Supreme Court Rules for FBI on State Secrets Privilege

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the U.S. government in its effort to limit disclosure of the surveillance of Muslim communities in Southern California.

In a unanimous ruling by Justice Samuel Alito, the court said Friday that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit got it wrong when it said that the state secrets privilege used to block information the government deems harmful to national security is totally displaced by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s procedures for court review of the government’s assertion.

The case, brought by Sheikh Yassir Fazaga and others after they discovered that the FBI engaged an informant to gather information on Muslims, could eventually work its way back to the court for a ruling on broader questions, Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested during arguments in November.

Friday’s ruling follows another for the government Thursday on state secrets.

The case is FBI v. Fazaga, U.S., No. 20-828.