Government Asserting “State Secrets” to Block Suits

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A “state secrets privilege” is being used aggressively by the Bush Administration to block court challenges, much to the dismay of civil libertarians and open government advocates, the Chicago Tribune reports. The privilege has no statutory predicate; rather it’s the outgrowth of a series of legal decisions involving national security claims. The government has asserted the privilege in several recent cases, one involving an FBI whistleblower, another a former CIA agent and a third involving a Canadian man seized in the U.S. and taken to Syria for questioning. (3/3/05)