This is unbelievable:
WASHINGTON POST: The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, were unlawfully provided to detainees charged with organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Investigators are looking into allegations that laws protecting classified information were breached when three lawyers showed their clients the photographs, the sources said. The lawyers were apparently attempting to identify CIA officers and contractors involved in the agency’s interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects in facilities outside the United States, where the agency employed harsh techniques.
If detainees at the U.S. military prison in Cuba are tried, either in federal court or by a military commission, defense lawyers are expected to attempt to call CIA personnel to testify.
The photos were taken by researchers hired by the John Adams Project, a joint effort of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, to support military counsel at Guantanamo Bay, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the inquiry. It was unclear whether the Justice Department is also examining those organizations.
Both groups have long said that they will zealously investigate the CIA’s interrogation program at “black sites” worldwide as part of the defense of their clients. But government investigators are now looking into whether the defense team went too far by allegedly showing the detainees the photos of CIA officers, in some cases surreptitiously taken outside their homes.
Via -Lawyers Showed Photos of Covert CIA Officers to Guantanamo Bay Detainees – washingtonpost.com
…and what is the liberal argument for doing this?
This:
That’s what I asked Joshua Dratel, Chair of the John Adams Project Advisory Committee and a prominent defense lawyer who has represented numerous terror suspects before. Speaking this morning after the news broke that the Department of Justice is investigating military defense lawyers representing terror suspects, Dratel said he couldn’t talk about the specifics of the investigation. But he explained that even if defense lawyers had shown photos of people who might have interrogated their clients, that wouldn’t be breaking the law as long as they didn’t get those photos from the government, or know they were classified or deemed “protected” information by the government or a court.
“There are no court rules or rules in the military commissions that would prohibit showing detainees photos “as long as you obtained them from an unclassified source, and they weren’t otherwise covered by a protective order,” said Dratel.
In general, lawyers cannot show their clients information that is classified. And like anyone else, they can’t intentionally reveal the identity of a covert CIA agent knowing that the agent is or recently was playing a covert role with the CIA. It’s not clear if any lawyers showed their clients photos of interrogators who were acting covertly, but it’s also unclear how an official questioning a terror suspect on behalf of the CIA would be covert.
In any event, defense lawyers are troubled that the Justice Department decided to leak news of the investigation to reporters. The Washington Post and The New York Times both reported the story this morning.
“It’s unfortunate that someone in a position to know better decided to go public with this and attempt to smear people in a way that they can’t do legally,” Dratel said. “The investigation is something that’s extraordariny not only for the fact that it’s occurring, but for how it’s occurring, with people being confronted by law enforcement,” said Dratel.
Government agents reportedly approached three lawyers from the Judge Advocates General’s Corps two weeks ago and informed the military lawyers of their right to remain silent, then asked whether they’d shown their clients photos of CIA officials.
“Normally, when a prosecutor wants to subpoena a lawyer, they have to get permission and jump through a lot of hoops,” said Dratel. “I see this as heavy-handed.”
It also could be a way to intimidate the lawyers from aggressively defending their clients. Yesterday, American Civil Liberties Union president Anthony Romero vigorously defended the defense lawyers, who are receiving assistance from the ACLU through the John Adams Project, which has organized private attorneys to assist the military lawyers in defending terror suspects.
“Identifying who tortured our clients and what they did to them and when is an essential part of defending their interests in these sham proceedings,” Romero told The Times.
Sham proceedings. Spoken like a true communist. To the far left, the war on terror is a sham; that is because the liberals sympathize with the terrorists. Because of their hatred of this country and its capitalistic system, and by the way, that argument will not hold up in a court of law. The CIA people who identities are supposed to be protected, are that way for a reason, and these guys are blowing the whistle on them. I mean, the left threw a fit about Valerie Plame. But this is perfectly okay? Can you say double standard?
Of course, seeing that we have a liberal President and a Liberal Federal Prosecutor, nothing will become of it. Watch and see.
others: Michelle Malkin, Power Line, Threat Level, , The Jawa Report, Hot Air, Townhall.com, Wizbang, Gawker, Moonbattery, Sister Toldjah, Weekly Standard, Stop The ACLU, GayPatriot
