"The bottom line here is the government declares something is a state secret, that's the end of it. ... The king can do no wrong,"

Judges Skeptical of State-Secrets Claim | By Karl Vick | Washington Post Staff Writer | Thursday, August 16, 2007; Page A04

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 15 -- Lawyers for the Bush administration encountered a federal appeals court Wednesday that appeared deeply skeptical of a blanket claim that the government's surveillance efforts cannot be challenged in court because the litigation might reveal state secrets.

"The bottom line here is the government declares something is a state secret, that's the end of it. No cases. . . . The king can do no wrong," said Judge Harry Pregerson, one of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit who grilled administration lawyers at length over whether a pair of lawsuits against the government should go forward. ...
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The panel represents the highest court so far to consider conflicting claims about the legality of ambitious surveillance efforts secretly launched by the Bush administration in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. About 50 separate lawsuits charging that those efforts are illegal have been consolidated before the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. ...