The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) cannot refuse to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests about its program using pilotless remote-controlled planes (drones) to kill terror suspects and others, now that officials have publicly acknowledged it, a federal appeals court has ruled, the Washington Times website reports today (March 18, 2013).
Given the public statements by officials from President Obama on down, "it is neither logical nor plausible for the CIA to maintain that it would reveal anything not already in the public domain" by admitting that it had records or documents about the program, reads the unanimous ruling of a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court.
The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) had filed the lawsuit against the CIA, seeking disclosure of 10 categories of documents about the drone program -- which has killed hundreds of people in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, including three Americans, and a multitude of innocent civilians. The U.S. Congress is currently in the process of passing a law that would forbid the U.S. government from using drone strikes against Americans in the United States.
"This is an important victory. It requires the government to retire the absurd claim that the CIA's interest in the targeted killing program is a secret," said ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer in a statement.
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