Supreme Court Sides With Obama on Torture Photos

The Supreme Court threw out an appeals court ruling ordering the disclosure of photographs of detainees being abused by their US captors today, citing a recent change in federal law that allows the pictures to be withheld. The justices issued a brief, and expected, order directing the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to take another look at the ACLU lawsuit to obtain the photos.

President Barack Obama at first did not oppose the release, but he changed his mind, saying the photos could whip up anti-American sentiment overseas and endanger US troops. The administration appealed the matter to the Supreme Court, but also worked with Congress to write the new law. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who served on the 2nd Circuit until August, did not take part in the court's consideration of the case. (More US Supreme Court stories.)