NY Judge: CIA Can Keep 9/11 Videotape Info Secret

NY judge: CIA can keep 9/11 videotape info secret

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By LARRY NEUMEISTER (AP) – 32 minutes ago

NEW YORK — A New York City judge says he won't order the release of hundreds of documents the CIA has refused to make public regarding the destruction of videotapes of detainee interrogations following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Manhattan federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled Wednesday after viewing a few of nearly 600 documents related to the CIA's 2005 destruction of videotapes documenting new harsh questioning techniques.

He said a federal judge must defer to the CIA director in assessing information related to such an issue of national security.

The judge also said he probably would have ruled on the same grounds that the videotapes would not have to be released if they had not been destroyed.

A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union says he doesn't know if he'll appeal.