feed-image DEFCON Hill - The Hill's DEFCON Hill Feed »
  December 20, 2012, 3:16 pm

White House mum on defense bill veto threat

By Jeremy Herb

The White House says its position has not changed on the threat to veto the defense authorization bill over restrictions on transferring Guantanamo detainees after the final bill was completed in conference committee Tuesday.

White House press secretary Jay Carney would not elaborate when asked Thursday whether the president might veto the bill with restrictions Congress placed on transferring Guantanamo detainees. The restrictions have been in previous versions of the defense bill, and they were included in the conference report that House and Senate lawmakers agreed to despite the White House’s objections.

“What we put out is still our position, and I don't have any updates on that for you,” Carney said at Thursday’s White House press briefing.

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  December 20, 2012, 11:41 am

Paul knocks McCain after detainee provision stripped from defense bill

By Jeremy Herb

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is upset at Senate Armed Services ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.) after a provision preventing military detention of U.S. citizens was stripped from the final version of the defense authorization bill.

Paul issued a statement Wednesday saying that the defense bill is now “unconstitutional,” singling out McCain as the GOP Senate conference committee leader.

The Senate passed an amendment from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that prevented the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens, which was supported by libertarian-leaning senators like Paul and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  December 20, 2012, 10:37 am

Rep. King urges consequences in 'Zero Dark Thirty' investigation

By Alicia M. Cohn

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) on Thursday said anyone in the CIA or Pentagon who pressured operatives to talk to Hollywood filmmakers for the new film "Zero Dark Thirty" — about the mission to capture Osama bin Laden — should lose their jobs. 

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  December 19, 2012, 8:10 pm

House won't vote on Dem tax bill, will add sequester replacement

By Pete Kasperowicz

House Republicans decided late Wednesday that the House will not vote on a Democratic tax plan on Thursday, and instead will only vote on the House GOP backup tax plan known as "Plan B."

The GOP has also decided to hold a vote on a bill that would replace the pending $109 billion sequester. Details about this new bill were unknown as of late Wednesday, but adding a sequester-replacement bill to the GOP leadership's plan appears to be an effort to ensure enough Republicans can vote for the package.

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  December 19, 2012, 7:49 pm

OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Senators tee off on new bin Laden film

By Carlo Muñoz and Jeremy Herb

The Topline: The line between Hollywood and Washington can become blurry from time to time. Usually when that line blurs, it's to the amusement of those on both sides. But at other times, the differences between reality and a filmmaker's version thereof can become more serious. 

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  December 19, 2012, 6:52 pm

Leak allegations against DOD on Bin Laden raid are 'irresponsible', says top House Dem

By Carlo Muñoz

Recent claims of potential illegal disclosures of classified information by top Pentagon officials on the Osama Bin Laden raid last March are "off-base and irresponsible," particularly while DOD officials are still looking into the incident, according to a top House defense lawmaker. 

Read more...

comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  December 19, 2012, 6:46 pm

Senators: ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ film a ‘dangerous’ mix of fact, fiction

By Carlo Muñoz and Jeremy Herb

“I thought it was terrible," said Feinstein, one of a handful of lawmakers to see the film.

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  December 19, 2012, 2:58 pm

Military will seek death penalty in Afghan massacre case

By Jeremy Herb

The Army will seek the death penalty against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales for the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians in March, the Associated Press is reporting.

Military officials announced their decision Wednesday in the case against Bales, who is awaiting a court martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in near Seattle.

Bales is accused of murdering 16 civilians in two villages in March, including nine children.

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  December 19, 2012, 11:33 am

Pentagon pushing back against ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ leak allegations

By Jeremy Herb

The Pentagon is defending a senior official accused of disclosing the name of a special operations officer to Hollywood producers.

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
  December 19, 2012, 6:00 am

Jewish Democrats divided on supporting Hagel for Defense secretary

By Jeremy Herb

Jewish Democrats are split on whether the former senator’s views on Israel might prevent them from supporting his nomination.

Read more...
comment Comments
E-mail Print share
 
« Start< Prev101102103104105106107108109110Next >End »
 

More Videos »

DEFCON Hill Twitter - Click to follow
More From The Web
bloglogo

More Briefing Room »

More Congress Blog »

More Pundits Blog »

More Twitter Room »

More Hillicon Valley »

More E2-Wire (Energy) »

More Ballot Box »

More On The Money »

More Healthwatch »

More Floor Action »

More Transportation »

More DEFCON Hill »

More Global Affairs »

More In The Know »

More RegWatch »

Get latest news from The Hill direct to your inbox, RSS reader and mobile devices.