Judge refuses to give FBI custody of classified document
The document in the al-Haramain case is significant because it's the only material so far that may provide details of the administration's secret NSA warrantless eavesdropping program. The company that publishes the Oregonian newspaper last week filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Oregon to unseal the document.
Lawyers for the Oregonian Publishing Co. argued that it is in the public interest to know the contents of the document that could prove the existence of the potentially illegal domestic spying program.
The Justice Department told lawyers involved in the case that it will oppose any attempts to unseal documents and will ask the court to bar the company from intervening in the case.
In March 2000, charity codirector al-Buthe left the country with $130,000 in travelers checks that was donated for Chechen refugees. In February 2004, the feds froze the foundation's assets. The NSA, Nelson says, intercepted calls between al-Buthe and his lawyers between February and April 2004.
The complaint states that the government used the intercepted information against the charity, resulting in the designation of the charity and al-Buthe in September 2004 as terrorists. Then in February 2005, both were indicted for illegally taking the money out of the country. A federal judge last September dropped the case against the charity but preserved the government's right to bring criminal charges against the organization in the future. Nelson points out that there has been no terrorism indictment against the charity or al-Buthe, who remains a fugitive.
The document, wrote Charles F. Hinkle, the publisher's lawyer, "may contain evidence of arguably unlawful conduct on the part of the U.S. government against U.S. citizens."
There is a "broad and legitimate public interest" in the contents of the document, Hinkle wrote, asserting the right of the press and public to have access to them. Hinkle further argues that because Nelson did not indicate that the document is classified, they are not protected by laws shielding classified information from disclosure in criminal cases.
Nelson says that he is agnostic about the Oregonian's motion. "We are neutral whether it's unsealed or not," Nelson says. "To the extent there are any attorney-client communications in the sealed documents, we want them redacted."
As reported in U.S. News, Nelson and his family and colleagues believe that on numerous occasions, the government may have searched his premises without a proper warrant, though the U.S. attorney in Oregon has assured the lawyer that the FBI would not conduct a search without consent or a court order. The NSA has declined to provide Nelson any information.
Hinkle says the Oregonian and the public deserve full disclosure.
"If the government carried out an illegal and unconstitutional program," he said, "then we think it's very important that the public know about that. "
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