Hawkeye Area ACLU

Appeals court urged to reject rendition case

Obama officials cite 'state secrets' privilege, which Bush invoked in winning a dismissal of the same suit last year.
Maura Dolan and Carol J. Williams of the Los Angeles Times

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Reporting from San Francisco and Los Angeles -- The Obama administration urged a federal appeals court Monday to toss out a lawsuit about CIA clandestine operations in the alleged kidnapping and torture of terrorism suspects.

At the same time, Justice Department officials in Washington pledged to review all cases in which the Bush administration invoked the right to protect state secrets and pledged to ask for secrecy "only in legally appropriate situations."

Obama Endorses Bush Secrecy On Torture And Rendition

ACLU National
NEW YORK, NY - After the British High Court ruled that evidence of British resident Binyam Mohamed's extraordinary rendition and torture at Guantánamo Bay must remain secret because of threats made by the Bush administration to halt intelligence sharing, the Obama administration told the BBC today in a written statement: "The United States thanks the UK government for its continued commitment to protect sensitive national security information and preserve the long-standing intelligence sharing relationship that enables both countries to protect their citizens."

ACLU Demands Eavesdropping, Torture Memos From White House

David Kravets of Wired
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union is hoping a kinder, gentler Obama administration will disclose secret documents detailing the legal basis for the previous administration's rationale for supporting torture and warrantless surveillance.

The memos are being sought from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, the White House's legal adviser. The Bush administration had refused the ACLU's bid to obtain the documents via a Freedom of Information Act request.