Defense lawyers drop demand for wiretap data.Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard Without explanation and without comment, defense lawyers for the four remaining defendants in the Operation Backfire Operation Backfire may refer to:
Amanda Lee, a Seattle lawyer representing defendant Daniel McGowan, notified U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken on Wednesday that she is withdrawing the request "by reason of agreement with the government." Lee declined to elaborate on Thursday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall, a lead Backfire prosecutor, also declined to discuss the development. The remaining four defendants are scheduled in court on Thursday for a status conference, a hearing to update the judge on such things as negotiations for plea deals, proposed trial dates, or legal and evidentiary issues in dispute before trial. Operation Backfire is the largest federal investigation ever of arson and property damage by environmental radicals. The case surfaced with arrests last December and allegations that the defendants had done at least 18 acts of arson and vandalism in five states over a five-year period. Almost all of the actions were claimed anonymously by the underground groups Earth Liberation Front The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is the collective name for anonymous and autonomous individuals or groups that, according to the now defunct Earth Liberation Front Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the and Animal Liberation Front The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is a name used internationally by those who, through the means of direct action, oppose the use of animals as property or resources through capitalizing on the destruction and experimentation of animals. . Of the original 13 defendants, six have pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing Dec. 14. Three others are fugitives. Several other defendants have been charged in separate cases in courts in Washington and elsewhere who were allegedly affiliated with some of the Operation Backfire defendants. In an earlier legal brief, Lee said that President Bush, citing the war on terrorism Terrorist acts and the threat of Terrorism have occupied the various law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government for many years. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, as amended by the usa patriot act , had authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop eaves·drop intr.v. eaves·dropped, eaves·drop·ping, eaves·drops To listen secretly to the private conversation of others. on U.S. residents without showing a court any evidence that the residents might be tied to illegal activities. Lee also cited statements by top administration counterterrorism coun·ter·ter·ror adj. Intended to prevent or counteract terrorism: counterterror measures; counterterror weapons. n. Action or strategy intended to counteract or suppress terrorism. officials who described ELF and ALF ALF - Algebraic Logic Functional language as "one of today's most serious domestic terrorism threats." Lee argued that it was only logical to believe that the Backfire defendants, as suspected members of groups targeted as "terrorists," may have been subject to warrantless wiretaps and other surveillance that may be unconstitutional. In a hearing Aug. 22, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Peifer told Aiken that the NSA NSA abbr. National Security Agency Noun 1. NSA - the United States cryptologic organization that coordinates and directs highly specialized activities to protect United States information systems and to produce foreign played no role in the investigation. Aiken had set a deadline of today for prosecutors to provide documents answering Lee's request. |
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