http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/02/geithner-obama-will-go-over-the-fiscal-cliff-unless-gop-agrees-to-tax-hikes-video/
CROWLEY: So you’ll go off the fiscal cliff if it will — if the Republicans say, sorry, no way are we going to raise rates for the — on the wealthy. You guys are willing …
http://nationaljournal.com/sunday-shows/john-boehner-on-fiscal-cliff-negotiations-we-re-nowhere--20121202
Updated: December 2, 2012 | 9:53 a.m.
and......
http://rt.com/usa/news/ndaa-veto-guantanamo-detention-993/
http://www.naturalnews.com/038167_debt_limit_Geithner_infinity.html
(NaturalNews) The elaborate Ponzi scheme officially known as the U.S. financial system is set to completely transform into a Monopoly-style fantasy economy where money and debt are both meaningless and limitless. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has actually come out with a proposal that the American debt ceiling be completely eliminated, allowing the crooks that run the federal government to print as much phony debt currency as their hearts desire, and spend away into oblivion.
During a recent interview on Bloomberg TV, Geithner told Political Capital's Al Hunt that the Congressionally-established debt ceiling, which was specifically designed to establish reasonable limits on the amount of money the federal government can borrow, should be completely abolished. Even though Congress is the only entity that can make such a decision, Geithner expressed his belief that the limit be scrapped to avoid its being used as "a tool for political advantage."
"It would have been time a long time ago to eliminate it," said a nervous Geithner to Hunt, after being asked when he believed the debt ceiling should be eliminated. "The sooner the better."
The so-called debt ceiling is virtually meaningless anyway, as Congress has already voted dozens of times in years past to raise it every time the national debt approaches a breach. But a permanent lifting of any sort of debt ceiling will officially seal the deal, and drive the last nail in the coffin for the American economy, which is today built solely on debt rather than actual monetary currency.
"The [Cloward-Piven strategy] taught that if you flooded the welfare rolls and bankrupted the cities and ultimately the nation, it would foster economic collapse, which would lead to political turmoil so severe that socialism would be accepted as a fix to an out-of-control set of circumstances," wrote Jeannie DeAngelis for American Thinker about this malevolent agenda.
"Combine class warfare, demonizing the rich, getting as many people onto the welfare rolls as possible, and pushing the economic system to collapse and you have a flawless formula for Cloward-Piven 2.0."
This appears to be the precise strategy behind eliminating the debt ceiling, as federal government controllers would truly have a limitless bank account from which to continue swelling the welfare state and spending the nation into complete collapse. And once the system eventually collapses in on itself, as planned, the masses will be begging for their own enslavement in the form of full nanny state provisions and complete government tyranny.
National Defense Authorization Act is legislation which provides budget authority to the Department of Defense and to the Department of Energy’s national security programs
There’s a showdown happening in Washington and it could get very ugly soon. Will President Barack Obama’s first-term promise to close down Guantánamo Bay and bring Gitmo detainees to the U.S become a reality or will the Republicans with the support of some Democrats block the Obama administration again?
Late last night the Senate passed a measure introduced by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) preventing terrorist detainees from being transferred from the U.S. prison in Guantánamo to U.S. soil.
However, earlier yesterday the White House started circulating a Statement of Administration Policy(SAP) warning that President Obama would veto the renewal of the pending 2013 National DefenseAuthorization Act (NDAA) if Guantánamo transfer and funding restrictions were not removed. The SAP also warned the Senate not to add any new detention provisions.
MORE HERE
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/29/2012 12:48 -0500
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/28/exclusive-feinstein-commissioned-report-on-housing-gitmo-detainees-in-us/
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's renewed interest in the proposal first came to light Wednesday after Fox News turned up an internal Government Accountability Office document that refers to “Source of Work: Ms. Dianne Feinstein, Chair, Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. Senate” and lists the “Gist of Work” as an investigation into whether domestic facilities could house the approximately 170 detainees remaining at the controversial facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made the rounds on all five major Sunday morning talk shows to support President Barack Obama’s argument that taxes must be hiked on the top two percent of income
earners.
earners.
