Guantanamo/Detainees
CIA Resists Disclosure of Additional Interrogation Documents
Posted Sep 2, 2009 5:49 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The CIA has told a federal court that disclosure of additional documents about its interrogation of terrorism detainees could jeopardize national security.
The CIA outlined its position in a court filing in a freedom of information suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The CIA said the documents, including assessments of the program’s legality by its own lawyers, shouldn’t be disclosed because they could reveal intelligence sources and operations, the New York Times reports.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of Manhattan had ordered the government to turn over the documents by Aug. 31 or to provide justification for withholding them, according to an ACLU press release.
ACLU lawyers say the government’s stance undercuts the Obama administration’s stance of greater transparency.
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Comments
J.D.
Sep 2, 2009 8:15 AM CST
Well, durh… The ACLU would like the Taliban to run free through the halls of the Pentagon. Not gonna happen.
But they ACLU is correct that the Obama Admin has been one of the most secretive administrations thus far. How many things is Obama hiding? His college records, law school records, his birth certificate… The list goes on and on.
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AndytheLawyer
Sep 2, 2009 8:53 AM CST
JD—Obama’s birth certificate was posted on his “Stop the Smears” website during the campaign. Move on.
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J.D.
Sep 2, 2009 9:01 AM CST
Um, no. Obama’s spending millions on attorneys, as noted by various legal blogs, to keep his documents sealed. This includes his birth certificate.
I wonder why the ACLU is only seeking the disclosure of documents that jeopardize our national security. If the ACLU was concerned about the Constitution, they would request Obama release his eligibility forms. Hasn’t happened yet.
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T.R.
Sep 2, 2009 10:40 AM CST
Do we seriously have a ‘birther’ in our midst?
Anyhow, given the impending Holder investigation, I am certainly not surprised that the CIA is trying to circle the wagons as much as possible. Whether their intent to avoid this FOIA action is less about “national security” than it is about “covering the backsides of career bureacrats who may have acted illegally” has yet to be seen.
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J.D.
Sep 2, 2009 11:25 AM CST
This is all about politics: the ex-employees want to cover their rear ends, and the Obama Admin wants to try and make republicans look bad as a means to get the conversation off his falling job approval ratings.
The problem is that sensitive information may ultimately be leaked in this power play. Al Qaeda doesn’t care about politics, and this can only help them.
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B. McLeod
Sep 2, 2009 10:32 PM CST
I think Al Qaeda does care about politics.
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AndytheLawyer
Sep 3, 2009 2:38 PM CST
JD—No need to worry about the Obama administration making republicans look bad. They’re already expert in that endeavor themselves.
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