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One of the ways that the Bush administration tried to avoid accountability for its serious misconduct in the name of fighting terrorism was the misuse of an evidentiary rule called the state secrets privilege. The Obama administration has essentially embraced the Bush approach in existing cases, trying to toss out important lawsuits alleging kidnapping, torture and unlawful wiretapping without any evidence being presented. The other day, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. issued new guidelines for invoking the state secrets privilege in the future. They were a positive step forward, on paper, but did not go nearly far enough. Mr. Holder's much-anticipated reform plan does not include any shift in the Obama administration's demand for blanket secrecy in pending cases. Nor does it include support for legislation that would mandate thorough court review of state secrets claims made by the executive branch. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Obama administration said it would decide by mid-November whether to bring charges in federal court in the United States against the five detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, accused of involvement in the September 2001 terrorist attacks, according to government legal papers filed Wednesday. In two legal motions, one filed with a military court in Guantanamo and another with a federal appeals court, the government said it would seek a third postponement of proceedings in the 10 military tribunal cases at Guantanamo. It is trying to decide whether to shift the cases to civilian criminal courts, including those of the five men currently charged before a military tribunal with offenses related to the Sept. 11 attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]