SAN FRANCISCO AND LOS ANGELES — The Obama administration urged a federal appeals court Monday to toss out a lawsuit about CIA clandestine operations in the alleged kidnapping and torture of terrorism suspects.
At the same time, Justice Department officials in Washington pledged to review all cases in which the Bush administration invoked the right to protect state secrets and pledged to ask for secrecy "only in legally appropriate situations."
The Obama administration's assertion of the so-called state secrets privilege in a San Francisco courtroom -- the first instance since President Obama took office -- reflected the continuing debate among national security and Justice officials about what clandestine operations should be shielded from public scrutiny.
A Justice Department attorney, Douglas Letter, told the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the Obama administration was taking "exactly" the same position as the previous White House in calling for dismissal of a lawsuit by five terrorism suspects snatched by U.S. agents in foreign countries and delivered to secret detention sites in other countries.
The suit, Mohamed et al vs. Jeppesen DataPlan Inc. of San Jose, accused the flight services company of knowingly "participating in the CIA's extraordinary rendition program" and delivering dozens of men to foreign venues where they were subjected to torture and other treatment impermissible under U.S. law.
The case was "thoroughly vetted with the appropriate officials of the new administration," said Letter, who represented the Bush administration's opposition to the lawsuit as well. Letter said the judges would understand the government's stance once they read a classified affidavit explaining its claim of state secrets privilege.
In Washington, meanwhile, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. ordered a review of all cases in which the former administration claimed state secrets were at stake.
"The attorney general has directed that senior Justice Department officials review all assertions of the state secrets privilege to ensure that it is being invoked only in legally appropriate situations," Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller said.
The randomly drawn appeals court panel, consisting of three Democratic appointees, appeared skeptical of the government's claims.
