Federal judge has ordered the government to grant an attorney a security clearance so he can represent a disgruntled former narcotics officer in a lawsuit against a former CIA officer

WASHINGTON — In a highly unusual legal step, a federal judge has ordered the government to grant an attorney a security clearance so he can represent a disgruntled former narcotics officer in a lawsuit against a former CIA officer.

The judge's order significantly boosts attorney Brian Leighton's long legal battle on behalf of Richard Horn, a Drug Enforcement Administration veteran whose service ranged from California's San Joaquin Valley to the Burmese jungles. More broadly, the new judicial order challenges the president's customary monopoly in controlling access to secrets.

"The deference generally granted the executive branch in matters of classification and national security must yield when the executive attempts to exert control over the courtroom," U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth wrote in an order issued late Wednesday.



Already impatient with the Justice Department's handling of a case first filed in 1994, Lamberth gave officials 10 days to grant Leighton and other attorneys the security clearances needed to see "classified and/or privileged information." In doing so, Lamberth underscored the key question involved.

"Does the executive branch have the exclusive right to determine whether counsel . . . have a need-to-know classified information within the context of litigation, or can that be a judicial determination?" Lamberth asked rhetorically.

Lamberth added that prior cases didn't "directly answer" the question, which he called one of "a number of vexing legal and practical difficulties" raised in the course of the lawsuit brought by Leighton and Horn.

"It is fabulous for many reasons, not the least of which is the judge doesn't believe anything the government is saying," Leighton said Thursday of the new ruling.

Justice Department spokeswoman Beverley Lumpkin said Thursday that officials were still reviewing the latest decision and would otherwise have no comment.

Now based in Clovis, Calif., Leighton is a former federal prosecutor who worked with Horn when the DEA agent was based in California. Horn went on to become the top U.S. narcotics officer in Burma in the early 1990s.

Horn contends CIA and State Department officials illegally eavesdropped on him and eventually forced him out of Burma because of policy disagreements. His subsequent lawsuit was sealed at the Justice Department's request for many years, until Lamberth ordered many documents to be made public in July.

In his July ruling, Lamberth denounced certain CIA and Justice Department officials for having "handcuffed the court" with delay tactics and inaccurate statements. His latest ruling similarly chastises Justice Department attorneys for "continued obstinance" and "diminished credibility."

"The government should save its theatrics for the court of appeals," Lamberth added tartly.

Leighton formerly held a security clearance, but it lapsed. The Justice Department contended he no longer had a "need to know" the classified information involved in the case.

"Immense constitutional implications would arise from the entry of an order requiring the government to grant counsel access to classified information in the absence of a government determination that counsel have the requisite 'need-to-know,'" Justice Department attorney Paul B. Freeborne argued in a July 30 brief.

Freeborne added that because the executive branch "is exclusively responsible for the protection and control of national security information," a judge cannot order that someone be granted access to such classified information.

The Justice Department has made clear in its legal filings that it might appeal any decision that runs counter to its arguments about the protection of classified information.

ON THE WEB

Read Judge Lamberth's ruling

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

'Bulldog' lawyer gets break in 15-year court battle with CIA

Fresno-area lawyer not shy about taking on the CIA

Judge accuses CIA officials of fraud, unseals secret filesMcClatchy Newspaper

Views: 56

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

tjdavis posted a blog post
9 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

First Week of July 1947 an Inflexion Point for Humanity!

The year is 1947 and sometime around July 4th the anniversary of the birth our nation, when a…See More
15 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Government Issued Wearables? What’s Wrong With this Picture?
"cheeki kea Ha! Good one!"
yesterday
tjdavis posted a video

This is Paris Now… You Won’t See This in the Tourist Brochures

In this video, I take you through Marché Barbès and its surrounding neighbourhoods — an area that reflects the modern, complex face of Paris most tourists ne...
Friday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Passes Amidst Democrat Lies About a Tax cut for the Rich Being Averted

AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.It’s over, folks. President Trump and congressional Republicans aimed to…See More
Thursday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Government Issued Wearables? What’s Wrong With this Picture?
"I wonder what wearables must have been like before the last reset. "
Wednesday
Burbia commented on Burbia's video
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's blog post National Blueprint For Biodefense
"Another scare tactic to push people into anew regime of vaccinations! Either that, or this is a…"
Tuesday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Tuesday
Sandy posted a video

Dr. Mike Yeadon Speaks Out Against Digital ID, CBDCs, and Agenda 2030

Dr. Mike Yeadon, ex-Pfizer VP, urges public rejection of digital ID, CBDCs, and Agenda 2030, warning of future restrictions on freedom and privacy.
Tuesday
Burbia posted a video

"EVERYONE'S BEEN SHOT UP HERE": Arsonists Set Wildfire In Idaho, Open Fire On Firefighters, Police

- Shocking news just broke that multiple firefighters and officers were shot in an ambush at the Canfield Mountain Natural Area in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.Acco...
Jun 30
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Well Known Wilderness Photographer Disappears in the Cascades-Guess Why?

 In August of 2023 another aficionado of the great outdoors went missing. The chilling revelations…See More
Jun 29
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Draconian Show

Sometimes I talk to my invisible friend, IkeHe comes from another dimension when magnetic fields…See More
Jun 27
tjdavis posted a blog post
Jun 26
Doc Vega posted a blog post
Jun 25
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Jun 24
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Jun 23
Doc Vega favorited tjdavis's photo
Jun 22
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Game Night

"Ha! Good one!"
Jun 22

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted