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Former official says some photos of bin Laden's corpse could be released
Some of the photographs taken after terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed could be released under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, The Atlantic Wire reported.
Dan Metcalfe, a former director of the Justice Department's Office of Information and Privacy, told the wire that the government’s response to the lawsuit from Judicial Watch — which asked for all photos and videos from the Pakistan raid — suggests some images might have to be released because it wouldn’t cause “core” harm to national security.
“If you look closely at one small segment of the government's brief, it in effect concedes that there are reasonably segregable, nonexempt portions of the records that are legally required to be disclosed," Metcalfe said.
The decision prompted Judicial Watch, an activist group that frequently files FOIA requests for government documents, to sue for the photos to be released.
Metcalfe told The Atlantic Wire that the government’s response to the lawsuit raised the question whether sensitive information could be redacted from released records.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday that the White House position on releasing the photos has not moved.
"I honestly have not seen those reports,” Carney said. “The president's position on the release of the images of Osama bin Laden in particular was very clearly stated at the time and has not changed."
