Attorney General Establishes New State Secrets Policies and Procedures

/PRNewswire/ -- Attorney General Eric Holder today issued a memorandum instituting new Department of Justice policies and procedures in order to ensure greater accountability in the government's assertion of the state secrets privilege in litigation.

"This policy is an important step toward rebuilding the public's trust in the government's use of this privilege while recognizing the imperative need to protect national security," Holder said. "It sets out clear procedures that will provide greater accountability and ensure the state secrets privilege is invoked only when necessary and in the narrowest way possible."

Earlier this year, Attorney General Holder ordered senior Justice officials to conduct a review of the Department's existing state secrets policies and procedures, including an internal evaluation of the pending cases in which the privilege had been invoked. The results of that internal review were shared with an interagency group comprised of officials from the Department and the intelligence community, which provided input into the formulation of the new policies and procedures. The new policy and procedures take effect October 1, 2009.

The Attorney General's memorandum outlines several aspects of the new administrative process that increases accountability and oversight, including:

Facilitation of Court Review - The policy ensures that before approving invocation of the state secrets privilege in court, the Department must be satisfied that there is strong evidentiary support for it. In order to facilitate meaningful judicial scrutiny of the privilege assertions, the Department will submit evidence to the court for review.

Significant Harm Standard - The policy adopts a more rigorous standard to govern when the Department will defend assertions of the state secrets privilege in new cases. Under the new policy, the Department will now defend the assertion of the privilege only to the extent necessary to protect against the risk of significant harm to national security.

Narrow Tailoring of Privilege Assertions - Under this policy, the Department will narrowly tailor the use of the states secrets privilege whenever possible to allow cases to move forward in the event that the sensitive information at issue is not critical to the case. As part of this policy, the Department also commits not to invoke the privilege for the purpose of concealing government wrongdoing or avoiding embarrassment to government agencies or officials.

State Secrets Review Committee - A State Secrets Review Committee will be formed consisting of senior Department officials designated by the Attorney General who will evaluate any recommendation by the Assistant Attorney General of the relevant Division to invoke the privilege. The Committee would make its recommendation to the Associate Attorney General, who would review and refer to the Deputy Attorney General for a final recommendation to the Attorney General or his designee.

Approval by the Attorney General -- The policy requires the approval of the Attorney General prior to the invocation of the states secret privilege, except when the Attorney General is recused or unavailable. Previously, the invocation of the state secrets privilege could be approved by the appropriate Assistant Attorney General Referral to Inspectors General. The policy implements a referral process to relevant Offices of Inspector General whenever there are credible allegations of government wrongdoing in a case, but the assertion of state secrets privilege might preclude the case from moving forward.

Under the policy, the Department also commits to provide periodic reports on all cases in which the privilege is asserted to the appropriate oversight Committees in Congress.

----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

U.S. Members of Congress Introduce Legislation on Argentine Debt and Court Defaults

/PRNewswire / -- American Task Force Argentina (ATFA), a coalition of more than 40 taxpayer, investor, educator, Latino and agriculture organizations, today commended members of the U.S. House of Representatives for introducing legislation imposing stiff penalties on wealthy and middle-income nations that, like Argentina, refuse to honor obligations to U.S. creditors.

The effort is being led by Representative Eric Massa, a Democrat from New York State who was raised in Argentina while his father served as U.S. Naval Attache in Buenos Aires. Also introducing the legislation were Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Timothy Bishop (D-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Dan Maffei (D-NY), and Mike McMahon (D-NY).

The bill, H.R. 2493, called the Judgment Evading Foreign States Accountability Act of 2009, would bar from U.S. capital markets any nation that has been in default of U.S. court judgments totaling more than $100 million for more than two years. The legislation would also require the U.S. government to consider the default status of these countries before granting them aid.

"Argentina is ignoring billions of dollars in U.S. court judgments, which has hurt not just U.S. citizens, but also Argentine citizens," said ATFA Executive Director Robert Raben. "U.S. taxpayers are still waiting to be repaid money they lent to Argentina in good faith. At the same time, Argentina is saddled with the reputation of a deadbeat because their government defaults on court judgments. This legislation should pave the way for a fair resolution for both countries."

In 2001, Argentina defaulted on $81 billion in obligations to investors - the largest sovereign debt default in history. In 2005, Argentina offered bondholders 27 cents on the dollar for outstanding debt, far below the international norm for sovereign debt restructurings. Argentina repudiated its debts to the 50 percent of foreign lenders who declined the offer. U.S. courts have ruled in favor of these "holdout" bondholders in numerous cases, but the Argentine government has refused to repay its debts, choosing to default on those judgments.

"President Kirchner has said several times she's prepared to negotiate with bondholders, but we've seen no action whatsoever," Raben said. "Argentina has $45 billion in reserves and can afford to pay its $3.5 billion in debts to U.S. bondholders many times over. It's time to resolve this issue for the benefit of both nations."

A team of Argentine economists concluded in 2006 that Argentina's default status causes the nation to lose more than $6 billion in foreign direct investment every year. The U.S. State Department warned in February 2009 that Argentina's unresolved debts, and the resulting court judgments, have created a risky climate for U.S. investors.

Argentina's refusal to resolve its outstanding debts may be setting a precedent in the region. Ecuador in recent months defaulted on more than $3.8 billion in obligations to foreign investors, citing Argentina as a model.

The legislation introduced today is intended to encourage responsible lending, support the rule of law and improve international accountability by:

-- Denying Argentina and other foreign states that have been in default
of U.S. court judgments exceeding $100 million for more than two years
access to U.S. capital markets;
-- Denying domestic corporations of such judgment evading foreign state
that remain in default for more than three years access to the U.S.
capital markets;
-- Requiring the U.S. government to consider the default status of
countries before granting them aid; and
-- Requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to issue annual reports naming
these states and analyzing the impact of their behavior on the U.S.
economy.


The legislation would not affect poor nations, including those eligible for International Development Association financing or relief through the World Bank's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative or the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.

-----
www.politicalpotluck.com
Political News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Pelosi Statement Following House Passage of TARP Reform and Accountability Act

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on the House passage of Chairman Barney Frank's TARP Reform and Accountability Act, which bolsters transparency, accountability and addresses the foreclosure crisis directly. The House approved the measure late yesterday afternoon by a vote of 260 to 166.

"President Obama and Congress are committed to seeing that funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) are used responsibly, with full accountability and transparency, and that help is provided to Americans in danger of losing their homes. Chairman Frank's bill achieves these objectives and ensures that the TARP functions as Congress originally intended.

"The TARP Reform and Accountability Act will help ease the credit crunch for workers and small businesses, provide at least $100 billion to help homeowners avoid foreclosures, and end golden parachutes for executives whose banks receive TARP assistance.

"The American people deserve a government that is a fierce watchdog of their hard-earned tax dollars. Congress and the new Administration will ensure that TARP funds are used for lending to American workers and small businesses -- so we can lift our economy out of recession -- and not for the enrichment of a privileged few."

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Pelosi Statement on White House Plan to Aid Domestic Auto Industry

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today in response to the White House plan to give General Motors and Chrysler a bridge loan while they restructure their companies to become viable:

"The President's announcement this morning provides an opportunity for the American automakers to become viable and competitive while securing millions of jobs. The auto companies and all other parties now must engage in comprehensive negotiations that will require all parties to make concessions.

"The White House proposal unfortunately singles out workers and clearly puts them at a disadvantage before negotiations have even begun. It is essential that the development of the restructuring plans proceed in a fair and equitable manner, that the necessary sacrifice be mutual, and all laws governing fuel efficiency, emissions and improvements in automotive technology be preserved.

"The binding conditions contained in today's White House plan largely reflect those negotiated between the White House and the Congress and passed by the House last week. These conditions require strong protections for taxpayers, tough accountability measures for the industry, and a thorough restructuring plan that sets out a roadmap to viability.

"Congress stands ready to work with all parties during this difficult restructuring to restore the domestic auto industry, help revitalize the national economy, and secure millions of U.S. jobs."

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page