Nail in the coffin

Catching up on some news from last week, remember those torture photos that Joe Lieberman (and the Obama administration) successfully suppressed through an amendment to the Homeland Security appropriations bill that gave the power to shield them to Defense Sec. Gates?

Well, Gates has used his new jurisdiction in Congress's business to withhold the damning photos, thwarting a court order in the process.

Mother Jones:

Gates' new authority comes from a law, signed by President Barack Obama last month, that gives the Secretary of Defense the power to rule that photos of detainees are exempt from release under the Freedom of Information Act. Gates' action on Friday was the first use of the new FOIA exemption since it passed Congress last month. The photos in question are the subject of a years-long legal fight by the American Civil Liberties Union, which first filed a FOIA request for records pertaining to detainee treatment, rendition, and death in May of 2005. The case is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court.

A court filing [pdf] Friday revealed Gates' action.

Let's remember things like this when we're telling the history of the post-9/11 era of America.