Professional Documents
Culture Documents
312 Govt Opposition To Defendant's Motion Concerning Alleged Leaks and Public Comments by Law Enforcement 051614
312 Govt Opposition To Defendant's Motion Concerning Alleged Leaks and Public Comments by Law Enforcement 051614
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
)
v. ) Crim. No.13-10200-GAO
)
DZHOKHAR A. TSARNAEV, )
Defendant )
GOVERNMENT=S OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT=S MOTION
CONCERNING ALLEGED LEAKS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT
The Uni t ed St at es of Amer i ca, by and t hr ough i t s under si gned
counsel , r espect f ul l y opposes def endant Dzhokhar Tsar naev s mot i on
concer ni ng al l eged l eaks and publ i c comment s by l aw enf or cement .
INTRODUCTION
Tsar naev commi t t ed one of t he most ser i ous t er r or i st at t acks
on Amer i can soi l si nce Sept ember 11. Fr omt he st ar t , pr ess i nt er est
i n t he at t acks has been commensur at e wi t h t he enor mi t y of t he cr i mes.
The r ecent one- year anni ver sar y of t he at t acks pr ompt ed a new spat e
of ar t i cl es and t el evi si on pr ogr ams about t hem. Tsar naev cl ai ms
t hat some of t hese ar t i cl es and pr ogr ams cont ai n i nf or mat i on newl y
l eaked by l aw enf or cement of f i cer s i nvol ved i n t he i nvest i gat i on
and pr osecut i on of t he case. He al so cl ai ms t hat gover nment
per sonnel i nvol ved i n t he case have made pr ej udi ci al comment s about
hi mor t he evi dence. As shown bel ow, he i s mi st aken on bot h count s.
The pr osecut i on t eamhas scr upul ousl y avoi ded r el easi ng any
non- publ i c i nf or mat i on about t hi s case t o t he pr ess. As Tsar naev
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 1 of 11
2
acknowl edges, t he gover nment al so has r epeat edl y r emi nded l aw
enf or cement of f i cer s, bot h or al l y and i n wr i t i ng, of t hei r dut y t o
avoi d publ i c di scl osur e of i nvest i gat i ve mat er i al s. Despi t e
Tsar naev=s cl ai mt o t he cont r ar y, t her e have been no l eaks
what soever of gr and j ur y mat er i al ; t hat i s si mpl y r eckl ess
specul at i on by Tsar naev unsuppor t ed even by speci f i c al l egat i ons.
Vi r t ual l y al l of t he al l eged l eaks Tsar naev compl ai ns of i n
hi s mot i on f al l i nt o one of t hr ee cat egor i es: i nf or mat i on t hat was
publ i c t o begi n wi t h ( e. g. , phot os gi ven t o t he pr ess by
eyewi t nesses) ; i nf or mat i on cr eat ed by t he pr oducer s of t el evi si on
pr ogr ams f or dr amat i c ef f ect ; and i nf or mat i on t hat was r el eased by
t he gover nment i n t he days i mmedi at el y f ol l owi ng t he bombi ngs f or
l egi t i mat e publ i c saf et y pur poses. These non- l eaks of
i nf or mat i on pl ai nl y do not war r ant a hear i ng, l et al one any f or mof
r el i ef .
The comment s by f or mer l aw enf or cement of f i ci al s of whi ch
Tsar naev compl ai ns l i kewi se do not mer i t any f or mof r el i ef .
Tsar naev=s chi ef quar r el seems t o be wi t h Ri char d DesLaur i er s, f or mer
Speci al Agent - i n- Char ge of t he FBI =s Bost on Di vi si on, and St ephani e
Dougl as, f or mer Execut i ve Assi st ant Di r ect or of t he FBI =s Nat i onal
Secur i t y Br anch, who appear ed on t wo t el evi si on pr ogr ams t hat ai r ed
on or near t he anni ver sar y of t he Mar at hon bombi ngs ( namel y, a
Nat i onal Geogr aphi c speci al and a Si xt y Mi nut es epi sode) . Tsar naev
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 2 of 11
3
char act er i zes t hese i ndi vi dual s as l aw enf or cement agent s and
ar gues t hat t hey gave emot i onal descr i pt i ons and opi ni ons of t he
al l eged evi dence and t he def endant . ( Def t . Mot . at 5) . Tsar naev
cl ai ms t hat t hei r comment s vi ol at e 28 C. F. R. 50. 2( b) , whi ch ar e
gui del i nes f or al l per sonnel of t he Depar t ment of J ust i ce
concer ni ng t he di scl osur e of i nf or mat i on i n cr i mi nal cases. ( Def t .
