Home : Safe and Free : Secrecy

Federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security, have assumed an unprecedented amount of authority to detain and spy on individuals. Yet the public has been kept unaware of how these powers have been used. Government secrecy is a concept completely at odds with the idea of government accountability. As U.S. District Court Judge Damon Keith said on the need to open up deportation hearings, "Democracy dies behind closed doors."

ACLU Sues Governor For "Knowing And Willful" Violation Of Open Records Law (08/20/2008)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The R.I. ACLU today filed a lawsuit charging Governor Donald Carcieri with a "knowing and willful" violation of the Access to Public Records Act, and seeking imposition of a $1,000 fine against him for the violation. The suit, filed in R.I. Superior Court by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Kathleen Managhan, argues that the Governor has failed to turn over records that are clearly public under the law.

ACLU Testifies Today Asking Congress To Narrow Scope Of State Secrets Privilege (07/31/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union testified today about the improper use of the state secrets privilege at a hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. The hearing was held to discuss legislation introduced by the subcommittee’s chairman, Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), entitled the “State Secrets Protection Act of 2008” (H.R.5607). The bill would narrow the scope of the privilege by setting appropriate limits on its use.

Fusion Centers Part of Incipient Domestic Intelligence System, ACLU Warns (07/29/2008)
WASHINGTON – The nation’s growing network of “fusion centers” is part of an incipient de facto domestic intelligence system, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Today the ACLU released a report detailing spying on Maryland peace demonstrators, a mysterious domestic-spying scandal at a California military base and other recent incidents, confirming that its warnings about fusion centers were coming true.

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 Urges Senate Committee to Pass Strong State Secrets Bill (04/24/2008)
Washington, DC – As the Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to mark up key legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the body to pass a bill that would allow Americans to hold their government accountable. The bill, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would limit the scope of the state secrets privilege. The Bush administration, which has threatened to veto Senator Kennedy’s bill, has used 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.

Emergency Motion to Open Oral Argument in Edmonds v. Department of Justice (04/20/2005)

Opinion and Order in ACLU v. DOD (09/15/2004)

Testimony of ACLU Legal Director, Steven R. Shapiro, Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Regarding The State Secrets Protection Act of 2008 (07/31/2008)

Testimony of Caroline Fredrickson on Overclassification Before the House Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment (06/11/2008)

ACLU One Pager on the State Secrets Protection Act of 2007, H.R. 5607 (06/03/2008)

ACLU Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee Responding to Attorney General Mukasey's Stance on S. 2433, "State Secrets Protection Act" (04/03/2008)

ACLU Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the State Secrets Privilege (02/13/2008)