[Intelforum] Secrecy News -- 11/22/11

Tue Nov 22 14:04:10 EST 2011

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SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2011, Issue No. 108
November 22, 2011

Secrecy News Blog:  http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

**     LEAK PROSECUTIONS INCH FORWARD
**     CRS VIEWS U.S. RESPONSE TO LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY
**     JASON ADVISORY GROUP HOLDS FALL MEETING

LEAK PROSECUTIONS INCH FORWARD

The three ongoing prosecutions under the Espionage Act of individuals who
allegedly "leaked" classified information to the press are slowly moving
forward.

Prosecutors will present their opening brief to an appeals court in the
case of Jeffrey A. Sterling, a former CIA officer who is accused of leaking
classified information to author James Risen, on January 13, 2012,
according to a proposed briefing schedule that was filed yesterday.

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/sterling/112111-briefing19.pdf

The prosecution of Sterling has been suspended in lower court while the
government appeals several court rulings that it considers unfavorable.

Specifically, the government wants to overturn the court's finding that
Mr. Risen is protected by a "reporter's privilege" and cannot be compelled
to identify his source.  Prosecutors also want to reverse what they
described as an order relating to the Classified Information Procedures Act
(CIPA) that the identity of certain government witnesses must be disclosed
to the defendant and the jury.  Finally, they are appealing an order that
eliminated two potential government witnesses because prosecutors failed to
disclose adverse information about the witnesses in a timely manner, a
November 9 docketing statement said.

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/sterling/110911-docket13.pdf

Interestingly, defense attorneys deny that the second issue involving
disclosure of witness identities is a CIPA issue that can be appealed at
this stage.  They point out that "No order has been entered by the District
Court allowing the defendant, over the Government's objection, to disclose
any classified information.  No sanctions have been imposed upon the
Government for refusing to allow for the disclosure of any classified
information by the defendant in any manner."  Therefore, "Mr. Sterling does
not agree that this appeal raises any issues appealable under CIPA."

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/sterling/112111-sterling17.pdf

It was also announced yesterday that the case of Army Private Bradley
Manning, the suspected WikiLeaks source, will proceed to what is called an
Article 32 hearing on December 16 at Fort Meade, Maryland.

"The primary purpose of the Article 32 hearing is to evaluate the relative
strengths and weaknesses of the government's case as well as to provide the
defense with an opportunity to obtain pretrial discovery," according to
Private Manning's attorney, David E. Coombs. "The defense is entitled to
call witnesses during the hearing and to also cross examine the
government's witnesses."

  http://armycourtmartialdefense.info/2011/11/article-32-hearing.html

The other ongoing leak prosecution under the Espionage Act is that of
former State Department contractor Stephen Kim, who is accused of leaking
classified information to Fox News reporter James Rosen.  The prosecution
of Mr. Kim is still in an early stage of pre-trial discovery, according to
a November 15 status report.

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/kim/111511-status61.pdf

CRS VIEWS U.S. RESPONSE TO LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY

The U.S. government response to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a brutal
paramilitary group in Uganda, is discussed in a new report from the
Congressional Research Service.

The Obama Administration has provided humanitarian and operational support
to Ugandan efforts to counter the LRA.  Most recently, the U.S. has
authorized the deployment of U.S. military advisers to assist the Ugandan
military in the anti-LRA campaign.

"The U.S. approach to the LRA raises a number of issues for policymakers,
some of which could have implications far beyond central Africa," the CRS
report said. "A key question, for some, is whether the response is
commensurate with the level of threat the LRA poses to U.S. interests, and
whether the deployment of U.S. military personnel could lead to unintended
consequences. More broadly, decisions on this issue could potentially be
viewed as a precedent for U.S. responses to similar situations in the
future."

A copy of the new report was obtained by Secrecy News.  See "The Lord's
Resistance Army: The U.S. Response," November 21, 2011:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42094.pdf

JASON ADVISORY GROUP HOLDS FALL MEETING

The JASON defense advisory panel held its Fall meeting last weekend with
briefings on a range of national security topics.  A copy of the program
from the closed meeting is posted here:

	http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/jason/fall2011.pdf

The JASONs completed at least seven studies this year for various
government agencies with titles such as "Solar EMP" and "Domestic Nuclear
Surge Operations."  Secrecy News has requested review of those studies for
public release.

_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.

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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web:    www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email:  saftergood at fas.org
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twitter: @saftergood