Govt. Settles FBI Lab Documents Suit By Michael J. Sniffen Associated Press Writer Thursday , July 6, 2000 WASHINGTON –– The Justice Department agreed Thursday to pay $355,000 in legal fees to settle a lawsuit brought by defense lawyers and a whistleblower for release of documents from its investigation of the FBI crime lab, a government spokesman and a plaintiff said. And more than 53,000 pages of documents from the department's internal investigation of the world-renowned FBI lab will be posted on the Internet for the public to read and defense lawyers to comb for possible evidence of government errors that might benefit their clients. The government agreed that it would not charge the plaintiffs – the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, freelance writer and former NACDL spokesman Jack King and FBI lab whistleblower Frederic Whitehurst – for the 53,000 pages of documents already released in the case. In an unusual element, the government also agreed that the Justice Department inspector general's website will provide an Internet link to the plaintiffs' website containing the documents. The link will be posted within the next 90 days at the site: http://www.usdoj.gov/oig.igspecr1.htm. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the settlement, which was filed after hours with the U.S. District Court. Spurred by the allegations of Whitehurst, a lab chemist, Inspector General Michael Bromwich investigated the world-renowned crime lab for 18 months. In 1997, Bromwich blasted the FBI facility for flawed scientific work and inaccurate, pro-prosecution testimony in major cases including the Oklahoma City bombing. Five lab agents were recommended for discipline. King said he believed the $355,000 that the government will pay in fees for the plaintiffs' lawyers was the largest such amount in the history of Freedom of Information Act lawsuits. Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller confirmed that the settlement agreement had been signed and was being filed with the court, but he did not know if the fees were a record amount. King said the more than 53,000 pages released included all but three documents that the plaintiffs had sought. The government wanted to continue to withhold those three, he said. "This is the end of the case, but probably only the beginning of a long fight to right the wrongs of the past 20 years," King said. "The inspector general's 517-page report exposed rampant problems in the lab's Explosives and Materials and Analysis Units, but the backup materials we have obtained also document problems in other units, such as the DNA and Serology Unit." "The 53,000 pages of supporting documents will now be available for review by the public," King added. "We hope at least a few of the federal and state prisoners wrongfully convicted by sloppy and forged lab work and erroneous and false testimony by the dozen former lab examiners named in the report might get new trials, fair trials this time." The Justice Department has undertaken a review of cases that might have been affected by lab errors. Some testimony and evidence has been either withdrawn, withheld or revised and some charges have been dropped from multiple-count indictments. But the government maintains that no defendant charged or convicted has been totally exonerated as result of lab improprieties. ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> *Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day. ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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