WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that an 1875 law prevents suits against the government based on covert espionage contracts.
"John and Jane Doe" say they are "former Cold War defectors who were coerced by the CIA into being intelligence sources and who now are U.S. citizens." John Doe "was a high-ranking diplomat for a country considered an enemy of the United States during the Cold War."
While on foreign assignment, the Does approached a U.S. embassy employee and asked for asylum. Instead, they contend, they were forced into being spies, and promised lifetime support in the United States. When that support was not delivered, they went to court in the United States.
The CIA contended the 1875 decision in Totten vs. United States bars suits seeking to enforce espionage contracts. When the lower courts still claimed jurisdiction in the case, the CIA asked the Supreme Court for review.
The opinion was written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who is working from home while fighting thyroid cancer.
