SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Seating to her left is Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), the committee's vice-chair. (Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images)
Is Obama Stalling Until Republicans Can Bury the CIA Torture Report?
Continued White House foot-dragging on the declassification of a much-anticipated Senate torture report is raising concerns that the administration is holding out until Republicans take over the chamber and kill the report themselves.
Senator Dianne Feinstein's intelligence committee sent a 480-page executive summary of its extensive report on the CIA's abuse of detainees to the White House for declassification more than six months ago.
Oct 23, 2014
Continued White House foot-dragging on the declassification of a much-anticipated Senate torture report is raising concerns that the administration is holding out until Republicans take over the chamber and kill the report themselves.
Senator Dianne Feinstein's intelligence committee sent a 480-page executive summary of its extensive report on the CIA's abuse of detainees to the White House for declassification more than six months ago.
In August, the White House, working closely with the CIA, sent back redactions that Feinstein and other Senate Democrats said rendered the summary unintelligible and unsupported.
Since then, the wrangling has continued behind closed doors, with projected release dates repeatedly falling by the wayside. The Huffington Post reported this week that White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, a close ally of CIA Director John Brennan, is personally leading the negotiations, suggesting keen interest in their progress -- or lack thereof -- on the part of Brennan and President Obama.
Human-rights lawyer Scott Horton, who interviewed a wide range of intelligence and administration officials for his upcoming book, "Lords of Secrecy: The National Security Elite and America's Stealth Foreign Policy," told The Intercept that the White House and the CIA are hoping a Republican Senate will, in their words, "put an end to this nonsense."
Stalling for time until after the midterm elections and the start of a Republican-majority session is the "battle plan," Horton said. "I can tell you that Brennan has told people in the CIA that that's his prescription for doing it."
Read the full article at The Intercept.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Dan Froomkin
Dan Froomkin is a political journalist and founder and editor of Press Watch, a site focusing on coverage of U.S. politics and media. Previously, Froomkin covered politics for the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and The Intercept.
Continued White House foot-dragging on the declassification of a much-anticipated Senate torture report is raising concerns that the administration is holding out until Republicans take over the chamber and kill the report themselves.
Senator Dianne Feinstein's intelligence committee sent a 480-page executive summary of its extensive report on the CIA's abuse of detainees to the White House for declassification more than six months ago.
In August, the White House, working closely with the CIA, sent back redactions that Feinstein and other Senate Democrats said rendered the summary unintelligible and unsupported.
Since then, the wrangling has continued behind closed doors, with projected release dates repeatedly falling by the wayside. The Huffington Post reported this week that White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, a close ally of CIA Director John Brennan, is personally leading the negotiations, suggesting keen interest in their progress -- or lack thereof -- on the part of Brennan and President Obama.
Human-rights lawyer Scott Horton, who interviewed a wide range of intelligence and administration officials for his upcoming book, "Lords of Secrecy: The National Security Elite and America's Stealth Foreign Policy," told The Intercept that the White House and the CIA are hoping a Republican Senate will, in their words, "put an end to this nonsense."
Stalling for time until after the midterm elections and the start of a Republican-majority session is the "battle plan," Horton said. "I can tell you that Brennan has told people in the CIA that that's his prescription for doing it."
Read the full article at The Intercept.
Dan Froomkin
Dan Froomkin is a political journalist and founder and editor of Press Watch, a site focusing on coverage of U.S. politics and media. Previously, Froomkin covered politics for the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and The Intercept.
Continued White House foot-dragging on the declassification of a much-anticipated Senate torture report is raising concerns that the administration is holding out until Republicans take over the chamber and kill the report themselves.
Senator Dianne Feinstein's intelligence committee sent a 480-page executive summary of its extensive report on the CIA's abuse of detainees to the White House for declassification more than six months ago.
In August, the White House, working closely with the CIA, sent back redactions that Feinstein and other Senate Democrats said rendered the summary unintelligible and unsupported.
Since then, the wrangling has continued behind closed doors, with projected release dates repeatedly falling by the wayside. The Huffington Post reported this week that White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, a close ally of CIA Director John Brennan, is personally leading the negotiations, suggesting keen interest in their progress -- or lack thereof -- on the part of Brennan and President Obama.
Human-rights lawyer Scott Horton, who interviewed a wide range of intelligence and administration officials for his upcoming book, "Lords of Secrecy: The National Security Elite and America's Stealth Foreign Policy," told The Intercept that the White House and the CIA are hoping a Republican Senate will, in their words, "put an end to this nonsense."
Stalling for time until after the midterm elections and the start of a Republican-majority session is the "battle plan," Horton said. "I can tell you that Brennan has told people in the CIA that that's his prescription for doing it."
Read the full article at The Intercept.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.