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Washington Post
Greg Miller is a national security reporter for the Washington Post and the co-author of The Interrogators: Inside the Secret War against al Qaeda. He formerly covered national security for the Los Angeles Times.
PROFILE
Greg Miller
Guest
FROM Greg Miller
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Obama's secret mission to punish Putin President Obama was briefed last summer that Russia hacked the election, and that it was directly ordered by Vladimir Putin. The Washington Post reports on what happened next inside the administration as the president agonized over what to do.
To the Point
The Russians were coming. Did anyone listen? Yesterday's Senate testimony by former Obama Administration officials was as much a warning about elections to come as it was about last year's campaign. But the focus was on how former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates told the Trump White House that its National Security Advisor had been compromised. She thought action was needed, but General Michael Flynn was not fired for almost three weeks — after he'd attended high-security meetings. Democrats want an independent investigation, but President Trump still calls it "fake news." How real is Russia's threat to democracy?
To the Point
Uncovering a secret meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel Erik Prince was the founder of Blackwater, a security firm that became a symbol of US abuses in Iraq; several Blackwater guards were convicted of killing civilians. Prince is also the brother of Betsy DeVos, President Trump's Secretary of Education. Now, he's been named by the Washington Post as part of a secret meeting with a Russian official close to Vladimir Putin with the goal of curtailing Russia's relationship with Iran. Greg Miller co-wrote the story.
To the Point
Trump's contentious phone call with longtime ally, Australia Last Saturday Donald Trump spoke by phone with five national leaders, including Vladimir Putin. But he told Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, "This was the worst call by far," and he cut short the conversation. Today, after news leaked about the testy exchange between two historically close allies, Turnbull said, It's better that these conversations are conducted candidly, frankly, privately. Australians know me very well. I stand up for Australia in every forum -- public or private. Greg Miller, national security correspondent for the Washington Post , has more on the call and a little known special refugee arrangement between the US Australia.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Are black sites a prelude to return of harsh interrogation techniques? The president is interested in reviving the so-called CIA black sites abroad to hold terrorism suspects.
To the Point
Newly Declassified Documents Portray a Paranoid bin Laden It's been five years since Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden. Now intelligence officials are releasing thousands of pages of documents discovered in his Pakistani hideout. In his final days, the al Qaeda leader had many fears… about unmanned drones killing his lieutenants, about his sources of financial support — and about his wife's Iranian dentist. That's according to documents found in his hideout and now declassified by US intelligence agencies. Greg Miller is a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter for the Washington Post .
To the Point
Investigators Probe Chattanooga Shooter's Travel History No motive has been established for yesterday's killing of four Marines at a military reserve unit in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A recruiting station was shot up as well. The shooter was Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, and one line of investigation is a trip to Jordan he took last year. Greg Miller is national security correspondent for the Washington Post .
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
High-Stakes Battle Over Torture Report The White House and senators in Congress are locked in a battle over how much of a Senate report about CIA and torture should be public. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein says she won’t release the report until some redactions are removed from it, putting her in a deadlock with the Obama administration.
To the Point
Did the CIA Mislead on Torture to Justify It? The Senate Intelligence Committee and CIA have accused each other of possible crimes in handling information about brutal prisoner interrogations during the war on terror. On Thursday, the Committee may ask President Obama to declassify part of its massive report on the matter. Meantime, new details have leaked. Greg Miller co-authored today's story in the Washington Post .
To the Point
CIA Snoops on Congressional Investigators' Email Early this week, California Democrat Dianne Feinstein said she "reluctantly" took to the Senate floor to denounce the CIA for violating the Constitutional separation of powers. It's all about the brutal interrogation of terrorist suspects during the Bush Administration. Feinstein accused the CIA of trying to sabotage the work of the Intelligence Committee she chairs. It provides legislative oversight of the CIA, which is part of the Executive Branch. It turns out the committee staff had uncovered a CIA report the agency tried to keep secret. Greg Miller is sorting it all out for the Washington Post . )
To the Point
Protecting National Security and Preserving Privacy President Obama issued new orders today after months of controversy over spying by the National Security Agency. Metadata from Americans' phone calls won't be housed at the NSA anymore, and agents will need warrants from the intelligence court before they get access. But it's not clear just where all that data will be. In a long speech that followed six months of bitter dispute about NSA spying after the revelations of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the President called on Congress to help revise controversial intelligence practices. We hear him make his case and get reaction from privacy advocates, intelligence hawks and tech companies -- all of with competing interests.
To the Point
Officials' Support of NSA Surveillance Falters amid New Revelations Britain's Guardian and Germany's Der Spiegel today released new information about 1000 targets of National Security Agency spying in more than 60 countries. British spying is also revealed in previously secret documents provided by Edward Snowden. Greg Miller covers national security and intelligence for the Washington Post .
To the Point
The Targeted Killing of US Citizens The Obama Administration used drones to kill three American citizens located in Yemen, including a 16-year-old boy. No trial. Not even judicial review. The Obama Justice Department has given intelligence committee members in the House and Senate access to a long-classified legal justification for killing Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen identified with al-Qaeda in Yemen. The move this week followed a white paper being leaked to a reporter that says civil rights can be ignored if there's an "imminent threat" of terrorism against the US. But Constitutional scholars and others see twisted logic, the redefinition of language—and a stunning overreach of the President's powers. What constitutes an "imminent threat?" Who makes the decision? What does the CIA have to do with it?
To the Point
The Real Life CIA Heroine of 'Zero Dark Thirty' The movie Zero Dark Thirty , which premieres next week, features a headstrong young woman as a CIA operative who doggedly tracks down Osama bin Laden. That character is based on a real person, known in the film as Maya. While that’s not her real name, much about the character is reportedly accurate. She spent years pursuing her conviction that al Qaeda’s courier network would lead to bin Laden, a conviction that proved correct. But her real-life career has followed a more problematic script, according to an article in today's Washington Post by intelligence reporter Greg Miller.
Which Way, L.A.?
The CIA, the Pentagon and Obama’s Drone War… Unmanned drones are re-shaping both the gathering of intelligence and the conduct of warfare by the Obama Administration. CIA civilians have been firing drones at suspected terrorists, while the military plans to deploy more spies. Will this mean more targeted killings? President Obama has been deciding which individuals will live or die. What does that mean for him personally? We’ll look at his efforts to grapple with the legal—and moral—issues created by the development of drone technology.
To the Point
The Pentagon Expands its Spying Operations: What Does This Mean for Obama’s Drone Program? Unmanned drones are re-shaping both the gathering of intelligence and the conduct of warfare by the Obama Administration. CIA civilians have been firing drones at suspected terrorists, while the military plans to deploy more spies. Will this mean more targeted killings? President Obama has been deciding which individuals will live or die. What does that mean for him personally? We’ll look at his efforts to grapple with the legal—and moral—issues created by the development of drone technology.
Recommended
To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
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.