WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Saturday invoked the state secrets privilege which would kill a lawsuit on behalf of U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an alleged terrorist said to be targeted for assassination under a U.S. government program.
In a court filing, the Justice Department said that the issues in the case are for the executive branch of government to decide rather than the courts.
The department also said the case entails information that is protected by the military and state secrets privilege.
The courts have sufficient grounds to throw out the lawsuit without resorting to use of the state secrets privilege, the Justice Department said in its filing.
“The idea that courts should have no role whatsoever in determining the criteria by which the executive branch can kill its own citizens is unacceptable in a democracy,” the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights said in a statement. “In matters of life and death, no executive should have a blank check.”
Al-Awlaki’s father, through the CCR and the ACLU, filed the case in federal court in Washington.
The father has demanded that the government disclose a wide variety of classified information which could harm U.S. national security, Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“It strains credulity to argue that our laws require the government to disclose to an active, operational terrorist any information about how, when and where we fight terrorism,” said Miller.
Believed to be hiding in Yemen, al-Awlaki has become the most notorious English-speaking advocate of terrorism directed at the United States.
E-mails link him to the Army psychiatrist accused of the killings at Fort Hood, Texas, last year. Al-Awlaki has taken on an increasingly operational role in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Justice Department filing said, including preparing Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in his attempt to detonate an explosive device aboard a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.
Regarding the Christmas bomb attempt, al-Awlaki said in a May 23 interview with the media arm of AQAP that “No one should even ask us about targeting a bunch of Americans who would have been killed in an airplane,” James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said in a declaration accompanying the Justice Department papers.
“Our unsettled account with America includes, at the very least, one million women and children. I’m not even talking about the men,” Clapper’s declaration quotes al-Awlaki as saying.
The lawsuit filed on the cleric’s behalf seeks to have a court declare that the Constitution and international law bar the government from carrying out targeted killings; seeks to block the targeted killing of al-Awlaki; and seeks to force the U.S. government to disclose the standards for determining whether U.S. citizens can be targeted for death.
What al-Awlaki’s father is seeking would be “unprecedented, improper, and extraordinarily dangerous,” said the Justice Department filing, which neither confirmed nor denied the existence of a targeted killings program.
The lawsuit would necessarily and improperly inject the courts into decisions of the president and his advisers about how to protect the American people from the threat of armed attacks, including imminent threats, posed by a foreign organization against which the political branches have authorized the use of necessary and appropriate force, said the Justice Department filing.
If al-Awlaki were to surrender to the proper authorities, legal principles with which the United States has traditionally and uniformly complied would prohibit using lethal force or other violence against him, the department filing added.
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Comments (66)
GlennBeckIsADemagogue
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 9:29pmWhy don’t we just send in a drone to take this scumbag al-Awlaki out? And then just deny any involvement. I’m cool with that. Say he was playing with explosives at home, or blame it on a meteor, or blame it on spontaneous combustion. I don’t care. And then tell his dad to shut the hell up if he knows what is good for him. I’m all for civil liberties, but this lawsuit goes too far. I have about as much respect for the rights of al-Awlaki as I do for Bin Laden, which is i respect their right to rot in hell.
Report Post »ladyda
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 8:57pmI do not trust this administration, they are getting desperate and could very well try to put American Patriots and Christians on their “list” in the near future, if they have not already…..honestly, I look at these statist’s as being domestic and economic terrorists.
Report Post »RojBlake
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 11:21pmI don’t trust ANY ADMIN with this kind of authority!
This was the problem under GWB (actually this type of problem has existed for a long time…look at “reconcilliation), authority is claimed/taken under “reasonable” circumstances & are never relinquished.
Remember how the left howled over the “patriot-act” (I had problems with it too, but it was supposed to be reviewd regularly), Obama gets elected & has “super-majorities” & the people who yelled the loudest made it permanent.
Will there be any attempt to repeal this, would Obama (or any other president) sign away that authority.
Report Post »Cynic-clinic
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:51pmSo, our Islamic Jihad enemies strike America and kill 3000 innocent citizens. Then they plan to build a monument to murder on on the site of the ashes. Then they sue us in our own court system because we retaliate by taking out the planners for the next assault.
This whole scenario is total madness. This is like Charles Manson suing the families of his murder victims for wanting to prosecute him.
Report Post »Marylou7
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:50pmSorry but we cannot make exceptions for American citizens. All legal American citizens are allowed their day in court. The next person targeted could be one of us, a pro-lifer, pro-small government citizen. Do you trust this administration? I don’t. Be very careful what you wish for because it just may come back on you.
