老澳门开奖结果

WASHINGTON 鈥� On Tuesday, April 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear arguments in Connell v. Central Intelligence Agency, a lawsuit challenging the CIA鈥檚 refusal to confirm or deny whether it has records related to its 鈥渙perational control鈥� of Camp VII at Guant谩namo Bay 鈥� despite evidence that these records exist. The 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 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. That 鈥渙perational control鈥� is hardly a secret: it was highlighted in the 2014 Senate Torture Report and in CIA and military commissions documents. But instead of processing his request, the agency produced three records, withheld a fourth in its entirety, and refused to confirm or deny whether any other responsive records exist. This refusal is known as a 鈥淕lomar response鈥� and has been used by the CIA for decades to shut down the FOIA process and obstruct attempts to obtain records that would shine a light on the agency鈥檚 failures and abuse, even when that abuse is well documented.

鈥淭he CIA鈥檚 claim to secrecy in this case is as extreme as it is absurd, given the extensive public record about the CIA鈥檚 connection to Camp VII,鈥� said Brett Max Kaufman, senior staff attorney with 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Center for Democracy. 鈥淲e hope the court takes this opportunity to break the CIA鈥檚 bad habit of using and abusing Glomar to evade crucial transparency and accountability.鈥�

In 2023, a district court ruled for the CIA. Mr. Connell is now asking 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. To be upheld, the CIA must demonstrate that it is logical or plausible that it has no responsive records in light of the entire record, but as Mr. Connell and the 老澳门开奖结果 will show, reams of evidence leave no doubt that the CIA maintained some measure of operational control over detainees at Camp VII during the relevant time period. Moreover, through some of those same documents, the CIA waived its ability to assert a Glomar response through official acknowledgment.

Oral arguments will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse and William B. Bryant Annex (333 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, D.C.) in Courtroom 31. The hearing is open to the public and audio will be live-streamed . Following the argument, members of the plaintiff鈥檚 legal team will be available for comment.