Mot . at 6- 7) .
But Tsar naev=s ar gument compl et el y di sr egar ds t he f act t hat
nei t her Mr . DesLaur i er s nor Ms. Dougl as wer e per sonnel of t he
Depar t ment of J ust i ce when t hey r ecor ded t hei r t el evi si on
appear ances. Mr . DesLaur i er s and Ms. Dougl as bot h r et i r ed i n J ul y
2013 and wer e pr i vat e ci t i zens when t hey made t hei r r emar ks. Mor e
i mpor t ant , nei t her comment ed on t he evi dence i n a manner pr ej udi ci al
t o Tsar naev. Bot h mai nl y r ecount ed t he event s t hat l ed up t o t he
i dent i f i cat i on of a per son wear i ng a whi t e hat as one of t he bombi ng
suspect s and t he subsequent r el ease of phot os of t hi s suspect t o t he
publ i c. Nei t her of t hemcomment ed on t he i nvest i gat i on af t er t hat
poi nt - - yet i t was onl y af t er t hat poi nt t hat t he i ndi vi dual wear i ng
t he whi t e hat was i dent i f i ed as Tsar naev. Si mi l ar l y, bot h al so
t al ked about t he emot i ons t hey exper i enced whi l e wat chi ng a vi deot ape
of t he second bomb expl odi ng; but nei t her of t hemexpr essed any
opi ni ons about Tsar naev=s gui l t or i nnocence, or t he st r engt h of t he
evi dence agai nst hi m. I n shor t , even had Mr . DesLaur i er s or Ms.
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 3 of 11
4
Dougl as been per sonnel of t he Depar t ment of J ust i ce at t he t i me
t hey made t hei r r emar ks, i t i s doubt f ul t hat t hose r emar ks woul d have
vi ol at ed DOJ gui del i nes, l et al one pr ej udi ced Tsar naev.
ARGUMENT
Tsar naev ci t es f our speci f i c news r epor t s ( i n f our number ed
par agr aphs) t hat he mi st akenl y cl ai ms ar e r ecent medi a r el ease[ s]
of non- publ i c, i nvest i gat i ve i nf or mat i on or cont ai n i nappr opr i at e
comment s by per sonnel of t he Depar t ment of J ust i ce. ( Def t . Mot .
at 2) . We addr ess each of t hemi n t ur n.
1. I n t hi s par agr aph, Tsar naev compl ai ns t hat a Nat i onal
Geogr aphi c docudr ama pr omi nent l y f eat ur ed
pr evi ousl y- undi scl osed vi deo f oot age showi ng whi t e hat
( i dent i f i ed as Mr . Tsar naev) i n t he Mar at hon cr owd, t al ki ng on a
phone, and put t i ng a backpack on t he gr ound. ( Def t . Mot . at 2- 3) .
Thi s vi deo f oot age was not l eaked by t he gover nment . I n f act , t he
gover nment had never seen i t bef or e i t appear ed i n t he Nat i onal
Geogr aphi c speci al . I t appear s t o be a dr amat i zat i on st aged wi t h
act or s by t he show s pr oducer s. Mr . DesLaur i er s= comment t hat t he
vi deo i s dr amat i c and t r agi c and br ought t ear s t o our eyes each
t i me we wat ched i t must t her ef or e r ef er t o some ot her vi deo, most
l i kel y t he For umRest aur ant sur vei l l ance vi deo ( For umvi deo)
descr i bed i n det ai l i n t he Compl ai nt , whi ch shows t he expl osi on t hat
ki l l ed Mar t i n Ri char d and Li ngzi Lu. Even assumi ng Mr . DesLaur i er s
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 4 of 11
5
had been a gover nment empl oyee when he made t hose comment s, t hey ar e
not t he ki nd of pr ej udi ci al comment ar y on t he evi dence or t he
def endant pr ohi bi t ed by 28 C. F. R. 50. 2. I t i s not as i f Mr .