“The Republicans have said for the first time in decades, if I’m not mistaken — the leaders of the Republican Party — that they are prepared to raise taxes as part of a deal that helps reduce our long-term deficits,” Geithner said on Sunday’s broadcast of CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Now, what they haven’t said to us is how far they’re willing to go both on rates and revenues. And that’s something we’re going to need to see from them if we’re going to have an agreement.”
that helps reduce our long-term deficits,” Geithner said on Sunday’s broadcast of CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Now, what they haven’t said to us is how far they’re willing to go both on rates and revenues. And that’s something we’re going to need to see from them if we’re going to have an agreement.”
The treasury secretary later told host Candy Crowley that without those hikes, there would be no deal.
GEITHNER: I mean, Candy, there — there’s not going to be an agreement without rates
CROWLEY: So you’ll go off the fiscal cliff if it will — if the Republicans say, sorry, no way are we going to raise rates for the — on the wealthy. You guys are willing …
GEITHNER: If we’re —
CROWLEY: — to go off the fiscal cliff?
GEITHNER: If Republicans are not willing to let rates go back up — and we think they should go back to the Clinton levels, a time when the American economy was doing exceptionally well — then there will not be an agreement.
http://nationaljournal.com/sunday-shows/john-boehner-on-fiscal-cliff-negotiations-we-re-nowhere--20121202
John Boehner on Fiscal Cliff Negotiations: 'We're Nowhere'
Updated: December 2, 2012 | 9:53 a.m.
December 2, 2012 | 9:51 a.m.
House Speaker John Boehner politely lashed out at President Obama over fiscal negotiations on Sunday, saying that after three weeks of talks the White House has offered “virtually nothing” toward an agreement to avert the large round of tax hikes and spending cuts scheduled to take hold in January.
“Right now I would say we’re nowhere. Period. We’re nowhere,” Boehner said on Fox News Sunday, warning there is “clearly a chance” the sides might not reach agreement by year-end.
Later, he added: “The President’s idea of negotiation is, roll over and do what I ask.”
Boehner said he was “flabbergasted” by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s opening offer last week that included $1.6 trillion in increased tax revenues. He suggested Republicans had offered proposals to raise about half that much revenue, through limiting or eliminating deductions for the wealthy, though he declined to specify what deductions the GOP would be willing to cut.
“We’ve laid it all out for them: a dozen different ways you can raise revenue on what the president calls the richest Americans, without raising rates,” Boehner said, adding: “The president has seen a lot of the options from us.”
and......
http://rt.com/usa/news/ndaa-veto-guantanamo-detention-993/
NDAA 2013: White House and Senate fight over indefinite detention
Published: 30 November, 2012, 22:17
NDAA 2013: indefinite detention war rages on
A reprise of last year’s war in Washington over whether or not Americans can be indefinitely detained without trial is occurring already. The Senate has approved a measure that voids parts of the 2012 NDAA, but the White House says they plan to veto.
Just hours before lawmakers in the US Senate overwhelming voted in favor of an amendment that will challenge controversial provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, the Obama administration cited seemingly unrelated sections of the annual Pentagon spending bill as the reasoning behind a planned veto.
Last year, staffers working directly under Pres. Barack Obama said they’d recommend the commander-in-chief reject the 2012 NDAA because of certain provisions that provided the Executive Branch the power to indefinitely hold any US citizen in military prison for mere suspicious of ties to terrorism. Despite his office’s assurance that the NDAA would not be authorized as written, Pres. Obama signed his name to the bill on December 31, 2011, all the while acknowledging that he had reservations about the sections that stripped away habeas corpus from US citizens. Even still, the White House has been adamantly fighting in federal appeals court for the right to continue having the ability, despite a district judge having already called that part of the act unconstitutional.
Now as next year’s bill is being scrutinized in Congress, lawmakers in the Senate this Thursday agreed to pass by a vote of 67 to 29 a measure sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) that applied civil liberty protections to US persons who could be detained under the current NDAA.
"An authorization to use military force, a declaration of war or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States apprehended in the United States, unless an Act of Congress expressly authorizes such detention,” the senator’s amendment reads.
"I know this is a sensitive subject, but I really believe we stand on the values of our country, and the value of our country is justice for all," she told her colleagues on the Senate floor.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), an avid critic of the NDAA, said the passing of Feinstein’s amendment has signaled a“victory” in a year-long effort to keep indefinite detention without charge or trial off the books.
