New York Times
Washington correspondent for the New York Times; former legal affairs reporter for the Boston Globe and a 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winner for his national reporting on President Bush's expanded use of signing statements; author of Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy, about the Bush Administration's efforts to expand presidential powers
New Revelations about NSA Monitoring of US Correspondence The National Security Agency is monitoring more email and texts than previously acknowledged. The New York Times reports that the NSA monitors emails and texts from and to Americans who are writing about foreigners under surveillance. Previously, it had admitted intercepting communications fro Americans who were in direct contact with such a person. Charlie Savage, Washington correspondent for the New York Times , has more.
Does the US Still Need the Prison at Guantanamo Bay? Barack Obama's first presidential order was to close Guantánamo Bay. Even George W. Bush agreed. But as he began his second term in January of this year, the special envoy for closing Guantánamo was dismissed without a replacement, and 166 prisoners are still there. More than half are on a hunger strike and, last week, military guards put down an uprising. We hear what classified documents reveal about inmate behavior and abusive treatment of prisoners being held without charge. Is there still a "war on terror" requiring military tribunals? Will there be future "enemy combatants" too dangerous to handle in America's court system? (Special thanks to Leilia Thayer for help in producing this discussion.)
Obama's Executive Power Pivot " We Can't Wait " is the slogan the Obama Administration is using to describe its unilateral efforts to roll out dozens of new policies. Frustrated by a Congress that can't -- or won't -- act, the President is increasingly resorting to one of the perks of the Oval Office to make change: the executive order. Charlie Savage is Washington correspondent for the New York Times .
Is the Obama Administration Tough on Terror...or Not? Some Republicans in Congress, along with former Vice President Cheney and his daughter Liz, are attacking President Obama for being soft on terrorism. The allegations raise a question that dates back to the Bush Administration: should foreign terrorism suspects be tried in civilian courts or in military tribunals?
Is the Obama Administration Tough on Terror...or Not? Republicans are up in arms because Attorney General Eric Holder wants Khalid Sheikh Mohammed tried in a civilian court . Will the White House move the case to a military tribunal? Will that help close Guantánamo Bay? The opposition's divided over another charge: that Holder's Department of Justice has become "in-house counsel to al-Qaida." What does that have to do with the standards of the legal profession — and Dick Cheney's daughter, Liz?
Can Bush Tie the Hands of Future Presidents on Iraq? President Bush and the Democrats in Congress may be in for another battle over Iraq. In 11 months the United Nations mandate for military action runs out and the administration wants Iraq to give the US both combat authority and grant civilian contractors protection from Iraqi law, without the approval of Congress. Charlie Savage, White House correspondent for the Boston Globe , is author of Takeover : the Return of the Imperial Presidency.
Bush Administration's Expansion of Presidential Power To "expand presidential power in any way we can" was the theme of the first meeting of President Bush's legal team, led by Dick Cheney in January, 2001. In the months before September 11, the Vice President was looking for a moment to "seize" more power for the White House. Cheney made no secret of his drive to concentrate authority in the White House, reducing the power of both the courts and the Congress, and creating a zone of secrecy around the executive branch. That's according to the Boston Globe's Charlie Savage, whose latest book is Takeover : the Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy.
Bush Administration's Broad New Wiretapping Powers President Bush may be a struggling lame duck, but Democrats can still be out-maneuvered if they think they'll be called soft on terrorism. As Congress was leaving town, both houses gave Mr. Bush the wire-tapping authority he wanted, despite opposition from the Democratic leadership. The Bush White House denies it's a "broad expansion" of the President's powers, while House Speaker Pelosi calls it " unacceptable ." Civil libertarians and other Senate Democrats, including Barack Obama, say the new majority buckled under intimidation and pressure, that they "might be branded as soft on terrorism." We look at the new law and the politics that got it passed.
Partisan Politics and the Administration of Justice Last year, the Boston Globe reported that former Attorney General John Ashcroft changed the process for hiring new attorneys for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division , which handles sensitive issues, including racial discrimination, employment opportunity and voting rights. The potential for political interference in the division is greater than in other areas of federal law. In previous administrations--Democrat and Republican--career jobs had been handled by civil servants. Ashcroft assigned that task to political appointees, a move that has reportedly changed the division dramatically. Now the focus is on the current Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales , who is headed back to Capitol Hill to answer some controversial questions: Have federal prosecutors been hired for their legal experience or their Republican leanings? Were legal cases either filed or ignored because of their likely influence on close elections that determined the balance of Congressional power? We hear from Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Charlie Savage and Justice Department veterans on both sides of issues that go to the heart of Constitutional democracy.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