DesLaur i er s sai d, Looki ng at t he For umRest aur ant vi deo, I
per sonal l y amconvi nced t hat t he man who det onat ed t he bomb i s
Dzhokhar Tsar naev. Mr . DesLaur i er s di d not even ment i on Tsar naev.
He mer el y made t he r at her unr emar kabl e obser vat i on t hat wat chi ng a
vi deo of a chi l d and a young woman bei ng ki l l ed by a bomb i s an
emot i onal exper i ence.
Tsar naev al so compl ai ns t hat t he Nat i onal Geogr aphi c st or y
di scl osed phot ogr aphs of evi dence col l ect i on act i vi t i es at t he
bombi ng scene t hat had not been pr evi ousl y been made publ i c. To
t he best of t he gover nment =s knowl edge, t hese vi deo segment s ar e al so
st aged dr amat i zat i ons t hat cont ai n no f oot age l eaked by t he
gover nment .
2. Thi s par agr aph compl ai ns about evi dence shown or di scussed
i n a segment of t he CBS news show Si xt y Mi nut es. Tsar naev f i r st
compl ai ns t hat t he show f eat ur es a phot ogr aph depi ct i ng whi t e hat
at t he Mar at hon st andi ng behi nd a l i ne of chi l dr en. Thi s phot o was
not l eaked by t he gover nment . To t he best of t he gover nment =s
knowl edge, i t was t aken by a member of t he publ i c and gi ven t o Fox
News=s l ocal Bost on af f i l i at e, whi ch br oadcast i t on i t s own
i ni t i at i ve on Apr i l 18, 2013, at appr oxi mat el y 4: 30 p. m. Al l Mr .
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 5 of 11
6
DesLaur i er s says about t he phot o i s, I can see t he subj ect who has
been char ged and peopl e who wer e gr i evousl y i nj ur ed. Al t hough t he
gover nment agr ees t hat t he f i r st par t of t hi s r emar k woul d ar guabl y
have been cont r ar y t o 28 C. F. R. 50. 2( b) ( 2) i f Mr . DesLaur i er s had
been a DOJ empl oyee when he made i t , t he comment essent i al l y j ust
r epeat s an al l egat i on of t he Compl ai nt and t her ef or e i s not
subst ant i al l y pr ej udi ci al . Ms. Dougl as s comment s on t he phot o,
whi ch r ef er ence onl y i ncont r over t i bl e f act s ( namel y, t he pr esence
i n t he phot o of a backpack and of Mar t i n Ri char d) , ar e even mor e
i nnocuous. See 28 C. F. R. 50. 2( b) ( ADi scl osur es shoul d i ncl ude onl y
i ncont r over t i bl e, f act ual mat t er s. @) .
Tsar naev al so compl ai ns about Ms. Dougl as=s descr i pt i on of t he
For umvi deo, whi ch has never been made publ i c. But her descr i pt i on
of i t i s i dent i cal t o t he descr i pt i on i n t he Compl ai nt and t hus
di scl osed no non- publ i c i nf or mat i on. Fi nal l y, Tsar naev compl ai ns
t hat [ c] l i ps show t he col l ect i on of evi dence, as wel l as cl ose- ups
of speci f i c i t ems of evi dence. The i t ems of evi dence i n quest i on
ar e r emnant s of t he bombs used at t he Mar at hon ( e. g. , bat t er i es,
wi r es, pr essur e cooker par t s) and of t he backpacks i n whi ch t hey wer e
car r i ed. Al l of t hose i mages became publ i c on Apr i l 16, 2013 - - t he
day af t er t he bombi ngs - - bef or e Tsar naev was even a suspect .
Publ i cat i on of t hose phot os at t hat t i me ser ved an i mpor t ant publ i c
saf et y pur pose: i t pr ompt ed l eads f r ommember s of t he publ i c who
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 6 of 11
7
r ecogni zed some of t he i t ems and not i f i ed l aw enf or cement of t hei r
l i kel y or i gi ns.
