On Tuesday, the Obama Administration appealed a court ruling that would have made public some information about the US drone program. Appealing the decision will help the Trump Administration operate a drone program in secret.
It will also keep the dirty deeds done by the Obama Administration in the shadows.
President Barack Obama has pulled back the curtain on aspects of the U.S. drone killing program, but as he prepared to leave office this week his administration made a legal move to prevent a judge from pulling the curtain back even further.
Last July, a federal judge in New York issued a 191-page legal opinion resolving an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit demanding dozens of Justice Department, Defense Department and CIA documents relating to the use of armed drones to kill individuals abroad. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon’s ruling appears to have largely favored the government’s right to keep the records under wraps.
However, McMahon seemed to accept the ACLU’s arguments for disclosure in a few areas and she accused the government of “chutzpah” over some of its contentions. Because the government declared much of her opinion “top secret,” it’s difficult to assess.
But the judge appears to have taken issue with the government’s argument that the lives of those involved in developing the drone policy could be in danger if their job titles were released publicly. She also seemed to struggle with the issue of whether the U.S. may have officially acknowledged using drones in Pakistan, perhaps as a result of statements Secretary of State John Kerry made on the issue. And she seemed to have doubts about withholding the name of one agency involved in the drone-strike process, perhaps the FBI.