Selective Disclosure About Targeted Killing | American Civil Liberties Union

Selective Disclosure About Targeted Killing | American Civil Liberties Union:

For several years, the ACLU has been pressing the Obama administration to be more transparent about the targeted-killing program. I'm starting to wonder whether it understands what we mean.

Last week, I argued a case before the Second Circuit involving the secrecy surrounding the program. The case involves a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the ACLU two years ago for records about the government's killing of three Americans in Yemen. The CIA initially claimed it couldn't disclose whether it had records responsive to the request without compromising national security. Later the CIA acknowledged that it had responsive records but argued that national-security concerns precluded it from enumerating or describing them. Earlier this year, the district court observed that the CIA's so-called "no-number no-list" response was the stuff of Alice in Wonderland — but then ruled for the CIA anyway.