“Let’s don't play any games with any aspect and really believe that any Supreme Court in the United States, whether appointed by a Republican or a Democrat, is going to say that an American citizen does not have a right to trial by jury,” he said.
Now with the Senate’s approval of Sen. Feinstein’s amendment, the indefinite detention provisions from the 2012 NDAA stand a chance of being stripped off next year’s bill. Citing completely unrelated reasons, though, the Obama White House said on Thursday that the president is not likely to accept the defense bill in its current form.
According to the White House, the impetus behind Pres. Obama’s reluctance this time around isn’t that a veto will reauthorize his ability to imprison his own citizens without charge. Instead, the administration argues that separate provisions on the current draft of the NDAA would hinder Pres. Obama’s efforts to relocate the foreign terror suspects currently held at the United States’ military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“When he signed past versions of this legislation, the president objected to the restrictions carried forward by section 1031, promised to work towards their repeal, and warned the Congress that the restrictions on transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries would in certain circumstances interfere with constitutional responsibilities committed to the Executive Branch,” reads a statement published this week from the White House Office of Management and Budget.
"Since these restrictions have been on the books, they have limited the Executive's ability to manage military operations in an ongoing armed conflict, harmed the country's diplomatic relations with allies and counterterrorism partners and provided no benefit whatsoever to our national security.”
Under the latest draft of the 2013 NDAA, the Pentagon will be prohibited from using governmental funds to relocate Gitmo detainees to a new facility in the US. The president vowed on the campaign trail leading up to the November 6 election that he would close the infamous military prison under a second term in office, but that promise was one he also waged back in 2008 with so far no sign of following though. Now a renewed interest in shutting-down Gitmo is being used by the White House to justify the administration’s refusal to accept a bill that challenges the draconian legislation that he signed into law and has fought adamantly in appeals court to uphold since.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), a key figure in getting the indefinite detention provision added to the 2012 NDAA, insisted this week on renewed authorization of that clause while also advocating the continued operation of Guantanamo. Defending America’s current powers to prosecute suspected terrorists by any means necessary, Sen. Graham said both indefinite detention and a prison at Gitmo need remain options on the table for the sake of advancing American dominance in overseas military efforts.
"When you're fighting a war, the goal is not to prosecute people, the goal is to win," Grahamsaid. "How do you win a war? You kill them, you capture them and you interrogate them to find out what they're up to next."
“Simply stated, the American people don’t want to close Guantanamo Bay, which is an isolated, military-controlled facility, to bring these crazy bastards that want to kill us all to the United States,” he told fellow senators during Thursday’s vote. “Most Americans believe that the people at Guantanamo Bay are not some kind of burglar or bank robber. They are bent on our destruction. And I stand with the American people that we’re under siege, we’re under attack and we’re at war.”
Even if the White House was to agree with Sen. Graham’s take, Pres. Obama’s current plans call for ending the only war the United States is officially fighting — the 11-year-long operation in Afghanistan — by 2014. Just this week, however, it was revealed that as many as 10,000 US troops may stay station in Afghanistan for the undeterminable future to assist in so-called stabilization efforts.
On his part, Sen. Rand Paul rebuffed Sen. Graham’s comments by remarking, “Since I know this record of this debate will be widely read, that I want to make formal objection to the ‘crazy bastards standard.’”
“I don’t really think that if we’re going to have a ‘crazy bastards’ standard that we shouldn’t have a right to trial by jury, because if we’re going to lock up all the crazy bastards, for goodness sakes, would you not want, if you’re a crazy bastard, to have a right to trial by jury?” said Paul.
Before Sen. Feinstein’s amendment was approved this week, the most recent revision of the 2013 NDAA including apassage reaffirming every American’s right to habeas corpus. The complete defense bill must successfully pass through Congress before Pres. Obama can sign it. In all, the bill outlines spending for the Department of Defense during the next fiscal year and is crucial for figuring out expenses for the entire military complex. Presidents Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush have each vetoed an NDAA during their administrations.
and WH and Treasury Secretary Geithner propose just eliminating the role of Congress in determining the debt ceiling and placing that power of the purse with the Executive Branch ...... ......which seems to violate Separation of Powers to me and thus should be unconstitutional .....
