Terrorism

Internet Archive’s Suit Gets FBI to Withdraw National Security Letter

The FBI is dropping its demand for information about a subscriber from the Internet Archive as part of a settlement of a lawsuit. The agency is also agreeing to allow discussion of the case, which challenged a national security letter issued by the agency. The victory is one of only…

May 8, 2008 11:21 AM CDT

Fearing Tapped Phone Calls, Gitmo Lawyers Seek Confirmation

Several lawyers who represent Guantanamo detainees have changed the way they practice law because of concerns that the government is listening in to all of their phone conversations. One lawyer got a new phone because of concerns it had been wiretapped, the New York Times reports. Another sometimes asks a…

May 7, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Ashcroft & Yoo to Testify in Hearings; House Panel Subpoenas Top Cheney Aide

A House panel is moving ahead with efforts to force testimony by those believed to have played leading roles in helping the Bush administration craft aggressive interrogation policies for terrorism suspects. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft and John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer who wrote an interrogation memo that…

May 6, 2008 6:12 PM CDT

Sept. 11 Cases Unlikely to Reach Trial at Guantanamo This Year

Some Guantanamo detainees have been in court as they were arraigned or their lawyers argued motions, but none has yet seen a jury trial. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon for suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks, the Washington Post reports. Many experts believe the first trials for these…

May 6, 2008 1:27 PM CDT

Justice Department to Show Secret Memos to Intelligence Committees

The Justice Department has agreed to show lawmakers copies of Justice Department secret memos justifying harsh interrogation techniques in national security cases. Members of the House and Senate intelligence committees will be able to see the opinions, but they won’t be allowed to keep paper or electronic copies, the Washington…

May 1, 2008 11:09 AM CDT

Judge to Consider Prosecution Sanctions in Student Explosives Case

Lawyers for a college student charged with transporting explosives are seeking sanctions against Florida prosecutors for delays in turning over thousands of documents and videos found on home computers. The lawyers for former University of South Florida student Youssef Megahed claim prosecutors had the documents since January, but did not…

Apr 30, 2008 5:08 PM CDT

Guantanamo Detainee Switches Wardrobe and Hearing Participation

Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Guantanamo detainee who maintains he was nothing more than a driver for Osama bin Laden, told a military judge yesterday that he will boycott the proceedings. Hamdan said the military commission process is a sham and there are too few humanitarian rights at Guantanamo, the Washington…

Apr 30, 2008 3:10 PM CDT

Appeals Court Upholds Port Authority Liability in Trade Center Attack

A New York appeals court has upheld a verdict finding the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. The jury found the authority had not properly protected the garage where the bomb exploded, the Associated Press reports. Jurors…

Apr 30, 2008 10:44 AM CDT

Ex-Gitmo Prosecutor Testifies About Push for High-Profile and Faster Cases

The former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay testified for a defendant yesterday that Pentagon officials pressured him to hurry cases along and to prosecute high-profile detainees first for “strategic political value.” Col. Morris Davis testified that Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, who oversaw the military commissions, had asked him to act…

Apr 29, 2008 10:38 AM CDT

Former Gitmo Chief Prosecutor to Testify in Driver’s Hearing Today

Col. Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, is expected to testify for the defense in a hearing that begins today. Lawyers for Salim Hamdan, the former driver for Osama bin Laden, asked Davis to testify because of his charges that the prosecution was being influenced by political…

Apr 28, 2008 4:25 PM CDT

Mistakenly Revealed Logbook Has Lawyers Convinced They Are Monitored

Lawyers in Oregon and Washington, D.C., who represent a Saudi charity believe they have proof that the government improperly monitored their conversations with clients accused of financing terrorism. It’s in the form of a logbook stamped “top secret” that was mistakenly handed over to the lawyers in August 2004, the…

Apr 28, 2008 10:36 AM CDT

DOJ Letter Gives CIA Some Latitude in Interrogations

A Justice Department letter sent to Congress last month suggests the Central Intelligence Agency may use interrogation methods possibly barred by the Geneva Conventions to prevent a terrorist attack. An executive order issued by President Bush last July said the CIA would comply with international law in conducting its interrogations.…

Apr 28, 2008 10:07 AM CDT

Lawmaker Wants to Add Terrorism Wiretap Authority to Funds Bill

A Republican congressman plans to try to attach a terrorism wiretap bill to legislation to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. Rep. Jerry Lewis says the measure would protect communications companies that cooperated with the government’s wiretap program, the Politico reports. The House adjourned in February without approving…

Apr 25, 2008 4:55 PM CDT

Autobiography of an Enemy Combatant

Murat Kurnaz is a German man who spent five years in the custody of the U.S. and its allies and is still considered an enemy combatant even now that he has been released and sent home. Allegedly tortured and held for years even after U.S. and German authorities determined he…

Apr 23, 2008 9:24 PM CDT

Anti-Terror Case Losses Calls DOJ’s Strategy Into Question

With few clear wins in its criminal prosecution of terrorism suspects, the Justice Department is facing scrutiny for its strategy of going after American-based terrorist cells and the people believed to fund terror plots before any deadly events occur. The Washington Post reports that jurors seemed particularly troubled by a…

Apr 21, 2008 12:55 PM CDT