Senators postured, raised some important issues, but rarely pressed John Brennan for answers in Thursday’s confirmation hearing for CIA Director…While some senators pouted and expressed frustration on ObamaCo’s secrecy–especially related to rationales for drone killings of Americans–the hearing was a lovefest, with most members of the “Select Committee on Intelligence” telegraphed their support for the dronemeister, even before the secret hearing next Tuesday. PBC opens with detailed commentary on the hearing’s focus on process over policy, and repeated failures to force Brennan to actually answer the question. The low point was chair Dianne Feinstein’s series of leading questions about how bad a guy Awlaki was, attempting to justify his death without offering any actual evidence.
–hear an excerpt from today’s in-depth interview with Carl Mayer about the NDAA appeal, and how the judges don’t seem to understand the impact of the law
–Iran’s Supreme Leader rejects direct talks with US
–Gareth Porter reports that Bulgaria’s Interior Minister said that it’s “an assumption” that Hezbollah caused the bombing of Israelis in Bulgaria last year
–in the GOP war between Karl Rove and his offspring, the Tea Party, former Delaware senate candidate Christine O’Donnell gains laughable legitimacy
–Condoleeza Rice is playing golf as John Kiriakou gets ready to go to prison for the torture she approved
–Apple Computer’s cash stash now tops $137 billion
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