Judge Orders White House to Turn Over Foreign Policy Directive

A federal judge has ordered the Obama administration to turn over a copy of a foreign policy directive the White House is trying to keep secret, according to Politico.

A watchdog group called the Center for Effective Government sued to get the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development, which President Barack Obama signed in 2010, but the administration has refused to make it public.

A fact sheet on the directive, but not the entire document, was released to the group.

The government-wide directive is not classified, but Justice Department lawyers claim it is protected by presidential communication or executive privilege because it contains instructions from the president to senior officials.

U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle has ordered the government to turn over a copy by Nov. 15 so she can decide how to handle the lawsuit.

The center's legal challenge is one of several the White House faces over executive-privilege-related disputes.

One high-profile legal battle centers on documents and materials related to Operation Fast and Furious, a failed U.S. gun-tracking operation that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been investigating.

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