Report Post »whitaker
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:25pmAmerica is at war. alwaki has sided with the enemy. Joining a foreign military or milita strips you of us citizanship.
Report Post »nomorelawyers
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:17pmInvestors needed for a security company to guard ships from Somalia’s pirates….kakelacorp@yahoo.com Best return on your money
Report Post »kevinbogard
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:10pmWAKE UP……………………..This has been going on forever, you just didn’t see it in the news,
Report Post »docvet
Posted on September 26, 2010 at 1:40pmAnd we shouldn’t be seeing it now!!!!!
Report Post »HAVETOBEFREEAGAIN
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 6:44pmDDDRIVER
Report Post »I agree with you a American Terrorist should have their day in court. Where we disagree is which
court. When America is at war the crime against America is tried in the Military Court!!
Dddriver
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:51pmNo disagreement. As a vet I totally agree
Report Post »hifi74
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 10:46pmMilitary court is fine (also a vet btw) but he still needs to be afforded his opportunity in court, not have his constitutional rights stripped and thrown away. Allowing them to do it here sets the precedent that they can do it when ever “they” feel like it.
Report Post »SafeguardOurLiberty
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 6:31pmOur country would be better off if we didn’t have the ACLU, or the EPA. They have too much power and if they are not stopped they will end up being our government. They need to be disbanded, or dismantled.
Report Post »Promotefreedom
Posted on September 26, 2010 at 10:53amYou forget FEMA, which, by law, automatically takes control of our country the instant the president declares state of emergency/martial law. FEMA currently has 800+ prisons (empty, guarded, in hidden, restricted areas) across the US; ready to hold millions of US citizens, at our governments will.
Report Post »Dddriver
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 6:29pmIt makes no difference what you’ve done if your an American citizen then you should have your day in court. why are the liberals so willing to take away from Americans what they’re trying to give to non-Americans. Once again the duplicity is astounding !!
Report Post »HAVETOBEFREEAGAIN
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 6:29pmAmerica is at war with terrorists!! The individual that is a proven terrorist is held to
Report Post »USA Military Law. The JAG. In time of war, crimes againist America are settled by the Military
law. Civilians, general opition, and this Administration do not understand and accept that America is
at war againist terrorists as stated “where ever they are where ever they are from America is
at war with terrorists”.
SummerB
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 6:04pmI, too, have to side with the ACLU on this one. “The idea that courts should have no role whatsoever in determining the criteria by which the executive branch can kill its own citizens is unacceptable in a democracy,” the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights said in a statement. “In matters of life and death, no executive should have a blank check.”
When I was much younger, the ACLU really was a formidable institution defending the rights of the American people. I guess they, too, became a self-interested, money-making business like the Unions. So sad.
Report Post »Huff-a-Ton Post
Posted on September 26, 2010 at 12:57amThe very roots of the ACLU lie with progressives and communists at the beginning of the 20th Century. Sure, they have some honest, principled, and dedicated lawyers working for them. But they are a front to the real evil that goes on at executive levels.
Report Post »BoilitDown
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 5:52pmAt one time I foolishly believed that assassinations by our government were completely out of the question. I thought that kind of thing was only in books and movies and, of course, used by lawless and tryannical leaders. I am appalled by a leadership that would even entertain the thought of such an abhorrent action let alone openly advocating it.
Report Post »I am conflicted myself about al-Awlaki but that inner conflict should never allow me to consider ignoring the Constitution, laws or common ethics.
If we don’t stand up to denouce government sanctioned assassinations we will be no better than those whom we despise and call evil.
Fervent and frequent prayer for divine intervention is indicated for our part.
HAVETOBEFREEAGAIN
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 5:42pmAdd your comments
Report Post »HAVETOBEFREEAGAIN
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 5:30pmThis is a sad time for America!! Islam has unspeakable ways to deal with with people that are not
Report Post »of Islam!!! There is more than enough proof that he is a terrorist!!! He should be
treated as a threat to America a “Terrorist” and sent to Millitary Justice!!
poverty.sucks
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 5:11pmGood luck Mr Al-Awlaki, conservatives nationwide has suggested many qualified individuals and groups that should be on that list and they’re walking around free as a bird talking on cell phones for all the world to hear. For some reason our U.S. Government treats known terrorist like cats, if you still have all 9 lives left, have no fear, just run away and hide. If I find you, I’ll kick the crap out of you.
