FAS |
Government Secrecy
The State Secrets Privilege: Selected Documents and Case Files
Some Basic Background
Abu Zubaydah v. James E. Mitchell and John Jessen: a lawsuit regarding CIA's former detention and interrogation program
James E. Mitchell and John Jessen v. USA: a lawsuit regarding CIA's former detention and interrogation program
Yassir Fazaga, et al, v. Federal Bureau of Investigation
- US Supreme Court rules that FISA does not displace state secrets privilege, March 4, 2022
- Appeals court limits, partially reverses lower court ruling, as amended July 20, 2020
- Appeals court limits, partially reverses lower court ruling, February 28, 2019
- Order Granting Defense Motion to Dismiss on State Secrets Grounds, August 14, 2012
- Order Partially Granting Defense Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' FISA Claim, August 14, 2012
- Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, August 1, 2011
- Declaration of Attorney General Holder Asserting the State Secrets Privilege, August 1, 2011
- Obama admin asserts state secrets privilege to dismiss Muslims' suit by Josh Gerstein, Politico Under the Radar, August 1, 2011
Wikimedia Foundation vs. National Security Agency
Sakab Saudi Holding Company vs. Saad Khalid S. Al Jabri
- Court dismisses case, December 29, 2021
- Court directs plaintiff to show cause why case should not be dismissed, October 26, 2021
- Motion for a Protective Order to Exclude State Secrets, August 27, 2021
- Declaration of Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines Asserting the State Secrets Privilege, August 23, 2021
- Proposed Order Upholding Government's Assertion of the State Secrets Privilege, August 27, 2021
In Re Terrorist Attack on September 11 2001 (and records related to Saudi Arabia)
Bilal Abdul Kareem v. Gina Cheri Haspel: in which plaintiff seeks to determine whether his name appears on a CIA kill list
Twitter, Inc. v. William P. Barr
Wever v. AECOM National Security Programs, a classified contract dispute
Jacob E. Abilt v. Central Intelligence Agency
- Fourth Circuit Upholds Dismissal Under State Secrets Privilege, February 8, 2017
- Court Order Dismissing Case Under State Secrets Privilege, February 10, 2015
- Defense Reply to Plaintiff's Opposition to Dismissal, January 9, 2015
- Plaintiff's Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, December 24, 2014
- Defense Memorandum In Support of Motion to Dismiss on State Secrets Grounds, December 5, 2014
- Declaration of CIA Director John Brennan Asserting the State Secrets Privilege, December 2, 2014
Rahinah Ibrahim v. Department of Homeland Security
Walter Roule (pseudonym) v. Central Intelligence Agency
Al-Aulaqi v. Obama, et al, Seeking to Enjoin Killing of Anwar Al-Aulaqi
- Memorandum Opinion on Dismissal of the Case, December 7, 2010
- Government Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion, September 25, 2010
- Unclassified Declaration of DNI James R. Clapper asserting the state secrets privilege, September 25, 2010
- Unclassified Declaration of Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates asserting the state secrets privilege, September 25, 2010
- Unclassified Declaration of CIA Director Leon Panetta asserting the state secrets privilege, September 25, 2010
Binyam Mohamed, et al, v. Jeppesen DataPlan, Inc, on Extraordinary Rendition
Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. George W. Bush Alleging Unlawful Surveillance
- Appeals Court Reverses Lower Court Judgment, Upholds Sovereign Immunity, December 5, 2012
- Court Grants Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, March 31, 2010
- Govt's Response to Court Order to Show Cause, May 29, 2009
- Plaintiff's Response and Memorandum on Motion for Summary Judgment, May 29, 2009
- Court Order to Show Cause, May 22, 2009
- Joint Submission Concerning a Protective Order, May 15, 2009
- Govt Addresses Plaintiff's Access to Classified Information, February 27, 2009
