Mike German, a 16-year veteran of the FBI and now the ACLU’s policy counsel, co-wrote an op-ed with David Kay, a former weapons inspector with the International Atomic Energy Agency, in The Washington Post on the Bush adminstrations use and abuse of the state secrets privilege. They write:
Congress should establish that the executive branch’s ability to restrict disclosure of evidence is qualified, not absolute. Federal agencies should not be allowed to dodge even a judge’s scrutiny by crying “state secret.” And Congress should instruct judges to privately review all the evidence that the executive claims is privileged and independently determine if releasing it would harm national security.
You can learn more about movement to limit the use of the state secrets privilege at the Constitution Project’s website.
