Tuesday, August 16, 2005

 

Operation Enduring Chutzpah

Not only are they out to keep the rest of the Abu Ghraib torture photos secret, they're even trying to keep their legal arguments for doing so secret, as well. So far, New York District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein isn't buying into their "double-super-secret background argument" argument. But on the underlying issue of deep-sixing the torture photos forever, they think they've found (in the Freedom Of Information Act, yet!) a likely loophole:

The FOIA statute being used by the DOD to seal the abuse documents as well as the reasons for the sealing has never before been used by a government agency as a means by which to classify government misdoings. The statute of the FOIA, section 552(b) of Title 5 USC, subparagraph (f), has only ever been used by law enforcement and only in special circumstances and is defined as follows:

"records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes are exempt from production-but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information - could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individuals."

The DOD argues that the release of photographs and other evidence of torture and abuse falls under subparagraph (f).

The classic definition of chutzpah is the guy who murders both his parents, then throws himself on the mercy of the court, on the grounds that he's an orphan. Up until now, the federal government has argued: (a) that it is exempt from the Geneva Conventions; (b) that Gitmo is outside the jurisdiction of the federal courts; (c) that we were permitted to declare preemptive war on Iraq, without UN approval, in order to "enforce" UN resolutions; (d) that "enemy combatants" may be held forever without trial at the diktat of the President alone; and (e) that Americans (both military and civilian) are not subject to prosecution in the International Court of Justice for anything they may do during "wartime."

And now -- they say -- they get to keep all their lawless little atrocities at their lawless little compounds during their lawless little war secret, because they were doing it "for law enforcement purposes."

I just hope, when they make that argument before Judge Hellerstein, that he rips them a new asshole. And I hope the cameras are rolling when he does it.

posted by Michael 9:37 PM