- Court Rules That FISA Preempts the State Secrets Privilege, July 2, 2008
- Appeals Court Ruling Remanding Case to Lower Court, November 16, 2007
- Court Order Denying Govt Motion to Dismiss the Case, September 7, 2006
Shubert et al v. Obama, alleging unlawful surveillance
- Order Denying Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, February 10, 2015
- Unclassified Declaration of DNI James Clapper, December 20, 2013
- Unclassified Declaration of NSA Deputy Director Frances J. Fleisch, December 20, 2013
- Court Dismisses Case due to Lack of Standing, January 21, 2010
- Attorney General Statement on Assertion of the State Secrets Privilege in Shubert v. Obama, news release, October 30, 2009
- Memo in Support of Govt Motion for Summary Judgment, October 30, 2009
- Classified Declaration of DNI Dennis Blair (redacted), asserting the state secrets privilege, October 30, 2009
- Public Declaration of DNI Dennis Blair, asserting the state secrets privilege, October 30, 2009
- Classified Declaration of NSA Director Keith B. Alexander (redacted), asserting the state secrets privilege, October 30, 2009
- Public Declaration of NSA Director Keith B. Alexander, asserting the state secrets privilege, October 30, 2009
- Classified Declaration of NSA Director Keith B. Alexander (redacted), asserting the state secrets privilege, May 25, 2007
- Classified Declaration of DNI J. Michael McConnell (redacted), May 24, 2007
Richard Horn v. Franklin Huddle Jr, et al, alleging unlawful wiretapping
- Court Provisionally Accepts Settlement of Case, March 30, 2010
- Brief for the Appellant (Govt Brief), September 24, 2009
- Court Denies Govt Motion for Stay, September 4, 2009 (Stay Granted by Appeals Court, September 10, 2009)
- Govt Moves to Appeal August 26, 2009 Court Order, September 2, 2009
- Order Requiring Govt to Grant Clearances to Plaintiff's Counsel, August 26, 2009
- Order to Unseal Certain Court Records, July 20, 2009
- Order Regarding Recent Disclosures of Covered Individuals' Identities, February 6, 2009 (unsealed and filed June 9, 2009)
- Order Granting Plaintiff's Motion for Relief, January 14, 2009 (unsealed and filed June 9, 2009)
- Appeals Court Reverses Dismissal of the Case, June 29, 2007 (unsealed July 20, 2007)
- Court Order dismissing the case, July 28, 2004
- CIA Fraud In State Secrets Assertions by bmaz, Emptywheel, July 20, 2009
Carolyn Jewel, et al, v. National Security Agency, et al, Alleging Unlawful Surveillance
- Order Granting Summary Judgment to the Govt on State Secrets Grounds, April 25, 2019
- Order Denying Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, February 10, 2015
- Classified Declaration (redacted) of Miriam P., NSA, filed September 29, 2014
- Unclassified Declaration of DNI James Clapper, December 20, 2013
- Unclassified Declaration of NSA Deputy Director Frances J. Fleisch, December 20, 2013
- Classified Declaration of DNI James Clapper (redacted), September 11, 2012
- Classified Declaration of NSA Executive Director Frances J. Fleisch (redacted), September 11, 2012
- Court Dismisses Case due to Lack of Standing, January 21, 2010
- Govt Motion to Dismiss, April 3, 2009
- Classified Declaration of DNI Dennis C. Blair (redacted), April 3, 2009
- Public Declaration of DNI Dennis C. Blair Asserting the State Secrets Privilege, April 3, 2009
- Classified Declaration of Deborah A. Bonanni (redacted) in support of Assertion of the State Secrets Privilege, April 3, 2009
- Public Declaration of Deborah A. Bonanni in support of Assertion of the State Secrets Privilege, April 3, 2009
- Related Background and Case Files, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
M. Afikur Rahman, et al, v. Michael Chertoff, et al
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Joseph P. Nacchio
Khaled El-Masri v. George Tenet, Alleging Unlawful Rendition
- Government's Opposition to Petition for Certiorari, September 2007
