Court Justice Quotes
This was more than a general observation at the time. Elena Kagan had just gone through difficult and extended Senate confirmation hearings to be a Justice of the Supreme Court. She was confirmed but there was a substantial Conservative opposition to her on the grounds that she had not served as a judge, although she had appeared as an attorney in many cases and as Solicitor General of the United States she argued cases before the Supreme Court. To many it was surprising that a sitting justice would so currently take a public position which could be interpreted as criticizing one wing of Congress, especially since that wing had been criticized for just playing petty politics and having no real substantive issues.
This is the doctrine which allows the government to in effect quash any lawsuit which it claims will disclose any national secrets. This protects information that if released would harm the country or its security posture. At the same time, it allows an administration to terminate embarrassing lawsuits or ones that might uncover government illegality, by claiming that there will be damage to the nation. It is often difficult to separate damage to the nation from damage to a particular administration and government.