Fi nal l y, Mr . DesLaur i er s comment t hat Tsar naev smi r ked at
hi s ar r ai gnment mer el y r epeat s an obser vat i on made by many
eyewi t nesses and r epor t ed by dozens of news out l et s at t he t i me. The
comment was unnecessar y, but Mr . DesLaur i er s one- voi ce- among- many
har dl y t hr eat ens Tsar naev=s r i ght t o a f ai r t r i al .
3. Thi s par agr aph compl ai ns about an ABC news ar t i cl e
concer ni ng an anal ysi s of t he bombs done by t he FBI t echni ci ans at
t he Ter r or i st Expl osi ve Devi ce Anal yt i cal Cent er ( TEDAC) i n
Quant i co, Vi r gi ni a i n l at e Apr i l 2013. The ar t i cl e st at es t hat t he
TEDAC anal ysi s f ound t hat t he bombs i n Bost on had a much mor e
sophi st i cat ed desi gn t han i n t he onl i ne magazi ne [ i . e. I nspi r e] ,
i ncl udi ng di f f er ence i n t he i ni t i at or s, power sour ce and swi t ch
t r i gger , whi ch ut i l i zed a t oy car r emot e cont r ol .
Once agai n, t hi s ar t i cl e does not r ef l ect a r ecent l eak of
i nf or mat i on and i s not an i nst ance of unf ai r pr et r i al publ i ci t y.
TEDAC=s mi ssi on, as set f or t h on i t s websi t e, i s t o coor di nat e[ ] t he
ef f or t s of t he ent i r e gover nment , f r oml aw enf or cement t o
i nt el l i gence t o mi l i t ar y, t o gat her and shar e i nt el l i gence about
t hese devi ces [ i . e. t er r or i st i mpr ovi sed expl osi ve devi ces or I EDs]
- - hel pi ng t o di sar mand di sr upt I EDs, l i nk t hemt o t hei r maker s,
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 7 of 11
8
and most i mpor t ant l y, t o pr event f ut ur e at t acks.
1
The TEDAC r epor t
r ef er enced i n t he ar t i cl e was pr epar ed i n t he days af t er t he at t ack
and made avai l abl e t o hundr eds of l aw enf or cement and i nt el l i gence
agenci es f or t he pr ot ect i on of i ndi vi dual s al l over t he wor l d. Gi ven
t he TEDAC r epor t =s wi de di st r i but i on, news ar t i cl es about i t began
appear i ng as ear l y as 11 days af t er t he bombi ng.
2
The r ef er ence t o
i t i n t he Apr i l 15, 2014 ABC news ar t i cl e t hus i s not a r ecent medi a
r el ease of non- publ i c, i nvest i gat i ve i nf or mat i on, as Tsar naev
cl ai ms i n hi s mot i on. ( Def t . Mot . at 2) .
Tsar naev=s mai n compl ai nt i n t hi s par agr aph seems t o be t hat he
has not r ecei ved t he TEDAC r epor t i n di scover y. The r eason f or t hat
has t o do wi t h TEDAC s mi ssi on. The FBI Labor at or y i s ( at l east i n
t hi s case) t he chi ef sour ce of f or ensi c evi dence t hat t he gover nment
i nt ends t o of f er at t r i al . FBI Labor at or y sci ent i st s have anal yzed
t he bombs, r econst r uct ed t hem, wr i t t en r epor t s, and wi l l t est i f y
about t hei r f i ndi ngs at t r i al . Al l FBI Labor at or y r epor t s ar e bei ng
pr oduced t o t he def ense as t hey ar e f i nal i zed. Al t hough TEDAC i s
physi cal l y l ocat ed at t he FBI Labor at or y at Quant i co, i t i s not
pr i mar i l y a l aw enf or cement component of t hat agency; r at her , agai n
1
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/terrorist-explosive-device-analytical-center-tedac/tedac
2
See e.g., http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/26/17932143-exclusive-
government-doc-shows-how-closely-boston-marathon-bombers-followed-al-qaeda-plans.