- Plaintiff's Petition for Certiorari, May 30, 2007
- Amicus Brief of the Constitution Project, September 2007
- Amicus Brief of the Bar of the City of New York, September 5, 2007
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- Appeals Court Ruling Upholding Dismissal of the Case, March 2, 2007
- DCIA Porter Goss Asserts State Secrets Privilege, March 8, 2006
- Court Order Dismissing the Case, May 12, 2006
- More Case Files from the ACLU
Dennis Montgomery v. eTreppid Technologies
ACLU et al v. National Security Agency Alleging Illegal Domestic Surveillance
- Plaintiffs Lack Standing to Challenge NSA Surveillance, 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, July 6, 2007
- Judge Anna Diggs Taylor Finds the Terrorist Surveillance Program Unlawful and Unconstitutional, August 17, 2006
- Unclassified Declaration of DNI John D. Negroponte Asserting the State Secrets Privilege, May 27, 2006
- Unclassified Declaration of Maj. Gen. Richard J. Quirk, Signals Intelligence Director, National Security Agency, in support of State Secrets Claim, May 27, 2006
- More from the ACLU
Jane Doe, et al, v. CIA, Leon E. Panetta, [Redacted]
- Appeals Court Ruling Affirming Dismissal of the Case, August 5, 2009
- Court Order Dismissing the Case, January 4, 2007
- Plaintiff's Opposition to Motion to Dismiss, June 19, 2006 (filed with Exhibits 1, 2, and 3)
- DCIA Porter Goss Asserts State Secrets Privilege, March 16, 2006
- Complaint [Redacted], filed September 12, 2005
- Declaration of AUSA Sarah Normand, March 29, 2006
- Memorandum of Law in Support of the Assertion of State Secrets Privilege, March 29, 2006
Steven J. Hatfill v. The New York Times Company
Hepting v. AT&T, A Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Complicity in Illegal Domestic Surveillance
- Court Order Granting Motion for Dismissal, June 3, 2009
- Court Denies Govt Motion to Dismiss, July 20, 2006
- Court Order on Questions Regarding State Secrets Privilege, June 20, 2006
- Unclassified Declaration of DNI John D. Negroponte Asserting the State Secrets Privilege, May 13, 2006
- Unclassified Declaration of NSA Director Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander in Support of Claim of State Secrets Privilege, May 13, 2006
- Government's Motion to Dismiss, May 13, 2006
- More Case Files from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Center for Constitutional Rights et al v. George W. Bush et al Alleging Illegal Domestic Surveillance
Northrup Grumman Corporation v. United States
Crater Corporation v. Lucent Technologies, a Patent Dispute
Sterling v. Tenet, a CIA employment discrimination case
Maher Arar v. John Ashcroft
Sibel Edmonds v. Dept. of Justice, a whistleblower case
- Sibel Edmonds v. Dept of Justice: Court Order Dismissing Case, DC District Court, July 6, 2004
- Court Partially Blocks Deposition of Sibel Edmonds, in Thomas Burnett Sr. v. Al Baraka Investment and Development Corp on state secrets grounds, July 6, 2004
- Sibel Edmonds v. Dept of Justice: Plaintiff's Motion for Declaratory Relief, asking the Court to declare information provided by Ms. Edmonds to Congress unclassified, June 23, 2004.
- AG Ashcroft Invokes State Secrets Privilege to Bar Deposition of Former FBI Linguist Sibel Edmonds in Thomas Burnett Sr. v. Al Baraka Investment and Development Corp, filed May 14, 2004.
- Sibel D. Edmonds v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, order partially granting defendant's motion for summary judgment in this FBI whistleblower's FOIA lawsuit, July 23, 2003
- Justice Department Press Statement on Assertion of the State Secrets Privilege, October 18, 2002
- National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, an organization led by Ms. Edmonds
Richard M. Barlow v. The United States, a whistleblower case involving the Pakistani nuclear weapons program
Was US v. Reynolds Decided in Error?
