It’s nice to have friends in high places.

WH seeks to dismiss suit filed for radical cleric

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Saturday invoked the state secrets privilege which would kill a lawsuit on behalf of U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an alleged terrorist said to be targeted for assassination by the U.S. government.

In a court filing, the Justice Department said that the issues in the case are for the executive branch of government to decide rather than the courts. The department also said the case entails information that is protected by the military and state secrets privilege.

"The idea that courts should have no role whatsoever in determining the criteria by which the executive branch can kill its own citizens is unacceptable in a democracy," the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights said in a statement. Al-Awlaki's father, through the CCR and the ACLU, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/wh-seeks-to-dismiss-624301.html