Judge Refuses to Drop NSA Lawsuit
The judge in this NSA lawsuit did not buy the governments argument for state secrets. So now we will see the same old argument go forward, and we just might find out a few more revelations. I’m going to show restraint on this one. I don’t have a lot of time this morning. Suffice it to say that I disagree with this judge’s decision.
A federal judge Thursday refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration’s domestic spying program, rejecting government claims that allowing the case to go forward could expose state secrets and jeopardize the war on terror.
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said the warrantless eavesdropping has been so widely reported that there appears to be no danger of spilling secrets.
Dozens of lawsuits alleging that telecommunications companies and the government are illegally intercepting Americans’ communications without warrants have been filed. This is the first time a judge has ruled on the government’s claim of a “state secrets privilege.”
“It might appear that none of the subject matter in this litigation could be considered a secret given that the alleged surveillance programs have been so widely reported in the media,” Walker said.
Walker also wrote that he did not see how allowing the lawsuit to continue could threaten national security.
“The compromise between liberty and security remains a difficult one,” Walker said. “But dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security.”
And in declining to dismiss AT&T Inc. from the lawsuit, filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation privacy group, Walker suggested the case had some merit. “AT&T cannot seriously contend that a reasonable entity in its position could have believed that the alleged domestic dragnet was legal,” he wrote.
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Posted by Jay on July 21, 2006 9:08 am
» Filed Under ACLU, News, War On Terror
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