Going to Court Against the CIA? Prepare to be Screwed

Whether in a civil or criminal case, the CIA will always have a leg up.

A federal judge in New York in late February dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit filed by civil rights activist and human rights attorney Margaret Ratner Kunstler, media attorney Deborah Hrbek, journalist Charles Glass, and former Der Spiegel reporter John Goetz—all American citizens--alleging that the CIA and former Director Mike Pompeo spied on them when they visited Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The lawsuit stated that the four were compelled to turn over all of their electronic devices, including cell phones and laptop computers. The devices were then allegedly scanned without their knowledge or consent by a Spanish security company, Undercover Global, all of the information on the devices was downloaded, and it was eventually turned over to the CIA. The plaintiffs argued that this was a clear violation of their Constitutional rights. We’ll never know the outcome of what looks so clearly to be a civil rights violation. Why? Because as soon as the CIA’s attorneys entered the courtroom, they said, “national security privilege, your honor,” and the suit was dismissed.