By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
The man who leads the Pentagon's secret war against al Qaeda and its allies believes it is likely to last another decade or two, and that the current legal basis for it provided by Congress in 2001 continues to be sound, despite the changing character of the enemy.
One-time journalist and presidential press secretary Jay Carney is channelling his inner Sgt. Schultz, a favorite of "Hogan's Heroes." He "knows nothing, absolutely nothing" about the Department of Justice snooping on the communication habits of 20 reporters and editors at the Associated Press.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday described the leak about a foiled terrorist plot in Yemen to The Associated Press as a "very, very serious" matter that "put the American people at risk," but he did not remember when he recused himself from the investigation into it, did not put his recusal in writing and never told the White House.
Trying to take a positive step in the face of two controversies over untoward government intrusion, the White House has called on Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, to reintroduce a bill that would give more protections to the press when it comes to keeping their sources confidential, a White House spokesman said Wednesday.
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle were asking questions Wednesday about the Justice Department’s subpoena of telephone records involving editors and reporters at The Associated Press, with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. expected to be asked about the matter during an long-scheduled hearing before the House Judiciary Committee
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday defended the Justice Department's use of its subpoena power to monitor the telephone records of editors and reporters at The Associated Press in a leak investigation, but said he was unaware of the details because he had recused himself from the leak case.
The Justice Department is not saying why it secretly seized the telephone records of reporters and editors at The Associated Press, but several people close to the department said federal authorities have focused on the news agency in an ongoing investigation into the source of leaks about a CIA operation in Yemen.
News coverage was swift and straightforward following revelations that the Justice Department secretly had obtained two months worth of phone records from The Associated Press, an action the wire service President and CEO Gary Pruitt deemed an "unprecedented intrusion" and "serious interference with AP's constitutional rights to gather and report news," in a letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. made public on Monday. Those are fighting words from Mr. Pruitt, the former CEO of news syndicate McClatchey Co., who has been on the job just over a year.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said three of its workers were kidnapped Monday in Yemen.
The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.
The Saudi Justice Ministry says a special security court has issued 2,145 jail sentences for "supporting terrorism" since it was formed four and a half years ago.
The U.S. received a written warning about Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2012 by Saudi Arabia, a government head with the kingdom said Tuesday.
The Boston Marathon bombings have ignited a debate in Washington and among terrorism analysts over how the wider threat facing the U.S. has evolved since the 9/11 attacks of 2001.
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday that the FBI is investigating in the United States and overseas to determine whether the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing received training that helped them carry out the attack.
President Obama came into office promising to be the opposite of George W. Bush, but after nearly five years as commander in chief, his policies are more like his Republican predecessor than he would care to acknowledge.
