Supreme Court returns state-secrets privilege case to lower court |
Supreme Court returns state-secrets privilege case to lower court
A privilege that lets the government withhold certain information in court because it’s a “state secret” will not be reviewed by the Supreme Court, the justices ruled Monday.
It vacates a decision that would make it harder for the government to invoke the privilege, returning a challenge brought by three Muslim men who claim they were surveilled because of their religion to a lower court for reconsideration — after a twist.
Though the government first asked the Supreme Court to take the case up, it suggested in a later court filing that the justices could send the case back to the lower court for reconsideration after a “significant intervening event” undermined it altogether.
The government said that the source of the challengers’ “core allegations” of religious surveillance, Craig Monteilh, recanted his claims.
The challengers pointed out that the recantation was unsworn and said it does not merit tossing back the........