High Court Won’t Review Gitmo Wiretap Case

(CN) - The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a ruling shielding the National Security Agency from disclosing whether it intercepted communications between attorneys and Guantanamo Bay detainees under its terrorist surveillance program.

The high court rejected the appeal of lawyers and inmates who lost their Freedom of Information Act requests to find out if the government had been wiretapping their interactions.

They claimed they had a "statutory right to the records they seek, and there is no legal basis for the defendants' refusal to disclose them."

But the government refused to either confirm or deny the existence of the records, citing national security interests.

The 2nd Circuit in Manhattan dismissed the case, saying it was "bad law and bad policy" to second-guess intelligence agencies' belief that confirming or denying the existence of such records could jeopardize national security.

The high court turned down the appeal without comment.

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