In the Loop: James Comey, a tough cookie "The [legal] analysis" justifying the program "is flawed, in fact facially flawed," Comey said. No lawyer reading that could reasonably rely on it. David Addington , Cheney's extremely formidable counsel, "stood by the window, over Cheney's shoulder. He had heard a bellyful," Gellman writes. "Well, I'm a lawyer and I did," Addington said, glaring at Comey. "No good lawyer," Comey said. A three-Smith classic Reporters prefer that government officials talk "on the record," meaning you can quote them by name. They are willing to let officials go "on background" - for example, a "senior Justice Department official" - in the hopes that important, maybe even a bit sensitive, information might be forthcoming. Take, for example, a briefing last Friday (May 24) in Addis Ababa for reporters traveling with Secretary of State John F. Kerry on his trip this week to Ethi­o­pia for the African Union summit and to the Middle East. After advising reporters to "drink a lot of water" and not to "eat raw vegetables," a "senior State Department official" - an expert on the region - was asked whether "Ni­ger­ian security forces are committing gross human rights violations" in battling extremists in the north. The official, according to a transcript, responded with a long discussion of why Nigeria is "extremely important," even "very critical." Right, but do you still believe that gross human rights violations . . . are being perpetrated by government forces? "We continue to monitor," the official said, and "we're going to continue to monitor" and "continue to work with the Nigerians . . . to address the situation . . . and I think the concern is that because of our concern, it does continue." New Justice spokesman Brian Fallon might have stayed busy as a spokesman for the notoriously press-eager Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), but he could find that his new job, handling media for Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., is even more intense. Fallon's successor wasn't immediately named. Saluting a record-holder Congress is getting ready to party like it's 1955. That was the year Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) came to Washington as a 29-year-old lawmaker, succeeding his father, John D. Dingell Sr., a New Deal Democrat, who had died. As of June 7, Dingell will have served his constituents for 57 years, five months and 26 days, exceeding the previous record held by the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.). Naturally, Congress plans to celebrate. Top House and Senate leaders announced Thursday that Congress will mark Dingell's streak on June 13 in the National Statuary Hall. We're still light on details, but it's expected to be quite a fete, since Dingell and his wife, Debbie, remain staples of the Washington social scene.