(NaturalNews) The elaborate Ponzi scheme officially known as the U.S. financial system is set to completely transform into a Monopoly-style fantasy economy where money and debt are both meaningless and limitless. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has actually come out with a proposal that the American debt ceiling be completely eliminated, allowing the crooks that run the federal government to print as much phony debt currency as their hearts desire, and spend away into oblivion.
During a recent interview on Bloomberg TV, Geithner told Political Capital's Al Hunt that the Congressionally-established debt ceiling, which was specifically designed to establish reasonable limits on the amount of money the federal government can borrow, should be completely abolished. Even though Congress is the only entity that can make such a decision, Geithner expressed his belief that the limit be scrapped to avoid its being used as "a tool for political advantage."
"It would have been time a long time ago to eliminate it," said a nervous Geithner to Hunt, after being asked when he believed the debt ceiling should be eliminated. "The sooner the better."
The so-called debt ceiling is virtually meaningless anyway, as Congress has already voted dozens of times in years past to raise it every time the national debt approaches a breach. But a permanent lifting of any sort of debt ceiling will officially seal the deal, and drive the last nail in the coffin for the American economy, which is today built solely on debt rather than actual monetary currency.
Geithner proposal part of 'Cloward-Piven' strategy to collapse national economy
Geithner's suggestion also seems to follow the playbook of the infamous Cloward-Piven strategy to the tee, which is built on the idea of intentionally crashing the existing U.S. economy for the purpose of rebuilding it in the image of socialist ideals. Part of this strategy includes deliberately destroying the nation's currency by accumulating large amounts of unsustainable debt, none of which can ever truly be paid off and settled."The [Cloward-Piven strategy] taught that if you flooded the welfare rolls and bankrupted the cities and ultimately the nation, it would foster economic collapse, which would lead to political turmoil so severe that socialism would be accepted as a fix to an out-of-control set of circumstances," wrote Jeannie DeAngelis for American Thinker about this malevolent agenda.
"Combine class warfare, demonizing the rich, getting as many people onto the welfare rolls as possible, and pushing the economic system to collapse and you have a flawless formula for Cloward-Piven 2.0."
This appears to be the precise strategy behind eliminating the debt ceiling, as federal government controllers would truly have a limitless bank account from which to continue swelling the welfare state and spending the nation into complete collapse. And once the system eventually collapses in on itself, as planned, the masses will be begging for their own enslavement in the form of full nanny state provisions and complete government tyranny.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323751104578151412497276152.html
- November 30, 2012, 3:07 p.m. ET
White House Debt-Ceiling Offer Splits Lawmakers
By ANDREW ACKERMAN
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration's request to make it much harder for Congress to put limits on the federal borrowing limit divided lawmakers on Friday, with many Democrats expressing support but at least one Republican warning it has the potential to break up a deficit-cutting deal.
White House officials made the proposal because of the political brinksmanship in 2011 that nearly allowed the federal government to default on some of its financial obligations.
The "wrenching" process that played out last year over increasing the debt limit through the election hurt the economy and wasn't in the best interest of the country, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said when asked about the president's request for a permanent increase.
He said the White House views as a viable long-term solution the mechanism Democrats and Republicans agreed to on a one-time basis in the 2011 debt deal. This allowed the president to increase the debt limit unless Congress can summon enough votes in both parties to block the move.
Many Republicans instantly saw the White House's new proposal as a power grab. Senate GOP lawmakers characterized the idea as a nonstarter and an effort to eliminate a crucial bargaining chip Congress has to leverage spending cuts. Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) warned the idea could scuttle a larger agreement.
"I don't know if that's going to be the straw that broke the camel's back, but it could be," he said.
The periodic requirement that Congress raise the debt ceiling has given members of both political parties leverage to try and force fiscal changes from whichever White House is in power. For example, President Barack Obama in 2006, when still a senator, voted against raising the debt ceiling when George W. Bush was in the White House.
Now that Democrats control the White House and the Senate, they are the ones forced to push lawmakers to support an increase. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner became so frustrated at the standoff that occurred in 2011 that he personally floated the idea to congressional leaders Thursday, as part of a broad deficit-reduction deal lawmakers aim to reach by year's end.
