Judget orders release of spying documents

[sabra]

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/13888613.htm

Judget orders release of spying documentsAssociated Press

WASHINGTON - A federal judge dealt a setback to the Bush administration on its warrantless surveillance, ordering the Justice Department on Thursday to release documents about the program within 20 days or to compile a list of what it is withholding.

U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy said a private group will suffer irreparable harm if the documents it has been seeking since December are not processed promptly under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Justice Department failed to meet the time restraints under FOIA and failed to make a case that it was impractical to deal quickly with the request by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said no determination has been made as to what the government's next step will be.

[Mithras61]

1. Good! (odd headline, though...) n/t

[MadisonProgressive]

2. I love the last sentence

"Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said no determination has been made as to what the government's next step will be."

I bet complying isn't one of their priorities.

[KansDem]

20. Yeah, if I broke the law and ignored court orders...

I'd be posting this from a prison somewhere, assuming it had internet access. And electricity.

[Richard Steele]

3. So? Judges ordered release of Abu Ghraib photos too.

And the Administration decided to ignore the final ruling.

These folks pay no attention to laws or judgeswho rule against them.

[truebrit71]

5. It was my understanding that those pictures and videotapes..

..were still being appealed by the gummint...???

[Richard Steele]

8. Nope. No appeal, they just ignored the last ruling.

First, they missed the release deadline.

Then, they CLAIMED they intended to appeal it
at some undefined time in the future...
(even though the deadline to appeal was long past)

Now, in their response to the photos released in Australia,
they mentioned that they had 'decided against' releasing them.

Must be nice, huh? If I ever get sued, can I just 'decide against'
obeying the court's orders?

[truebrit71]

19. I had not heard about that..they simply ignored the court ruling??

WTF???

How is that possible. They simply decided to ignore the ruling....last time I checked NO-ONE is above the law.....

[stop the bleeding]

4. this is worth watching n/t

[fooj]

6. Just keep screaming...RULE OF LAW!

RULE OF LAW! RULE OF LAW!

Peace.

[Laelth]

7. Once again, here's to the sanity of the courts.

It is a really, really good thing that Federal Judges are appointed for life. We may not like how 5 wingnuts on the Supreme Court rule but, by and large, the judiciary remains fair and independent.

Thank goodness! :toast:

-Laelth

[Pacifist Patriot]

10. Thank heavens for Clinton appointees.

;)

[lyonn]

15. And thank goodness for all those civil liberties groups

They have been fairly successful in getting documents through the FOI act information from the govt. Who else do we know of that demand that documents that are kept from us, we the people, are brought into the light of day. Our Congress people are outnumbered obviously and scared to lose their jobs. Thanks Congress people. (sarcasm)

[Pacifist Patriot]

9. Picture and brief bio of the Judge.

http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/kennedy-bio.html

Any bets the Republicans will scream, "It's Clinton's fault we have this activist judge."

[EVDebs]

11. Begs question why aren't DOJ and NSA Inspector General's doing anything?

Now look up bios of Glenn Fine (DOJ's Inspector General) and Thomas F. Gimble (the DOD/NSA IG). You can see somewhat why these guys are just sitting on their hands while Rome burns.

It's up to the courts and Fitzgerald now. The fate of the Republic for which it stands...

[Wind Dancer]

16. Political blackmail?

I honestly believe many of these people at the highest levels can't afford to have their "secrets" exposed. The so-called failures of 9/11 were never investigated and those involved were given the "Medal of Freedom" and/or promotions. It's a given that anybody appointed by this administration is part of a larger, sinister group.

Fitzgerald seems to be one of the few decent and honorable men working within his boundaries to prosecute the criminals.

[lyonn]

18. Do you get the feeling we are hanging by a thread?

Edit: Wonder if he knew Alito from Princeton? He might have know Alito but, Alito probably didn't know Kennedy. Wrong color and party ya know. (being facetious)

[savemefromdumbya]

12. or I hope he doesn't travel in a small plane

[Roon]

13. U.S. must release domestic spying documents

WASHINGTON - A federal judge Thursday ordered the Justice Department to respond within 20 days to requests by a civil liberties group for documents about President Bush’s domestic eavesdropping program.

The ruling was a victory for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which sued the department under the Freedom of Information Act in seeking the release of the documents.
U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy ruled that the department must finish processing the group’s requests and produce or identify all records within 20 days.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11389667/

[Up2Late]

14. Good, we should have those in 6 months or so...

...maybe JUST in time for the Fall 2006 Elections!:evilgrin:

[progressoid]

17. I'm not holding my breath...

They are great at dragging their feet and throwing up "legal" roadblocks.

