Spy Court Refuses To Release Documents on Wiretapping

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The New York Sun

WASHINGTON — The nation’s spy court said yesterday that it will not release its documents regarding the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, in a rare on-the-record opinion, said the public has no right to view the documents because they deal with the clandestine workings of national security agencies.

The American Civil Liberties Union asked the court to release the records in August. Specifically, the organization asked for the government’s legal briefs and the court’s opinions on the wiretapping program.

U.S. District Judge John Bates, who sits on the national security court, refused. Releasing the documents would expose closely guarded secrets that enemies could used to evade detection or disrupt intelligence activities, he said. Sources could be outed, targets could be tipped off, and diplomatic relations could be damaged. “All these possible harms are real and significant and, quite frankly, beyond debate,” Judge Bates wrote.

Among the key documents being sought were court orders that allowed the Bush administration to bring the wiretapping program under the court’s purview in January.


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