Argument over state secrets and CIA black sites takes unexpected turn in final few minutes

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Scotus

Argument over state secrets and CIA black sites takes unexpected turn in final few minutes

By Amy Howe on Oct 6, 2021 at 4:04 pm
 

The justices on Wednesday were skeptical of efforts by a Guantanamo Bay detainee to obtain testimony and documents about his treatment under the U.S. government’s torture program at CIA “black sites” in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. The government has contended that the information is protected by the “state secrets” privilege, a doctrine that allows the government to withhold information in litigation when disclosing it would compromise national security, and by the time the lawyer representing the detainee sat down on Wednesday the court seemed inclined to agree. The argument took an unexpected twist, however, when some justices proposed a different solution to the problem before the court: allowing the detainee himself to testify about how he was treated.

The case, United States v. Zubaydah, began in 2017, when Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, known as Abu Zubaydah, went to federal court in Washington state seeking an order that would allow his lawyers to depose and obtain documents from two former CIA contractors, James Elmer Mitchell and John Jessen. Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian who was captured in Pakistan in 2002, has been held in Guantanamo Bay since 2006.    

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United States v. Zubaydah

United States v. Zubaydah is a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on October 6, 2021, during the court's October 2021-2022 term.

HIGHLIGHTS

·  The case: Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, also known as Abu Zubaydah, is a former associate of Osama bin Laden. The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) detained Abu Zubaydah as an enemy combatant as part of its detention and interrogation program in Poland from 2002 to 2003. In Poland, the European Court on Human Rights ruled that Abu Zubaydah's treatment during his detention amounted to torture. As part of a Polish criminal investigation into the CIA program, Abu Zubaydah filed an application with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington to compel the U.S. government to provide Poland with information on his detention. The district court first granted discovery and then quashed the related subpoenas after the U.S. government intervened, citing the state-secrets privilege. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed the district court's ruling and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that not all of the information requested was privileged and the court could allow limited discovery while protecting national security interests. Click here to learn more about the case's background.   

https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_v._Zubaydah#Background