Civil Libertarians Await Proof Of State Secrets Policy Change

摘要

New state secrets policies trotted out by the Obama administration Sept. 23 that it says will ensure greater accountability in the federal government's assertion of the state secrets privilege in litigation are being downplayed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which says real change will only occur when the administration stops using the state secrets privilege as a defense in court.rn"On paper, this is a step forward," said Ben Wizner, staff attorney with the ACLU's National Security Project. "In court, however, the Obama administration continues to defend a broader view of state secrets put forward by the Bush administration and to demand that federal courts throw out lawsuits filed by victims of torture and illegal surveillance."