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The Oregon – March 30, 2006
Haramain Fund:
Gonzales says files in Islamic case to remain sealed
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER
PORTLAND, Oregon — Evidence in a dismissed case against an Ashland branch of an Islamic charity will remain confidential, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Thursday.
Gonzales was in Portland to meet with the U.S. attorney's office in Oregon and to address a breakfast meeting of the Portland Business Alliance.
He said "certain kinds of information can be and should be withheld." He declined further comment on the case, saying it is in litigation.
A federal lawsuit seeks to shut down electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency, claiming the government illegally wiretapped conversations between the director of the Islamic charity Al-Haramain and two of the charity's attorneys.
The charity had been indicted on tax charges related to money laundering in 2004, but the charges were dismissed.
Lawyers for the charity opposed the dismissal, saying they wanted to know what evidence the government had.
One secret document in the lawsuit has been ordered held in a secure facility in Seattle at least for now. U.S. District Judge Garr King decided that the document couldn't be held securely in a federal courthouse in Portland, and shouldn't be held at the local office of the FBI, which is a defendant in the case.
Gonzales did not elaborate on the broader NSA wiretapping controversy beyond repeating President Bush's position that it is legal. "I can only talk about what the president has disclosed to the American public in December of last year," he said. "We have been very, very forthcoming about his authorities," he said. He said members of Congress continue to get briefings…….
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1143744549199470.xml&storylist=orlocal
Los Angeles Times – March 23, 2006
Judge urges release of chief fundraiser
for Islamic charity
A federal magistrate has recommended that a leading fundraiser for an Islamic charity allegedly linked to terrorists should be released from detention after nearly two years.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Johnson filed his recommendation Tuesday for the release of Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, 45.
The recommendation must be approved by another judge.
Hamdan, who also founded a mosque in Anaheim, was arrested on immigration charges in July 2004 as federal authorities unsealed an indictment against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development…..
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-holy23mar23,1,1645629.story
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