State Secrets

It's sometimes claimed, by conservatives and others, that the government would not classify something if it was not essential to national security, and especially would not classify something merely in order to avoid embarrassment. In other words, that the claim to state secrets would not be abused.

“Five decades later, researchers uncovered the report, and discovered the claim was a lie. The report had no military secrets and instead showed that government negligence caused the crash.”

Much-Abused 'State Secrets Privilege' Under Fire in Congress