Bush Uses "STATES SECRETS PRIVILEGE" to Hide ATT Spying

[kpete]

Bush Uses "State Secrets Privilege" to Hide ATT Spying
by Jeffrey Feldman
Fri Apr 28, 2006 at 09:07:59 PM PDT

President Bush is about to invoke a rarely used vestige of English law called the 'State Secrets Privilege,' thereby allowing him to dismiss a lawsuit against ATT for alleged illegal spying on the American people.

By invoking the 'State Secrets Privilege,' President Bush will effectively step into the courtroom and say, 'Due to issues of national security, I as President hereby declare this lawsuit dismissed.'

Wired has the story:

by Ryan Singel and Kevin Poulsen
Friday, 28 April 2006
Feds Drop Bomb on EFF Lawsuit

The federal government intends to invoke the rarely used "State Secrets Privilege" -- the legal equivalent of a nuclear bomb -- in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's class action lawsuit against AT&T that alleges the telecom collaborated with the government's secret spying on American citizens.

The State Secrets Privilege is a vestige from English common law that lets the executive branch step into a civil lawsuit and have it dismissed if the case might reveal information that puts national security at risk.

Today's assertion severely darkens the prospects of the EFF's lawsuit, which the organization had hoped would shine light on the extent of the Bush Administration's admitted warrantless spying on Americans.

The government is not admitting, however, that AT&T aided the National Security Agency in spying on American's phone calls and internet communications.

"The fact that the United States will assert the state secrets privilege should
not be construed as a confirmation or denial of any of Plaintiffs¿ allegations, either about AT&T or the alleged surveillance activities," the filing reads. "When allegations are made about purported classified government activities or relationships, regardless of whether those allegations are accurate, the existence or non-existence of the activity or relationship is potentially a state secret."

The Justice Department has not formally invoked the privilege yet.

Today's notice was intended to inform Northern California US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker that the government was intending to assert the privilege in order to seek dismissal of the case.

The complete paperwork justifying the government's decision will be filed by May 12.

http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/
PDF: http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/USA_statement_of_interest.pdf
via:http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/29/0759/54872

[atreides1]

1. So Bush is Already a King

English Common Law not withstanding, where in the US Constitution or in US law does it allow the President to invoke this.

And if it does exist why didn't Nixon use it to avoid any damage from Watergate?

Does anyone know if this power has ever been invoked in the history of this country, or is it just another aspect of the unitary executive?

[madrchsod]

3. nixon`s crime can not be compared to bush`s

oranginized crimnal activity for the last 5 years. nixon was bad but in the grand scheme of things nixon at the best was a petty thief, who when caught tried to cover up his crime. bush or should i say cheney and friends, on the other hand, have the luxury of the republican party to lie for them. nixon was told by his own party to resign because there were to many republicans with principals that would find him guilty. bush knows that this republican house and senate will never impeach or convict him because no one in the republican party has any principals. that is the difference between now and then.

[Zen Democrat]

2. Wikipedia on the State Secrets Privilege ...

Interesting to see here that a judge may not necessarily allow the privilege:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Secrets_Privilege

The State Secrets Privilege is a series of American legal precedents allowing the federal government the ability to dismiss legal cases that it claims would threaten foreign policy, military intelligence or national security.

Since the Sept 11th attacks, it has been invoked several times to stay proceedings.

According to an unnamed study, it has been invoked 60 times since it was originally founded in the 1950s during the Cold War, and it was only denied by a judge on five occasions, causing its critics to claim that it is rarely challenged and represents a "free pass" for the federal government.

The privilege was first recognized by the Supreme Court in a 1953 decision, United States v. Reynolds (345 U.S. 1).

After the privilege is properly invoked, the privileged material is completely removed from the litigation, and the court must determine how the unavailability of the privileged information affects the case.

In 2001, George W. Bush created a controversy by extending the accessibility of the State Secrets Privilege to allow former Presidents, and the offspring and descendants of former presidents, to invoke it to bar records from their tenure, through Executive Order 13233.

[CoffeeCat]

4. I guess it all depends on who this judge is...

If he's one of the Borg--then the lawsuit is tossed.

If he's not one of the Borg--and he doesn't "suicide"--then I guess we have a chance.

I always knew things were bad. These recent news about this case, and the Justice Dept
letters--has me convinced that things are really, really bad.

[valerief]

8. Fear of being anthraxed is a great motivator, too. n/t

[IDemo]

6. Prediction: Executive Order 13233 will be heavily exercised in 2009

"In 2001, George W. Bush created a controversy by extending the accessibility of the State Secrets Privilege to allow former Presidents, and the offspring and descendants of former presidents, to invoke it to bar records from their tenure, through Executive Order 13233."

[rodeodance]

5. it gets worse as days go by. The jaugernaut rolls on.

[Botany]

7. who here thinks he was not spying on Kerry?

And for all this spying not one arrest or terrorist stop has been made.

bush's actions will surely be challenged in court.

Again in Ohio in 04 Kerry phone lines were hacked and tapped ......
that is a fact ..... I know I heard it for myself.

bush is scrambling to cover up his crimes.

Terrorist Surveillance Act ..... no the bush crime family with the help of
corporations SBC in Ohio which is now ATT

[Roland99]

9. Gotta love living in an authoritarian "democracy"