Posted on 02/16/2006 11:23:39 AM PST by hipaatwo
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
If you're arguing that Marbury Vs Madison was an overstepping of the authority of the Judiciary then I would strongly disagree with you as would Alexander Hamilton and Justice Scalia.
Exactly.
This Judge and what standing army. The MSM? LOL
No way in hell does this happen. If the Judge thinks otherwise, let him try to marshall a standing army to take the information he wants.
Because he is a Judge and he says so
I do expect this to appealed
Any of those challenges come from the executive branch? The same branch that has held that in matters of foreign affairs, that though it may use the court, it reserves its authority (under which at least one previous Administration it referred to it as "unassailable"?
If the intended target was an American I would agree with him. Since the targets involved are most likely terrorists aka "Foreign agents" then his point is moot. You have to remember and remind people these are not "wire taps" but intercepts of calls originating from a foreign entity.
Post of the Day
The dems simply DO NOT CARE what happens to a few thousand more "little people" if it means they get back POWER.
Not yet. This is a WHEN order, not a WHAT order. At least it doesn't order any more WHAT than FOIA already provides for. Classified stuff is not released under the FOIA.
Pres. Bush, please tell the judge to "go pound salt....."
Do as Pres. A. Jackson once said when he was ordered by a judge or judges, "I have the divisions and he/they doesn't/don't."
And there is more from this group
http://www.epic.org/epic/staff_and_board.html
David L. Sobel, General Counsel
(snip)
He was formerly counsel to the non-profit National Security Archive, and his clients have included Coretta Scott King, the Nation magazine and ABC News.
Lillie Coney, Associate Director
(snip)
Prior to that, Ms. Coney served as special assistant to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) on a variety of issues ranging from energy and information technology policy, election reform, to education policy.
http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/kennedy-bio.html
Info on the judge.... appointed by Clinton.
HUM!!! Sounds like a politically correct decision made by someone who cares more about politics than his or her own country.
1. The DOJ's filing may not have been written with the necessary attention and seriousness that should be required for such an important issue. Did they pawn it off on some inexperienced lawyer? Did they submit some boilerplate without giving it proper thought? It seemed to be too easy for the judge to swat away their weak and not-well-thought-out legal arguments.
2. The judge has glossed over some important distinctions and contradictions with precedents in arriving at his conclusion that twenty days is the maximum allowable time for an expedited FOIA request to be handled.
3. The judge's tortured rationale for concluding that irreparable injury will occur if the production of the requested documents is delayed does not meet the laugh test. He has turned the concept of 'irreparable injury' into something meaningless and unrecognizable.
4. The judge's decision has the smell of having had a predetermined outcome, dressed up with weak legal arguments that should be able to be easily pierced by a competent attorney. So, why didn't the DOJ have a competent attorney work on it in the first place...
Correct!! Please read #108 above. Thank you.
Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director
(snip)
He served as Counsel to Senator Patrick J. Leahy
Ptooey!
What is their connection to the ACLU? ...bet it is there in some way!
LOL!
"a private group will suffer irreparable harm "
Al Queida no doubt!
Lillie Coney, Associate Director
(snip)
Prior to that, Ms. Coney served as special assistant to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) on a variety of issues ranging from energy and information technology policy, election reform, to education policy.
O.K. Now this filing makes perfect sense after seeing who is behind it. Scumbags.
The Liberals will have us lose this war.... Liberal lips sink ships.... that should be the new War Time Slogan.
Hiya Ernie! I'm not sure of a connection but I would be surprised if their isn't one.
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