Home : National Security : Freedom of Information/Government Secrets

ACLU Commends Senator Feingold for Hearing on Secret Law (04/30/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a Senate subcommittee for holding a hearing on the Bush administration’s use of secrecy to institute government policy. During the hearing, entitled “Secret Law and the Threat to Democratic and Accountable Government,” the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and its chairman, Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI), heard testimony from legal experts and open government advocates. The hearing focused on the administration’s broad interpretation of the law as it relates to government secrecy and counterterrorism policies – including a legal opinion written by former Justice Department Official John Yoo on the use of torture in interrogations. That memo was made public through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by the ACLU.

ACLU Lauds Introduction of House State Secrets Bill (03/13/2008)
Washington, DC – Legislation introduced today may give a much-needed reprieve to those who have sued the government and encountered the state secrets privilege. The legislation, introduced by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), would establish appropriate limits on the use of the state secrets privilege. The Bush administration has misused the privilege to halt several important lawsuits against the government, including an ACLU case involving the extraordinary rendition of an innocent German citizen, Khaled El-Masri. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA).

ACLU Slams FBI Privacy Violations (03/05/2008)
Washington, DC – In testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee, FBI Director Robert Mueller confirmed the misuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) – which allow for the collection of personal information without court approval – to secure Americans’ personal information during FBI investigations. A report from the Office of the Inspector General on the FBI’s use of NSLs is expected soon, though it was due in December of last year.

State Secrets Privilege Dangerously Overbroad (02/13/2008)
Washington, DC – Today the Senate Judiciary Committee convened to hear testimony on an evidentiary rule known as the state secret privilege. Committee member Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced legislation last month to narrow the scope of the privilege. During the Bush administration, the state secrets privilege has been increasingly and improperly used as a shield to prevent investigation into executive branch misconduct. The most notable invocation of the privilege was to stall the case of an innocent German citizen, Khaled El-Masri, who was kidnapped, detained and tortured in a secret overseas prison. His suit against the government was stalled after the administration invoked the privilege.

ACLU Welcomes Proposed State Secrets Fix, Applauds Senator Kennedy for Introduction of Legislation (01/22/2008)
Washington, DC – The Bush Administration may soon have one less tool in its chest to stymie legitimate cases that might expose government misconduct. Today, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), introduced legislation aimed at narrowing the scope of the state secrets privilege – a huge step towards opening the courthouse doors to people who have suffered real and legitimate harm by the government. Several important suits, including one involving the extraordinary rendition of a German citizen, Khaled El-Masri, have been successfully blocked by this administration’s use of the state secrets privilege.

Maine Civil Liberties Union Says Commission Investigating Government Misconduct Should be Subject to Public Scrutiny (10/17/2007)
PORTLAND, ME - A commission established by the state Attorney General to investigate alleged government misconduct should be subject to Maine's Freedom of Access Act (FOAA), according to an amicus brief filed by the Maine Civil Liberties Union today in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The panel of three prominent Maine lawyers was convened to investigate possible prosecutorial and law enforcement misconduct related to the investigation and trial of Dennis Dechaine for the 1988 murder of Sarah Cherry.

ACLU Releases U.S. Army Documents That Depict American Troops’ Involvement in Civilian Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan (09/04/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union is filing a lawsuit today against the Department of Defense (DoD), demanding that it comply with a Freedom of Information Act request to release documents regarding civilians killed by coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

ACLU Releases Files on Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq (04/12/2007)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today made public hundreds of claims for damages by family members of civilians killed or injured by Coalition Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ACLU received the records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request it filed in June 2006.

ACLU Praises Protection of Freedom of Information Act, Says OPEN Government Act A Step in the Right Direction (03/13/2007)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Senate introduction of the OPEN Government Act of 2007. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced the legislation, which will both protect and strengthen the Freedom of Information Act.