Report Post »johnbostick
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:56pmThe ACLU and the CCR should already have all the infomation their operational terrorist clients are seeking. They need to tell them we will fight and kill them where ever we find them. We will also fight and kill whoever harbors them. Are these idiots so stupid that they don’t understand the point of war.
Report Post »alcarfl
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:50pmNuke ‘em!
Report Post »sullinsea
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:44pmOnce in a blue moon the ACLU, founded to shield the advance of Communists and other collectivists, takes the right stand, a position that we must also support because it is the right thing to do. Anwar al-Awlaki is an American citizen. Whether he recognizes it or not, he was endowed at birth by nature’s God, his Creator, with an unalienable right to life that the government cannot imping upon without due process. This is so regardless of whether he has made himself an enemy of the U.S.A. within or without its borders. This is so even though if empowered he might not recognize the rights of others. He has a right to due process before he is determined to be an enemy combatant whom the military can target for assasination.
Whether due process necessarily entails an adjudication in the ordinary civilian courts or it can properly be adjudicated in a military tribunal or special forum that adequately protects intelligence assets is something reasonable people can disagree with, and I need not address. But the current administration is asserting extraconstitutional authority when it claims the determination of Anwar al-Awlaki’s status is solely within the purview of the executive branch. I do not believe that satisfies due process.
Report Post »Knighted
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:17pmThe inclusion of linking E-Mails gives cause to the fact that the “administration” (in quotes for a reason) wants to control the internet as a public utility.
This quote here
“It strains credulity to argue that our laws require the government to disclose to an active, operational terrorist any information about how, when and where we fight terrorism,” said Miller.
Has zero weight with this “president” as he has no clue about what he is doing with regards to National Security. He announces withdraw dates and major troop movements on a regular basis. So the how, when, where we fight terrorism is broadcast all over the world. Last I checked, announcing major troop movements was still against the law.
A good point is made about the Justice Department interjecting into the decisions of a President. If we allow that to happen it will never stop. I want this current “president” stopped but not at the detriment of every President that will follow. Presidents who know how to lead need to have freedom to maneuver and make decisions without fear of the DOJ stepping in.
However no one person should have the power or authority to decide which United States Citizen lives or dies at the behest of some vague definition. That law, should there be one, should be written and fully authorized by congress.
Well, not this congress, they can’t seem to figure out what is in the bills they currently pass.
Report Post »van
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:17pmIt surprises me that mao would want to kill a terrorist but no the hair is not up because of this, it’s most everything else mao and his admn is doing.
Report Post »CoFX
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:16pmal-Awlaki is a professed terrorist, who is actively involved in trying to kill Americans – and we have to provide him with his civil liberties? BS! He should have had his citizenship revoked as soon as he publicly became affiliated with Al-Qaida. Being American born doesn’t give you the right to kill your own countrymen. If he refuses to surrender to authorities, then we have the right to stop him by any means neccessary. This includes lethal force. If his father is so worried about his son’s safety, then call your son and tell him to turn himself in. problem solved.
Report Post »RojBlake
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 5:14pmI’m sorry, as much as I hate to agree with the ACLU…this guy is a US Citizen & thus protected by the Constitution & US law.
If this (or any admin) can decide that a US citizen is a terrorist or sympathizer etc. & therefore can have a US citizen killed on its own authority…then it (or any other admin) can have ANY US CITIZEN so declared.
Remember the memo that declared ex-military, tera-partiers etc. etc. as “potential terrorists”?
Are you willing to sacrifice some liberty for a little “temorary safety”?
JayTee82
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 5:39pmI completly agree with you Rojblake. We must uphold the law and the Constitution.
Amendment V
“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
“nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” is the key part here. As much as many of us may not like it he a US citizen and has the right to a trial. Of course we could charge him as a traitor and that can carry the death penalty. We must do this the proper way though.
Report Post »dazyann010501
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:03pmI too agree with ROJBLAKE “If this (or any admin) can decide that a US citizen is a terrorist or sympathizer etc. & therefore can have a US citizen killed on its own authority…then it (or any other admin) can have ANY US CITIZEN so declared.
Remember the memo that declared ex-military, tera-partiers etc. etc. as “potential terrorists”?
They are spinning the whole thing out of control so that they have the excuse to go after those who don’t agree with what the government is doing. I don’t agree with anything this guy has done. He should be put in jail for a life time sentence for each person he killed or help kill.
