Justices Explore State Secrets Doctrine in CIA Black Site Case (1)

The Supreme Court examined the extent to which the U.S. government can refuse to turn over information under the “state secrets privilege,” even where the information is widely known.

The case argued on Wednesday involves efforts to get information from the federal government for a Polish investigation into the torture of Abu Zubaydah at CIA black sites within the foreign country.

Zubaydah was the first “War on Terror” detainee subjected to torture abroad by U.S. intelligence, according to a 2014 Senate report, and is still detained at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, although the government now ...