Bush was lying to the Judge.

[kpete]

id Bush Lie to Vaughn Walker?
By: emptywheel Saturday February 28, 2009 10:39 am

Yesterday, after the 9th Circuit refused the Obama/Dead-Ender appeal in al-Haramain case, the Obama Administration filed two documents to try to minimize the damage of Judge Walker's presumably imminent review of whether or not George Bush broke the law when it wire-tapped al-Haramain's lawyers. I discussed this filing, which warned Walker that they intend to fight his efforts to make information available so al-Haramain's lawyers can litigate the suit, here.


That news from the filing--that they maintain this information is still classified--is not surprising.

But this is:

The Government’s ex parte, in camera classified submissions also address an inaccuracy contained in a prior submission by the Government, the details of which involve classified information that cannot be set forth on the public record.

Given that Obama has not yet submitted classified information in this case, this almost certainly means that the Bush Administration submitted "inaccurate" information in one of its past representations to Walker.

Or, to put it another way, now that Walker is going to look at the wiretap log from al-Haramain and assess whether or not the wiretapping was legal, the Obama Administration is changing the record in some meaningful way.

Obviously, we don't get to know what Bush either lied or hid, but here are three possibilities:

1. Bush withheld something (to use WO's speculation, perhaps something like proof that they not only wiretapped al-Haramain's lawyers' conversations with al-Haramain, but that they also wiretapped the lawyers' conversations with others?) and it is now being advanced as an "inaccuracy"

2. Obama is introducing something new (perhaps some evidence that might go further to support an otherwise nonexistent probable cause determination) in an effort to limit the damage of the impending Walker review

3. Bush had not yet admitted one of his rationales for legality before (perhaps, for example, he was hiding the OLC opinion that eviscerated the 4th Amendment out of embarrassment?) and they're adding it now to minimize the possibility that Walker will rule the wiretapping illegal

All of these utterly speculative possibilities, of course--as well as some more I can think of--are ones that would mean Obama was trying to cover-up Bush's earlier efforts to pull a fast one over on Vaughn Walker. Sure, maybe this "inaccuracy" was something totally innocuous. Just as likely, though, Bush was lying to the Judge.


links and more at:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/02/28/did-bush-lie-to-vaughn-walker/

[Demeter]

1. Of Course Bush Was Lying

You can tell when he tells the truth---he giggles.

[formercia]

2. His mouth was moving.

as always.

[malaise]

3. Ding ding

bla bla bla :D

[bluesmail]

4. I don't see Obama doing anything to help those white sepremacists.

[chill_wind]

5. This is not an idle question, and one to watch carefully

in what the Obama admin does further. More importantly, what Judge Walker does with this admission, since he feels this has been a bullshit case from the beginning (paraphrasing some of the more learned opinions over there in the comments' section from time to time.) The Obama lawyers know what this "inaccuracy" is, yet they are still fighting the plaintiffs with everything they have. I was there reading for hours tonight, back through the back-blogging done on this one. It's an excellent blog to follow-- there are some very bright people there with an obvious knowledge of the law, and others with some apparent experience in government, or close occupational ties. While it seems no one there can fully agree on- or claim to really know, for certain - the rationale for the way the Obama DOJ has fought this case, you won't find any serious or wishful suggestion by the legal minds there that Obama is "trying to lose this one" as some sort of grand-master "chess strategy"- not to restore the constitution, anyway.

[chill_wind]

6. Updated at EW--- oh if she is right, this is GOOOOD.

Bush "Dead-enders" maybe discovered they are about to hang themselves?

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/03/01/some-clues-to-what-inaccurate-information-bush-provided-in-al-haramain/

House of Cards!