Laura K. Donahue, an associate professor of law at Georgetown University, reveals that the use of “state secret” powers isn’t just being used to dismiss lawsuits brought by people who have been tortured or targeted for assassination by the U.S. government. In Donahue’s research, she found hundreds of cases in which people had been killed, maimed, fired, or bilked by private corporations. But when those who were wronged took the responsible corporations to court, their cases were dismissed — not on the merits of the case, but because the corporations claimed that a “state secret” was somehow involved.
Immunity and impunity: they’re not just for the government any more.