Report Post »But if we allow our government to do this to the guy, then we are making it easier for them to come after us, the ones that don’t agree with government.
jcatlanta
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:52pmJust remember, if they can do it to this US citizen (no matter how deserving), then they can do it to me and you. This is very scary. I agree the CIA takes care of problems but it should only be ono-US citizens.
Report Post »hifi74
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 10:39pmRoj, Jay, Dazy, I also agree and would add this is also akin to the attempted Times Square bomber, a legal US citizen, that the DOJ debated on not affording him his constitutional Miranda rights at the time of arrest. If they can make an excuse for not affording it to him and people to allow it to happen the government can make a similar argument about ANYONE that “they” deem to be a threat, real or perceived. What if he had an NRA card in his pocket, could the administration then put all of the NRA and their card carrying members labeled as terrorists? You open that door too wide and THEY WILL step inside.
Report Post »rlmeals
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 11:06pmI also agree. Where does it end? If you are a US citizen, whether born here or naturalized, you are afforded the protections of the Constitution. It doesn’t matter how heinous a crime you commit, you still are protected. If they can find a reason not to follow the Constitution for this guy, then slowly we will see it more and more often until we are back in the Wilson administration where he would lock up political dissenters for life with no warrant, judge, or jury. We must not go down this path. Gather your evidence, get a warrant, read him his right, indict him, and give him a speedy trial by jury. Let justice be served. But an assassination list is abominable. Are we “right wing terrorists” also on that list?
Report Post »PostProgressiveAmerican
Posted on September 26, 2010 at 4:44amLook. Bad guys are out there – always have been and always will be…and they will (and should) get killed for their actions, one way or the other. The concern here is the slippery slope, the slow expansion of sanctioned killings to where they are becoming the norm, not the exception.
The policy was initiated under Bush to allow these killings, to include US citizens, ‘on the battlefield.’
Obama has retained this policy but also expanded ‘battlefield’ to cover the entire world. Now, US citizens anywhere in the world may be targeted on the suspicion of supporting terrorism. How long before we rationalize killing political opponents within the US?
All US citizens must have their rights and protections and must be entitled to due process. If we allow exceptions, regardless of the intentions, we open the door to reduce or remove them for everyone.
Be wary.
Report Post »Leopold
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:12pmThe ACLU seems to think of itself as the power of regulating everything. For Islam, against Christianity, re. fort rock. For terrorism against freedom of speech, for a bust of Stalin in a park, against a Nativity set. Who asigned them this power?
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 9:02pmApparently they think they are judge and jury over the rest of us. I think I am sick and tired of being told what I can do and not do, think and not think, and more and more Americans are feeling the same way. We move within the law and are considered a threat. This guy does and says what he pleases at the expense of American lives and his daddy is worried about him? Seems to me he has made his choice and however the chips fall is his problem. You can’t have it both ways. If he were my son I would be out there hunting him down myself.
Report Post »Tate
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:07pmI’m glad Scott reported this, but
Report Post »I DON’T WANT TO KNOW. KILL THE BAD GUYS!
orkydorky
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:05pmIs the hair standing up on the back of the neck of tea partiers yet? Big brother is making his move!
Report Post »Rev. WC
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:33pm“targeted for assassination under a U.S. government program.” Who will be the next target, and the next…
Report Post »Topcat
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:57pmOh come on people you mean to tell me that you dont know that the CIA does this kind of thing all the time , since the beginning of our modern government. Granted you dont normally hear about it , but to think it doesn’t exist is just Naive..
Report Post »Ellie
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:58pmWhy can‘t the admin just charge this guy with treason and when he doesn’t show up for court get a warrant for him being a treasonous fugitive, then they can revoke his citizenship rights, and hunt him down?
Ever watch “The First 48” where they follow real homicide detectives from the moment they get notified of a murder to the end of the first 48 hours? These guys can get search and arrest warrants from judges any time day and night, usually in a few hours.
Why is it not possible for the FBI/CIA to make their case to a judge and get warrants for searches and arrests when their investigations take months and months?
Report Post »broker0101
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 5:00pmCome on, people, the “united States Government” has been assassinating bad guys since the beginning. We just need to make sure that the right people are making the “bad guy” determination.
Report Post »LadybugsTX
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 5:28pmSee Obama and Holder aren’t that smart. If they had said they would use this to assassinate Tea Partiers and Christians, the ACLU wouldn’t have done a thing.
Report Post »tobywil2
Posted on September 25, 2010 at 5:38pmI thought the lunatic fringe was opposed to capital punishment. http://commonsense21c.com/
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