Truth, Secrecy, and National Security on the Federal Courts

In this posting on www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of MSL discussed the effect of truth, secrecy, and national security on the federal courts. Valerie Plame received an unclassified letter from the CIA releasing her dates of service. The letter was published in the Congressional Record and online. The CIA redacted the letter, stating it contained unidentified classified information. Plame then sued to have her dates of service released so that she could mention them in a memoir. But the court agreed with the CIA’s position that it could keep the information “secret” though it had been publicly disclosed.

Allowing the CIA to keep information classified even after it is public and available to anybody shows the extent to which the federal courts have bought into the secrecy mindset - - to the uttermost. By allowing secrecy under the guise of classification, state secrets, executive privilege, etc, the federal judiciary is bringing us closer to the national disaster which will arise from a secretive unchecked executive.

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