Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Government's 'State Secrets' Privilege May Not Be as Iron-Clad as It Thinks

The government's go-to excuse for shielding its surveillance programs its also its most foolproof. We can't tell you about our programs — or if they even exist — they argue, because to do so would put our national security at risk. On Monday, a federal judge dealt that argument a significant blow — in one lawsuit, anyway.
That suit was filed in 2008 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation following revelations from whistleblower Mark Klein about the National Security Agency tapping AT&T's network traffic in San Francisco. Over the ensuing five years, the state blocked EFF's lawsuit aimed at halting the spying. Eventually, the government resorted to the invocation of "state secrets privilege," the argument that disclosing evidence related to the case (e.g., the existence of the wiretapping Klein reported) would itself constitute a threat to national security.


http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/07/governments-state-secrets-privilege-may-not-be-iron-clad-it-thinks/67006/ 

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