Previously we reported on how the ACLU was unable to report on a lawsuit they’d filed challenging how people couldn’t report on the government’s use of the USA PATRIOT Act. The government had grudgingly conceded to let the ACLU publish relevant legal documents as long as the government got to black out the top secret portions first.
Well, after complaining to the judge, the ACLU can now reveal some of the top secret information that the government blacked out. What were these imminent threats to national security?
Political Beliefs They Disagree With: A person at the ISP that was forced to turn over documents said “the public should be able to monitor how the government is using these new powers so that it can police against possible abuses.” The government blacked that line out.
Supreme Court Rulings They Disagree With: The ACLU quoted the Supreme Court: “The danger to political dissent is acute where the Government attempts to act under so vague a concept as the power to protect ‘domestic security.’ Given the difficulty of defining the domestic security interest, the danger of abuse in acting to protect that interest becomes apparent.” Aparrently the government didn’t like that decision; they blacked the whole quote out.
Descriptions of the Law: The ACLU issued a press release noting “The provision under challenge allows an FBI agent to write a letter demanding the disclosure of the name[s] … held by ‘electronic communication service providers.’” The government insisted they black that line out.
Embarassing Government Claims: The government told the Court: “The redactions were drawn along a line that is both reasonable and easy for all paties to follow: plaintiff ACLU’s facial challenge … is disclosed in its entirety.” Their reasoning being that if the ACLU revealed any more information, it’d be too confusing them. The government blacked that line out.
The government insisted three times that “Every disclosure about the case brings additional inquiries, and thus the possibility for disclosing matters that are barred.” Apparently they’re really worried about keeping their mouth shut. But you can’t know that; the government blacked that line out.
Ominous Warnings: The government warned “the Government believes that the filing of the complaint in this action raises [REDACTED] concerns.” The government blacked that line out too.
Now remember, this is what the government blacks out when the ACLU, who is suing the government, is looking. Imagine what they’ve censored in government reports, freedom of information act requests, and congressional records, when no independent authority is watching.
Special thanks to the ACLU and The Memory Hole for their sources on this issue.
Update: [REDACTED] Update
posted September 07, 2004 11:30 AM (Politics) (4 comments) #