Feds Go All Out to Kill Spy Suit
Ryan Singel at Wired - Just as they did in Gilmore v. Gonzales, the feds plan to invoke the "state secrets" privilege to shut-down the EFF's lawsuit against AT&T for cooperating in the n.s.a.'s secret wiretapping. It doesn't look like a slam dunk with the judge involved, but they'll likely get their way. Not only that, but they may prosecute the New York Times reporters who broke the story. Fucktoads! [wired]
Judges almost always accept, at face value, assertions by the executive branch about the need for secrecy, said Stephen Aftergood, who directs the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.
"It reflects a judicial lack of self-confidence in the face of national security claims made by the executive branch," Aftergood said. "You also see this deference in Freedom of Information Act cases."
That's a shame, according to Aftergood and Weaver, since one of the most successful ways of exposing government wrongdoing is through lawsuits.
"In a nutshell, invoking the privilege shuts down the judicial process and it says that the courthouse doors are closed," said Aftergood. "In a society ruled by law, that is a subversive action."
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