|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
April 25th,
2007 - Wilkes’ Attorneys Target Classified Information Rules |
|
Wilkes’ Attorneys Target Classified
Information Rules By Kelly Thornton San Diego Union-Tribune April 25, 2007 Downtown San Diego – Rules
governing the use of classified information in the case against former Poway
defense contractor Brent Wilkes and ex-CIA official Kyle “Dusty” Foggo are
unconstitutional and should be scrapped, defense lawyers said. In documents filed late
Monday in federal court, Wilkes' attorneys said a requirement that defense
attorneys reveal the classified information they intend to use at trial is a
violation of Wilkes' rights. The case against Wilkes and
Foggo, who are accused of corruption related to the Randy “Duke” Cunningham
bribery scandal, is legally complicated because some of the evidence is top
secret and a judge has to approve its use in court. In some situations,
clients and lawyers are not even legally able to discuss the classified
information without court approval. Mark Geragos, one of Wilkes'
attorneys, said it is unfair to require the defense to disclose to the
prosecutors what the defendant's own classified testimony would be at trial,
as well as that of other defense witnesses. He also said the rules force the
defense to reveal what classified documents it plans to introduce at trial
and what classified information it might use in opening and closing
statements and cross-examinations. “These broad notice and hearing
requirements ... violate Brent Wilkes' basic constitutional rights, including
the privilege against compelled self-incrimination, the right to testify in
his own defense, the right to cross-examine adverse witnesses, and the right
to due process of law,” Geragos wrote. The process by which a judge
determines which classified evidence can and cannot be used at trial is
governed by a federal statute known as the CIPA, or Classified Information
Procedures Act. Under rules imposed recently
by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns at the government's request, defense
attorneys must receive security clearances to view classified evidence. They
must review classified information at a secure location within the federal
buildings downtown, under the supervision of a court-appointed security
officer. If they want to use classified information during the trial, they
will have to seek court permission. If Burns decides the
defendant is entitled to use the information, the government has to decide
whether to risk disclosure and proceed, or drop the prosecution. The
government has argued that disclosure of certain information would compromise
national security. Also in the court documents,
Geragos balked at rules that would require him to undergo a background investigation
to obtain top-secret clearance, particularly because he said he is prepared
to go to trial without access to the information. Geragos asked the court to
declare the CIPA unconstitutional or, failing that, find that the statute
does not apply to this case. Geragos said he is ready to go to trial.
“Without the imposition of (the) CIPA requirement, the case can be tried in
short order,” he wrote. In other pretrial requests
by defendants this week, Foggo's lawyers, Mark J. MacDougall and W. Randolph
Teslik, asked the court to let them speak to their client about classified
matters. And, like Wilkes' lawyers, they asked for an investigation of leaks
to the media about secret grand jury information. The lawyers have complained
that they learned about their clients' impending indictment from reporters. Burns is scheduled to hear
arguments on these matters May 14. External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070425-9999-7m25wilkes.html |