By Kenneth J. Theisen
Once again, the Obama Department of Injustice appeared in federal court to suppress the truth in a lawsuit that seeks to expose the injustice of extraordinary rendition.
Five plaintiffs are suing Jeppesen Dataplan of San Jose, California for its role in their kidnapping and torture at the hands of the CIA. The lawsuit charges that Jeppesen knowingly participated in the forcible disappearance and torture of the men by providing critical flight planning and logistical support services to the aircraft and crews used by the CIA to carry out their extraordinary rendition. Two of victims are still detained in Egypt and Morocco.
In trying to squelch the case, Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyer, Douglas Letter claimed at the December 15 hearing, “The case cannot proceed without getting into state secrets.” He made his argument before an eleven-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Obama’s administration asserts that the lawsuit threatens the national security of the U.S. and can not be discussed fully in open court. But the real purpose of alleging that national security is in jeopardy is to hide the crimes of the Bush regime and the U.S. government from public view.
Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union argued the case for the plaintiffs. He stated, "The CIA has engaged in kidnapping and torture and declared its crimes state secrets.” He asserted that the dismissal of the suit without deciding whether the plaintiffs’ rights were violated would be "dangerous to democracy."
The ACLU brought the lawsuit in May 2007. The Bush regime intervened in the case, improperly asserting the “state secrets privilege” to have the lawsuit thrown out. The case was dismissed in February 2008. It was appealed by the ACLU and in April 2009 a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the government must invoke the state secrets privilege with respect to specific evidence – not over an entire lawsuit. The appellate court reinstated the suit, stating that neither the CIA nor its contractors were above the law. But the Obama administration thinks the CIA and Jeppesen are above the law. Obama’s DOJ requested that the appeal be heard by eleven-judge panel of the federal appellate court. The hearing on the 15th was the result of that request.
ACLU’s Wizner had this to say about the case: "To this day, not a single victim of the Bush administration’s torture policies has had his day in court. Across the board, the administration is taking positions that deny torture victims any chance for justice. It is no longer credible to claim that extraordinary rendition is a state secret. This case should be allowed to move forward without further delay."
"The Obama administration’s policy of misusing the state secrets privilege to shelter Bush administration officials from accountability for torture threatens the fundamental principle of separation of powers," said Steven Watt, staff attorney with the ACLU Human Rights Program. "No court has yet fulfilled its critical constitutional function of ruling on the legality of the Bush administration’s torture policies. The Ninth Circuit should reject this attempt to avoid judicial scrutiny and affirm the principle that victims of torture are entitled to a remedy."
Since coming into office this past January the Obama administration has repeatedly defended the crimes of the Bush regime in court. The case this week is just the latest example. Obama has maintained the national security state expanded by the Bush regime. The administration has argued against granting prisoners held at Bagram, Afghanistan the due process rights to which they are entitled, including the right of habeas corpus. It has also expanded the prison at Bagram. It has resisted the release of innocent persons from hellhole prisons such as Gitmo. It has maintained military tribunals and refused to shut down the extraordinary rendition program. It has intervened in a civil lawsuit against John Yoo and maintained he should not be held liable for his actions in writing various memos that provided legal cover for torture and other crimes.
These are just a few of the examples that prove that the Obama administration has not changed the fascist political trajectory of the Bush regime. Millions thought that Obama would bring about positive change once he got into office. It is well past time to toss away these damaging illusions. We can continue to go along in the political direction begun by the Bush regime and now continued by the Obama administration or we can join with millions of others to resist. What will you do?
More information about the ACLU’s lawsuit, Mohamed, et al. v. Jeppesen, is available online at: http://www.aclu.org/national-security/mohamed-et-al-v-jeppesen-dataplan-inc.