Wall Street’s Killer Day on Capitol Hill Wall Street’s Killer Day on Capitol Hill
Congress passed two major bills yesterday—and they have a disturbing common denominator.
Mar 22, 2012 / George Zornick
Momentum to Stop Defense Cuts Mounts Momentum to Stop Defense Cuts Mounts
Republicans will act this spring to stop mandatory defense cuts—and the White House may be behind them.
Mar 22, 2012 / George Zornick
Progressive Caucus to Release ‘Budget for All’ Progressive Caucus to Release ‘Budget for All’
The plan will raise taxes on wealthy earners and corporations, while investing in job-creating measures and cutting defense.
Mar 21, 2012 / George Zornick
The Ryan Budget: Who It Helps and Who It Hurts The Ryan Budget: Who It Helps and Who It Hurts
The House GOP budget is extremely generous to the wealthy and corporations—and the middle class is asked to pay the tab.
Mar 20, 2012 / George Zornick
Groups Demand Investigation of NYPD Over Muslim Surveillance Groups Demand Investigation of NYPD Over Muslim Surveillance
Faith and civil rights groups want Attorney General Eric Holder to examine potentially illegal spying on Muslim groups.
Mar 19, 2012 / George Zornick
The Patriot Act You Don’t Know About The Patriot Act You Don’t Know About
When the federal government wants some information under Section 215 of the Patriot Act—which allows agents to access “tangible things” like business records—it goes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. This much we know. What we don’t know is how broadly FISA interprets Section 215—what information it allows federal agents to access, and to what extent the government must prove “relevance” to a terrorism investigation. Two men who do know, however—Senators Mark Udall and Ron Wyden of the Senate Intelligence Committee—have consistently sounded alarms about what FISA is allowing under Section 215. While unable to reveal specifically what they have learned, the two Senators have repeatedly said that the public would be shocked if it knew what information was being collected with the help of FISA and the Patriot Act. This week, Udall and Wyden wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to address this issue (emphasis is theirs): We believe most Americans would be stunned to learn the details of how these secret court opinions have interpreted section 215 of the Patriot Act. As we see it, there is now a significant gap between what most Americans think the law allows and what the government secretly claims the law allows. This is a problem, because it is impossible to have an informed public debate about what the law should say when the public doesn't know what its government thinks the law says. The two senators were spurred to write after learning the Justice Department wants to dismiss lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Times that seek to find out exactly how the government is interpreting Section 215. But it’s not the first time they’ve raised the issue, to Holder nor publicly—we’ve flagged it before here, and Wyden gave a dramatic speech on the Senate floor about this last year: Download Video as MP4 In 2009, the administration promised it would establish a process for “reviewing, redacting and releasing significant opinions” of FISA, but as the letter from Udall and Wyden notes, this hasn’t happened once. One has to assume Udall and Wyden are legitimately disturbed by what they know—it’s extremely unusual for two senators to go so public about secret information they are privy to, and especially to prod a president (and former Senate colleague) from their own party. Will we ever know what has alarmed them?
Mar 16, 2012 / George Zornick
Far-Right Republicans Are Ready to Cripple an Important Export Agency Far-Right Republicans Are Ready to Cripple an Important Export Agency
Ideology is driving Republicans to threaten the existence of an important job-boosting agency.
Mar 15, 2012 / George Zornick
Paul Volcker: Goldman Op-Ed Proves the Need for My Rule Paul Volcker: Goldman Op-Ed Proves the Need for My Rule
The former Federal Reserve chairman said the problems inside Goldman can be solved by a ban on proprietary trading.
Mar 14, 2012 / George Zornick
Spencer Bachus Survives Spencer Bachus Survives
Wall Street’s man in the House didn’t face that close of a race after all.
Mar 14, 2012 / George Zornick
A Wall Street Favorite May Lose His Congressional Seat Tonight A Wall Street Favorite May Lose His Congressional Seat Tonight
Spencer Bachus, a key ally for the financial sector, is facing a tough primary in Alabama.
Mar 13, 2012 / George Zornick