Think Progress

Report: Bush Officials Relied On Communist Torture Techniques To Press Detainees For Al Qaeda/Iraq Link - Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Late yesterday, the Senate Armed Services Committee made public an unclassified version of its November 2008 report, “Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody.” The report reveals that top Bush administration officials were so eager to start harsh interrogations on detainees that they often ignored warnings from military advisers, skipped a thorough legal [...]

Spanish court agrees to consider criminal case against former Bush administration officials. - Saturday, March 28th, 2009

A Spanish court “has agreed to consider opening a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials…over allegations they gave legal cover for torture at Guantanamo Bay.” The officials include former attorney general Alberto Gonzales, former undersecretary of defense for policy Douglas Feith, former Cheney chief of staff David Addington, Justice Department officials John Yoo [...]

Addington can’t find a job. - Monday, March 9th, 2009

Former officials of the Bush administration have had a notoriously hard time finding work. In February, the Wall Street Journal reported that “only 25% to 30% of ex-Bush officials seeking full-time jobs have succeeded.” The New York Times reports today that one of the down on his luck Bushies is top Cheney aide David Addington:
David [...]

The Top 43 Appointees Who Helped Make Bush The Worst President Ever - Saturday, January 17th, 2009

This item originally published in yesterday’s Progress Report. To receive The Progress Report in your email inbox everyday, click here.
Next week, “change is coming to America,” as President George W. Bush wraps up his tenure as one of the worst American presidents ever. He wasn’t able to accomplish such an ignominious feat all by himself, [...]

Davis: Pressure To Rush David Hicks’ Trial Came Day After Australian Ambassador Meeting - Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

In March 2007, Australian native David Hicks, who was a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, became the first person to be sentenced by a military commission convened under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Last February, Col. Morris Davis, the lead prosecutor in Hicks’ trial, told the Australian that the Pentagon “leaned on” him to rush [...]

Former Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Richard Myers quashed legal review of torture techniques. - Monday, June 30th, 2008

In 2002, as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld “was considering the approval of three categories of interrogation techniques for use at Guantánamo,” military officials raised “serious concerns regarding the legality” of the techniques in a series of memos. As a result, Rear Adm. Jane Dalton, the legal counsel to then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of [...]

Sen. Reed castigates William Haynes: ‘You degraded the integrity of the U.S. military.’ - Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, former Pentagon counsel William Haynes tried to absolve himself of blame for detainee abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. “As the lawyer, I was not the decision maker. I was the adviser,” he said. With anger in his voice, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) told Haynes that [...]

Cheney may have leaked secret video in Gitmo case. - Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr have alleged that Vice President Dick Cheney’s office leaked a secret video of Khadr in Afghanistan to CBS’ 60 Minutes after a judge denied a prosecution request to play the video in court. Former Gitmo chief prosecutor Col. Morris Davis told Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler — Khadr’s lawyer [...]

Davis: DoD General Counsel ‘Leaned On’ Me To Rush Detainee’s Trial Ahead Of Australian Elections - Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

In March 2007, Australian native David Hicks, who was a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, became the first person to be sentenced by a military commission convened under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. At the time, critics charged that Hicks’ sudden plea bargain appeared to be the result of a political deal between Vice President [...]

Torture advocate William Haynes resigns. - Monday, February 25th, 2008

Defense Department General Counsel William Haynes, who was a “prime mover” in the Bush administration’s efforts to bypass the Geneva Convention, announced today that he “is returning to private life next month.” Already a controversial figure due to his torture advocacy, the negative spotlight on Haynes increased last week when former Gitmo prosecutor Col. Morris [...]

Top Gitmo lawyer: ‘We can’t have acquittals.’ - Wednesday, February 20th, 2008

Col. Morris Davis resigned his position as chief prosecutor for Guantánamo Bay’s military commissions after being placed under the command of torture advocate William J. Haynes. As a result of a conversation he had with Haynes in 2005, Davis tells The Nation that he doesn’t believe “the men at Guantánamo could receive a fair trial“:
“I [...]

Pentagon drops plan to control military lawyer promotions. - Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

Last weekend, the Boston Globe’s Charlie Savage reported that the Bush administration was “pushing to take control of the promotions of military lawyers.” The plan, which was being driven by Pentagon counsel William Haynes, would have allowed “politically appointed lawyers in the Pentagon” to veto the appointment or promotion of any member of the Judge [...]

Pentagon blocks ex-Gitmo prosecutor from testifying. - Tuesday, December 11th, 2007

Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted that Air Force Col. Morris Davis resigned his position as the chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay after he was placed under the command of torture advocate William Haynes. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) revealed that the Pentagon had blocked Davis [...]

Chief Guantanamo Prosecutor Resigned When Placed Under Command Of Torture Advocate - Monday, December 10th, 2007

Until Oct. 4, Morris Davis served as chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. When originally asked why he was stepping down, Davis said that the Pentagon had ordered him “not to communicate with the news media about my resignation or military commissions.”
Today in an LA Times op-ed, however, Morris reveals [...]

Pentagon Counsel William Haynes Bars Gitmo Prosecutor From Testifying About Torture - Thursday, November 8th, 2007

Today, a House Judiciary subcommittee is holding an oversight hearing on the “effectiveness and consequences of ‘enhanced’ interrogation.” The Committee had invited Lt. Col. Stuart Couch, a former Guantanamo Bay prosecutor, to testify about his experiences. The Wall Street Journal reports, “Asked last week to appear before the panel, Col. Couch says he informed [...]

ThinkFast: July 14, 2006 - Friday, July 14th, 2006

Oil surged to record highs above $78 a barrel on Friday as intensifying violence in the Middle East raised concerns of possible supply disruptions.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Iraq war could cost anywhere between $202 billion and $406 billion more over the next decade, depending on how quickly U.S. force levels are reduced.
Senators from [...]

Legal Advocate For Torture Being Considered For Top Judicial Post - Tuesday, July 11th, 2006

The Financial Times reports this morning that the Pentagon, guided by General Counsel William Haynes, recently reversed course and decided that all detainees held in U.S. military custody are entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions. The timing of the announcement appears in part to have been guided by an administration effort to build support [...]

Lott Agrees With Frist: Filibuster An Attack on God - Sunday, April 17th, 2005

The suggestion that judicial nominees are being opposed because they believe in God is ridiculous. But that didn’t stop Trent Lott from repeating the claim on ABC’s This Week:
LOTT: [W]hat has made people uncomfortable is that people that have strong feelings about their faith, regardless of the denomination or background of that particular religious group, [...]

Radical Judicial Nominees - Wednesday, February 2nd, 2005

President Bush said: “As President, I have a constitutional responsibility to nominate men and women who understand the role of courts in our democracy, and are well qualified to serve on the bench – and I have done so.”
FACT: President Bush has nominated Pentagon general counsel William J. Haynes IV for a second time. Haynes [...]