by TChris

A report released yesterday sheds additional light on the theft by Republican staff members of documents prepared for the use of Democratic Senators.

The two former Republican aides were identified as Manuel Miranda, who already had been named as a central figure in the investigation, and Jason Lundell, whose name had not been known previously. Investigators said an inexperienced computer coordinator did not make files adequately inaccessible, and that Lundell observed the coordinator opening files with a few key strokes and then copied what he had done. For the next 18 months, the report said, Lundell supplied documents to Miranda after getting access to the files of staff aides for Democratic Sens. Joseph Biden of Delaware, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Feinstein and Kennedy. The largest share was from Durbin's office.

Reporters were told that names would be redacted from the report, but the copies distributed yesterday mistakenly included the names.

Miranda denies that the reports were confidential "because they were easily accessed." Sorta like arguing that it isn't wrong to steal pencils from the blind because it's so easy to do.

by TChris

George W. Bush fans, especially those lacking a sense of humor, may not want to click the accompanying link. For the rest of you, this is hilarious.

by TChris

Now that Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell has created the opportunity for a competitive race in Colorado by deciding not to run for reelection, Roger Ailes (no, not that one) has conceived a brilliant plan: Draft Jeralyn Merritt.

For those who have never clicked About TalkLeft in the upper right corner of this site, Jeralyn is the voice of TalkLeft. She is also a respected, creative and committed criminal defense lawyer, a frequent lecturer at legal education seminars, and a legal analyst who guests on a variety of national news broadcasts, always doing her best to keep the government honest. Colorado would be fortunate to have her in the Senate.

by TChris

Don't fret about military tribunals for foreigners accused of aiding and abetting terrorism. Sure, there's no appeal from a tribunal's verdict, and the government gets to listen in when the suspects are eventually given access to lawyers, but not to worry. Foreigners facing the death penalty don't need a full panoply of rights (or any at all, really) because the USA is always fair.

Right. Why should we believe this? Because Donald Rumsfeld says so.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday dismissed criticism of Pentagon's rules for planned trials of foreign terrorism suspects before U.S. military tribunals and said the proceedings will not be "a kangaroo court."

On the other hand, Rumsfeld thinks that it is "appropriate for the United States to hold foreign terrorism suspects at Guantanamo without charges or legal represenation." That sentiment tells us something about the Defense Secretary's understanding of due process.

Detainees from Yemen and Sudan, charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes, will be the first Guantanamo prisoners to be tried before a military tribunal. It isn't clear when the last of the 640 prisoners will be tried, but Rumsfeld acknowledged that some may remain locked up for years.

While Rumsfeld considers it "irresponsible" to suggest that military tribunals are "kangaroo courts," critics say "the rules are rigged to produce convictions, compel guilty pleas, and make it as easy as possible to win the death penalty."

Critics say hearsay evidence and coerced confessions could be admissible under the rules. Even the military lawyers assigned by the Pentagon to represent Guantanamo prisoners during the trials have called the rules fundamentally unfair and hopelessly antiquated, ignoring decades of legal advances since World War II.

by TChris

Jurors pondering the charges against Martha Stewart's co-defendant, Peter Bacanovic, sent an interesting question to the judge. They're wondering what it takes to prove perjury.

U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum told jurors before deliberations that perjury requires special rules: Jurors must rely on testimony from two witnesses, or one witness whose testimony is supported by a document.

In a note Thursday, the jurors asked whether it was enough to have the testimony of one witness plus a document created by the same witness.

"I think the short answer is yes,'' Cedarbaum said.

On its face, the answer may be bad for Bacanovic. Still, all the jurors would have to agree that the witness and the supporting document are so believable as to exclude reasonable doubt before finding Bacanovic guilty.

The question suggests that the jurors are focusing on Bacanovic. Now in their second day of deliberations, they may have already decided Martha Stewart's fate.

by TChris

As politically popular as it has been for legislators to "get tough on crime" by increasing maximum sentences, imposing mandatory minimums, creating "three strikes" laws, and generally encouraging incarceration as the first and best solution to crime, there are consequences to soaring prison populations. Some of the consequences are financial, as states with faltering economies try to pay for new prison beds. But when states ignore the financial problems and simply jam more inmates into existing spaces, crisis is inevitable.

That is the lesson learned in Arizona, where a panel studying a standoff with prisoners criticized the "chronic underfunding," inadequate training, and staff shortages at state prisons.

Many of the problems that contributed to a 15-day prison hostage situation resulted from "years worth of bad decisions by the Department of Corrections at all levels," investigators said in a draft review obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

While the panel made several recommendations, many of which require increased funding, it would be wise to consider whether the prison environment could be improved by releasing to community supervision those inmates who don't need to be in prison. Many inmates who serve time for drug or other nonviolent offenses are consuming scarce correctional resources that would be better devoted to those who, for society's protection, actually need to be behind bars.

by TChris

The first stage of Scott Peterson's murder trial -- jury selection -- began today as prospective jurors filled out lengthy questionairres. The precise content of the questionairres has not been disclosed, but the one-hundred-plus questions apparently include "whether they read Field and Stream magazine, what stickers grace their car bumpers and whether they've ever lost a child."

