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EFF: US Gov't Bid To Alter Court Record in Jewel v. NSA

Posted by timothy on from the they'll-get-you-next-time dept.

The EFF is only today able to release details of an attempt by the government to alter the historical record in the case brought by the EFF against the NSA in Jewel v. NSA. "On June 6, the court held a long hearing in Jewel in a crowded, open courtroom, widely covered by the press. We were even on the local TV news on two stations. At the end, the Judge ordered both sides to request a transcript since he ordered us to do additional briefing. But when it was over, the government secretly, and surprisingly sought permission to "remove" classified information from the transcript, and even indicated that it wanted to do so secretly, so the public could never even know that they had done so." As you'd expect of the EFF, they fought back with vigorous objections, and in the end the government did not get its way, instead deciding that it hadn't given away any classified information after all. "The transcript of a court proceeding is the historical record of that event, what will exist and inform the public long after the persons involved are gone. The government's attempt to change this history was unprecedented. We could find no example of where a court had granted such a remedy or even where such a request had been made. This was another example of the government's attempt to shroud in secrecy both its own actions, as well as the challenges to those actions. We are pleased that the record of this attempt is now public. But should the situation recur, we will fight it as hard as we did this time."

10 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Duh! by frovingslosh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We could find no example of where a court had granted such a remedy or even where such a request had been made.

    Well, duh! Normally our rewriting of history is effective enough that you will not find such records.

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
    1. Re:Duh! by postbigbang · · Score: 4, Interesting

      A good judge would take action against the prosecutors for any number of varying reasons, and the one that I would pick would be: vexation.

      --
      ---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
    2. Re:Duh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How about contempt of court? I mean, it's pretty contemptuous of the Executive Branch to be demanding a subversion of the Justice Branch.

  2. 1984 by Bodhammer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth. "Who controls the past," ran the Party slogan, "controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." And yet the past, though of its nature alterable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. "Reality control," they called it: in Newspeak, "doublethink."

    1984 - George Orwell

    --
    "I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
    1. Re:1984 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That would of course hint that before you get to 1984 that Fahrenheit 451 will be required. After all, digital documents served on demand are much more believeable if those pesky paper documents, with potentially contrary evidence aren't stored somewhere.

      We are at war with ($1) we have always been at war with ($1).

      Now you know more about why the government is so eager to help copyright move to just allowing the public a short term lease when they make a purchase. Watch it become a requirement where your computer has to make sure that every document you open is currently licensed for your use before opening though it may need updating before you can open it.

      Political Correctness
      Scientific Correctness
      ETC?

  3. Put your money where your mouth is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Contribute to EFF - they get results!

    https://supporters.eff.org/donate

  4. No precedent? by timeOday · · Score: 4, Informative

    Sure there is!

  5. One way mirror by dcollins117 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The end game of NSA is a perfect one-way mirror: They have all information about your activities, and you have zero information about their activities.

    Note that this is the opposite of what the American public needs to make an informed decision during elections.

    1. Re:One way mirror by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you believe that elections actually matter at all, I am sorry to inform you that you are seriously deluded. Corporations write the laws, Corporations have their lobbyists give the law to their pet Congressman, Congressman gets kickbacks and hot insider trading tips. You, the "pleeb taxpayer" get fucked in the ass. It doesn't matter who you vote for, blue or red, it's all just a shell game for the people with the real power.

  6. Re:POTUS Obama's hand is in the cookie jar...Again by Smallpond · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My favorite example of government overreach was:

    "The danger to political dissent is acute where the Government attempts to act under so vague a concept as the power to protect 'domestic security.' Given the difficulty of defining the domestic security interest, the danger of abuse in acting to protect that interest becomes apparent."
        -- Redacted from a US Supreme Court document by the Ashcroft
              Justice Department in the name of national security.