Author: Devlin Barrett
-
CIA report: ‘Inhumane’ tactics used on detainees
WASHINGTON — CIA interrogators threatened to kill the children of one detainee at the height of the Bush administration’s war on terror and implied that another’s mother would be sexually assaulted, newly declassified documents revealed Monday as the U.S. government launched a criminal investigation into the spy agency’s “unauthorized, improvised, inhumane” practices. At the same…
-
Different US locations weighed for Gitmo trials
WASHINGTON — Staring at a January deadline, the Obama administration is debating between two dramatically different schemes for putting Guantanamo Bay detainees on trial: big-city courtrooms in the nation’s capital, New York and Virginia — or a one-of-a-kind superjail in the Midwest. And the participants, working in tense but amicable secret meetings, know the final…
-
Allen Stanford indicted in US in alleged $7 billion fraud case
WASHINGTON – Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, whose sprawling banking empire collapsed this year, has been indicted for what prosecutors say is a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors. Justice Department officials announced the charges against Stanford, who ran Stanford Financial Group, and six others at a news conference today. Also indicted were executives of…
-
Al-Qaida suspect: Interrogations produced lies
WASHINGTON – Accused al-Qaida mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed complained that interrogators tortured lies out of him, though he proudly took credit for more than two dozen other terror plots, according to sections of government transcripts released Monday.”I make up stories,” Mohammed said at one point in his 2007 hearing at Guantanamo Bay.In broken English, he…
-
Guantanamo detainee in civilian court
NEW YORK – Under heavy guard, a Guantanamo Bay detainee walked into a civilian U.S. courtroom for the first time Tuesday, underscoring the Obama administration’s determination to close the Cuban prison and hold trials here despite Republican alarms about bringing terror suspects to America.Ahmed Ghailani, a Tanzanian accused in two American Embassy bombings a decade…
-
Justice Dept.: 1st Gitmo detainee arrives in US
WASHINGTON – U.S. authorities have brought the first Guantanamo Bay detainee to the United States, flying him into New York to face trial for bombing U.S. embassies, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The department said Ahmed Ghailani arrived in the early morning hours Tuesday. U.S. Marshals took custody of Ghailani from his military jailers and…
-
Obama: No charges for harsh CIA interrogation
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama absolved the CIA from prosecution for harsh, painful interrogation of terror suspects Thursday, even as his administration released Bush-era memos graphically detailing – and authorizing – such grim tactics as slamming detainees against walls, waterboarding them and keeping them naked and cold for long periods.Human rights groups and many Obama…
-
Video games feature ads for Obama’s campaign
WASHINGTON – Too busy playing video games to watch presidential ads on television? Barack Obama has found you, too, by becoming the first presidential candidate to buy ad space inside a game.Eighteen video games, including the extremely popular “Guitar Hero” and “Madden 09,” will feature in-game ads from the Obama campaign in the final weeks…
-
Clinton preaches unity at her first convention gig
DENVER – Hillary Rodham Clinton preached unity today in her first appearance at the Democratic National Convention.Her first stop in Denver was a breakfast meeting for New York Democrats, where supporters waved signs declaring that “Hillary Made History.”Clinton was quick to put Republican John McCain in her sights, saying the GOP nominee was running ads…
-
Clinton, Obama criticize McCain over economy
NEW YORK – Democrat Barack Obama said Thursday a firmer government hand is needed on Wall Street and a $30 billion stimulus is needed to rescue homeowners and the jobless. Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a new job retraining program to remedy what both candidates derided as Republican indifference to a sputtering economy.Both Obama…