Terrorism Prosecutor Sues Justice Dept. - Claims Smears and 'Gross Mismanagement'

(washingtonpost.com) - A prominent terrorism prosecutor in Detroit has taken the highly unusual step of filing a lawsuit against Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and other top Justice Department officials, alleging that he was the target of a smear campaign that resulted in the exposure of a valuable counterterrorism informant.

The lawsuit by Richard G. Convertino, a 15-year veteran prosecutor, also accuses senior Justice officials of "gross mismanagement" of terrorism cases, contending that "DOJ Washington had continuously placed 'perception' over 'reality' to the serious detriment of the war on terror."

One FBI agent there abruptly retired last month after questions were raised about his use of informants. And in the biggest terrorism case in Detroit since the attacks, a federal judge has indicated he may throw out the convictions of members of an alleged al Qaeda sleeper cell because of the allegations that Convertino did not give defense attorneys a letter from a jail inmate alleging that the government's key witness lied. Earlier in the same case, U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen upbraided Ashcroft for improperly commenting in public about it.

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said a lawsuit like Convertino's is almost unheard of within the Justice Department and could undermine the government's credibility in other terrorism cases.