Because the U.S. government typically borrows more money than it spends and runs a deficit almost every year, the government bumps up against the borrowing limit from time to time.
The debt ceiling has been raised 40 times in the past 30 years, and currently stands at $16.394 trillion. As of Wednesday, U.S. debt was $16.268 trillion. The government probably only has enough headroom to continue borrowing money until February or March, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated.
While increases to the debt limit generally occur with little fanfare, Republicans last year refused to raise the cap absent major cuts in federal spending. They have made similar demands again.
Under the new Obama proposal, the president would be able to increase the debt ceiling without seeking congressional approval. Lawmakers would still be able to vote against an increase but Mr. Obama could then veto that move, and it is extremely unlikely that Congress would be able to sustain the two-thirds of votes necessary to override a veto.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) said he supported the White House's proposal, calling the current system that requires period congressional approval "anachronistic….we've already voted on spending and revenue.'' He said Congress should "repeal" the current system and replace it with something else. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) also said she backed the White House's plan.
But South Dakota Republican John Thune dismissed the Obama idea as part of series of "egregious" demands from the White House. Other Republicans agreed.
"Most president's, not just this one, would like Congress not to be here very much," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.). "I would hope that Republicans would not blink, would stand tough on all this stuff."
http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2012/11/exclusive-obama-white-house-threatens-to-veto-2013-ndaa-if-gitmo-is-not-closed-2473378.html
Exclusive: Obama White House Threatens To Veto 2013 NDAA If Gitmo Is Not Closed
Friday, November 30, 2012 16:16
Advertisement
Marinka Peschmann (Bio and Archives) Friday, November 30, 2012National Defense Authorization Act is legislation which provides budget authority to the Department of Defense and to the Department of Energy’s national security programs
There’s a showdown happening in Washington and it could get very ugly soon. Will President Barack Obama’s first-term promise to close down Guantánamo Bay and bring Gitmo detainees to the U.S become a reality or will the Republicans with the support of some Democrats block the Obama administration again?
Late last night the Senate passed a measure introduced by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) preventing terrorist detainees from being transferred from the U.S. prison in Guantánamo to U.S. soil.
However, earlier yesterday the White House started circulating a Statement of Administration Policy(SAP) warning that President Obama would veto the renewal of the pending 2013 National DefenseAuthorization Act (NDAA) if Guantánamo transfer and funding restrictions were not removed. The SAP also warned the Senate not to add any new detention provisions.
MORE HERE
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
November 28, 2012
Presidential Memorandum -- Designation of Authorized Representative of the Federal Government under Section 7302 of the National Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
SUBJECT: Designation of Authorized Representative of the Federal Government under Section 7302 of the National Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
Pursuant to the authority vested in me as President by section 7302 of the National Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (the "Act"), as amended (42 U.S.C. 5196 note), I hereby designate you as an authorized representative of the Federal Government under the Act for lands administered by the Department of the Interior in the National Capital Region. Should a public event be designated as a National Special Security Event (NSSE), you shall coordinate with the United States Secret Service regarding the intent to enter into a National Capital Region mutual aid agreement should this agreement impact the security plan for the designated NSSE.
BARACK OBAMA
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-29/what-obama-so-afraid
What Is Obama So Afraid Of?
Via Mike Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
I saw this memo on the official whitehouse.gov website the other day, but I was traveling and never had a chance to post it. I figured it would be too late by now, yet I am still not seeing it being widely discussed. It implies that the Obama Administration may be very worried about the truth getting out about all of their crimes, potentially via leaks from high places. Read it for yourself, but the language is pretty clear. Here are some excerpts:
and as for Gitmo........This Presidential Memorandum transmits the National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs (Minimum Standards) to provide direction and guidance to promote the development of effective insider threat programs within departments and agencies to deter, detect, and mitigate actions by employees who may represent a threat to national security.
The resulting insider threat capabilities will strengthen the protection of classified information across the executive branch and reinforce our defenses against both adversaries and insiders who misuse their access and endanger our national security.BARACK OBAMA
Oh and this came out the day before Thanksgiving. How cute. As someone said on twitter today, if telling the truth endangers “national security,” then we are doing national security wrong.
