Fed'l Judge Threatens US Sanctions in Case Over Claimed Warrantless Attorney Wiretaps
In the latest potential prosecutorial embarrassment for the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal judge in California is threatening to sanction the government in a case brought over claimed warrantless wiretapping during the Bush administration of legal counsel for a now-defunct Oregon charity.
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California has set a June 3 hearing for the DOJ to explain why he should not sanction the government for its conduct in al-Haramain Islamic Foundation Inc. v. Bush, reports the Recorder. Sanctions could include both potential dismissal of the defense portion of the case and monetary penalties.
Walker says the DOJ has repeatedly disobeyed his orders to give al-Haramain attorneys access to classified material that allegedly provides evidence of illegal warrantless wiretapping. U.S. officials, including the National Security Agency director, refuse to cooperate “because, they assert, plaintiffs’ attorneys do not ‘need to know’ the information that the court has determined they do need to know,” the judge writes in a Friday court order (PDF). A copy is provided in a post about the case in Wired’s Threat Level blog.
The much-watched litigation was brought by the charity over claimed violations by the U.S. of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, after the government inadvertently disclosed material that allegedly documents illegal wiretapping. In addition to the issue of claimed illegal wiretaps of attorneys, the litigation has set up a showdown over the executive branch’s assertion of a “state secrets” privilege, according to the Recorder and the Washington Post.
The DOJ has declined to comment to the media about Walker’s order.
Additional and related coverage:
Salon (opinion): “Obama’s Bush league decision”
ABAJournal.com: “Law Dean Criticizes DOJ’s Use of State Secrets as a ‘Talismanic Phrase’ “
ABAJournal.com: “Judge Allows Revised Suit Alleging Lawyer Wiretaps”
New York Times (2008): “Judge Rejects Bush’s View on Wiretaps”
ABAJournal.com: “DOJ Revs Up Prosecutor Training, Ponders Discovery Policy”
ABAJournal.com: “Jury Acquits W.R. Grace and Former Execs in Landmark Criminal Asbestos Case”
