Mike the Usurper wrote:
I'm not sure I would say that so quickly. First, the case cited here is a direct suit against the government. That is not so in the EFF suit.

As far as I understand this privilege it can be applied in any suit regardless of whether the government is a party.

Second, the question is not what was done with the phone records handed over, but that they were handed over at all, so the "sources and methods" argument is thinner than in the al-Masri case.

It is. However, exactly what was handed over to exactly who exactly when and where? Those are questions they might not want to answer, that might be needed to litigate the case. Presumably their request includes a reasonable rationalization (which, of course, only the judge gets to read in full). I hope he finds a way to proceed with the case in spite of this problem, I'm just not optimistic about it.

RE: On the subject of State Secrets