quote:WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has exaggerated its performance in the war on terrorism, interfered with a major terror prosecution and compromised a confidential informant, a federal prosecutor has alleged in an extraordinary lawsuit against Attorney General John Ashcroft.
The lawsuit by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino is the latest twist in the Bush administration's first major post-Sept. 11 terrorism prosecution, a Detroit case jeopardized over allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
Ha! You GO, girl!
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
I'm a little confused by the article. It sounds as if Convertino himself is on trial for something (obstruction perhaps) based on not turning over evidence to defense attorneys but he now says blames the Justice Department for that lapse?
Am I misreading this?
I just want to be careful here. It sounds like maybe this guy might be hiding behind whistle-blower statutes.
However, I think Ashcroft is still to blame.
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
Bob,
I agree it's hard to tell exactly what the facts are, but it kind of looks like a "lose-lose" situation for the administration.
No matter what, it's not exactly an advertisement for an effective war against terrorism. So, even if the blame for the apparent problems with the prosecution fall on the prosecutor, it calls attention to one more conviction that could be overturned.
Either way, not the kind of thing public relations people like to work with.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Yeah, it sure looks that way. I found a better article in the Washington Post. Unfortunately, you have to join to view, so I'm not going to link to it. It gives more particulars about the case that prompted all this. Apparently, what's at stake is that a judge is threatening to toss out convictions of people whose cases were affected by this guy not giving over information about a note stating that some original informant testimony was a lie. This prosecutor is in turn suing the Justice Department for delaying in getting him that information.
The end result is the fear that it could spill over to lots of other anti-terrorism prosecutions across the US.