350 law professors write the Senate Judiciary Committee (pdf)in opposition to Lindsay Graham's detainee habeas stripping amendment to the Pentagon funding bill.

I have not seen a copy of the Levin-Graham compromise. If anyone has it and can send it to me, that would be great. From the accounts I read in the news, it doesn't come close to the Bingaman Amendment - but I want to reserve judgment until I've read it.

Update: Marty Lederman of Balkinization apparently has seen the compromise and raises questions.

Update: I have a copy of the Amendment now, no need to send it.

[Update: Reddhed at Firedog Lake agrees and adds valuable additional thoughts.]

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Original Post

Taylor Marsh reports on special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and Libby's agreement to keep all discovery provided to Libby out of the hands of third parties and the lawsuit filed by Dow Jones, parent of the Wall St. Journal, to prevent the Court from going along.

As a defense lawyer, I have to say, the right thing to do is keep the material in the hands of the parties. I read Fitzgerald's proposed order (pertinent paragraphs are reproduced below) which is available on Pacer, the federal court docketing system, and it's very similar to ones I get in gang and large drug cases. It even requires the lawyers to return the discovery once the case is over and to keep a record of every person associated with the defense with whom they share it. Why? For one thing, the Government doesn't want unindicted co-conspirators to get their hands on it. For another, they want to protect the identity and safety of cooperating witnesses.

by Last Night in Little Rock

The Washington Post reported yesterday that DOJ Civil Rights Division career attorneys are leaving at a rate nearly double that of prior administrations because disagreements over the conservative agenda of DOJ under the current Administration.

Such is the distain for the current Administration for civil rights enforcement, the division's lawyers have found their energies diverted away from enforcement of the civil rights laws into other areas.

Ahmad Chalabi is getting the star treatment. The neocon purveyor of faulty intelligence met Monday first with Donald Rumsfeld and then with Dick Cheney.

Arianna tells all in My Dinner With Chalabi.

Other persons he's met with while here: Sen. Carl Levin, Rep. Tom Lantos, and Dick Holbrooke. He now praises Henry Waxman and hates Paul Bremer.

It sounds like his current meme is to protest he's being treated as a scapegoat of the CIA while declaring that human rights abuses, not WMD's, are why he made taking out Saddam his life mission.

Saddam's has been in jail for over a year and it seems the torture of Iraqis by Iraqis continues. But 2,000 young American lives have been lost. I'm not buying anything Mr. Chalabi has to sell, unless its a speedy withdrawal of American troops.

And the hits, they just keep coming. This one sounds well-deserved.

Alito put his personal opinion out there in 1985 when he sent a document to the Reagan administration, along with his application to become a deputy assistant attorney general, saying his previous government work had included helping "to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly."

"I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government argued that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion," wrote Alito, who was then working for the solicitor general's office.

Could it get any worse? Yes.

ABC News has an exclusive report of two released Iraqi detainees who allege shocking accounts of torture by U.S. troops. Aside from physical beatings, the men allege:

"They took us to a cage — an animal cage that had lions in it within the Republican Palace," he said. "And they threatened us that if we did not confess, they would put us inside the cage with the lions in it. It scared me a lot when they got me close to the cage, and they threatened me. And they opened the door and they threatened that if I did not confess, that they were going to throw me inside the cage. And as the lion was coming closer, they would pull me back out and shut the door, and tell me, 'We will give you one more chance to confess.' And I would say, 'Confess to what?'"

Inside the Republican Palace — the site of Saddam's former office — Sabbar says troops taunted him with a mock execution.

Here are seventeen myths and distortions about the Graham amendment. To add your voice to the outcry against this legislation, click here.

Via Digby:

The Republican senate is using habeas corpus as a political football. South Carolinian Lindsay Graham, the sponsor, is undoubtedly feeling tremendous pressure because of his "soft" stance on torture (I still can't believe we are even talking about it) and this is his way of restoring some manly credentials. But there is no excuse for the Democrats who signed on to this. Nor is there any excuse for the Blue state moderates either.

There was obviously some back room dickering on this bit of legislation and that makes me about as sick as anything about this whole thing. They're playing politics with habeas corpus for Gawd's sake. This isn't some f*cking highway bill or a farm subsidy. It's the very foundation of our system of government and the single most important element of liberty. If the state can just declare someone an "unlawful combatant" and lock them up forever, we have voted ourselves into tyranny.

Crooks and Liars has the latest on a Gallup-CNN-USA Today Poll out today:

Fewer than one in 10 adults say they would prefer a congressional candidate who is a Republican and who agrees with Bush on most major issues, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday. Even among Republicans, seven of 10 are most likely to back a candidate who has at least some disagreements with the president.

Bush's job approval rating sank to a record low 37%. The poll finds growing criticism of the president, unease about the nation's direction and opposition to the Iraq war....A record high 60% say going to war in Iraq was "not worth it."

More from USA Today and Daily Kos.

Rep. John Conyers has established a Patriot Act Center on his website. He says we need to act now, because Republicans are seeking to rush bills renewing and expanding governmental powers in the Patriot Act to an agreement and a final vote later this week.

The bills are now in final legislative consideration by a House-Senate conference committee where conferees will decide whether provisions in the already passed House version or Senate version prevail. The final version they agree on will then go back to the House and Senate for a final vote.

Both versions are pretty bad. The House version is a disaster, and the Senate version only slightly better. But the House version must be defeated.

Rep. Conyers is trying to put the brakes on the Patriot Act renewal. He write:

Although we will find it very difficult to defeat this bill, I will do everything in my power to ensure that this legislation is balanced and limited. I will need your help and your voice to join me in opposition to this bill.

In 2000, Bush reportedly won the Florida election by 600 votes. Due to a law enacted in the 19th Century, felony offenders are permanently denied the right to vote, even those who have served their sentences.

There are 600,000 felons in Florida who have completed their sentences and supervision terms. One in 10 African American adults in Florida,not counting those currently incarcerated, is prohibited from voting.

The Supreme Court was presented with a chance to review the issue and today decided to let the ban remain in effect without any review. The case is Johnson v. Bush, 05-212.

"The court not only missed an opportunity to right a great historic injustice, it has shut the courthouse door in the face of hundreds of thousands of disenfranchised citizens," Catherine Weiss, the Brennan Center for Justice lawyer for the Florida ex-felons, said Monday.

Courts in other states have ruled for the ex-offenders:

[Note: This is another very long analysis intended for the seriously RoveGate afflicted. It is also speculation, based on publicly available information. Neither I nor TalkLeft have any sources connected to the investigation.]

There were three articles last week with new details about Karl Rove's status with Patrick Fitzgerald. I recommend reading all of them.

• Washington Post, Libby May Have Tried to Mask Cheney's Role
• The Wall Street Journal, As Time Passes in Leak Probe, Rove Is Seen as Less Vulnerable(subscriber only link)
• Murray Waas, Libby Testimony Is Key To Rove Inquiry

One thing that stands out immediately is the different information coming from Karl Rove's camp as to his status and, more particularly, when the outcome will be disclosed.