andrew emett

Sen. Feinstein Introducing New Laws to Prohibit CIA Torture

Originally published on January 9, 2015, at NationofChange.org

Before stepping down as Chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein sent a letter to President Obama enumerating her recommendations to prevent the CIA from committing further acts of torture. Sent on December 30, 2014, but made public on Monday, the letter acknowledges the existence of legislative loopholes allowing future administrations to reauthorize the use of enhanced interrogation techniques. Although Feinstein urges stronger oversight of CIA programs and holding intelligence officials accountable, the GOP-led Senate is unlikely to enact her proposals.

Releasing the heavily redacted Executive Summary of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program on December 9, 2014, the Senate Intelligence Committee detailed several acts of abuse and torture committed by the CIA during the incessant war on terror. According to the Committee, the CIA lied to Congress, the National Security Council, the Justice Department, and the American public about the severity of human rights violations and the effectiveness of information gathered through enhanced interrogations. The Committee also accused former CIA Director Michael Hayden of lying to the Committee regarding prisoners’ deaths, the questionable backgrounds of CIA interrogators, threats against detainees’ family members, and reliability of information obtained through torture.

According to her letter to the president, Sen. Feinstein recommends closing all torture loopholes buried within the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, the U.S. Army Field Manuel, and Executive Order 13491. She notes that the Office of Legal Counsel interpreted the Detainee Treatment Act to allow the CIA to use coercive and abusive interrogation techniques. Intelligence community personnel are not limited to conducting only the interrogation techniques listed in the U.S. Army Field Manuel. And although Obama’s Executive Order 13491 revokes Bush’s Executive Order 13440, a future president could just as easily revoke Obama’s order ensuring lawful interrogations.

Feinstein also recommends requiring the U.S. government to notify the Red Cross and provide timely access to captured detainees. According to the report, CIA officer Matthew Zirbel left black site detainee Gul Rahman beaten and half-naked from the waist down in an unheated cell overnight while shackled to a wall in November 2002. Rahman was found dead of hypothermia the next day. In a case of mistaken identity, German citizen Khalid El-Masri endured months of beatings and forced rectal suppositories before being released without charges.

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Former Governor Sentenced to 2 Years for Bribery Scheme

Originally published on January 8, 2015, at NationofChange.org

Convicted on public corruption charges, former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has been sentenced to 2 years in prison for soliciting and accepting bribes while in office. His wife, Maureen McDonnell, has been convicted on similar charges for obtaining payments, loans, and gifts in exchange for political favors. Instead of condemning McDonnell for abusing his power, many politicians have reached out in support of his behavior.

Former Attorney General of Virginia, Bob McDonnell became Governor of Virginia on January 16, 2010. After delivering the 2010 Republican response to the State of the Union Address, he became chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2011. McDonnell was even considered a possible running mate for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012.

Ten days after vacating the office of Governor of Virginia, McDonnell and his wife Maureen were indicted on federal corruption charges on January 21, 2014. Between April 2011 and March 2013, the McDonnells had accepted over $170,000 in direct payments from former Star Scientific Inc. CEO Jonnie Williams, Sr.

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Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Police for Shooting Son in the Back

Originally published on January 5, 2015, at NationofChange.org

The family of a young man carrying a souvenir sword has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging police officers used excessive force when gunning down their son. Contrary to initial reports, 22-year-old Darrien Hunt had been running away from the officers when they shot him to death. Although the officers were equipped with a body-cam, a lapel microphone, and a dash-cam, none of the devices recorded the incident.

Around 9:45am on September 10, 2014, Darrien Hunt was walking in front of a Top Stop gas station when two Saratoga Springs police officers approached him. Responding to a 911 call about a suspicious person carrying a samurai-type sword, Cpl. Matthew Schauerhamer and Officer Nicholas Judson confronted Hunt who had been cosplaying as the character Mugen from the anime series “Samurai Champloo.”

Included in Hunt’s autopsy report is a narrative of the shooting based on information gathered from Utah County attorney’s office investigators Gregg Knapp and Mark Dell’Ergo. According to the narrative, the first officer exited his vehicle and Hunt charged at him swinging the replica sword. But an eyewitness named Jocelyn Hansen took a photo of Hunt speaking calmly with the officers before hearing gunshots.

“When I first saw [police] interviewing the young man, I felt like they were very professional. They were keeping their distance, their voices were not raised…” recalled Hansen. “I looked up. There were shots, and there was a chase.”

