FBI Protects Osama Bin Laden's “Right To Privacy"

[cal04]

FBI PROTECTS OSAMA BIN LADEN’S “RIGHT TO PRIVACY” IN DOCUMENT RELEASE

Judicial Watch Investigation Uncovers FBI Documents Concerning Bin Laden Family and Post-9/11 Flights

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that fights government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) has invoked privacy right protections on behalf of al Qaeda terror leader Osama bin Laden. In a September 24, 2003 declassified “Secret” FBI report obtained by Judicial Watch, the FBI invoked Exemption 6 under FOIA law on behalf of bin Laden, which permits the government to withhold all information about U.S. persons in “personnel and medical files and similar files” when the disclosure of such information “would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6) (2000))

Before invoking privacy protections for Osama bin Laden under Exemption 6, the FBI should have conducted a balancing “test” of the public's right to disclosure against the individual's right to privacy. Many of the references in the redacted documents cite publicly available news articles from sources such as The Washington Post and Associated Press. Based on its analysis of the news stories cited in the FBI report, Judicial Watch was able to determine that bin Laden’s name was redacted from the document, including newspaper headlines in the footnoted citations.

“It is dumbfounding that the United States government has placed a higher priority on the supposed privacy rights of Osama bin Laden than the public’s right to know what happened in the days following the September 11 terrorist attacks,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “It is difficult for me to imagine a greater insult to the American people, especially those whose loved ones were murdered by bin Laden on that day.”

The redacted documents were obtained by Judicial Watch under the provisions of the FOIA and through ongoing litigation (Judicial Watch v. Department of Homeland Security & Federal Bureau of Investigation, No. 04-1643 (RWR)). Among the documents was a declassified “Secret” FBI report, dated September 24, 2003, entitled: “Response to October 2003 Vanity Fair Article (Re: Family Departures After 9/11/2001).” Judicial Watch filed its original FOIA request on October 7, 2003. The full text of the report and related documents are available on the Internet by clicking here (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).

http://www.judicialwatch.org/5286.shtml

[BattyDem]

1. So OBL has a right to privacy ...

but American citizens don't?!? :WTF:

[UCLA Dem]

2. Then where the hell is my right to privacy??!!

[DELUSIONAL]

3. What do you want to bet that the FBI is protecting bushie and

his links to OBL???

OBL is Rich RIch RICh RICH -- and therefore he counts.

Our rights to privacy??? Hell no.

bushie gave us a very good hint that our email is not protected -- when he claimed that he doesn't use email because he didn't want anyone else to read it.

[countmyvote4real]

4. So we can't find him because we are not allowed to find him.

Meanwhile, the * administration can hold any Tom, Dick or Ahri for no reason other than they want to.

Howerver directly or indirectly one chooses to review it, the * administration is a party to 9/11.

[Wilms]

5. What I do appreciate, however...

Whoever did the redacting did it such that Judicial Watch was able to figure out some of the stuff they pulled.

Either that was a gift, or they're a bunch of idiots who don't know what can be done with a search engine.

[brettdale]

6. well of course Bushy doesnt want him caught

Can you imagine how much embrassement he would cause the Bush family if we caught him, it will be the worst possible thing to happen for Bushy.

[daleo]

7. Agreed, that is the real privacy at stake.

Same thing for the trial of Saddam, which seems highly unlikely to ever take place (at least in a bona fide legal manner).

[jeff30997]

8. About Saddam :

It would be very convenient for the Bushits if he committed "suicide" isn't it ?

[brettdale]

9. the public wont get to hear him

He could bring bush down, he will have a accident.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nothing Without Hope]

10. OSAMA's rights? Nah, it's the BUSH CARTEL's continued secrecy

about 9/11 and everything to do with it. It's the scandal that would bring down the whole cartel, however they whined and tried to shift blame. They would all go down and they know it. So the stonewalling continues and will do so until it is forced to end.

[Disturbed]

12. Remember all of those redacted lines in the

Terrorist ties report that concerned the Saudis?

911 Commision was basicaly a white wash. Bush/Cheney testified in secret and not under oath. Why?

[Frederik]

16. And

they testified together. Dick was probably worried Shrub might forget some details of the story they had rehearsed together.

[Nothing Without Hope]

19. Yes. We all know why. I hope some day soon everyone will know.

These men are MONSTERS.

[ima_sinnic]

13. this reminds me how freepers complain about "rights of the accused"

--hear that, you dumbass Bush lovers? Bushie and his crew respect the "rights" of Osama bin Laden more than they do yours, your family's, and those of your fellow Americans. Hey, no surprise to me at all because I and countless others of my "ilk" have been trying to tell you essentially this ever since before Election 2000. But I'm sure you, in your unquestioning, "patriotic," "support-the-troops" conformist mentality can find some way to justify even this outrage, can't you? what will it take for you to figure out that George Bush and his puppetmasters have OSB on their payroll? that, basically, they ARE Osama bin Laden?

[BreweryYardRat]

14. Gah!

Having a complete and total WTF? moment here. I'll say something about this abomination later, but for now...

:wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh::wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh::wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh::wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh::wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf: :argh: :wtf:

[dbt]

15. "Are you sure you want to recommend this topic for the Greatest page?"

You're damn right I'm sure. And then, I need somebody from the Regime to reassure me about how "terrists have no rights."

:rofl:

[gordianot]

Duplicate self delete

[gordianot]

17. This is why the Internet is so valuable.

How else would anyone learn of this? Not from traditional news services. In another time and place people were shot when they learned of these things. Just too bizarre to have been made up. Another case of something I will keep to myself, Freeper relatives and acquaintances would never believe it. Even if they did believe it they would rationalize or relegate it to trivia, and never grasp the tragic irony. Conservative victim rights my ass!

[clem_c_rock]

18. One more damn reason to believe MIHOP

I mean fucking a - when I don't have any rights but OBL's rights and his entire family is protected and not questioned after 911 - what's that telling us?

The fact could publish a website calling B*** a monkey fucker and have CIA show up at my door @ 3:00am proves we're knee deep in the 5th riech.


OBL's probably sitting on a beach somewhere laughing at all this.