But the Justice Department lawyers defending the government are suddenly claiming that the booklet is classified. And on June 16, Justice lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Philip Pro for summary judgment, arguing that security concerns preclude litigating the matter further. The incident has Turley fuming that the government is classifying information simply as a litigation tactic in a case he claims proves criminal conduct on the part of government officials. This document was clearly viewed and treated as unclassified until June 14, when it was introduced as evidence of dilatory practices by the defendants. The Air Force, meanwhile, denies that it classified the document in response to Turley's action.
Officials there insist they are merely protecting legitimate state secrets.
Our position is that a secret is still a secret, even if it appears on the front page of The New York Times in a World War II-sized headline. Boyd adds that the Air Force feels anyone in possession of the manual is obligated to return it. And civil liberties advocates describe it as outrageous. Professor Turley has long claimed that the government is using secrecy for tactical reasons to counter his claim of environmental abuses at Groom Lake. The existence of the base, which is believed to be used for testing of experimental and captured foreign aircraft, has been widely reported in news articles, and pictures of the facility have been published.