Full memo here:Presidential Memorandum -- National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs
This Presidential Memorandum transmits the National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs (Minimum Standards) to provide direction and guidance to promote the development of effective insider threat programs within departments and agencies to deter, detect, and mitigate actions by employees who may represent a threat to national security. These threats encompass potential espionage, violent acts against the Government or the Nation, and unauthorized disclosure of classified information, including the vast amounts of classified data available on interconnected United States Government computer networks and systems.
The Minimum Standards provide departments and agencies with the minimum elements necessary to establish effective insider threat programs. These elements include the capability to gather, integrate, and centrally analyze and respond to key threat-related information; monitor employee use of classified networks; provide the workforce with insider threat awareness training; and protect the civil liberties and privacy of all personnel.The resulting insider threat capabilities will strengthen the protection of classified information across the executive branch and reinforce our defenses against both adversaries and insiders who misuse their access and endanger our national security.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/28/exclusive-feinstein-commissioned-report-on-housing-gitmo-detainees-in-us/
Feinstein commissions report on housing Gitmo detainees in US, calls it viable option
The Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence committee commissioned a federal report to identify prison facilities in the U.S. that are suitable for housing Guantanamo detainees, concluding the option is viable -- despite congressional opposition to such a plan when the Obama administration proposed it.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's renewed interest in the proposal first came to light Wednesday after Fox News turned up an internal Government Accountability Office document that refers to “Source of Work: Ms. Dianne Feinstein, Chair, Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. Senate” and lists the “Gist of Work” as an investigation into whether domestic facilities could house the approximately 170 detainees remaining at the controversial facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Two hours after Fox News' inquiry about the report, Feinstein's office posted the report online and released a statement confirming that the California senator thinks the Obama administration's controversial plan to relocate detainees to the United States is a viable option.
“This report demonstrates that if the political will exists, we could finally close Guantanamo without imperiling our national security,” Feinstein said. “The GAO report makes clear that numerous prisons exist inside the United States -- operated by both the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice—capable of holding the 166 detainees who remain at Guantanamo in an environment that meets the security requirements.”
Past discussion of moving the detainees stateside sparked a firewall of bipartisan opposition in Congress, which passed a measure barring that move.
The internal GAO document reviewed by Fox News noted the president’s executive order of January 2009, in which he promised to close the detention camps there within a year, and it referenced “legal prohibitions” that currently bar the transfer of detainees to the U.S. But the document also stated that Congress has continued to raise questions about whether civilian or military facilities in the United Sates could house the men.
To address this, GAO is providing information on the current characteristic of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, as well as descriptions of existing DOD (Defense Department), Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security correctional and detention facilities," it says.
The GAO's report on the facilities, which was completed Nov. 14, included four objectives: an analysis of the current Guantanamo Bay detention camps, examination of the extent Defense Department and civilian facilities could be used, an outline of how the Justice and Homeland Security departments manage individuals who “engage in terrorist-related activities” and an overview of the challenges of housing detainees in the U.S.
Congressional sources tell Fox News that Feinstein, a California Democrat, placed a 30-day hold on the report, which has the effect of limiting access to the report’s findings until its public release. Until that time, sources say, Feinstein can share the findings with whom she chooses. However her office disputed that characterization, saying that it is standard for the GAO to delay public release of one of its reports until after the requestor has reviewed it.
Republican Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia, who heads the powerful subcommittee on appropriations overseeing the Justice Department, said he thinks the department's acquisition last year of a prison in Illinois was “unprecedented in its violations of longstanding executive-legislative branch protocol."
It "could be the first step in transferring the world’s most dangerous terrorists from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S.,” Wolf said.
Senator Feinstein’s request for this GAO report raises even more suspicion about plans by the Obama administration to transfer Guantanamo detainees to U.S. prisons, and even more troubling is the fact that the report’s findings were kept secret from the Congress and the American public,” Wolf said.
http://www.911familiesforamerica.org/?p=6316
Reps. Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Frank Wolf (R-VA), Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the subcommittee on Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) respectively, have once again expressed vehement opposition to funding the prison.
Wolf, whose subcommittee funds the DOJ, denied the request for several reasons, including that it is considered an earmark by DOJ and was originally intended to house terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay.
