DOJ Follows Bush Lead, Invokes ‘State Secrets’ in Rendition Case

Candidate Barack Obama harshly criticized the Bush Administration's treatment of detainees in the so-called War on Terror and has ordered the closing of Guantánamo Bay. But in a federal court yesterday, a government lawyer told surprised judges there will be no change on invoking “state secrets” when it comes to “extraordinary rendition,” the practice of taking suspects to other countries, where they often claim they've been tortured. Five detainees have filed suit against a subsidiary of Boeing for arranging such flights. The Bush Administration argued that the case should be dismissed because even discussing it in court could threaten national security. Constitutional law attorney Glen Greenwald is a contributing writer at Salon.com.