Feds defy judge's order in Islamic group case

I agee with Greenwald--prob. not accurate to say 'defy'.


It's the executive vs the judicial branch now.



http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/03/02/executive_power/


Monday March 2, 2009 08:45 EST
Is Obama embracing the lawless, omnipotent executive?

(updated below - Update II)

As I detailed over the weekend, the Obama administration -- in the case brought by two American lawyers and their charity-client claiming that their conversations were illegally intercepted by the Bush administration -- has announced that it intends to try to appeal, yet again, in order to prevent the court from hearing the lawsuit. On Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Obama's request to stay the District Judge's Order, which had held that it will review a classified document that the plaintiffs claim proves they were subjected to the illegal eavesdropping (thus conferring standing on the plaintiffs to challenge the legality of Bush's NSA program), and also ordered the Obama administration to provide security clearances to the plaintiffs' lawyers so that they could review the document as well. The Obama DOJ immediately announced they intend to try to appeal again -- the third time, since Obama's Inauguration, that the Obama DOJ will try to argue before a court that the case should not heard at all.

In the meantime, though, the Obama DOJ is now refusing to comply with the Judge's order, actually arguing to the court that only the President can decide whether classified information can be used in a court proceeding, and that courts have no power to make such decisions. Here is the remarkable description of Obama's actions by The San Francisco Chronicle's Bob Egelko:

Feds defy judge's order in Islamic group case

A federal appeals court rejected the Obama administration's attempt Friday to stop a judge in San Francisco from reviewing a challenge to the wiretapping program ordered by former President George W. Bush.

Hours later, President Obama's Justice Department filed papers that appeared to defy the judge's order to allow lawyers for an Islamic organization to see a classified surveillance document at the heart of the case. The department said the judge had no power to enforce such an order.
more

"... arguing ... that only the President can decide whether classified information can be used in a court proceeding...."

I must say, it makes me wish I had good access to case law and the chops for doing a decent search.