The United States Supreme Court granted a request Tuesday to delay its decision on whether the Obama administration may continue to block the release of images depicting the torture of terror war detainees in U.S. custody.

The decision to delay comes as Congress and the Obama administration appear to have agreed on the passage of a new law that would delegate all authority over the photos to the Secretary of Defense, effectively removing the courts from the process.

"The Obama administration believes giving the imminent grant of authority over the release of such pictures to the defense secretary would short-circuit a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act," the Associated Press reported on Saturday.