The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to former President George W. Bush's attorney general, FBI chief and other officials, ruling they cannot be sued over the treatment of detainees, mainly Muslims, rounded up in New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The justices, in a 4-2 decision, reversed a lower court's decision that said the long-running suit brought by the detainees could proceed against former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former FBI Director Robert Mueller and others. Mueller is now the special counsel investigating possible collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump's campaign team in the 2016 U.S. presidential race.
Three of the justices did not participate in the ruling.
"The court's decision allows for high-level officials to violate the Constitution without fear of personal accountability - a dangerous message in this time of rampant state-sponsored discrimination against Muslim and immigrant communities," said Rachel Meeropol, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights advocacy group who represents the detainees. ...