Manual on Military Commissions

The Senate, when reviewing the Attorney General's explanations on the FISA monitoring, should review the rules of privilege and classified information in the Manual on Military Commissions. The Senate, as required, is not being given the same level of consideration provided to non-charged prisoners.

We judge the lack of DoJ AG respect for Congress has nothing to do with protecting classified information, but blocking Congress from understanding the scope of the NSA-DoJ-DoD illegal activity. [Data capture, use, application]

[Check Rules 505 and 509 in the Manual which Gonzalez appears to have violated in his refusal to not provide the full FISA order.]

We recommend:

A. FISA Order

Members of Congress shall be given fully access to the classified FISA order without delay. A redacted version shall be immediately provided for public inspection.

B. Compel Manual Resubmission

Congress reject the Manual because of the President's refusal to provide the like deference to Congress;

C. Charge Attorney General

Gonzalez should be be impeached for false statements to Congress; and

D. Staff Counsel Review

DoJ OPR should be brought into the nexus to determine other alleged illegal conduct which DOJ Counsel appears to have violated in the Military Commissions Manual. Ref: See Rule 104 and 109 Prohibiting Adverse Performance Reports against counsel involved with Detainee defense; and out of court inconsistent statements of Stimson. Ref: Draft Discovery Plan.

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Questions

___ Where is the DOJ OPR in reviewing the failure of DoJ to provide full access to Members of Congress to this classified data?

___ What review has there been done of the information that is supposedly classified as it may relate to violations of ORCON, prohibitions in classifying illegal activity?

___ Why is there still, six [6] months after Senator Feingold's letter requesting information, not full information for Members of Congress?

___ Without access to the details of the issues, what is the basis for Members of Congress to propose a solution?

___ What is the basis for the Republicans to compel reforms of government only if the President is granted additional powers not delegated [Usurpration]?

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Ref Leahy Request for Information.

Recall, Specter statement that there would be subpoenas if there were not timely responses ["If we don’t get some results, I’m prepared to go back to demand hearings and issue subpoenas if necessary"] The interchange of meaningless threats and unresponsiveness is similar with the Cheney-Specter letter-exchange, June 2006. Ref Ref

Issue

Members of Congress, unlike a detainee, may have access to classified information. There is no basis for the President in the Manual on Military Commissions invoke a standard of evidence and privilege he's not willing to provide to Members of Congress. Ref

Judgments

1. False Statements

Members of Congress and all FISA court judges have not, contrary to Gonzalez letter, been given full access to make an informed decision related to the real NSA activity; nor provided access to the other activity removed from the current program, and renamed a different program.

2. Inadequate Warrants

The standard of evidence used to access data was not probable cause, as provided under testimony, but a loose standard of "possible chance."

3. Impeachment

The written assertions by Gonzalez to Congress that the non-disclosures have nothing to do with protecting classified information, but hiding ongoing illegal activity. These statements would support an impeachment and allegation of perjury against Gonzalez for false statements to Congress; perjury; and other alleged criminal activity related to obstruction, witness tampering, and Constitutional Violations prohibited with FISA;

4. Usurpation

The President has illegally asserted non-delegated judicial and legislative powers. [See Dunn, which Addington cited in Iran-Contra Minority Report: Usurpation of power is not a precedent] US Attorney positions have been unconstitutionally filled without the required Senate confirmation to avoid direct legal questions to DoJ Staff involved.

The President has unconstitutionally usurped Legislative Power; all Bills permitting these direct appointments are unconstitutional. Ref: AII S2 The Executive's unconstitutional usurpation of legislative power is consistent with Addington's selective recasting Marbury from an issue of politics to power. [ Addington Redactions ]

5. ORCON

The refusal of Gonzalez to disclose the full FISA order relates to the failure of the Attorney General and President to fully disclose all details related to the illegal activity, inter alia :

(A) Unlawful Access, Retention, and Illegal Use of Data not lawfully obtained; and beyond what FISA court understood [FISA]

NSA sampling, retention, and use of voice and data communications have not been adequately disclosed to the FISA court or Congress; nor has the retention of that data for purpose of subsequent pre-textual stops, and other effort by CIFA to retroactively justify arrests for information they were not legally able to access.

(B) Bill of Rights Violations [Speedy trial, confront witness, warrants, trial in jurisdiction of charges]

Using this illegally captured information to target innocent, non-charged American citizens who have been detained, unlawfully interrogated, imprisoned, and abused without access to counsel;

(C) Illegal Contracts Gagging Disclosure of Illegal Activity [Kidnapping; Geneva abuse violations]

US Commercial contactors have been involved with the interceptions, and use of that data for alleged illegal transshipment of US personnel to to-be-disclosed locations.

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Details

Ref Manual on Military Commissions.

The rule permits classification of anything; and does not provide a remedy if the information has been classified to hide illegal activity.

[186 of 238]

(1) Classified information. “Classified information” means any
information or material that has been determined by the United States Government pursuant to an executive order, statute, or regulation, to require protection against unauthorized disclosure for reasons of national security, and any restricted data, as defined in 42 U.S.C.§ 2014(y).

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Foreign relations cannot be lawful when they are for an illegal purpose.

(2) National security. “National security” means the national defense and foreign relations of the United States.

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Privilege To Hide Usurpation

Privilege can be unreasonably asserted regardless disconnection with
non-executive powers; or to hide Executive illegal assertion of non-delegated legislative/judicial powers.

(c) Who may claim the privilege. The privilege may be claimed by the head of the executive or military department or government agency concerned based on a finding that the information is properly classified and that disclosure would be detrimental to the national security.

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The rule permits classification of anything; and does not provide a remedy if the information has been classified to hide illegal activity.

[186 of 238]

(1) Classified information. “Classified information” means any information or material that has been determined by the United States Government pursuant to an executive order, statute, or regulation, to require protection against unauthorized disclosure for reasons of national security, and any restricted data, as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 2014(y).

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Administrative Notes

There are errors in the document warranting correction:

Please provide an update to this text to correctly identify the rule; and explain which other text and rules have been removed, not included, or how the numbering system has been adjusted to account for the inconsistent numbering within the Manual.

As inspected on 215 of 238, there is no rule 809 in the Manual, as cited:

(2) Failure to adhere to the rules applicable to trials by military commission may be subject to appropriate action by the military judge, the convening authority, the Judge Advocate General of the appropriate armed force, or the General Counsel of the Department of Defense. Such action may include permanently barring an individual from participating in any military commission proceeding convened pursuant to the M.C.A. and this Manual, punitive measures imposed under R.M.C. 809, and any other lawful sanction.