The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; -- JFK

I could not agree more. I understand NATIONAL Security and State secrets.

But there should be a PENALTY for OVER CLASSIFICATION. There should be a TIME/Date of Classification Expiration, related to the sensitivity of the material.

And there should be a Tribunal of sorts that has full access, and reviews this on behalf of IGs and We the People.

Our forefathers NEVER Imagined the sheer volume of Wealth the government would consume to stay alive against the will of the people.
And the Crimes it would Consider Collateral Damage to its people as it executes its own will!

They might be Stalin, Mou and Chavez incarnate...we might as well call it a Witch trial court at what will truly be the FISC Crusades!

Secret courts, secret investigators (police) and when I mention this most people in a crowd immediately defend it with; 'but this is America, we wouldn't abuse it here. It isn't used that often." :) Everything is fine. I counter with; "How do you know? It's secret."
I think you may be right about what is likely to be the worst catastrophe, The financial meltdown that is looming is dangerously bad. Time to pull resources (fiat currency) in and invest in food, seeds, land, water. This has become a communist democracy and the people are unable to identify it as such, consequently they do not realize the danger they are in.

To be more accurate, you need to add the word "secret" so the full title is "Secret Kangaroo Court." Just trying to keep the record straight.

Did anyone notice the FISA judge who issued the warrants in question was appointed by Obama? When doing spring house cleaning, the courts need to be added to the list.

"Incidentally, the HIC released its memo to Congress after FISA was reauthorized. "
Tit for tat.

Which way to higher ground?

Excellent analysis, RG. Keep showing what's hiding under the statist rug.

"The only people who think that the government...will produce “all material and relevant facts”...are those pathetically deluded souls..."

Or those who intentionally seek to delude men into thinking they may be trusted with the reins of power. Nice article. Thanks!

the kangaroo court is comprised of badder people!!!

Another item in our legal system that needs to be eliminated is the grand jury. The idea that a hand picked group of regular citizens with no legal education are qualified to determine if the prosecution has grounds for indictment is ludicrous. Either you have sufficient evidence or you don't, and a judge should decide.

The sole purpose of a grand jury is what I call "pre-conviction". When jurors are informed that the government (federal or state) has solid evidence against an individual, there is an unmistakable prejudice toward a guilty verdict placed in the jurors' minds.

posted to facebook under "the well documented slide into the totalitarian state"...

Informative essay. Unfortunately, between the President and the Republicans in Congress they drain the swamp fast enough. Also, roll back or pass legislation to disband FISA and other government bureaucracies that is slowly destroying our representative democracy and ignoring the Constitution. All those people involved in recent scandalous acts should be arrested and charged with Treason.

"You are under arrest!" is the opening of Alexander Soltzhenitsyn's THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO massive trilogy. You don't know why, you don't know who accused you; you only know that the Cheka is loading you into a Black Maria and carting you off. FISA may have seemed like a good idea at the time it was passed but like the establishment of other agencies the law was drawn too broadly and without a proper oversight by Congress, the details left to those entrusted to carry out the intent of the law. The EPA, OSHA, and other agencies have enforced onerous regulations outside the intent of the original legislation.
FISA created a COURT OF THE STAR CHAMBER, secret and answerable to no one because no one actually knows what it is doing. That it is secret in our supposedly open society is onerous, but not surprising in its actions; the last administration used the FBI and the IRS to spy on and hamper those considered to be political enemies.
You may not be under arrest but once you are targeted you are destroyed all the same!