In a surprise ruling, Obama-appointed US Judge Katherine Forrest of the Southern District of New York agreed with plaintiffs who had challenged provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that Section 1021—concerning indefinite detention of (poorly defined) terror suspects. Judge Forrest found that Section 1021 fails to "pass constitutional muster" because its broad language could be used to squelch political dissent. Forrest rejected the contention in Obama's signing statement that the language in Section 1021 "breaks no new ground" and merely recapitulates the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF). "[T]his court finds that § 1021 is not merely an 'affirmation' of the AUMF," Forrest wrote. "To so hold would be contrary to basic principles of legislative interpretation that require Congressional enactments to be given independent meaning. To find that § 1021 is merely an 'affirmation' of the AUMF would require this court to find that § 1021 is a mere redundancy—that is, that it has no independent meaning and adds absolutely nothing to the government's enforcement powers." The suit was first brought by journalist-turned-talking-head Chris Hedges, and later joined by Noam Chomsky, Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg, Icelandic parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir, Kai Wargalla of Occupy London and Alexa O'Brien of US Day of Rage. The plaintiffs call themselves the "Freedom Seven."

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants were arraigned May 5 in a military tribunal at Guantanámo Bay on charges of organizing the 9-11 attacks. Mainstream accounts are emphasizing the defendants' refusal to respect the court, and the outraged response of 9-11 survivors. Few journalists have been allowed to observe, so this report from AP is all over the Web and has run in several newspapers:

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on May 2 granted qualified immunity to former Bush administration official John Yoo over allegations of wrongdoing in relation to controversial memos asserting the legality of "enhanced interrogation techniques." The lawsuit, brought by convicted terrorism defendant Jose Padilla, claimed Yoo's legal opinions endorsing "enhanced interrogation techniques" led to Padilla being tortured. Padilla, a US citizen currently serving a 17-year sentence on terrorism-related charges, said that he was tortured while held as an "enemy combatant" in military custody in a Navy military brig in Charleston, SC. In granting qualified immunity, the panel wrote:

The Pentagon announced on April 19 that two Uighur detainees were released from the US detention center at Guantánamo Bay to be transferred to El Salvador, where they have chosen to resettle. They are being released pursuant to a 2008 order by the US District Court for the District of Columbia. An executive order issued in 2009 mandated review of the cases by the Interagency Guantánamo Review Task Force (IGRTF), and all six agencies on the force gave consent to release the two detainees. The US said it has worked with El Salvador's government to ensure that the two men arrive safely and are not harmed upon arrival, as well as to protect them against inhumane treatment at any stage of the transfer.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) referred charges to a military commission on April 4 against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other alleged 9-11 conspirators being held at Guantánamo Bay. Mohammed, along with Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, have been charged pursuant to the Military Commissions Act of 2009, and are accused of conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, hijacking aircraft and terrorism. The men could face the death penalty if convicted.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on March 30 agreed to hear the case of Guantánamo Bay detainee and Algerian national Djamel Ameziane. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), co-counsel for Ameziane, states that Ameziane has been held at Guantánamo Bay without any charge or trial for more than 10 years. This is the first time that the IACHR has agreed to accept jurisdiction over a Guantánamo detainee. J Wells Dixon, senior staff attorney at CCR, stated:

The former head of the Polish intelligence services may face charges for his assistance to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in operating a secret prison in Poland. Zbigniew Siemiatkowski told Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza on March 27 that he could face charges for his association with the prison and the allegations of torture that occurred there.

How predictable. Just as the presidential horserace starts to gain velocity, so do oil prices. The Feb. 26 Reuters headline reads "Oil price rise raises specter of global recession." We are informed: "Oil rose to a 10-month high above $125 a barrel Friday, prompting responses from policymakers around the world including US President Barack Obama, watching US gasoline prices follow crude to push toward $4 a gallon in an election year." The Reuters account cites jitters over a new military conflagration in the Persian Gulf, which is certainly a factor. But some are seeing an intentional manipulation by the most reactionary sectors of the petro-oligarchy to undermine Obama...