“President Obama’s unprecedented directive to Attorney General Holder to circumvent Congress to purchase Thomson prison is deeply troubling,” Wolf said. “It directly violates the clear objection of the House Appropriations Committee and goes against the bipartisan objections of members in the House and Senate, who have noted that approving this request would allow Thomson to take precedence over previously funded prisons in Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia and New Hampshire. Notably, it also flies in the face of concerns raised by scores of family members of 9/11 victims, who signed a letter in July objecting to the purchase of this prison. “At an alarming $165 million, the size of this request is unprecedented,
he continued. “The purchase also violates the Obama administration’s own policy against funding earmark requests, as the Justice Department designated Senator Durbin’s request for the Thomson acquisition. Moreover, the timing of this $165 million windfall to the president’s home state of Illinois, just weeks before election day, is suspect.
"Most importantly, I am concerned that this purchase will set in motion the administration’s plan to close the terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay by transferring terrorist detainees to U.S. maximum security prisons, like Thomson. One example of this ongoing effort is the request of Senator Durbin’s colleague, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Diane Feinstein, to the Government Accountability Office to conduct a survey of U.S. prisons that could be used to hold Guantanamo Bay detainees, which is ongoing.
“Today’s actions are just the latest in series of disconcerting moves by this Justice Department, including its handling of the Fast and Furious Operation, allowing nepotism in hiring, its questionable dismissal of voting rights cases and the politicization of decisions that benefit special interest groups,” Wolf concluded. “This may be the most disreputable Justice Department in modern history.”
Rogers agreed:
“The Obama administration has been trying for years to open Thompson prison in order to transfer terrorists from Guantanamo Bay onto U.S. soil,” he said. “Congress has vehemently denied this request and has refused funding for the prison at every step of the way. The American people do not want Guantanamo detainees in the U.S., and should not have to tolerate the risk of these terrorists residing in their backyards. This back-door move by the Obama Administration to open Thompson and reject the will of Congress and the American people is dangerously irresponsible, and will be met with the full and unfettered opposition of the Appropriations Committee.”
Wolf and Rogers were joined in their opposition to the funding request by bipartisan members of both the House and the Senate, including: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Wolf’s Senate counterpart on the CJS Subcommittee; Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Thad Cochran (R-MS); Rep.Charlie Bass (R-NH); the entire House Alabama delegation; and more than 100 families of victims of the 9/11 attacks.
http://www.911familiesforamerica.org/?p=6316
9/11 Families: Thomson Prison Purchase First Step to Bring Gitmo Detainees to U.S. Soil (Updated with DOJ filing)
by Debra Burlingame @ 4:23 pm on October 2, 2012. Tags: Durbin, Guantanamo, Holder, Obama, Thomson
Filed under 9/11, Guantanamo, Thompson prison, Thomson
Filed under 9/11, Guantanamo, Thompson prison, Thomson
Updated 6:05 PM EDT, Oct 2, 2012: The Department of Justice filed a notice of condemnation in U.S. District Court today to take possession of Thomson Prison. In part, the purpose of the acquisition reads as follows:
“… as well as to provide humane and secure confinement of individuals held under authority of any Act of Congress, and such other persons as in the opinion of the Attorney General of the United States are proper subjects for confinement in such institutions.”
The detainees at Guantanamo are being held under an Act of Congress, the Authorization to Use Military Force of 2001.
9/11 Families: Thomson Prison Purchase First Step to Bring Gitmo Detainees to U.S. Soil
Oct. 2, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America
Debra Burlingame media@911familiesforamerica.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America
Debra Burlingame media@911familiesforamerica.org
New York, NY, October, 2, 2012 — 9/11 families strongly object to the Obama administration’s plan to purchase Thomson Correctional Facility in Thomson, Illinois without Congressional approval. As stated in our July 27 letter, signed by more than 100 family members, to House Speaker John Boehner, 9/11 families believe this purchase is a back door effort to circumvent Congress and the will of the American people. Though Senator Dick Durbin and Attorney General Eric Holder have denied that the prison would be retrofitted to receive Guantanamo detainees, this would not be the first time the Department of Justicedefied Congress in an effort to bring terrorists inside the Homeland.
