The Tampa Tribune
Dec. 18, 2003
Al-Arian Attorneys Curious About Shredding
By Elaine Silvestrini

TAMPA – Sami Al-Arian’s defense team wants to know more about the mistaken shredding of original court documents relating to searches of Al- Arian’s home and offices in 1995. Attorneys William B. Moffitt and Linda Moreno filed a motion Wednesday questioning U.S. Magistrate Thomas B. McCoun III’s recent decision to have investigators and prosecutors try to reconstruct the lost files.

Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor, is facing trial January 2005 on charges he was the North American leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist organization responsible for numerous suicide bombings in Israel.

Indicted in February, Al-Arian has been under investigation for several years.

The documents, including search warrants and affidavits, mistakenly were shredded by court employees who misinterpreted court guidelines over what documents to shred.

Authorities have said every magistrate file dating from mid-1996 and earlier has been lost.

Al-Arian’s attorneys want to know more about the circumstances surrounding the shredding.

In their motion, they say McCoun held a hearing Dec. 4 to discuss with attorneys the exchange of information.

At the hearing, McCoun didn’t mention the shredding, although attorneys later learned of it in a letter from McCoun that was dated Dec. 3.

The defense attorneys also are questioning why McCoun has had conversations with investigators outside the presence of defense representatives.

In addition, the attorneys filed a copy of a letter they wrote to the U.S. attorneys handling the case in which they noted another recently unsealed affidavit disclosed that the prosecution has in its possession translations of wiretap conversations involving Al- Arian.

Those translations have not been provided to the defense, the attorneys said.

“We believe the government has not acted in good faith by choosing not to disclose the translations and transcripts,” the attorneys wrote.