The EFF has an article up about the Obama DOJ's response to Jewel vs. NSA, in which the not only recycled arguments used by the Bush DOJ, but take a huge step further. Speaking as an Obama supporter, I am bitterly disappointed. More after the jump.
First, they argued, exactly as the Bush Administration did on countless occasions, that the state secrets privilege requires the court to dismiss the issue out of hand. They argue that simply allowing the case to continue "would cause exceptionally grave harm to national security." As in the past, this is a blatant ploy to dismiss the litigation without allowing the courts to consider the evidence.
Not exactly change here.
Sad as that is, it's the Department Of Justice's second argument that is the most pernicious. The DOJ claims that the U.S. Government is completely immune from litigation for illegal spying — that the Government can never be sued for surveillance that violates federal privacy statutes.
Either there is more to this story than is being reported, or we elected the wrong guy. Plain and simple.
Please, someone out there - tell me this isn't as bad as it seems. Cause it seems pretty bad.
Update:
I should make it clear that the title of this diary is paraphrasing the EFF article, which is the plaintiff in the case. Moreover, Mcjoan publish a diary the day after this filing that explains things much better.
And for the record, I don't believe we elected the wrong guy. I'm just disappointed.