I thought that name looked familiar ...

[beachmom]

I remember this guy because of controversy over his remarks about waterboarding, and the fact that he was a staffer working as an investigator for the SFRC under Sen. Kerry. Now he is in trouble:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/us/john-kiriakous-path-from-ambitious-spy-to-federal-defendant.html?pagewanted=1

Mr. Kiriakou is embroiled in another drama. The same government that a decade ago sent him to risk his life taking on Al Qaeda is now trying to send him to prison for as much as 30 years, charging him with disclosing classified information — the identity of two former colleagues who participated in interrogating detainees — to journalists.

...

In 2009, Mr. Kiriakou joined the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. He worked as an investigator on several counternarcotics and counterterrorism reports, leaving after a year.

Honestly, I don't know enough about this case to comment, but obviously, Glenn Greenwald has an opinion:

http://www.salon.com/2012/01/24/rules_of_american_justice_a_tale_of_three_cases/singleton/

I see some right wing attacks on Kerry for this, but that is kind of ridiculous. How would he know about this?

[karynnj]

1. Like you, I recognized the name - and cringed.

But, there is no way that Kerry and his staff could have known of the investigation or the possibility that he had outed CIA people. In fact, he was working on reports on counterterrorism. There is no way that he could not have done his job without a high security clearance. Therefore, he almost surely had one. If there were anything known back when he was hired, I assume that it would have been when they checked to see if he could regain the clearances he had, that this would have come out.

The Greenwald article is troubling and interesting. On the one hand, it is scary that Obama could be using these draconian laws to end any whistle blowing - and as Abu Ghraib and other things show - whistle blowing is some times needed. However, if he actually did give names of CIA operatives in Pakistan to the media and to the lawyers of prisoners at Gitmo, he deserves the trial he will be given. It was not right when Cheney/Libby outed a CIA operative and it is not right now - and it has nothing to do with whistle blowing.

(I actually thought of you when his name came out because I remembered your not too thrilled with him posts - same every time I hear the words "carried interest".)

[beachmom]

3. Yeah, that carried interest is hopefully getting to be better known

given that some of Romney's income was taxed that way in addition to dividends also taxed at a low rate.

The truth is that Boston is a major financial district, and it's no accident that Kerry wasn't in a rush to close that loophole. I'm sort of done with the issue in terms of Kerry. He's dead wrong on it, and is beholden to special interests in Mass. on it. No other explanation works for me. I remember he also said the loophole should only be closed if it is done in the context of major tax reform. Well, I don't think that will happen. Here in deep red Georgia ruled completely by Republicans, they had a commission and were determined to pass sweeping tax reform. Well, it didn't happen -- they all chickened out, and it was revenue neutral and did the things Republicans supposedly wanted. But they couldn't do it.

Okay, so totally OT. I'm not going to do new posts on this issue, only that this is a part of the Senator's record he should not be proud of.

Edited to change language slightly

[karynnj]

4. He was mentioned in one article and he had actually supported getting rid of part of the preference

One of Mr. Kerry's aides said that he supported a 2010 bill from Mr. Baucus that would treat 75% of carried interest as ordinary income.

Mr. Schumer's and Mr. Baucus' offices didn't respond to requests for comment.

“Sen. Kerry has worked to close the carried-interest loophole in a way that's fair and which avoids unintended harm to housing or innovation,” Jodi Seth, a spokeswoman for Mr. Kerry, wrote in an e-mail. “This problem exists because of the large differential between the capital gains rate and the top income tax rate.”

Most observers said that any changes in carried interest will have to wait until that broader tax reform debate begins after the election.

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20120122/REG/301229983


Seeing the Romney information, I agree more with the position you held earlier. He, in no way had anything at risk. There is no reason to think that Bain Capital would have done less if they didn't have this tax break. (Not to mention it's not clear there was a societal good to what they did.

[beachmom]

5. Yeah, he made noises sorta kinda in support, but he didn't do much about it.

As they say, talk is cheap. When it came to action, he did nothing. And the idea that it was so venture capital could fund green tech, well, sorry, no dice. They could still have done that AND paid higher taxes. (But to be clear, Bain is almost all private equity, NOT venture capital -- it's all taxed like carried interest but venture capital helps start-ups whereas what Romney mostly did was leveraged buy-outs of older companies).

[Inuca]

2. I remember him too

popping up quite often on MSNBC for a while. More than that.... I don't know.