DOJ: 9th Circuit not appropriate. 9th circuit: What is appropriate, impeachment?

[deminks]

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003933.php

The Justice Department argued yesterday before a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that two class-action lawsuits involving warrantless surveillance needed to be thrown out of court for potentially exposing state secrets. And it practically got laughed out of court.

The two cases, Hepting v. AT&T and al-Haramain v. Bush, both center on aspects of the secret surveillance effort run by the National Security Agency after September 11, 2001. In the former case, an ex-AT&T employee claims that the company illegally provided the government with access to a panoply of subscriber information through a system of communications hubs along the west coast. The latter case involves an al-Qaeda-linked charity that claims to have evidence that it was the target of illegal surveillance.

The Justice Department claims that neither case can go forward without compromising crucial intelligence-gathering materials, and asked the judges to dismiss them. Deputy Solicitor General Gregory G. Garre and DOJ lawyer Thomas M. Bondy didn't find them particularly sympathetic.

"This seems to put us in the 'trust us' category," Judge M. Margaret McKeown said about the government's assertions that its surveillance activities did not violate the law. " 'We don't do it. Trust us. And don't ask us about it.' "

At one point, Garre argued that courts are not the right forum for complaints about government surveillance, and that "other avenues" are available. "What is that? Impeachment?" Pregerson shot back.

[Jim__]

1. The 9th Circuit may be the last bastion of sanity in our federal court system.

bushco can appeal all their rulings to the Robots court.

[HeraldSquare212]

2. esp since Dems

seem to agree to the 'trust us' statement. Too bad impeachment doesn't occur to them.

[rodeodance]

3. lets all send to Pelosi