The ACLU and CCR just had a conference call to talk about their suit challenging the licensing scheme the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control uses to prevent lawyers from representing those on OFAC’s designated terrorist list. Much of the discussion pertained to whether Anwar al-Awlaki could be legitimately considered an enemy combatant given his alleged incitement of attacks on the US. What’s most interesting is the timing.

There is perhaps no organization in Washington with a closer relationship to the White House than the Center for American Progress. Its President and CEO, John Podesta, co-chaired President Obama’s transition team, and dozens of former staffers have taken positions in the executive branch. When they put out a report, you can at least guess [...]

Here is the full roundtable discussion on rolling back presidential powers. Do we expect the next resident of the White House to ditch the Patriot Act? Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, Vincent Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, and David Golove, Hiller Family Foundation Professor of Law at NYU School of Law discuss.