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 8 of 11
9
accor di ng t o i t s web si t e, i t i s a col l abor at i ve, mul t i - agency,
si ngl e- poi nt advanced I ED anal yt i cal cent er . . . [ t hat ] i s abl e t o
i dent i f y act i onabl e i nt el l i gence, make associ at i ons bet ween
devi ces, and communi cat e f i ndi ngs t o a br oad cust omer base consi st i ng
of st at e and l ocal l aw enf or cement , t he U. S. mi l i t ar y, t he
i nt el l i gence communi t y, and par t ner nat i ons. TEDAC=s pur pose i n
pr epar i ng i t s r epor t was t o qui ckl y al er t member s of t he l aw
enf or cement and i nt el l i gence communi t i es wor l dwi de about t he nat ur e
of t he Mar at hon bombs; i t was not t o pr oduce f or ensi c evi dence f or
use i n t hi s case.
4. Thi s par agr aph compl ai ns about an Apr i l 17, 2014 ABC News
r epor t t hat i ncl udes a pur por t ed i mage of a por t i on of t he not e
Tsar naev wr ot e on t he i nsi de of t he boat wher e he was f ound hi di ng
i n Wat er t own. The r epor t does not sour ce t he phot o, and t he
gover nment i s st i l l r esear chi ng i t s or i gi n and aut hent i ci t y.
Assumi ng t he phot o i s genui ne, i t i s possi bl e a l aw enf or cement
of f i cer coul d have di scl osed i t , but t hat i s not cer t ai n; f or sever al
days af t er t he Wat er t own shoot - out , t he boat was i n a semi - publ i c
space wher e i t mi ght have been phot ogr aphed by i ndi vi dual s not
associ at ed wi t h t hi s i nvest i gat i on; and si nce t hat t i me, t he def ense
t eami t sel f has i nspect ed t he boat and was per mi t t ed t o phot ogr aph
i t . I n any event , because t he boat st at ement i t sel f i s quot ed
ext ensi vel y i n t he I ndi ct ment , t he di scl osur e of a por t i on of t he
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 9 of 11
10
st at ement i n a phot ogr aph i s not a r ecent medi a r el ease of
non- publ i c i nf or mat i on, nor i s i t subst ant i al l y pr ej udi ci al .
I n sum, Tsar naev i s si mpl y wr ong when he cl ai ms t hat l eaks of
i nvest i gat i ve mat er i al s cont i nue seemi ngl y unabat ed. ( Def t . Mot .
at 5) . The r ecent news r epor t s of whi ch he compl ai ns cont ai n vi deo
f oot age cr eat ed by t el evi si on pr oducer s, i nf or mat i on t hat was made
publ i c i n cour t f i l i ngs, or i nf or mat i on t hat became publ i c l ong ago
and ser ved l egi t i mat e publ i c saf et y pur poses. The l eaks of gr and
j ur y i nf or mat i on t hat he specul at es may have occur r ed ar e
non- exi st ent and not even descr i bed wi t h suf f i ci ent par t i cul ar i t y
t o per mi t i nvest i gat i on. Fi nal l y, t he emot i onal descr i pt i ons and
opi ni ons of l aw enf or cement r egar di ng t he al l eged evi dence and t he
def endant of whi ch he compl ai ns wer e nei t her over l y emot i onal nor
made by cur r ent l aw enf or cement agent s. Tsar naev has est abl i shed
no need f or a hear i ng, l et al one a f act ual or l egal basi s f or a cour t
or der or cont empt f i ndi ng. Hi s mot i on shoul d t her ef or e be deni ed.
CONCLUSION
The gover nment i s f ul l y awar e of t he DOJ gui del i nes r espect i ng
di scl osur e of non- publ i c i nf or mat i on and has done i t s ut most t o
r espect t hem. I t wi l l cont i nue t o do so. I t has al so t aken
r easonabl e st eps t o ensur e t hat member s of t he l aw enf or cement
communi t y i nvol ved i n t hi s case ar e awar e of t he gui del i nes and
r espect t hem. I t woul d be unf ai r , however , t o hol d t he gover nment
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 10 of 11
11
account abl e f or t he act i ons of pr i vat e ci t i zens, r epor t er s, medi a
out l et s, or ot her s whomi t cannot cont r ol . Accor di ngl y, t he
gover nment r espect f ul l y r equest s t hat t he Cour t deny Tsar naev=s
mot i on i n i t s ent i r et y.
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 312 Filed 05/16/14 Page 11 of 11