[JTA] The Bush administration's former "classification czar" can testify for the defense in the case against two former AIPAC staffers. Federal Judge T.S. Ellis III in an order released Wednesday allowed the testimony of William Leonard, who headed the Information Security Oversight Office, in the classified information leak case. Leonard could be the most damaging witness to the prosecution when the two go on trial for allegedly relaying classified information to colleagues, journalists and Israeli diplomats. Leonard, who oversaw classification procedures from 2002 to 2008, and his predecessor, Steven Garfinkel, have argued in retirement that the government overclassifies. Their expertise could undermine arguments that the information allegedly handled by Rosen and Weissman met the standards of "national defense information," which Ellis has said the government must prove.
2009-02-20 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive