Dennis Blair

Posts Tagged ‘Dennis Blair’

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

• Jennifer Palmieri, Senior Vice President of Communications for the Center for American Progress, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about Obama and the Bush torture memos.

• Actor Jason Alexander joins us in studio at 8:30am Pacific to promote his production of “The Fantasticks” at U.C.L.A. and to talk about the politics of the day.

• President Obama left open the possibility of criminal prosecution yesterday for former Bush administration officials who drew up the legal basis for aggressive interrogation techniques many view as torture. Obama said it will be up to Attorney General Eric Holder to decide whether or not to prosecute the former officials.

• President Obama’s national intelligence director Dennis Blair said in a memo to staff last night that Bush-era interrogation methods may have yielded important information about terrorists and may have provided a deeper understanding of Al Qaida, but he said that we do not need these techniques to keep America safe.

• Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner testified before Congress yesterday, defending President Obama’s bank bailout, answering questions about TARP’s transparency and Obama’s plan to encourage private investors to help banks get rid of troubled assets.

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

• Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the House’s passage of President Obama’s stimulus package last night.

• The House last night passed an $819 billion economic stimulus package on a party-line vote, despite President Obama’s efforts to achieve bipartisan support for the bill. The Senate is likely to take up the bill next week.

• President Obama visited the Pentagon yesterday for a dose of “unvarnished” give-and-take on how to move forward in America’s two wars. Obama sat down with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to get a “comprehensive view of the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the impact on our forces.” Obama first expressed his thanks for the men and women fighting abroad.

• The Senate confirmed by unanimous consent retired Adm. Dennis Blair as director of national intelligence yesterday. The confirmation followed the resignation of former director Michael McConnell, who left the post Tuesday after nearly 2 years on the job.