Think Progress

ADMINISTRATION -- JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REOPENS WARRANTLESS WIRETAPPING INQUIRY: In early 2006, the Justice Department's Office of Personal Responsibility (OPR) launched an investigation to examine the use of "information obtained from the NSA program, as well as whether Justice lawyers complied with the 'legal requirements' that govern it." Just a few months later, however, the inquiry was shut down when then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales refused to grant security clearances to investigators -- a decision Gonzales later suggested was made by President Bush. "Since it's creation some 31 years ago, OPR has conducted many highly sensitive investigations involving Executive Branch programs. ... In all those years, OPR has never been prevented from initiating or pursuing an investigation," OPR's chief lawyer Marshall Jarrett said. Yesterday, the AP reported that the Justice Department will reopen the inquiry when OPR's counsel revealed that officials "recently received the necessary security clearances and are now able to proceed with our investigation." With Gonzales -- who was likely to have been "a focus of the investigation" -- now out of the way, the OPR can get back to ensuring that Justice Department lawyers "perform their duties in accordance with the high professional standards expected of the Nation's principal law enforcement agency."

TERRORISM -- ARMY MEMO REITERATES BAN ON WATERBOARDING TO CLEAR UP 'CONFUSION' FROM MUKASEY'S TESTIMONY: On Nov. 9, the Senate voted to confirm Michael Mukasey as Attorney General, despite concerns about his consistent refusal to declare waterboarding torture. But according to the AP, three days earlier, on Nov. 6, the Army issued a memo to "senior leaders" reiterating that the technique is prohibited by the Army. The memo was to be relayed to soldiers' families and employees in order to "eliminate any confusion that may have arisen as a result of recent public discourse on the subject." Waterboarding "is specifically prohibited by Field Manual 2-22.3 and is not a sanctioned interrogation technique in any training manual or any instructions to soldiers in the field," read the statement. The CIA reportedly used waterboarding on three different prisoners before 2003. Last week, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and William Delahunt (D-MA) introduced legislation requiring "that interrogations comply with the standards set forth in the Army Field Manual, to all government agencies."

HEALTH CARE -- CONSERVATIVE CATHOLIC GROUP RUNS ADS TARGETING ANTI-SCHIP LAWMAKERS AS 'NOT PRO-LIFE': In October, Catholics United, "a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the message of justice and the common good found at the heart of the Catholic Social Tradition," launched an ad campaign targeting "pro-life Christian" politicians who voted against expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The ads criticized the members of Congress for saying that they're "pro-life," but then voting "against health care for poor children." "That's not pro-life. That's not pro-family," concluded the ads. One of the targets of the ads, Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-MI), the Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, responded to the ads by accusing Catholics United of being the "devil" and acting in "sin." Now Catholics United is taking to the Christian radio airwaves again. They're still hitting McCotter but are also adding four more members of Congress to their target list: Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA), Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA), Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) and Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-MO). Rep. Goode responded to the new ads by digging in his feet, exclaiming "I'm opposed to the child health bill." Listen to the ad targeting Goode here.

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said a long-delayed National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran will soon be completed, though he said he will not release an unclassified version of the estimate's key judgments. Asked how he would respond if White House officials misused the NIE, McConnell said, "If it were cherry-picked in an inappropriate way, then for me there's a professional obligation to object, and I would submit my resignation."

The Bush administration has "had more turnover than any administration in recent history, going back to the Kennedy administration," with at least 150 former administration officials now working as lobbyists. "In its early years, the administration was estimated to have hired about 100 lobbyists."

Black Americans "are more dissatisfied with their progress than at any time in the past 20 years, and less than half say life will get better for them in the future." The new Pew Research Center poll also finds that "43% say the black-white economic gap has widened; 19% of whites say so."

The CIA has three video and audio recordings of interrogations of senior al Qaeda captives. "The disclosure that the government taped some interrogations of high-value detainees could invite fresh scrutiny of the CIA's treatment of so-called 'enemy combatants' who were held at secret prisons or U.S. bases overseas."

The deaths of at least 14 of the 17 Iraqis killed by Blackwater guards in a Sept. 16 shootout were "were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules in effect for security contractors in Iraq," according to portions of the FBI investigation now under review by the Justice Department. 

A lawsuit by former book publisher Judith Regan claims that an unnamed News Corp. exec "encouraged her to lie to federal investigators about her past affair with Bernard B. Kerik" in order to "to protect the presidential aspirations of Rudolph W. Giuliani," Kerik's former friend and mentor.

"Senate Democrats might force Republicans to wage a filibuster if the GOP wants to block the latest Iraq withdrawal bill, aides and senators said Tuesday." Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told The Hill that "a forced filibuster is 'possible' and would 'generate attention.'"

A measure of consumer confidence -- the "economic optimism index" -- "dropped to a two-year low in November, weighed down by housing market turmoil and surging oil prices, according to a survey released on Tuesday."

Refugees International reports that the U.S. government has been "unforgivably slow" in resettling Iraqi refugees and has failed to coordinate with its Arab allies to address the suffering of an estimated 4.5 million displaced Iraqis. A U.N. official underscored the growing problem of "survival sex" among Iraqi women refugees.

And finally: "Stephen Colbert may have abandoned his brief bid for the White House, but he ended up in a three-way tie for a seat on the Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District Board." Colbert and two College of William and Mary students each received three write-in votes. Colbert's "electoral success will be fleeting, however," as he is not a registered voter in Williamsburg, VA, and is therefore ineligible to serve.