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Corrupt Congressman Resigns in Disgrace

Originally published on January 4, 2015, at NationofChange.org

After pleading guilty to a felony tax evasion charge and admitting to lying under oath, U.S. Congressman Michael Grimm announced he would resign on January 5, the day before the new Congress convenes. Known for underpaying his employees and threatening reporters, Grimm was elected to a third term this November even though he had been charged with a 20-count indictment by federal authorities for fraud, federal tax evasion, and perjury. Under pressure from House Speaker John Boehner, Grimm finally decided to resign instead of facing an investigation by the House Committee on Ethics.

A former U.S. Marine and undercover FBI agent, Grimm investigated white-collar crime before leaving the Bureau in 2006. Days after leaving the FBI, Grimm invested roughly $1 million of borrowed money in a luxury real estate development in Texas with former FBI Agent Carlos Luquis. At the time, Luquis was under indictment for state racketeering and fraud charges. Convicted for his role in skimming $2 million from Texans’ electric bills, Luquis served 18 months in prison before assisting Grimm on the campaign trail in 2010.

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Autopsy Reveals LAPD Shot Ezell Ford in the Back

Originally published on January 1, 2015, at NationofChange.org

Under pressure from the mayor of Los Angeles, the LAPD finally released Ezell Ford’s autopsy report to the public. According to the report, an LAPD officer shot Ford in the right arm and right side while a second officer shot him in the back at close range. Although the officers claim Ford attempted to grab one of their guns, witnesses do not corroborate their account.

At approximately 8:10pm on August 11, officers Sharlton Wampler and Antonio Villegas of LAPD’s Newton Area Gang Enforcement Detail saw Ford walking down the sidewalk and decided to conduct an investigative stop. According to an LAPD press release, Wampler and Villegas exited their vehicle and attempted to talk to Ford who continued walking while concealing his hands. As the officers approached Ford, he allegedly grabbed one of them and a struggle ensued.

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PETA Proposes Shareholder Vote to Return SeaWorld Animals to the Ocean

Originally published on December 30, 2014, at NationofChange.org

As attendance, revenue, and stock prices continue to plummet due to public reaction to the 2013 documentary Blackfish, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has submitted a shareholder resolution to retire SeaWorld’s captive animals and return them to the ocean in large coastal sea pens for rehabilitation. After multiple musicians cancelled their concerts at SeaWorld this year in protest of animal cruelty, SeaWorld announced the firing of 311 employees and the resignation of its CEO. Appearing confident that PETA will not win the shareholder vote, SeaWorld is considering selling some of its captive orcas to Chinese corporations instead.

In the wild, killer whales swim up to 100 miles a day and live in appropriate climates for their species. Each group speaks their own unique dialect and stay with family members for life. Not a single report exists of a person being killed by an orca in the wild.

In captivity, killer whales live shortened life spans and have caused the deaths of at least four people. SeaWorld’s orcas are often prescribed daily medications to treat chronic diseases brought on by close confinement. Separating killer whale mothers from their calves causes severe physical and psychological damage resulting in lacerating their faces and breaking their teeth against the gates separating mothers from their children. Exhibiting unnatural aggression and collapsed dorsal fins, some orcas have been placed on Valium to reduce their stress levels and violence against their trainers or each other.

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Mexican Police Helped Drug Cartel Massacre 314 Migrants

Originally published on December 25, 2014, at NationofChange.org

After years of silence, the office of Mexico’s Attorney General declassified a document admitting police officers had participated in the kidnapping and massacre of hundreds of migrants throughout northern Mexico. While working for Los Zetas drug cartel, police provided illicit protection, assisted in kidnappings, and turned a blind eye to the investigation of numerous mass graves. Caught in a turf war between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas, at least 314 migrants have died at the hands of the police and cartels.

According to a recently declassified memo sent from the office of Mexico’s Attorney General to The National Security Archive, local police in the city of San Fernando in northern Mexico have been working for the Zetas for years. A DEA cable from 2009 noted many Zetas had been recruited from an elite Mexican Army unit known as the Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFE). No longer operating as the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel, the Zetas expanded into new territory and asserted control through murder, intimidation, and corruption.

