At last minute Bush DOJ snubbed judge's order on classified document
In a parting shot, the Bush administration's Justice Department shrugged off a San Francisco federal judge's order to make a classified document available to lawyers for an Islamic group challenging the legality of the outgoing president's secret wiretapping program.
National security officials, not judges, must decide whether private citizens - even those with security clearances - are entitled to see classified material, Justice Department lawyers said in a filing Monday night.
On Tuesday, attorneys for the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation suggested that the judge defer a decision until the new Obama administration addresses its predecessor's "act of defiance."
Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said no one was available to discuss the issue Tuesday after President Obama's inauguration...
Al-Haramain's lawsuit, the only remaining case of its kind in the nation, claims President George W. Bush exceeded his authority in 2001 when he ordered the interception of phone calls and e-mails between U.S. citizens and suspected foreign terrorists.
Read entire article at San Francisco Chronicle
National security officials, not judges, must decide whether private citizens - even those with security clearances - are entitled to see classified material, Justice Department lawyers said in a filing Monday night.
On Tuesday, attorneys for the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation suggested that the judge defer a decision until the new Obama administration addresses its predecessor's "act of defiance."
Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said no one was available to discuss the issue Tuesday after President Obama's inauguration...
Al-Haramain's lawsuit, the only remaining case of its kind in the nation, claims President George W. Bush exceeded his authority in 2001 when he ordered the interception of phone calls and e-mails between U.S. citizens and suspected foreign terrorists.