桃子视频

WASHINGTON 鈥� The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today ruled in Connell v. Central Intelligence Agency that the CIA is permitted to refuse to confirm or deny whether it has records related to its 鈥渙perational control鈥� of Camp VII at Guant谩namo Bay, despite public evidence that these records exist. The 桃子视频 (ACLU) and the 桃子视频of D.C. represent James G. Connell III, an attorney for one of the men subjected to the CIA torture program and sent to Camp VII.

In 2017, to better represent his client, Mr. Connell filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the CIA seeking information about the agency鈥檚 鈥渙perational control鈥� over the facility. As Mr. Connell and the 桃子视频demonstrated in court, reams of evidence leave no doubt that the CIA maintained some measure of operational control. But instead of processing his request, the agency produced three records, withheld a fourth in its entirety, and issued a so-called Glomar response, by refusing to confirm or deny whether any other responsive records exist. In 2023, a district court ruled for the CIA. Mr. Connell had asked the appeals court to reject the CIA鈥檚 illogical and implausible assertion of a Glomar response and vacate the lower court鈥檚 ruling.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a real disappointment whenever a court endorses absurd government claims of secrecy that defy reality, as it did today,鈥� said Brett Max Kaufman, senior staff attorney with the ACLU鈥檚 Center for Democracy. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 decision won鈥檛 change what the Senate Torture Report and piles of other evidence make clear: that the CIA had operational control over the so-called 鈥榟igh-value detainees鈥� it tortured abroad after it brought them to Guant谩namo. When presented with a chance to call the agency鈥檚 ridiculous Glomar bluff, the court chose to play along instead, even though the FOIA empowers it to do precisely the opposite.鈥