ADL
court battle over
secret spy files continues
in San Francisco state appeals court
| When the FBI and San Francisco police raided ADL offices,
10,000 files were seized of individuals and organizations the ADL had spied
on. |
SAN
FRANCISCO-The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) argued before a state appeals
court Sept. 16, that it should not have to disclose thousands of files
of documents seized in a raid of the organization's office by the San Francisco
Police Department.
The ADL is appealing a decision rendered last year by San Francisco
Superior Court Judge Alex Saldamando allowing 17 activists to see files
the ADL collected on them. The ADL argued that it was acting as a journalist
organization, preparing reports, and was entitled to protect its sources.
A panel of three judges is expected to give its ruling in December.
Seventeen activists filed suit against the ADL after the 1993 raid revealed
it had spied on them. The activists are suing to see the files the ADL
have collected as well as a $2,500 payment for each count of illegal disclosure
of confidential information.
ADL attorney Stephen Bomse argued in court that there was no evidence
of lawbreaking that would justify invading the ADL's files.
"The reason there may not be a scintilla of evidence is that your
client has it and won't disclose it," replied Presiding Justice J.
Anthony Kline, according to reports by the Associated Press.
"I felt very encouraged by the line of questioning by the judges,"
said former Congressman Pete McCloskey, who represents the activists in
the case. Judging from the questions asked by the justices, he expects
an outcome in his favor.
When the FBI and San Francisco police raided ADL offices, 10,000 files
were seized of individuals and organizations the ADL had spied on.
While the ADL claimed it was monitoring racist extremists groups like
the Klu Klux Klan and Skin Heads, included in those files was information
on the NAACP, Nation of Islam, Greenpeace, Food Not Bombs, the International
Jewish Peace Federation and many other respected organizations.
"The ADL is basically a smear organization ... they are the most
militant of American Jewish organizations," Mr. McCloskey told The
Final Call. Mr. McCloskey's wife, a plaintiff in the suit, was also a target
of the ADL spy ring.
Though the ADL came under criminal investigation for the spying, the
case was eventually dropped by the district attorney. A civil suit brought
by the city of San Francisco was settled when the ADL agreed to pay $75,000
and pledged to stop acquiring secret government files.
-David Muhammad
