Judge Rules Release of Bush-Blair Document Would Threaten UK National Security

An Old Bailey judge involved in the Official Secrets Act prosecution of Leo O’Connor and David Keogh ruled on July 18th that the public cannot learn the contents of the infamous leaked document detailing a conversation between Bush and Blair in which Bush allegedly expressed his desire to bomb al-Jazeera’s headquarters in Iraq:

Any discussion of an already partially leaked document – in which Mr Bush purportedly said in April 2004 that he wanted to bomb the Arabic satellite TV station al-Jazeera, and Mr Blair expressed concern about US military tactics in the Iraqi city of Falluja – must be heard behind closed doors, Mr Justice Aikens ruled. He also banned the public and the media from hearing the prosecution’s arguments on the grounds of national security.

As the Guardian notes — seemingly the only major newspaper to report on the decision — defense attorneys who have seen the document insist that its public disclosure would not threaten Britain’s nation security, but would instead embarrass Bush and Blair. When the document was first leaked, the White House dismissed reports about Bush’s statement as “outlandish,” and a Blair spokesman said that he was “not aware of any suggestion of bombing any Al Jazeera television station.”