Recent news that the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi was led by a former Guantanamo detainee has underscored the dangerous profile of current detainees. They continue to pose a serious national security threat to the U.S., and should not be viewed as political pawns which can be moved from a safe, secure off-shore military installation to the heart of America in order to satisfy a small, left-wing political constituency. This is the same constituency that agitated for the release of prior detainees who have returned to the battlefield and who engage in anti-U.S. propaganda and terrorist recruiting.
Mr. Durbin admitted in today’s announcement that the purchase, made in open defiance of the House subcommittee which overseas federal prisons, was unprecedented. Coupled with President Obama’s 2011 signing statement on legislation barring funds to transfer Gitmo detainees to the U.S. — calling the legislation “an extreme and risky encroachment on the authority of the executive branch” — we have no confidence that the Obama administration will defer to the wishes of the American people and their elected representatives on the matter of Guantanamo.
This misappropriation of funds and flouting of Congressional authority goes to the very heart of the public’s distrust of the Obama administration and the ever-widening gap between what it says and what it does.
Wolf: Obama Administration Violates Long-Standing Precedent In Circumventing Congress To Fund Thomson Prison
Tuesday October 02, 2012
Contact: Jill Shatzen
(202) 225-5136
9/11 Families: Thomson Prison Purchase First Step to Bring Gitmo Detainees to U.S. Soil(202) 225-5136
WOLF: OBAMA ADMINISTRATION VIOLATES LONG-STANDING PRECEDENT
IN CIRCUMVENTING CONGRESS TO FUND THOMSON PRISON
Washington, D.C. (October 2, 2012) – In an unprecedented move, the Department of Justice (DOJ) today proceeded to acquire the Thomson Correctional Facility in Illinois for $165 million, despite the expressed opposition of the House Appropriations Committee.IN CIRCUMVENTING CONGRESS TO FUND THOMSON PRISON
Reps. Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Frank Wolf (R-VA), Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the subcommittee on Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) respectively, have once again expressed vehement opposition to funding the prison.
Wolf, whose subcommittee funds the DOJ, denied the request for several reasons, including that it is considered an earmark by DOJ and was originally intended to house terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay.
he continued. “The purchase also violates the Obama administration’s own policy against funding earmark requests, as the Justice Department designated Senator Durbin’s request for the Thomson acquisition. Moreover, the timing of this $165 million windfall to the president’s home state of Illinois, just weeks before election day, is suspect.
"Most importantly, I am concerned that this purchase will set in motion the administration’s plan to close the terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay by transferring terrorist detainees to U.S. maximum security prisons, like Thomson. One example of this ongoing effort is the request of Senator Durbin’s colleague, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Diane Feinstein, to the Government Accountability Office to conduct a survey of U.S. prisons that could be used to hold Guantanamo Bay detainees, which is ongoing.
“Today’s actions are just the latest in series of disconcerting moves by this Justice Department, including its handling of the Fast and Furious Operation, allowing nepotism in hiring, its questionable dismissal of voting rights cases and the politicization of decisions that benefit special interest groups,” Wolf concluded. “This may be the most disreputable Justice Department in modern history.”
Rogers agreed:
“The Obama administration has been trying for years to open Thompson prison in order to transfer terrorists from Guantanamo Bay onto U.S. soil,” he said. “Congress has vehemently denied this request and has refused funding for the prison at every step of the way. The American people do not want Guantanamo detainees in the U.S., and should not have to tolerate the risk of these terrorists residing in their backyards. This back-door move by the Obama Administration to open Thompson and reject the will of Congress and the American people is dangerously irresponsible, and will be met with the full and unfettered opposition of the Appropriations Committee.”
Wolf and Rogers were joined in their opposition to the funding request by bipartisan members of both the House and the Senate, including: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Wolf’s Senate counterpart on the CJS Subcommittee; Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Thad Cochran (R-MS); Rep.Charlie Bass (R-NH); the entire House Alabama delegation; and more than 100 families of victims of the 9/11 attacks.
This Presidential Memorandum transmits the National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs (Minimum Standards) to provide direction and guidance to promote the development of effective insider threat programs within departments and agencies to deter, detect, and mitigate actions by employees who may represent a threat to national security.The resulting insider threat capabilities will strengthen the protection of classified information across the executive branch and reinforce our defenses against both adversaries and insiders who misuse their access and endanger our national security.BARACK OBAMA
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