Prosecutors Accused Of Breaking Gag Rule
Prosecutors in the Oklahoma bombing case are trying to poison the minds of future Colorado jurors against accused bomber Timothy McVeigh, his lawyer charged Monday.
Stephen Jones also accused chief prosecutor Joseph Hartzler of violating a federal judge’s order limiting lawyers’ statements about the case.
Hartzler characterized as “wacky” some defense theories of the case in an interview with an Oklahoma newspaper Sunday.
He made the comment after prosecutors briefed about 200 victims and relatives of victims on the status of the case.
Jones has contended that the April 19, 1995, bombing of Oklahoma City’s federal building may have been the work of terrorist organizations abroad or extremist groups in the United States and that some government officials may have known about the bombing in advance.
He has asked the government to turn over information that might support those theories.
“Considering what we know about overseas connections, which is what we got from the government, it certainly could not be described as ‘wacky,”’ Jones said Monday. “That’s an intellectually dishonest statement, and not the truth.”
But prosecution spokeswoman Leesa Brown said government lawyers already have described those defense theories in court documents as “not credible.”
Jones also called Hartzler’s remark “clearly an attempt to prejudice the jury pool by discounting our theories. … Mr. Hartzler knows that members of the jury pool in Denver would read that.”
McVeigh and co-defendant Terry Nichols will be tried in Denver. Matsch last week ordered separate trials. No dates have been set.
Jones said Hartzler’s remark violated U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch’s order barring all the lawyers from commenting on the strength or weakness of the defense and prosecution cases.
“I can’t recall a federal prosecutor ever making such an inappropriate statement as to refer to defense theories - out of court, before the jury is selected, when there is a gag order in place - as ‘wacky,”’ Jones said.
Brown, who attended the meeting with victims and relatives, said neither Hartzler’s remark nor the meeting was improper.
“Nothing was said that violates the court’s order,” Brown said.