DOJ sends bundle of completely censored documents in response to ACLU lawsuit

[IDemo]

Source: Raw Story

Responding to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Department of Justice (DOJ) turned over a bundle of documents that are completely blacked out.

The lawsuit was filed after the DOJ ignored a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information on how the agency interpreted a 2011 Supreme Court decision (PDF) that bans law enforcement from using GPS technology to track Americans without a warrant.

The Department responded to the lawsuit with 111 pages of attorney memos, but only two pages are legible. The rest are covered by large black rectangles that blot out all useful information.

“The Justice Department’s unfortunate decision leaves Americans with no clear understanding of when we will be subjected to tracking—possibly for months at a time—or whether the government will first get a warrant,” ACLU staff attorney Catherine Crump explained in a statement.




Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/17/doj-sends-bundle-of-completely-censored-documents-in-response-to-aclu-lawsuit/

[SpankMe]

1. I guess even Holder can be an asshole from time to time.

Other than that, he's doing pretty good if one doesn't nit pick.

[Scuba]

4. Did you forget the sarcasm thingy?

Holder is a disaster. Banksters run wild while gardeners go to jail. You really think that's "pretty good"?

[Angry Dragon]

5. I agree ....... so many bankers and Wall Street types in prison

[frylock]

7. totally detached from any reality whatsoever

[DeSwiss]

22. Yeah.....

...let's cut Eric some slack. Right?

- I mean he's gotten a lot of real criminals off the streets.

[center]



[/center]


[font color=red size=1]{Posted for the irony & sarcasm-impaired}[/font]

[wtmusic]

2. This is helpful.

[csziggy]

10. The handwritten note at the top right shoudl start with "WTF"

Not WIF!

[DreamGypsy]

3. Black is black. We want our freedom back!

It's gray, it's grey.
Since justice went away.

Department of Justice GPS tracking memo 1, page 2 -http://www.scribd.com/doc/120826594/Department-of-Justice-GPS-tracking-memo-1



Unbelievable. If only it wasn't true.

[MotherPetrie]

6. Justice is whatever these morally bankrupt torturer protectors say it is

[Hell Hath No Fury]

8. N-i-i-i-i-ce...

While gun nuts are twisting their panties about "tyranny" and "freedom", there are very real freedoms that have been lost and civil rights violations going on right under their noses.

[nc4bo]

9. Those types have completely ignored the unPatriot Act

Constantly. Consistently. I call them out on it every time they vomit some nonsense about their freedoms.

It usually begins with: Remember around October 01 when Bush, The Lesser.........? Where was your whining screeching voice then?

These people live in an alternate reality and they can keep it.

[AnneD]

16. I have friends that became gun nuts.....

after the Patriot Act and the repeal of Habeas Corpus. Not everyone on the firing range is a RW nut job.

[yardwork]

11. +1 Bill of Rights

[AtheistCrusader]

14. The DoJ responded in the same fasion to the Fast and Furious subpoena's.

I'll admit, it was kinda funny when they did it to Issa.

Not so funny now. :/

[99th_Monkey]

12. not even an "of" or a "the" anywhere in sight?

Dude, that's extreme.

I guess when you are transitioning quickly into a Neo-fascist National Security State,
you can't be too careful about those "of"s and "the"s getting loose, and exposing
national secrets.

[kaiden]

13. These kinds of redaction are nothing new in law.

And it IS very assholey.

[onenote]

15. Not new and more often than not within the letter of the law.

FOIA contains several statutory exceptions that relieve an agency from its obligation to disclose internal documents. They include an exception for "privileged inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters" (which would include documents subject to attorney-client privilege) and documents compiloed for law enforcement purposes, the release of which could be expected to disclose techniques, procedures, or guidelines for investigations or prosecutions.

Under the circumstances, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for DOJ to disclose the documents in question or for a court to tell them that that they are required to do so.

[ReRe]

17. It is apparent that there are two.....

K&R

... sets of Law in this nation. There's Law for us, and Law for the government, Wall street Banksters, Mitt Romney-types (the 1%), and Corporatistas.

If you or I were called to court and ordered by Law to provide documents, and went so far as to offer 99.9% redacted documents, we would be held in contempt of court.

But. If the Dept of Justice of the USG is called to court to do the same thing, and they indeed offer 111 pages of 99.9% redacted documents, why are they not held in contempt? Why are they, the Dept of Justice of the USG, above the Law? Why is Wall Street above the Law? Why are the 1% and the Corporations above the Law?

I wasn't able to read the entire article at the link. Did the Dept of Justice site National Security as it's reason for offering the redacted documents?

And exactly how can we the people obey the Law when they won't explain the reason for tracking the people in the first place? Why does the Dept of Justice not have to get a warrant to track the people? For all the world, this reminds me of the days of Herbert Hoover and the Frank Church Cointelpro hearings, except that there are no hearings. Are we a rogue nation now? Can anyone define what a rogue nation is to me? Thanks IDemo for the post!

[onenote]

21. My guess is that they cited one or both of the following statutory exceptions to FOIA

"Privileged inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters" (which would include documents subject to attorney-client privilege) and/or

documents compiloed for law enforcement purposes, the release of which could be expected to disclose techniques, procedures, or guidelines for investigations or prosecutions.

Both would appear to apply on their face to the documents the ACLU requested, so I wouldn't expect ACLU to prevail if/when it takes DOJ to court over this.

[bobduca]

18. K&R

Kick to drown out the nonsense

[bvar22]

19. I previously believed that Bush-the-Lesser had set the Low Bar for Attorney General

...with John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales.

I was wrong.



You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their rhetoric, promises, or excuses.
[font size=5 color=green]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

[DeSwiss]

20. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. ~George Orwell

- Information is censorship.

K&R