Fed Judge Orders Justice Dept to Release Wiretapping Docs Within 20 Days

[kpete]

AP Washington

By PETE YOST
Associated Press Writer

February 16, 2006, 1:25 PM EST


WASHINGTON -- A federal judge dealt a setback to the Bush administration on its warrantless surveillance program, ordering the Justice Department on Thursday to release documents about the highly classified effort within 20 days or 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.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-domestic-spying-courts,0,240865.story

[stepnw1f]

1. good

[stop the bleeding]

2. we'll see if the DOj complies n/t

[kpete]

3. IT WILL BE THE SAME GAME

Stall, stall, stall

[progressoid]

7. Yep - there are a hundred legal maneuvers for them to use.

Someone will have to leak them; just like the torture photos.

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Oh of course

Don't you know they're above the law?

[wtmusic]

4. they've managed to hold off a judicial order for 1 1/2 years

in the ACLU case--don't hold your breath

[acmejack]

6. Are we wagering on the likelihood of compliance?

I would guess the odds are prohibitively long against. The * maladministration has displayed a historical disregard for the "rule of law" except that one famously farcical instance late in 1999, the day our Democracy died.

[suffragette]

5. I wonder if they will release these

or if they will appeal endlessly as has been done with the torture evidence in the ACLU's case.

[ArbustoBuster]

8. There should be a law...

...that if any member of the executive branch fails to enforce - in a timely manner - a lawful decision by the judicial branch, he'll be fed into a woodchipper.

[mmonk]

10. Well now

Must be one of those liberal activist judges.

[Rebelry]

11. A little progress... Even if they do stall.

Gotta keep picking away at them.

[Just Me]

12. They'll appeal.

And appeal. Then, change arguments, file baseless motions. It'll go on and on.

[kpete]

13. judges opinion here

http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/opinions/2006/Kennedy/2006-CV-96~9:45:49~2-16-2006-a.pdf