The Obama administration is expected to announce today a new policy that would make it more difficult for the government to block lawsuits or withhold information by invoking so-called “state secrets privilege.” The Bush administration was able to dismiss or limit dozens of lawsuits or information requests around rendition, torture and warrantless spying by asserting they could potentially compromise national security. Under the new rules, government agencies would now have to convince the Justice Department that disclosing sensitive information would pose “significant harm to national defense or foreign relations.” The policy will take effect next month. The Washington Post reports it’s unlikely to change the Obama administration’s prior assertion of state secrets in opposing two key lawsuits involving an Islamic charity that says it was illegally spied on and a group of former CIA prisoners who claim they were tortured at a secret prison overseas. In a statement, Democratic Congress member Jerrold Nadler suggested the policy change won’t stop congressional efforts to overhaul how state secrecy claims are evaluated in courts, not just at the executive level. Nadler said, “Fixing the executive branch’s assertion of the privilege is only one part of the equation. Congress must still enact legislation that provides consistent standards and procedures for courts to use when considering state secrets claims.”