State Secrets Protection Act

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The State Secrets Protection Act, S. 2533, (SSPA) was put before the Senate by Senators Kennedy, Leahy, and Specter on January 22, 2008.[1] Senator Kennedy put out a press release explaining the rationale behind introducing the SSPA.[2] Hearings were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 13, 2008.[3] On Thursday, April 24, the committee approved the proposed legislation, voting 11-8 to send the bill to the full Senate for consideration, although no final vote is expected in 2008 because of a threatened veto by President Bush.[4]

In a March 31, 2008 letter to Senator Leahy, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey expressed strong Bush Administration opposition to the legislation, saying in his letter that the bill "would needlessly and improperly interfere with the appropriate constitutional role of both the Judicial and Executive branches in state secrets cases; would alter decades of settled case law; and would likely result in the harmful disclosure of national security information that would not be disclosed under current doctrine."[5]

Numerous scholars and non-governmental organizations issued responses to the Attorney General's letter refuting his criticisms of the bill.

The SSPA is a legislative response to the State Secrets Privilege.

[edit] References

  1. ^ State Secrets Protection Act (Introduced in Senate). The Library of Congress (2008-01-22). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  2. ^ Senator Kennedy's Press Release for the Introduction of the State Secrets Protection Act. Senator Ted Kennedy (2008-01-22). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  3. ^ Examining the State Secrets Privilege: Protecting National Security While Preserving Accountability. Senate Judiciary Committee (2008-02-13). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  4. ^ Shawl, Jeannie (2008-04-26). Senate judiciary panel advances bill curbing state secrets privilege. JURIST Legal News and Research. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  5. ^ Mukasey, Michael (2008-03-31). Letter to Sen. Patrick J. Leahy. United States Department of Justice. Retrieved on 2008-04-08.