CIA Beats New York Times’ FOIA Bid Over Syrian Rebel Program

The Central Intelligence Agency won’t have to tell the New York Times whether it has documents related to a covert program of arming and training rebel forces in Syria, after the Second Circuit found the agency didn’t waive its right to claim a FOIA exemption.

Public statements about the program by President Donald Trump and a military commander didn’t strip the CIA of the claimed exemption because the statements didn’t officially acknowledge or declassify the existence of such a program, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Thursday.

The President never specified that there was any program—let ...