Court Rejects Obama’s Argument on Drone Strikes
An appellate court has rejected the Obama administration’s argument that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) can respond to a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request by refusing to confirm or deny whether it has any records on drone assassinations.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia panel ruled that the Obama administration’s argument was “implausible.” The case goes back to a 2010 FOIA request by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) seeking documents from various federal agencies on drone use. While the Departments of Defense, State and Justice released documents on the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles, the CIA refused to confirm or deny its use on the basis of protecting national security. The ACLU sued the CIA, asserting that the CIA’s refusal isn’t valid as they’ve already admitted to using the UAVs. Numerous government officials, including President Obama, CIA Director John Brennan, and former CIA Director Leon Panetta, have admitted in the past to using drone strikes to kill people. The lower court accepted the CIA’s argument and threw out the case, and the ACLU appealed to the DC court.
Chaninat and Leeds attorneys are Criminal Defense Lawyers specializing in Thai criminal cases involving foreigners.
The court’s favorable ruling for the ACLU doesn’t mean the CIA will have to release documents on drone strikes, however. The CIA is required to concede that drone strikes exist, but isn’t forced to describe the attacks or records.
Related video: Drones and Constitutional Rights
Related articles: Drones Becoming Major US Export
Florida Senate Votes to Ban Spy Drones
Related blog posts: More Drones Licenses, More Opposition
Flickr photo courtesy of World Can’t Wait
1 Comment