September 3, 2009

CIA Withholding 48 Pages of Photos

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On Monday, the CIA gave a judge a list of documents it is still withholding in its ongoing Freedom of Information Act battle with the ACLU. The list, known as a Vaughn index, includes descriptions of dozens of documents that the agency is refusing to release in whole or in part. Marcy Wheeler has analyzed the index, and one thing sticks out: the withheld materials include 48 pages of photos, including five pages of photos that are attached to a document that describes the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah and 26 pages of photos that “detail a classified intelligence method.”

All this really gives us is more questions. The Obama administration was originally set to release more torture documents on Monday. That didn’t happen. Instead, the government submitted the Vaughn declaration. Will just explaining why the documents are being withheld be enough for the court? You can bet the ACLU will call foul on at least some of the CIA’s rationales for withholding. This battle is far from over.

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