Obama admin. claims right to censor 'unclassified' materials

Obama admin. claims right to censor 'unclassified' materials

www.rawstory.com

In the case of former National Security Agency (NSA) executive Thomas A. Drake -- indicted last April and accused of funneling documents to an unnamed reporter at an unnamed newspaper, for stories that have not been identified -- the president's lawyers have made a unique and potentially unprecedented claim.

With less than a month before Drake's trial begins, the Obama administration has filed a memo with the court claiming the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) gives judges the right to censor and withhold material that is "unclassified."

"It is simply incorrect to argue

(visit the link for the full news article)

I apoligise if this has been previously posted. A search has yielded no results thus far.

I was astonished to read this today, it truly was un-comforting for me but it comes as no suprise that the president who campaigned on the claim that he would be the most transparent president if elected did this. This kind of draconian measure- excuse me if my language is to implicit- is not the kind that should be imposed on a so called "democracy".

www.rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by SpeachM1litant

Our so-called Democracy was weakening for a long time before this. Like it or not American Liberty died with the advent of the Patriot Act. We live in a police state, everyone just hasn't "gotten the memo" yet.

reply to post by SpeachM1litant


This just enforce the notion to never trust a politician. They will say anything to get elected. What I've always said, is the media of this country don't hold these politicians accountable once they're elected into office. Why don't they call him out on the carpet for this?

No surprise when you consider the iron veil that has been draped across the man's entire history. No transparency here folks. Please move forward .... This is just another "nudge" to guide the masses..

Why does Obama want to try to classify unclassified information?
What would he stand to gain or cover up from the American people? Can anyone provide links to the documents in question?

wow like he hasn't already pulled that stunt when he first took office.
he must have learned that from bush

I would like everyone to stop bashing The Emperor right now. With his Royal Decree, he is allowed, nay, permitted, to impose His Thoughts and His Actions as He sees fit.
The Entire Planet voted Him in office. Doesn't that say enough about the Greatest, and Most Humble Man ever to rule over us?
If He wishes that things be classified, then with a wave of His Hand, it will be thus so.

He is Strong enough to have freed us from the evil constitution and has given us freedom of worry to determine what we do with our weak and mortal lives.

All Hail The Boy King!
(bow 5 times towards D.C.)



*apologies, the sarcasm function on my computer got stuck.

reply to post by beezzer

Beezzer, you had me laughing my arse off at that post. The Government shouldn't be able to censor anything that is unclassified.

Originally posted by ShAuNmAn-X
reply to post by beezzer

 

Beezzer, you had me laughing my arse off at that post. The Government shouldn't be able to censor anything that is unclassified.

Thanks. The unfettered hypocracy of D.C. has me gasping sometimes. The utter arrogance of this (or any other administration) to determine what is "right" or not, will be their ultimate downfall. Their "House of cards" is built on nothing more substantial than their ego.

reply to post by jibeho


Reminds me of the recent threads discussing the US's involvement in the Boxer Rebellion that has been "forgotten" by the majority of the sheep.

reply to post by beezzer


All I can say is Ron Paul is the way forward at this point. Let's hope the US makes it to the 2012 election in one piece.

Originally posted by FTD Brat
reply to post by beezzer

 

All I can say is Ron Paul is the way forward at this point. Let's hope the US makes it to the 2012 election in one piece.

I've not been a great fan of Paul, but I can't say that I disagree with most of what he has to say. If it were down to Paul and Obama, I'd vote for Paul in a heartbeat.

There has to be a change. Obamas' "Fundamental Transformation" of America is looking very scary. With topics like this thread, working around the 1973 War Powers Act, web censorship, disregarding the separation of powers. . . .
He will polarize America like nothing that has been seen in over a century. Not about race, mind you, but about how much control we want to allow the government to have.

Marxists and communists always pull stunts like this, so it isn't really any surprise..

Everything obama has done has been centered on the exact same methods used by the communist party in Russia before the wall fell..80% of his appointees and staff are all communist/marxist loving fruitloops besides..

Sure, Bush and son's put the race to tyranny in high gear with the patriot act, and they passed the baton off to obama, and boy, just look at him go.. And with the mass media helping out, the damage to national security and democracy have reached truly EPIC proportions..

reply to post by SpeachM1litant

In a document filed the following day (PDF), Drake's representation reacted with horror. "There is no authority for this unprecedented assertion in the context of a criminal case," they wrote. "The National Security Agency Act of 1959 is a civil statute that does not address criminal prosecutions or the rights of a criminal defendant. The applicable statute is the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA). CIPA is the only statute that confers upon courts the authority to admit substitutions for relevant evidence in criminal cases. CIPA authorizes substitutions only for 'classified information,' not unclassified information."

amazing how and why would they even try pulling this bs? They really are living the fascist dream.

reply to post by UcDat

Like I said, who's gonna stand up to them? They have the power to imprison people without just cause in the name of "homeland security"

How about that Transparency he was promising when he was running for office.

Originally posted by alienreality
Marxists and communists always pull stunts like this, so it isn't really any surprise..

Everything obama has done has been centered on the exact same methods used by the communist party in Russia before the wall fell..80% of his appointees and staff are all communist/marxist loving fruitloops besides..

Sure, Bush and son's put the race to tyranny in high gear with the patriot act, and they passed the baton off to obama, and boy, just look at him go.. And with the mass media helping out, the damage to national security and democracy have reached truly EPIC proportions..

I don't see him being Marxists or a Communist. He is a Fascist.. The mega corporations, and the major financial institutions control him. But either way, its bad for us citizens.

reply to post by dwmjr1985

I think the rabbit hole goes a bit deeper than corporations. They are power drunk, doing what they want to just because they can. If they want to censor unclassified information then just why not have it classified? This is just one more way that the government proves that they can do whatever they want.

That's cool because I claim my own rights all the time no matter what the law says.

What better role model for my behavior than "our" own "leaders"?