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<font face="Garamond" size=5 color="#990000"><b>Motion to Dismiss Filed/
Website Relaunched/ <br>
Urgent Calls for Donations<br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond" size=3 color="#000033">"Justice
demands that the United States honor its agreement with Dr. Sami
Al-Arian"<br>
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<font face="Trebuchet MS" size=3>March 26, 2009 -</b> <b>Alexandria, VA
-</b> Dr. Sami Al-Arian's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the
criminal contempt charges against him in federal court on Monday. The
motion contained three grounds for the dismissal of the charges. It
argues that the orders to testify before the grand jury violated the 2006
Plea Agreement between Dr. Al-Arian and the government. Second, it states
that the government has provided the Court with insufficient evidence for
this case to proceed to the jury. Finally, upholding the indictment would
undermine the integrity of the Court and the legal
process.(<a href="http://www.freesamialarian.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=676:motion-to-dismiss&catid=23:2009&Itemid=77">
Click Here for the Motion to Dismiss and the Attached Exhibits</a>.)
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The motion also contains five
previously filed declarations from Dr. Al-Arian and his Florida attorneys
that lay out in considerable detail the circumstances surrounding the
2006 plea negotiations (see Exhibits A-E). It also exposes the underlying
reason for this continuing legal saga: While Dr. Al-Arian was originally
told that the subsequent plea agreement would not only close the matter
in Florida, but also end all business with the US Government, Eastern
District of Virginia (EDVA) Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg now admits that he
wanted Dr. Al-Arian to testify in order to revisit the same issues
litigated in Florida, in spite of the acquittals.<br><br>
The motion provides new disclosures
that: (1) the government conceded that there was a cooperation provision
removed during negotiations with the defense (see Exhibits F and G); (2)
Mr. Kromberg and the EDVA investigation were expressly mentioned during
the plea negotiations; (3) Mr. Kromberg and the EDVA were actively
involved with the consummation of the plea agreement; (4) Mr. Kromberg
informed the negotiating prosecutors that he was planning to compel the
testimony of Dr. Al-Arian, while the Florida prosecutors opposed the
effort to subpoena Dr. Al-Arian, believing that, under the agreement, he
would not be compelled to testify and would be allowed to leave the
country after serving the remainder of his time; (5) defense attorney
Linda Moreno's contemporaneous notes show that Dr. Al-Arian was assured
that no other jurisdiction was interested in him before the agreement was
finalized; (6) Mr. Kromberg knew about the plea agreement despite the
fact that it was still under seal in Florida; (7) the EDVA now concedes
that it was bound by the agreement and barred from re-litigating the same
issues raised in Florida; and (8) the Department of Justice played a
critical role in crafting the language of the agreement to avoid the need
for cooperation. <br><br>
Not only was this information
<b><i>not</i></b> available to the courts in Florida and Virginia where
Dr. Al-Arian previously challenged the subpoena, but it substantially
corroborates his longstanding claims that he was guaranteed
non-cooperation with the Department of Justice in any form, if he
accepted a plea deal. In fact, he opted for added prison time simply to
ensure that he would not have to cooperate. <br><br>
In a hearing earlier this month,
Judge Leonie Brinkema cautioned the government that "the Justice
Department is not a fishmonger. It's the Department of Justice. The
Department of Justice ought to always negotiate in complete good
faith." In the spirit of those sentiments, Dr. Al-Arian's motion
calls on Judge Brinkema to prevent the DoJ from using the Court as a
vehicle to abuse the justice system. The concerns over the integrity of
the system are magnified by the increasingly confused and conflicting
representations made to the Court by the government, among them, Mr.
Kromberg's controversial decision to unilaterally alter the
congressionally-mandated language used for immunity orders. <br><br>
Finally, the motion states that
"it should shock the conscience of the Court and counsel to commit a
person to a criminal trial on such a conflicted and controversial
record. Even after six hearings, five declarations, and reams of
legal argument, the Court still struggles with this record and to
reconcile the new evidence in the case." The motion further requests
that the case be completely dismissed and Dr. Al-Arian allowed to leave
the country in final fulfillment of his plea agreement - after three full
years of confinement beyond the original sentencing agreement. It
concludes: "Justice demands that enough is enough. It is time for
the United States government to honor its agreement with Dr. Sami
Al-Arian."<br><br>
Dr. Al-Arian is being represented by
George Washington Law professor Jonathan Turley, and Will Olson and P.J.
Meitl of Bryan Cave. The government has until April 6th to respond
to this motion. Judge Brinkema set the next hearing date for April 24,
2009 at 9 AM. During that hearing she will either dismiss the charges or
set a new trial date.<br><br>
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