States."

by TChris

From the Department of Irony:

The Attorney General of New Hampshire, Peter Heed, has resigned in the wake of an accusation that he engaged in inappropriate behavior (described by witnesses as rude and boorish) with a woman while they were dancing. The irony? They were attending a conference on the prevention of sexual abuse.

Heed, who denies that he did anything wrong, is in good company. "Rochester District Court Judge Franklin Jones was suspended after the conference after several women claimed he groped them." Maybe all the talk at the conference about sexual misbehavior was just too titillating for these public officials.

We're in court all day so here's an open thread --here's a place to talk amongst yourselves. Be nice. Ok, how about civil?

[Comments now closed, thanks for participating.]

Gen. Amir Saadi was a top official in Iraq under Saddam. He was the chief liaison between the Iraqi government and U.N. weapons inspectors. He surrendered to the U.S. in April, 2003, and says he has been illegally kept in solitary confinement:

Saadi was classified as a prisoner of war by U.S. authorities a month after his surrender. The Geneva Conventions say prisoners of war "may not be held in close confinement except where necessary to safeguard their health." They also may not be "threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind," if they refuse to answer questions, according to the conventions. Detlev F. Vagts, a Harvard Law School professor who specializes in international law governing wartime, said in a telephone interview, "Clearly we [U.S. forces] and Iraqi forces will have the right to confine people causing trouble or suspected of insurgency," but he added: "That would not cover al-Saadi."

Saadi has written to his wife, through the Red Cross. She made the letters available to the Washington Post. Here's what he had to say:

Last week we put out an action alert asking TL readers to write their Senators urging support of Sen. Richard Durbin's "torture amendment" to the defense authorization bill. Today, the Washington Post endorses the Amendment.

It's not clear why interrogation techniques judged improper or illegal by a Pentagon legal team were subsequently adopted in Iraq. Nor is it clear what those standards are today, either in Iraq or elsewhere -- breaking with decades of previous practice, the Bush administration has classified them. Congressional leaders who have vowed to get to the bottom of the prisoner abuse scandal still have much to learn; they will not succeed unless the scale and pace of their investigations are stepped up.

The Senate, however, has an opportunity today to directly address the mess the administration has made of interrogation policy and of America's global standing. An amendment to the defense authorization bill, sponsored by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), would reaffirm the commitment of the United States not to engage in torture, and it would require the defense secretary to provide Congress with guidelines ensuring compliance with this standard. Sadly, the Bush administration's policy decisions have cast doubt on whether this country accepts this fundamental principle of human rights. Congress should insist that it does.

If you haven't contacted your Senator yet, please do so today.

U.S. District Court Judge Lonnie Brinkema sentenced three defendants in the paintball terror case today. One got life, one got 85 years and one got 8 years. The Government described their criminal activity as

....training for holy war against the United States by playing paintball games in the Virginia woods as part of a jihad network.

Judge Brinkema was not happy about imposing the lengthy sentences:

Leonie M. Brinkema, the federal district judge who imposed the sentences, said that they were "draconian" but that she had no choice under federal law. "We have murderers who get far less time," Judge Brinkema said. "I've sent Al Qaeda members planning attacks on these shores to less time. This is sticking in my craw. Law and justice at times need to be in tune."

Judge Brinkema's comments are especially noteworthy since she was the judge who tried the case and found the defendants guilty--they had waived their right to a jury trial. She is also presiding over the on-again, off-again trial of Zacarias Moussaoui.

Here's another bill to support--one that would Restore Rights Undermined by Post 9-11 Policies.

The U.S. government’s roundup of immigrants after the September 11 attacks was plagued by abuses. By passing this legislation, the Congress can help make sure this never happens again.

Wendy Patten, U.S. advocacy, says:

Congress Should Act on Legislation to Protect Basic Rights in the United States. The U.S. Congress should pass legislation to roll back post-September 11 policies that have led to arbitrary detentions and due process violations, Human Rights Watch said today. A bill that will be introduced in Congress today would ensure respect for basic rights and fair treatment in the United States, particularly for people detained under U.S. immigration laws.

The U.S. Congress should pass legislation to roll back post-September 11 policies that have led to arbitrary detentions and due process violations, Human Rights Watch said today. A bill that will be introduced in Congress today would ensure respect for basic rights and fair treatment in the United States, particularly for people detained under U.S. immigration laws.

bq. “The U.S. government’s roundup of immigrants after the September 11 attacks was plagued by abuses,” said Wendy Patten, U.S. advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “By passing this legislation, the Congress can help make sure this never happens again.”

Read more, here.

An ethics complaint has been filed against Republican Congressman Tom Delay, who is also House Majority Leader.

It's my opinion Mr. DeLay is the most corrupt politician in America today," Rep. Chris Bell of Texas said after filing the complaint, which stretches to 187 pages, including copies of tax forms, newspaper articles and other supporting material. Bell's filing ended a seven-year informal ethics truce between the parties, in place since ethics charges destroyed the careers of two sitting speakers -- Democrat Jim Wright and Republican Newt Gingrich.

