Glenn Greenwald's Blog, page 44

Major Questions Remain Unanswered in Boston Killing of Alleged ISIS Beheading Plotter

Two weeks ago in the Boston area, a 26-year-old black Muslim man was shot and killed by agents of the FBI and Boston Police Department (BPD). As wedocumentedthe following day, major media outlets immediately, breathlessly anduncritically repeatedlaw enforcement claims (often anonymous ones) about what happened: that the dead man, Usaamah Rahim, was on the verge of executing an “ISIS-inspired” or “ISIS-linked” plot to behead random police officers, in a conspiracy with at least two others. Whe...

The Noble Post-White House Career Path of Obama’s Core Team

(updated below)

It was announced today that former Obama White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

That’s similar to the career path of other key members of the Obama team, such as hisformer Budget ChiefPeter Orszag,who receives an annual $4 million salary for this:

Gibbs’ successor as press secretary, Jay Carney, also found quite a comfortable corporate position upon leaving:

Then there’s Obama’s 2008campaign manager and White House adviser, David Plouffe, whose days are now...

Media Lessons from Snowden Reporting: LA Times Editors Advocate Prosecution of Sources

Two years ago, the first story based on the Snowden archive was published in the Guardian, revealing a program of domestic mass surveillance which, at least in its originalform,ended this week. To commemorate that anniversary, Edward Snowden himself reflectedinaNew York Times Op-Ed on the“power of an informed public” when it comes to the worldwide debate over surveillance and privacy.

But we realized from the startthatthe debate provoked by these disclosureswould be at least as much about jou...

Did Max Boot and Commentary Magazine Lie About Edward Snowden? You Decide.

(updated below)

In the neocon journal Commentary,Max Boot today complains thatthe New York Times published an op-ed by Edward Snowden. Boot’s objection rests on his accusation that the NSA whistleblower isactually a“traitor.” In objecting, Boot made these claims:

Oddly enough nowhere in his article — which is datelined Moscow — does he mention the surveillance apparatus of his host, Vladimir Putin, which far exceeds in scope anything created by any Western country.. . .That would be the same...

In Boston, Media Again Trash a Police Shooting Victim by Uncritically “Reporting” Police Accusations

In the Boston area yesterday, the FBI and Boston Police Department(BPD)shot and killed a 26-year-old black Muslim man, Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, after they stopped him at a bus stop at 7:00 a.m. in front of a CVS drug store in order to question him. Media reports originally claimed that Rahim wielded a “machete” after he was approached by the agents. But after photos emerged showing how laughable that description was, the weapon was changed in subsequent reports to a “military-style black knife...

For Terrorist Fearmongers, It’s Always the Scariest Time Ever

Two weeks ago, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham was widely mocked for this breathless, fearmongering tweet:

This morning, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, demanding passage of the USA Freedom Act, said something quite similar: “I have never seen a time of greater potential danger than right now.” After issuing her scary warning, Feinstein claimed: “I’ve never said that before.” That’s very strange, in light of this 2013 headline following a joint appearance she made with GOP Rep. Mike Rogers on CNN:...

Denny Hastert is Contemptible, But His Indictment Exemplifies America’s Over-Criminalization Pathology

(updated below)

Bush-era House Speaker Denny Hastert, who was indicted yesterday, is a living, breathing embodiment of everything sleazy and wrong with U.S. politics. That ishighlighted not only by his central role in enabling every War on Terror excess, but also by this fact:

Hastert’s ability to make such large cash payments probably came from his career as a K Street lobbyist. He entered Congress in 1987 with a net worth of no more than $270,000 and then exited worth somewhere between $4 m...

Anonymous Fearmongering About the Patriot Act from the White House and NYT

(updated below)

Several of the most extremistprovisions of the 2001 Patriot Act are going to expire on June 1 unless Congress reauthorizes them in some form. Obama officials such as Director of National Intelligence James Clapper andnew Attorney General Loretta Lynch have been engaged in rank fear-mongeringto coerce renewal, warning that we’ll all be “less safe” if these provisions areallowed to “sunset” as originally intended, whileinvoking classic Cheneyite rhetoric by saying Patriot Act op...

Anonymous Fear-Mongering About the Patriot Act from the White House and NYT

(updated below)

Several of the most extremistprovisions of the 2001 Patriot Act are going to expire on June 1 unless Congress reauthorizes them in some form. Obama officials such as Director of National Intelligence James Clapper andnew Attorney General Loretta Lynch have been engaged in rank fear-mongeringto coerce renewal, warning that we’ll all be “less safe” if these provisions areallowed to “sunset” as originally intended, whileinvoking classic Cheneyite rhetoric by saying Patriot Act op...

On Patriot Act Renewal and USA Freedom Act: Glenn Greenwald Talks With ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer

Even in the security-über alles climate that followed 9/11, the Patriot Act was recognized as an extreme and radical expansion of government surveillance powers. That’s why “sunset provisions” were attached to several of its key provisions: meaning they would expire automaticallyunless Congress renewed them every five years. But in 2005 and then again in 2010, the Bush and Obama administrations demanded their renewal, and Congress overwhelmingly complied with only token opposition from civil...