A recent judicial ruling dealt a crippling blow to Bush’s rationale of blanket secrecy for his warrantless domestic surveillance programs. Domestic Spying Secrecy Struck Down By D.C. District JudgeBy Cliff Montgomery – Nov. 9th, 2008A judicial ruling issued on October 31st has dealt a crippling blow to the Bush Administration’s rationale of blanket secrecy for its warrantless domestic surveillance programs.The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered Bush’s Justice Department (DOJ) to hand over numerous legal opinions penned by the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel. The court has ruled that the documents warrant an in camera judicial review. An in camera review means that the court will study the Office of Legal Counsel documents in private, to determine if their release might endanger national security.U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy wrote in his legal opinion that the “[Department of Justice] has now had two opportunities to provide this court with sufficiently detailed affidavits to describe why the documents at issue are subject to the claimed exemptions, and why many documents must be withheld in full.” Having found the DOJ’s arguments for absolute secrecy weak at best, Judge Kennedy ordered the DOJ to submit the Office of Legal Counsel records to the court for a judicial review.Kennedy ruled that the Office of Legal Counsel must hand over the documents by November 17th.The case against the Bush Administration’s secrecy on domestic spying was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the National Security Archive.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now! Wait, why does an independent news source run advertisements? The Spark answers in its advertising policy. * Please check out our ads–they help keep this news site running. Thanks!
How Necessary Laws Are Killed These Days
Lawmakers generally only fight to protect the things they care about – and all too often, that just doesn’t include the lives of most of their constituents.