Here's the essence of the charges:

This is very sad. American Paul Johnson, kidnapped in Saudi Arabia a few days ago, appears blindfolded in a video made available on an Islamic website. CNN reports:

The gunmen threatened to kill the man within 72 hours unless their demands are met. In the four-and-a-half minute videotape, which was extensively edited, Johnson spoke for 25 seconds, identifying himself by name. "I'm an American out of the United States. ... I work on a Apache helicopter," he said, stumbling over some of the words.

Both the Saudis and the U.S. have policies of non-negotiation with terrorists. Thus, it is unlikely they will meet the demands of the kidnappers to free "the mujahedeen held in the prisons in Haer, Ar-Ruwais and Allecha within 72 hours." The kidnappers say they will kill Mr. Johnson if their demands aren't met.

CNN has aired the tape on television.

Country Joe McDonald, of Country Joe and the Fish, has turned down a music award that would require him to go to Vietnam to receive it.

"As a hippie protest songwriter, I could not exist in Vietnam today," said Mr. McDonald, lead singer of the psychedelic band Country Joe and the Fish. "Communism tends to be totalitarian, and I am not supportive of that," Mr. McDonald said while performing in Britain recently.

He also "warned that Washington cannot win the guerrilla wars in Afghanistan or Iraq."

A little Country Joe history here. More Country Joe news here

by TChris

The Correctional Services Corporation is finally taking some well-deserved heat, but it's still able to obtain lucrative government contracts despite its dismal history as an administrator of private prisons.

A report by the Justice Dept.'s Civil Rights Division describes how CSC employees "brutally beat youths" at a facility in Maryland. The report says that "basic living conditions didn’t meet even the lowest constitutional standards."

Yet Homeland Security hired the CSC to operate a new detention center in Tacomah designed to house 700 undocumented immigrants as they wait to be deported. Homeland Security also hired CSC to operate a facility in Texas.

If the goal is to divert governmental functions to the private sector in order to move tax dollars into corporate hands, privatization is working well. If the goal is to obtain better services at a lower cost while maintaining accountability, CSC and Halliburton prove privatization doesn't always deliver.

Eric Alterman has retained a lawyer to go after Fox News' Bill O'Reilly for a retraction of a lie O'Reilly said about Eric on his show--threatening a defamation lawsuit unless O'Reilly complies:

On his show the other day, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly apologized to Texas columnist Molly Ivins for calling her a socialist. Now liberal author Eric Alterman wants a retraction from O'Reilly, who recently labeled him a fellow traveler of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Alterman's Miami-based attorney, Sarah Clasby Engel, sent a demand letter to O'Reilly last week, saying, "We would like to take this opportunity to identify a lie you recently broadcast." On his show in early May, the conservative yakker called Alterman "another Fidel Castro confidant."

Threatening a defamation suit unless O'Reilly makes a retraction, Engel states: "We are certain that you will be unable to point us to any proof whatever of a personal relationship between Alterman, a proud anti-Communist liberal, and Fidel Castro." The letter notes that in mid-May, Alterman signed a public rebuke of Castro, assailing the "brute repression" of his dictatorship. The lawyer gave O'Reilly five business days to respond. A Fox News spokesman told us the missive arrived only yesterday and "our legal department is reviewing it."

[link via Cursor]

by TChris

It's strange to think that citizens need to ask their government for permission to exercise their constitutional rights, but New York City insists that demonstrators obtain a permit before they protest the Republican National Convention. Problem is, New York hasn't issued any permits.

Leslie Cagan of protest group United for Peace and Justice said the group applied for a permit more than a year ago but has not yet been granted permission. The city "has yet to do anything in terms of issuing permits guaranteeing not only that we are able to protest but, more importantly, that we are able to exercise our constitutionally protected right to assemble, to march, to rally, to make our voices heard," Cagan said.

Tuesday was the deadline to apply for a "protest permit." About 15 groups have applied for permits, but none have been granted. The New York Civil Liberties Union plans to take New York to court if the permits aren't issued.

by TChris

An execution in Maryland has been delayed so that the condemned man's lawyers will have time to study Maryland's new procedure for administering lethal injections. Lawyers for Steven Oken contend that the procedure does not assure that the person being executed is unconscious before lethal and painful chemicals are introduced into his bloodstream.

U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte ruled officials in Maryland did not allow sufficient time for the condemned man, Steven Oken, and his attorneys to study a new protocol governing execution by lethal injection. ... The judge said Oken and his attorneys should have time to study a new version of the state's Execution Protocol that was amended on May 26 but not made available to the defense team until last Friday.

The procedure was changed after IV lines carrying both the anesthetic and the fatal chemicals leaked during a 1998 execution. Oken argues that the executioners are not proficient at delivering the drugs and that the new procedure is "confused" about the precise quantities of chemicals to use.

The state, ever eager to kill, is appealing the stay of execution.

Update: A Fourth Circuit panel upheld the stay by a vote of 2-1.