MIAMI, UNITED STATES.-The federal prosecutors of New York they have become the focus of attention and controversy after acknowledging having said one “Outright lie” to lawyers defending a criminal defendant, at a time when they tried to downplay the mismanagement of evidence in the failed trial of a businessman accused of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.
This same prosecution is the one that carries several accusations against Honduran leaders and politicians, linked to drug cartels.
Media like the Washington Post and ABC News they echo what is considered a scandal that evidences the manipulation of a trial. Journalistic history emerges after the news agency AP requested documents from a particular case.
According to these media outlets, “shameful revelations about what many consider the top U.S. criminal investigation office were contained in dozens of private text messages, transcripts and correspondence revealed Monday, despite prosecutors’ objection, only The Associated Press. “
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The release of the records followed a ruling last week in which U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan urged the Justice Department to open an internal investigation into possible misconduct by prosecutors from the International Terrorism and Narcotics Unit. to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. .
both the Washington Post as ABC News report that while Judge Nathan found no evidence that prosecutors intentionally withheld evidence from lawyers representing an Iranian banker, Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, said they made a “deliberate attempt to hide” the truth and tried to “bury” the truth. “1 key document that could have helped the defense.
The mistakes were so serious that even after getting a conviction, prosecutors dropped all charges against Sadr.
Documents revealed Monday provide a detailed view of how the case against Sadr began to sink in the span of a few turbulent hours last March, when the trial was about to be completed.
As reported on a Friday night, a bank statement appeared that the line prosecutor, Deputy Federal Prosecutor Jane Kim, wanted to present as evidence. But he realized he had not yet shared it with Sadr’s lawyers, a possible violation of the rules aimed at ensuring a fair trial.
Kim initially suggested handing him over immediately to the defense. But a colleague, Deputy Federal Prosecutor Stephanie Lake, recommended “wait until tomorrow and bury him in some other documents,” the U.S. media note says.
The trick didn’t work. Sadr’s lawyers identified the document as new within an hour. They complained to prosecutors, saying the document, a letter from Commerzbank to the U.S. Treasury Department office tasked with enforcing sanctions, would have helped them in their defense.
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Prosecutors, believing the document had no exculpatory value for the defense, made up an excuse and told lawyers they thought the record had been previously filed, he says.
Late on Sunday night, the judge Nathan he had given the prosecutors an hour to explain themselves.
Unit supervisors, Emil Bove and Shawn Crowley, got involved. In a text message exchange, Bove acknowledged that the initial excuse the litigation lawyers had given Sadr’s lawyers was a “blatant lie.”
Crowley, realizing the seriousness of his subordinates’ mistake and anticipating a harsh rebuke, confides in him. Bove that instead of looking at the prosecutors’ final arguments, she was going to “spend the rest of the night cleaning my office.”
“Puaj. These poor guys. This is going to be a bloodbath,” he wrote in a moment of frustration early Monday before appearing in court.
Bove agrees and acknowledges that the test team had “done some pretty aggressive things here over the last few days.” “Yes, we lied in that letter,” Crowley replies.
Even the American media cites an ethics expert who questions the prosecutors’ conduct.
Stephen Gillers, a professor of ethics at New York University School of Law, said the prosecutors’ conduct in the case, as described by the judge, was “alarming.”
“If it can happen in what many lawyers consider the nation’s top prosecutor, where can’t it go?” said Gillers. “The behavior here is what one might expect from an overly aggressive lawyer representing a private party.
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