Posted on 08/21/2009 3:35:30 PM PDT by OldDeckHand
The Justice Department has questioned attorneys who represent Gitmo detainees about the practice of showing photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, to detainees charged with organizing the 9/11 attacks. The investigation reportedly pertains to three lawyers who are said to have shown their clients the photos in an effort to identify CIA officers and contractors who interrogated these terrorists.
The photos were taken by researchers hired by a joint project of the ACLU and the National Assocation of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In some cases, the photographers are said to have taken the pictures sureptitiously outside the homes of CIA officers.
Federal statutes prohibit the identification of covert CIA officers. Moreover, the rules governing military commissions prohibit the disclosure of classified information, including to the defendant. Some of the CIA personnel whose photographs were shown to the organizers of 9/11 are said to be covert officers -- real ones, unlike socialite Valerie Plame.
According to the Washington Post, it is not clear whether the lawyers in question identified the CIA personnel by name or just asked whether the terrorists has seen the individual in the photograph. Whether this is a relevant distinction for legal purposes, I don't know. It shouldn't be.
The organizers of 9/11 and their fellow terrorists are committed to inflicting as much damage on the U.S. as possible. Those who remain at Gitmo are, for now, incapable of killing Americans. But they are still in position to inflict damage on America by raising false allegations of abuse against those in the CIA and other agencies who are charged with protecting our country from attack. I understand this practice was part of the training terrorists received.
The terrorists have been successful. Morale among those at agencies like the CIA who combat terrorism is said to be quite poor, as well it might be.
It was inevitable that the terrorists would have the help of lefty lawyers in their enterprise. These lawyers don't share the goal of killing Americans, of course, but they share with the terrorists the desire to inflict damage on those arms of the government that are serious about preventing this result. Once judges empowered these lefty lawyers to do their thing, the kind of abuse now being investigated also became inevitable.
I'll conclude with a prediction: whatever the results of the investigation into the conduct of the lawyers defending the terrorists, no meaningful action will be taken against these lawyers. Unfortunately, the lawyers now in charge at the Justice Department are ideologically indistinguishable from the lefty lawyers being investigated for violating the law and putting those who defend us from terrorism in harm's way.
I read earlier this year that a frightening number of DOJ political appointments were at one time defense lawyers for suspected terrorists imprisoned at Gitmo. This latest story, coupled with that reality doesn't bode well for America's safety moving forward.
The Dhiminicrats would honor any trial lawyer that did out a CIA agent.
A real one, not the DNC cover of Vanity Fair super spy.
It would be good if we could get a straight story on the names of the lawyers that did this and the name of the ‘research’ firm that took the pictures. This has to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. See the first thread for some good info on the lawyers involved in defending the indefensible terrorists.
A rope is too good for these lefty skunks
One of the unfortunate aspects of this is we don't have the names ~ yet ~ so we'll just have to round up ALL the government lawyers and run them through some preliminary hearings to find out which ones are truly criminal and which ones are just stupid.
No doubt that's going to be quite expensive but I'm sure they'll rat out their buds!
I don’t believe these are government lawyers that did this at all. They are ACLU lawyers..big difference. This story was probably leaked by someone in the CIA. There is a low level ‘war’ going on now between the Obama/Holder crowd at DOJ and the CIA. You are probably right that this will go nowhere...unless we make a big stink. The media will cover for Obama and his thugs til the end.
All along there have been MILITARY lawyers involved in this (and folks in private practice of course), but where do you imagine the photos came from? Do you think the ACLU just picked them up out of their extensive espionage files, or is it a case where government lawyers provided the material?
Maybe I am stupid, but why would anyone be on the side of terrorists. Do you think this terrorists would not like to slice the throats of these ACLU lawyer’s family.
If they don’t like America, get the F##$ out
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