Legal Commentary

Federal Judge: Government Need Not Disclose Spying on Attorney-Client Conversations at Gitmo

By Jeralyn

Via the Center for Constitutional Rights:

Late yesterday, a federal court judge ruled that the government did not have to disclose whether it was illegally spying on Guantanamo attorneys’ conversations. The judge ruled that the National Security Agency (NSA) could not be forced to reveal information about its domestic spying program because, “confirming or denying whether plaintiffs' communication with their clients has been intercepted would reveal information about the NSA's capabilities and activities.”

Plaintiffs had argued that the government cannot use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to shield illegal surveillance of attorneys. In response, the court said that because of the breadth of a statute protecting the NSA’s secrecy, “the Court need not address plaintiffs’ substantive arguments concerning the TSP’s illegality.”

What it means: [More..]

According to CCR,

“This ruling allows the government to hide its illegal activities behind far-fetched claims of national security,” said CCR Executive Director Vincent Warren. “Not only does the public have the right to know, but our ability to represent our clients is deeply compromised by not knowing whether our conversations are being listened to and the information passed on to opposing counsel. We are investigating our next steps.”

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 26, 2008 (boomark / email).