Obama Secrecy Policies Tested in Extraordinary Rendition Case

Lawyers representing the Obama administration will be asked today about their position on the state secrets privilege and extraordinary rendition.

The issues are before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco in a case that was dismissed a year ago at the urging of lawyers in the Bush administration who had intervened, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The plaintiffs are five men who claim a flight company transported them to overseas prisons where they were interrogated and tortured.

The defendant is Jeppesen Dataplan, a Boeing Co. subsidiary. The Justice Department had previously argued that the case could expose state secrets, including information about the alleged relationship between a private company and the CIA, and U.S. methods for questioning terrorist suspects, the story says.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of the five men. ACLU lawyer Ben Wizner, who is arguing the case, says in a press release that it “presents the first test of the Obama administration’s dedication to transparency and willingness to act on its condemnation of torture and rendition.”

The ACLU has more information on its website.