[Edward Copeland]

21. Judge orders NSA documents released

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge Thursday ordered the Justice Department to respond within 20 days to requests by a civil liberties group for documents about President Bush’s domestic eavesdropping program.
The ruling was a victory for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which sued the department under the Freedom of Information Act in seeking the release of the documents.
U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy ruled that the department must finish processing the group’s requests and produce or identify all records within 20 days.
“Given the great public and media attention that the government’s warrantless surveillance program has garnered and the recent hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the public interest is particularly well served by the timely release of the requested documents,” he said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11389667/

[rumpel]

22. No wonder the repubs quickly made a deal with the WH on the

investigation.


Keep up the pressure!

& Welcome to DU

:hi:

[hang a left]

23. Surprizing no interest in this post.

That said, I imagine will see those records right about the time the White House releases Cheney's energy meeting records.

Knr

[Triana]

24. ...or the AbuGhraib photos and videos....

...another post and program that was ignored is the one about Dick Gordon's "The Story" on NPR today. It dealt with torture. It was very compelling. He interviewed a man who had been tortured much like the US is torturing detainees at AbuGhraib and Gitmo.

But the post sunk to the bottom of GD in less than a minute. Oh well. :shrug: (whining: I tried!)

[dchill]

28. It's gonna be a boxed set!

NSA Records, Energy Meeting Records plus BONUS Abu Ghraib photos!

Coming in December 2009 - just in time for Xmas!

[madinmaryland]

25. That's an interesting development.

I would love to see what is released. Wish they could do the same thing to Cheney's energy commission.

:kick:

[happydreams]

26. So, does failure to follow the judges order mean the Justice

Dept. is breaking he law? And if so, what difference does it make. During the 80's the Justice Dept. was fined for nearly 7 million by the Hamilton's in te INSLAW case but then AG Ed Meese just kept on truckin. The taxpayer paid the bill. :mad:

[myrna minx]

27. Woohoo.

:woohoo:

[demgrrrll]

29. This is a big deal I will bet Gonzales is feverishly looking for a way

out of this one.

[Trevelyan]

30. K&R This judge and his ruling need to be widely known.

Hope it will encourage others to keep the faith.

[wookie294]

31. White House Ordered to Release Spy Papers

WASHINGTON - A federal judge ordered the Bush administration on Thursday to release documents about its warrantless surveillance program or spell out what it is withholding, a setback to efforts to keep the program under wraps.

At the same time, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said he had worked out an agreement with the White House to consider legislation and provide more information to Congress on the eavesdropping program. The panel's top Democrat, who has requested a full-scale investigation, immediately objected to what he called an abdication of the committee's responsibilities.

U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy ruled that a private group, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, will suffer irreparable harm if the documents it has been seeking since December are not processed promptly under the Freedom of Information Act. He gave the Justice Department 20 days to respond to the group's request.

"President Bush has invited meaningful debate about the wireless surveillance program," Kennedy said. "That can only occur if DOJ processes its FOIA requests in a timely fashion and releases the information sought."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060217/ap_on_go_co/eavesdropping

[fshrink]

32. The WH: " Ooooh... I'm scared!!!"

Laughing all the way to the bank.

[Tiggeroshii]

33. Very good.

Yeah, I read it right before I saw it on DU. It's too bad the Intelligence committee is so manipulated by the admin, but Specter's doing some good with his hearings-even if they aren't sworn in.

-Specter's committee will continue to probe the program's legality at a Feb. 28 hearing. The Justice Department strongly discouraged him from calling former Attorney General John Ashcroft and his deputy, James Comey, to testify about the surveillance program.-

It's funny how scared the DOJ seems to be of the potential to have an honest guy come p there and say what's going on. The very people who objected to the Admin's actions in the first place(Ashcroft and Comey). I really hope they give them away.

[leesa]

34. Why do Republicans want a dictatorship?

[dweller]

35. the Spy Papers, are right there beside

the Energy Papers.

think we'll ever seen 'em?
dp

[psychopomp]

36. It's about time

kick

[radfringe]

37. so which excuse will they use to stonewall?

1. National Security?

2. Executive Privilege?

3. can't release them during an on-going investigation?

4. Computer Glitch ate the documents?

5. ummm...didn't have a press person with them?

[Orsino]

38. Next step: appeal to the stacked Supreme Court. n/t