Court declines document review request in surveillance case
ACLU had asked the court to make sure the government is not redacting too much information.
A federal district court in the District of Columbia on Wednesday ended a civil-liberties group's legal battle against alleged FBI spying on peace, political and religious activists.
Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle dismissed a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to review about 40 pages of redacted documents as part of a two-year crusade to shed light on government surveillance of Greenpeace, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and other organizations.
ACLU attorney Scott Michelman said the ruling is the "tail end of a much larger litigation that has already produced thousands of pages demonstrating that the FBI has been spying" on activists.
In this filing, the ACLU asked the court to make sure the government is not redacting too much. Huvelle found that the FBI was "playing by the rules," but previous examinations showed that some information had been wrongfully withheld by the Bush administration, Michelman said.