- Petition for Certiorari, filed by plaintiffs at the U.S. Supreme Court, December 21, 2005
- Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal of Case, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, September 22, 2005
- Memorandum and Order Dismissing the Case, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, September 10, 2004
- Oral Argument Set for May 11, 2004, court order, March 30, 2004
- Plaintiff's Response and Request for Oral Argument, filed March 25, 2004
- Defendant United States' Reply Brief, filed March 19, 2004
- Plaintiff's Memorandum in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss, filed February 24, 2004
- Motion to Dismiss New Complaint, filed by the government January 23, 2004
- New Complaint Filed in District Court, Patricia J. Herring, et al, v. United States of America, October 1, 2003
- Petitioners' Motion to File Was Denied by the Supreme Court on June 23, 2003
- Petitioners' Reply in Support of Their Motion to File, June 12, 2003
- Solicitor General's Response to Petition for a Writ of Error, May 30, 2003
- Petition for a Writ of Error Coram Nobis to Vacate U.S. v. Reynolds (1953), originally filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, February 26, 2003 (with Appendix). The petition was resubmitted on March 4 with this Motion to File Petition
Related Resources
- Congressional Displacement of the State Secrets Privilege and Article II, Congressional Research Service
- FBI v. Fazaga: Supreme Court Unanimously Holds That FISA Does Not Displace the State Secrets Privilege, Congressional Research Service Legal Sidebar
- What Judges Say and Do in Deciding National Security Cases: The Example of the State Secrets Privilege by Judge Anthony John Trenga (2018)
- The State Secrets Privilege: From Bush II to Obama (abstract), Presidential Studies Quarterly, Volume 46, Issue 1, March 2016
- On the Conflation of the State Secrets Privilege and the Totten Doctrine by D.A. Jeremy Telman, Valparaiso University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-19, December 2012
- Shutting the Courthouse Doors: Invoking the State Secrets Privilege to Thwart Judicial Review in the Age of Terror by Timothy Bazzle, George Mason University Civil Rights Journal, Fall 2012
- The State Secrets Privilege: Preventing the Disclosure of Sensitive National Security Information During Civil Litigation, Congressional Research Service, March 28, 2011
- State Secrets Archives, Georgetown University
- The Shadow of State Secrets by Laura Donohue, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, vol. 159, 2010
- Attorney General Establishes New State Secrets Policies and Procedures, news release, September 23, 2009
- The State Secrets Privilege and Other Limits on Litigation Involving Classified Information, Congressional Research Service, May 28, 2009
- Practical Guidelines for Invoking the State Secrets Privilege, US Army memorandum, April 24, 2001, courtesy of the James Madison Project)
- Views of the Justice Department on the State Secrets Protection Act, letter from Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, March 31, 2008, and Opposing Views from:
- Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU, Center for Democracy and Technology, Jon B. Eisenberg, April 2, 2008
- Brennan Center for Justice, April 3, 2008
- American Civil Liberties Union, April 2, 2008
- The Constitution Project, April 2, 2008
- American Bar Association, April 2, 2008
- Louis Fisher, Law Library of Congress, April 2, 2008
- Introduction of the State Secrets Protection Act by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, January 23, 2008
- The State Secrets Privilege: Expanding Its Scope Through Government Misuse by Carrie Newton Lyons, Lewis & Clark Law Review, Volume 11, No. 1, Spring 2007
- American Bar Association Resolution on the State Secrets Privilege, adopted August 13, 2007
- Amicus Curiae Brief Filed in Hepting and Al Haramain Cases opposing "overbroad use of the state secrets privilege," 9th Circuit, May 2, 2007
- State Your Secrets by Louis Fisher, Legal Times, June 26, 2006 (reposted with permission)
- Invoking Secrets Privilege Becomes a More Popular Legal Tactic by U.S. by Scott Shane, New York Times, June 4, 2006. "Facing a wave of litigation challenging its eavesdropping at home and its handling of terror suspects abroad, the Bush administration is increasingly turning to a legal tactic that swiftly torpedoes most lawsuits: the state secrets privilege."
- State Secrets and Executive Power by William G. Weaver and Robert M. Pallitto, Political Science Quarterly, Spring 2005, Vol. 120, No. 1, pp. 85-112. The authors conclude that the state secrets privilege is increasingly subject to abuse and is wrongly used to protect the executive branch from embarrassment, to hide criminal activity, and to thwart legal requests for information.
- Feds Go All Out to Kill Spy Suit by Ryan Singel, Wired News, May 2, 2006, on the class action lawsuit against AT&T.
https://sgp.fas.org/jud/statesec/index.html
Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Updated December 5, 2023
