By Pat Milton Associated Press Writer June 19, 2006, 8:42 PM EDT
NEW YORK -- Civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart, convicted of aiding terrorists last year, wants the federal government to reveal whether any warrantless or illegal electronic surveillance was conducted on her or anyone else in her case.
In a court petition filed Monday, Stewart contends that such an inquiry is necessary to determine whether such interceptions may have compromised her case.
The motion in Manhattan federal court follows revelations last year that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to monitor domestic communications _ without court approval _ when one party is overseas and terrorism is suspected.
Stewart, 66, was convicted in February 2005 of providing material support to terrorists by releasing the message of a notorious jailed client, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. She also was convicted of defrauding the government and making false statements after prosecutors said she broke her promise to abide by special rules when she helped pass messages between the sheik and his followers.
Abdel-Rahman was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his advisory role in a plot to blow up five New York City landmarks, including the United Nations in 1995.
Stewart, who represented the blind sheik at that trial, remained one of his lawyers afterward, agreeing to special rules the U.S. government put in place to prevent Abdel-Rahman from communicating with the outside world.
She had argued that Rahman was engaging in protected speech when he expressed his opinion about a cease fire by Islamic militants in Egypt that Stewart passed along in a 2000 press release.
Her sentencing was postponed indefinitely in March after being she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She faces up to 20 years in prison.
Bridget Kelly, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney, said there was no comment on the court motion.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--terrortrial-stewa06 19jun19,0,5744380.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm