Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Justice Department must respond by Friday to a judge's orders, in a suit that tests the Obama administration's tolerance for secrecy.

The case originated in Oregon, with an Ashland charity, Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which has been shuttered for several years.

Under President Bush, the charity was branded a sponsor of terrorism. The charity believed it was the target of illegal spying.

Last week, Judge Vaughn Walker ordered government defendants to turn over a classified evidence requested by the plaintiffs, or risk sanctions.

Ashlee Albies is one of the plaintiffs' Portland attorneys.

Ashlee Albies:   "He cited the government's refusal to cooperate essentially, in allowing this case to move forward.  The tone of this most recent filing by Judge Walker, I think, shows he's at the end of his rope regarding the government's refusal to cooperate on these matters."

The Justice Department has declined to comment outside the courtroom. In numerous filings, the defendants have said national security interests prevent them from letting Al-Haramain's lawyers see and use the document evidence in question.

At issue in this case is whether Al-Haramain was the target of warrantless wiretapping. It's the only case of its kind to have proceeded so far in the courts. 

Attorney Albies says the plaintiffs are not interested in declassifying information for its own sake.

Ashlee Albies:  "We've had to make tremendous showing, to get to the point where we've been--this litigation has ben going on for years and years. The case was dismissed at one point, and we had to re-allege a number of allegations that were backed by factual support."

All this, just to reach the point where the case can be tried.

Al-Haramain's attorneys say they saw the document back in 2004, when Treasury Department officials accidentally delivered it into their hands. Shortly afterward, when the mistake was discovered,  it was snatched back, and declared off-limits for Al-Haramain's defense.