Federal judge rejects review of NSA wiretaps in terrorism case

[struggle4progress]

A federal judge Monday denied a request by defense lawyers to review alleged National Security Agency (NSA) wiretaps in the government's case against a Pakistani-American father and son who are accused of terrorism-related activities. Hamid Hayat was charged with lying to US law enforcement agents about attending terrorist training camps in Pakistan, and his father Umer is on trial for lying to the FBI regarding his son's activities.

Following reports last year that the US had been monitoring domestic communications without warrants , defense lawyers asked to review all documents and records that the NSA may have had on Hamid and his father. The details of the ruling by District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. in the US District Court for the Eastern District of California remain classified. The government rested its case against the pair last month. Defense lawyers in several other high profile terrorism cases have made similar efforts to determine whether the NSA's domestic surveillance program was used to obtain evidence against their clients. Reuters has more.

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/federal-judge-rejects-review-of-nsa.php