Obama invokes "State secrets" over wiretapping lawsuit

By Steve Hynd

Here we go again. From Raw Story:

President Barack Obama invoked "state secrets" to prevent a court from reviewing the legality of the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program, moving late Friday to have a lawsuit that challenged the program dismissed.

The move -- which holds that information surrounding the massive eavesdropping program should be kept from the public because of its sensitivity -- follows an earlier decision in March to block handover of documents relating to the Bush Administration's decision to spy on a charity. The arguments also mirror the Bush Administration's efforts to dismiss an earlier suit against AT&T.

The Friday brief involves a lawsuit filed by the civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is suing the NSA for the wiretapping program. The agency monitored the telephone calls and emails of thousands of people within the United States without a court's approval in an effort to thwart terrorist attacks.

In attempting to block a San Fransisco court from reviewing documents relating to the NSA program, the Obama Administration is also protecting other individuals named as defendants in the suit: Vice President Dick Cheney, former Cheney chief of staff David Addington and former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

It's entirely consistent with Obama's previous positions - he voted for the 2008 amendment to the FISA Act that expanded wiretapping and handed the telecomms giants blanket immunity. Like so much else this administration has done already, that doesn't mean it's right. Although I think just about everyone has given up on Obama rolling back Bush's excesses and all the hasty slime that goes with the notion of the Imperial Presidency.

Comments

[dhhhs]

i want my volunteer hours back! I can't believe I worked so hard to get this @ssw!pe elected! Does anyone know what we can do about this?!?!? We have a constitutional right to privacy but Obama has just struck a killing blow to finalize the past Emporer's plan. IS this the last word? can we recall this guy? Can congress overturn this? what are aour options?