The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals this afternoon ordered the courtroom closed to the public during oral arguments tomorrow in Sibel Edmonds’ hearing. The American Civil Liberties Union is filing an emergency motion to open the hearing on the grounds that the move violates the First Amendment.
Although the court has not issued a written order, it did orally instruct the clerk that the hearing would be open only to the attorneys involved in the case and Edmonds. The hearing is listed as closed on the court’s calendar.
The ACLU said the decision does not appear to be based on state secrets concerns as it allows those without security clearance to be present for the arguments. Furthermore, the briefs being argued have been public since they were first filed in early 2005.
Edmonds, a former Middle Eastern language specialist hired by the FBI shortly after 9/11, was fired in 2002 after repeatedly reporting serious security breaches and misconduct. Edmonds challenged her retaliatory dismissal by filing a lawsuit in federal court, but her case was dismissed last July after Attorney General John Ashcroft invoked the so-called "state secrets privilege," and retroactively classified briefings to Congress related to her case.
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