American 11

Surprise! Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, Southern District of New York (whence have come Giuliani, Spitzer, Hauer, Freeh, Mukasey, ... )says he "favors" keeping 9/11 secrets ... And gosh, it's worked so well for the defendants (aviation companies) thus far: "the confidentiality agreement speeded a pretrial process that enabled more than 90 families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to settle their cases." (emphasis added) Hellerstein is previously quoted as saying his "job" is to get these cases settled. Really? A judge's job is to settle cases? Even if discovery and a trial is needed to determine accountability? How does 'getting plaintiffs to settle' lead to justice? These families who settled their cases (after years of fighting for disclosure) means there's now no need for discovery, and certainly allays anyone's fears that "secrets" might be made public. Guess Hellerstein is doing a good job, given his definition of his duties...

By Bob Woodward Washington Post Staff Writer Page A01 The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantánamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who...

Kevin Fenton January 14, 2009 Posted at History Commons Groups The National Archives today released a set of records the 9/11 Commission gave it. It did so today because the commission told it it had to wait...

SPECIAL REPORT: SUING THE SAUDIS Pinning the blame for 9/11 Special Report: A Phila. law firm wages an epic legal battle to win billions from Saudi Arabia. By Chris Mondics, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer First of...