In August 2010, San Fernando police officers set up roadblocks and pulled at least 72 mainly Central American migrants off intercity buses. Instead of detaining the migrants, police officials handed them over to the Zetas who extorted fees for safe passage across the border and forced them work as drug mules. The Zetas executed everyone who could not afford to pay or refused to smuggle drugs across the border. The bodies of 58 men and 14 women from Central and South America were later discovered at a remote ranch in San Fernando.

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SWAT Grenade Severely Burns Toddler and Leaves Innocent Family with $1M in Medical Bills

Originally published on December 21, 2014, at NationofChange.org

While executing a no-knock search warrant on the wrong house, a SWAT team from the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office nearly killed a 19-month-old toddler sleeping in his crib. Scarred with multiple burns and a collapsed lung, the toddler was rushed to the hospital and placed in a medically induced coma. A grand jury declined to indict the sheriff’s deputies involved in the raid, and city officials refuse to pay his exorbitant medical bills.

After a fire destroyed their home in Wisconsin earlier this year, Bounkham Phonesavanh, his wife Alecia, and their four young children temporarily moved in with Bounkham’s sister in Cornelia, Georgia. Two months later, they found a new house in Wisconsin and were planning to return home when a SWAT team raided their bedroom in the middle of the night.

Around 2am on May 28, the SWAT team broke down their door as Habersham Deputy Charles Long threw a flashbang grenade into their bedroom. The grenade landed in the crib of 19-month-old Bounkham Phonesavanh, Jr., blowing a hole through his chest and leaving third-degree burns along his face and torso. After slamming her husband to the floor, deputies ordered Alecia to sit down and shut up as she asked to hold her screaming child.

Instead of allowing Alecia to see her wounded son, Habersham Deputy Jason Stribling picked up the toddler, left the room, and waited outside for an ambulance. As the deputies detained the family and searched the house for drugs, Alecia and her husband discovered a pool of blood and burn marks in the crib. Their son’s pillow had been blown apart.

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Pharmacists Charged with 25 Murders in Meningitis Outbreak

Published on December 20, 2014, at NationofChange.org

Responsible for the deaths of at least 64 people resulting from injections of contaminated medication, the co-owner and supervisory pharmacist of a compounding pharmacy were charged this week with 25 acts of second-degree murder. Sacrificing safety standards for profit, 14 suspects associated with the pharmacy have been charged with 131 counts including conspiracy, mail fraud, racketeering, and violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Although the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists (IACP) believes this is an isolated incident, sources assert these crimes occur on a daily basis in compounding pharmacies throughout the nation.

In response to the 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 751 patients in 20 states were diagnosed with a fungal infection after receiving injections of a contaminated corticosteroid called methylprednisolone acetate. Of those 751 patients, the CDC reported that 64 patients in nine states died. The Justice Department discovered the tainted corticosteroids had been compounded and shipped from the New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Massachusetts.

Co-owner and head pharmacist at NECC, Barry Cadden and his supervisory pharmacist, Glenn Chin, have been charged with 25 counts of second-degree murder for their wanton negligence and complete disregard for safety protocols. Instead of sterilizing their equipment or clean room, the pharmacists allowed bacteria and mold to contaminate the room while falsifying logs claiming they had disinfected the area. Using expired ingredients, Cadden and Chin also failed to test medications for sterility before shipping them to hospitals and pain clinics.

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Seven Corrupt Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputies Sentenced to Prison

Originally published on December 17, 2014, at NationofChange.org

Seven Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputies have been sentenced to federal prison for obstructing an FBI investigation into their department. Upon discovering an inmate working as an FBI informant, the deputies illegally concealed the prisoner, threatened an FBI agent, and attempted to influence witnesses. Although the deputies repeatedly asserted they had been following the orders of former Sheriff Lee Baca and then-Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, no charges have been filed against Baca or Tanaka.

As a sheriff’s commander under Baca, Bob Olmsted attempted several times to notify Baca and his staff about the abuses, corruption, and misconduct committed by deputies at Men’s Central Jail (MCJ) in Downtown Los Angeles. In 2012, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Sheriff’s Department accusing Baca of covering up and condoning violence against prisoners. In 2011, the ACLU released a report documenting over 70 instances of excessive force, misconduct, and sexual assault committed by deputies.

“I knew I had to act, and as a result, I notified the FBI of the department’s culture and acceptance of excessive force, inmate abuse, sheriff’s gangs, and corruption,” admitted retired Cmdr. Olmsted.

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