Judge Throws Out Rumsfeld Torture Suit

Donald Rumsfeld can't be held personally responsible for the alleged mistreatment of prisoners held in overseas military prisons on his watch. Calling the case “lamentable,” U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan nevertheless dismissed a suit against the former defense secretary on behalf of nine former prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The plaintiffs say they were subjected to a litany of torture and humiliation including beatings, sexual abuse and mock executions.“No matter how appealing it might seem to use the courts to correct allegations of severe abuses of power," Hogan wrote, "government officials are immune from such lawsuits.” (More Iraq stories.)