Constitutional Law
9th Circuit Rejects ‘State Secrets’ Stay in Warrantless Wiretap Suit
Posted Feb 27, 2009, 03:32 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A federal appeals court in San Francisco has rejected an argument by the Obama administration that a lawsuit by a Muslim charity is blocked by the state secrets privilege.
The U.S. Department of Justice had invoked the privilege, under both the Obama and Bush administrations, saying that the lawsuit by the now-defunct Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which was based in Saudi Arabia, shouldn't be allowed to proceed because it threatens national security, according to the Associated Press.
However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today rejected the DOJ's request for an emergency stay.
The case focuses on documents accidentally turned over by the U.S. to Al-Haramain, which it contends show illegal wiretapping concerning the group by the National Security Agency, explains the news agency in an earlier story.
Although other groups also suspect illegal wiretapping by the U.S. concerning their own operations, the document snafu in the Al-Haramain case now provides a rare opportunity to litigate the issue, since such claims, without proof, have been dismissed for lack of standing.
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