Classified records

Government attorneys confirmed on Tuesday that federal courts have the right under the federal Freedom of Information Act to review agency decisions to classify documents when invoking the law's national security exemption.

The federal government asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces on Monday to become the third court to deny the public access to military court documents in the court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning. The government’s argument: the Freedom of Information Act is the proper method to obtain the materials.

The U.S. government announced it will not subpoena journalists as witnesses in the prosecution of a former intelligence officer who allegedly leaked classified information.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has denied a request to order the U.S. government to publicly release photographs and video under the federal Freedom of Information Act of the U.S. military raid that killed Osama bin Laden last May.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg accepted the CIA’s assertion that release of any photos and video of the body of Osama bin Laden – former leader al-Qaeda – would pose a major threat to national security, and that he would not overturn the agency’s decision to classify the records.

Classified portions of oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. (4th Cir.) will be closed to the public in the government's case against ex-CIA official Jeffrey Sterling, who is charged with violating the Espionage Act for disclosing classified information. Only arguments pertaining to the subpoena of New York Times reporter James Risen will be heard in open court.

Department of Justice attorneys have filed an unopposed motion to close to the public parts of the upcoming oral argument concerning the Espionage Act prosecution of former CIA analyst Jeffrey Sterling and the related subpoena of New York Times reporter James Risen.

The Brennan Center for Justice released a report today on government overclassification, and proposed a pilot program for the federal government that calls for accountability when employees improperly classify documents.

Former National Security Agency official Thomas Drake pleaded guilty to a dramatically lower charge on Friday – the 10 felony charges against him were thrown-out -- in the highly publicized leak case that was set to go to trial Monday in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

President Barack Obama released an executive order Thursday calling for a more open and uniform approach to handling unclassified information that is subject to statutory exemptions from full disclosure.