Why Does the Judicial Branch Let the Executive Branch Push It Around?

It seems like time and time again the federal government has been asked to provide documents in conjunction with torture, surveillance against the American people, and evidence in terrorist cases, most of the time they flat out refuse in the interest of national security or simply destroy the document.

Every time the federal government ends up in court or before a committee it is the same old story. We don't have the document, it never happened take our word for it, or we can't produce it due to ongoing investigations. (Reminds me of Kafka's The Trial where the investigations goes on perpetually with no progress or evidence ever produced.)

When will the judicial branch take some action? They just get slapped around and around. It's an ongoing joke.

How about finding some top CIA and FBI officials in contempt of court and throw them in jail? That is the only way the judicial branch will get some progress in these issues. Even if Bush just pardons them I think the American public might finally wake up to the obstruction of justice that is currently going on right now by the Executive Branch.