Potential jurors in Peterson's case will eventually be questioned individually by prosecutors and defense lawyers, outside the presence of other potential jurors. Jury selection is expected to take four to six weeks.

by TChris

Defense attorneys contend that the FBI used an informant to record communications with his lawyer, Scott Leemon. At the time, Leemon was representing Joseph Massino, who is accused of being a "boss" in a criminal organization. Massino's current counsel, David Breitbart, argues that Brooklyn federal prosecutors used the informant to learn the strategy that lawyers representing various members of the organization intended to use at an upcoming trial.

Prosecutors deny the allegation, saying that the FBI was merely looking for evidence of a crime when its informant recorded the conversations with Leemon. Breitbart says the tapes reveal no evidence of criminal activity, but they do show that the informant "pumped Leemon for defense strategy and learned that the defense would not try to dispute government evidence about the structure of the organized crime family."

As a result, the defense attorneys said they are asking that the lead prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Andres, be removed from the case or barred from using evidence gathered by the informant in the upcoming racketeering trial of reputed Bonanno boss Joseph Massino and two other men.

Judge Nicholas Garaufis instructed prosecutors to produce FBI documents and other reports that show how the informant was handled by investigators. Leemon may also be asked to testify.

by TChris

The President's use of 9/11 images in his reelection campaign advertising is upsetting to some who lost family members in the terrorist attack.

Until Bush cooperates with the federal commission that is investigating the nation's preparedness before the attacks and its response "by testifying in public under oath ... he should not be using 9-11 as political propaganda," said Kristen Breitweiser, of Middletown Township, N.J., whose husband, Ronald Breitweiser, 39, died in the World Trade Center.

The White House has been reluctant to provide the bipartisan commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks with the access it desires to the President, the Vice President, or intelligence briefings that would reveal what the administration knew about the possibility of attacks before they occurred.

Others are upset at the use of tragic imagery for a political purpose, regardless of the President's cooperation (or lack thereof) with the investigation.

"It's as sick as people who stole things out of the place," said Firefighter Tommy Fee of Queens Rescue Squad 270. "The image of firefighters at ground zero should not be used for this stuff, for politics."

While the ads are designed to improve the President's image, they may backfire.

"I would be less offended if he showed a picture of himself in front of the Statue of Liberty," said Tom Roger, whose daughter perished on American Airlines Flight 11.

"But to show the horror of 9/11 in the background, that's just some advertising agency's attempt to grab people by the throat."

by TChris

A report that should provide additional insight into how Republican Senate staffers gained unauthorized access to confidential memoranda prepared for the use of Democratic Senators has not yet been made public, but Senators met privately to discuss it.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who viewed the report on Wednesday with ranking Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont, would not reveal what Sergeant-at-Arms William Pickle said in the report before closing the committee meeting to the public and the media. Only senators and their top Judiciary Committee lawyer were allowed inside.

But "whether any criminal laws were broken, the improper access was wrong and unjustifiable," said Hatch, who blamed "two misguided former Senate staffers" for the computer intrusion.

Leahy wants the Committee to release those parts of the report that would not compromise a potential criminal investigation. Information released to date indicates "that the computer intrusion went on for at least two years starting in 2001, and that thousands of documents were downloaded."

Thanks for all your good wishes. We can't type much yet, but the surgeon said a little is ok. We have to keep our arm above our heart (like on top of our head or in a position where it looks like we are taking an oath or pretending to be the Statue of Liberty) for the next week. And we're not allowed to go to work or drive.

We ended up doing a local anesthetic block with a sedative-type drug that put us to sleep rather than a general anesthetic so we woke up just fine. No way to tell if the surgery was a success yet, we'll keep you posted.

We are so lucky to have TChris here for another day.

by TChris

Terrorism prosecutions in Germany continue to be compromised by the failure of the United States to provide access to witnesses. Last month, a German court acquitted Abdelghani Mzoudi of charges that he aided 9/11 hijackers because the United States would not provide access to witnesses held by the American government. Now a German court has ordered a new trial for the only person convicted for playing a part in the 9/11 attacks.

Defense lawyers for Moroccan citizen Mounir Motassadeq had repeatedly asked for evidence from Ramzi Binalshibh, who is in secret U.S. custody. U.S. officials have called Binalshibh a central conspirator in the attacks, but they declined to produce him for the trial, citing national security concerns.

Motassadeq's conviction of membership in a terrorist organization and accessory to murder was based on evidence that he helped the hijackers stage the attacks by transferring money. Motassadeq denied knowledge of their plans.

The U.S. government's prosecution of Zacarias Moussoui derailed when the government refused to allow him to interview the same witness. It therefore isn't surprising that the U.S. would invoke the same policy to subvert fair trials for defendants in other countries. It is surprising that the U.S. is willing to compromise terrorism prosecutions for the sake of adhering to that misguided policy.