Why a U.S. Court Might Order the Release of the Bin Laden Photos

[nofurylike]

By John Hudson
May 16, 2011

http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/2011051...hotos37788

While Freedom of Information Act experts are split on whether a FOIA request will ultimately force the release of Osama bin Laden's death photos, a report by Reuters sheds new light on how news agencies seeking the photos could force the Obama administration's hand. The crucial legal precedent is the 2006 release of detainee abuse photos from Iraq and Afghanistan.

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U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals (Re: the detainee abuse photos) : It is plainly insufficient to claim that releasing documents could reasonably be expected to endanger some unspecified member of a group so vast as to encompass all United States troops, coalition forces, and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the end, Congress intervened and prevented the release of the photos. But in the case of the bin Laden photos, it's not clear that the White House has enough support to push through such a law.

Reuters adds ... news media seeking the photos faced an uphill battle. "It requires a judge to make a judgment that the judgment of the president and the executive branch is so plainly flawed that this material either shouldn't be considered properly classified or is not really related to a national defense issue," he said.

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