disclose NSA capabilities and other valuable intelligence information to a sophisticated intelligence analyst. Halkin, 598 F.2d at 10.
The case was remanded to the district court and it dismissed the plaintiffs' claims against the NSA and the individuals connected with the NSA's alleged monitoring. Halkin v. Helms, 690 F.2d 977, 984 (D.C. Cir. 1982) (Halkin II).
In Halkin II, 690 F.2d 977, the court addressed plaintiffs' remaining claims against the CIA, which the district court dismissed because of the state secrets privilege. In affirming the district court's ruling, the District of Columbia Circuit stated:
It is self-evident that the disclosures sought here pose a "reasonable danger" to the diplomatic and military interests of the United States. Revelation of particular instances in which foreign governments assisted the CIA in conducting surveillance of dissidents could strain diplomatic relations in a number of ways-by generally embarrassing foreign governments who may wish to avoid or may even explicitly disavow allegations of CIA or United States involvements, or by rendering foreign governments or their officials subject to political or legal action by those among their own citizens who may have been subjected to surveillance in the course of dissident activity. Halkin II, 690 F.2d at 993.
Ellsberg v. Mitchell, 709 F.2d 51 (D.C. Cir. 1983) was yet another case where the District of Columbia Circuit dealt with the state secrets privilege being raised in the defense of a claim of illegal wiretapping. In Ellsberg, the plaintiffs, the defendants and attorneys in the "Pentagon Papers" criminal prosecution brought suit when, during the course of that litigation, they discovered "that one or more of them had been the subject of warrantless electronic surveillance by the federal Government." Id. at 51. The defendants admitted to two wiretaps but refused to respond to some of the plaintiffs' interrogatories, asserting the state secrets privilege. Id. at 54. The plaintiffs sought an order compelling the information and the district court denied the motion, sustaining the Government's assertion of the state secrets privilege. Id. at 56. Further, the court dismissed the
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