ACLU’s Top Lobbyist Urges Congress to Protect Freedom of Information Act, Says Government Transparency Vital to American Democracy (02/14/2007)
WASHINGTON - Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office, today appeared before a key House panel to discuss the Freedom of Information Act. Since the enactment of FOIA in 1966, the ACLU has used that crucial law to shed light on the government’s actions and abuses.

ACLU Decries Government Crackdown on Whistleblowers, Calls Transparency Vital to American Democracy (07/28/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly objected to the government’s attempts to crack down on brave whistleblowers who come forward to report on illegal or unconstitutional activity in government agencies. On Wednesday, Russell Tice, a whistleblower and former National Security Agency intelligence analyst was served with a federal grand jury subpoena to “testify and answer questions concerning possible violations of federal criminal law.”

ACLU Applauds Lawmakers for Examining Government Transparency, Sunshine Week Hearing Shows Overclassification Harms Democracy (03/14/2006)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a key House panel for examining the issue of document overclassification. The hearing comes during Sunshine Week, a public education effort coordinated by journalists stressing openness in government. This is the third hearing in a series on overclassification initially sparked by the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency programs that are reclassifying and removing documents from the National Archives.

ACLU Urges Congress to Adopt Stronger Whistleblower Protections, Warns Against Legislation to Penalize Workers That Bring Abuses to Light (03/14/2006)
WASHINGTON – Calling current federal protections for whistleblowers insufficient, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged Congress to adopt legislation to better protect whistleblowers who protect public safety. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has introduced S.2285, the Whistleblower Empowerment, Security and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2005 (WESTPAct), to achieve these goals.

ACLU Urges Senate to Demand Information on Illegal NSA Spying Program, As Federal Court Orders Justice Department to Turn Over Documents (02/16/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to formally request documents from the White House and Department of Justice regarding the warrantless National Security Agency domestic spying program. This follows two resolutions that came before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday that also called for information about the illegal wiretapping program.

ACLU Urges House to Adopt Request for Illegal NSA Spying Documents (02/15/2006)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the House Judiciary Committee to adopt several resolutions that would formally request any and all documents relating to the illegal National Security Agency domestic spying program authorized by President Bush.

ACLU Says National Security Whistleblower Protections Lacking, Calls For Corrections to Critical Shortcomings in Current Law (02/14/2006)
WASHINGTON - Citing growing concerns over court decisions that have weakened laws designed to protect whistleblowers, the American Civil Liberties Union today called on Congress to enact stronger protections for whistleblowers, especially those in the national security arena. Legislation that would take steps to correct some shortcomings in whistleblower law - but without critical protections for national security whistleblowers - was the subject of a hearing held by a panel of the House Government Reform Committee.

ACLU Slams DOJ Investigation of NSA Whistleblower, Says Government Must Independently Investigate Violation of Wiretap Laws (12/30/2005)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today sharply criticized a Justice Department investigation into the disclosure of an illegal National Security Agency domestic eavesdropping operation approved by President George W. Bush.

ACLU of Virginia to Argue for Strict Interpretation of FOIA Exemptions (09/14/2005)
RICHMOND, VA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia will ask the state Supreme Court tomorrow to uphold a lower court decision allowing public access to informal ethical advice offered to judges by the Virginia Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission (JIRC).

Veterans' Group and ACLU Sue U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Over Refusal to Disclose Public Records on Healthcare Budgets (07/13/2005)
PITTSBURGH -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a veterans' group claiming that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' refusal to release records regarding controversial health service cutbacks and local hospital closures, unless the group pays more than $17,000 in fees, violates the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

ACLU Challenges Government's Use of Secrecy to Avoid Accountability in National Security Whistleblower Case (04/21/2005)
WASHINGTON -- During closed oral arguments today before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the government's ""radical theory"" that every aspect of FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds' case involved state secrets and therefore could not go forward. The ACLU also filed an emergency motion last night, along with other public interest groups and media outlets, challenging the court's decision to close the courtroom to members of the press and the general public.