Beverley Lumpkin: Halls of Justice

W A S H I N G T O N, Feb. 22, 2002 -- At this point it's not clear whether the Pakistanis will prosecute those responsible for American reporter Daniel Pearl's kidnapping and murder, or whether they will turn the culprits over to the United States.

But the lack of an extradition treaty should not be an impediment. On several occasions in recent years the Pakistanis have proved they are capable of turning over terrorists wanted in this country without any legal niceties such as an extradition process.

One example was the case of Mir Aimal Kansi (later Kasi), wanted in the 1993 shootings of several CIA officers at the agency's gate. With the barest hint of plausible deniability, in 1997 Kansi was turned over to FBI agents in Pakistan. And in October 2001 a man wanted in the 1986 hijacking of a Pan Am flight was "apprehended" by the FBI in Pakistan just after his release from a Pakistani prison. U.S. officials refused to say the Pakistanis had "turned over" Zayd Hassan Abd al-Latif Masud al-Safarini to the FBI, but again that omission was the merest figleaf.

Kansi is now appealing his death sentence in Virginia; Safarini is awaiting trial in D.C., with a status hearing set for May 3.

In recent years, U.S. officials have pressed hard, utilizing the so-called "long-arm" statutes passed in the late 1980s, to prosecute in the United States anyone accused of harming Americans overseas. And the attorney general's statement on Pearl's death pointedly noted, "We will bring to Justice terrorists who kill innocent Americans."

But some FBI officials speculate that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf may want to prove that his new policy of being tough on terrorists is real by prosecuting the bad guys himself. And as one pointed out, if they get the death penalty in Pakistan, that might be adequate for U.S. purposes.

FBI Headaches

The Bureau's chickens are coming home to roost: very soon we will start seeing reports from the various investigations that have been digging into the FBI's many failings that were such headline-grabbers for most of last year.

The first up will be Justice's inspector general report on the Timothy McVeigh document mess; how it was that despite multiple orders from the Director himself, numerous FBI offices failed adequately to search their files for any and all McVeigh-related documents that were required to be turned over to his defense counsel.

Although the documents belatedly turned over did not contain any information of significance, their discovery forced Attorney General John Ashcroft to delay Oklahoma City bomber McVeigh's execution. Having the rug pulled out from under him stunned and infuriated the attorney general and made him determined to bring the bureau to heel.

Although many changes have already been instituted, the inspector general's report will not only lay out what happened in the McVeigh matter, but also recommend systemic changes. We expect his report next month.

Within a few more weeks, we should receive the report of the Webster Commission, the review by former FBI and CIA Director William Webster of FBI security problems in light of the Robert Philip Hanssen espionage case.

The inspector general is also conducting a Hanssen investigation, but his is months away; one official says it "delves minutely" into the Hanssen case, per se, whereas Webster is more focused on security issues in general. Some of the sting from Webster's conclusions will be taken away because Mueller has already consulted with Webster while considering his own changes to bureau structure, and he has incorporated many of Webster's expected recommendations.

The most important of these has been an expansion of the polygraph program, and much more stringent safeguards on electronic access to sensitive files.

Leaving So Soon?

Yet another hassle for Mueller — with the ink of his promotion papers barely dry, Executive Assistant Director Ruben Garcia has announced he'll be retiring as of March 8.

It was only last December that Mueller had made Garcia one of his top four deputies, moving him up from assistant director for criminal investigations to executive assistant director (may not sound like much to you, but trust me, this was big). Garcia is a 23-year veteran who has served in San Antonio, San Diego, Miami and headquarters in various positions, many of them involving drug-related investigations.

Prior to his recent promotion he had served as assistant director for criminal investigations for two years. Two different sources "have heard" he'll be working for the Motion Picture Association of America overseeing security.

If that's so, he'll be following in the footsteps of former Assistant Director Bill Baker, who filled that post for a number of years following his retirement from the Bureau, but who most recently served as a consultant for the new Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, Collateral Damage.

Nazi-Hunting Carries On

For years there have been Justice officials and prosecutors who looked somewhat askance at the Criminal Division's Office of Special Investigations. These guys didn't do "normal" prosecutions and they just seemed so intense. The word "zealots" has been uttered more than once.

OSI was created in 1979 with the specific mandate to seek out any World War II persecutors who may have lied about their wartime pasts in order to enter the United States and become American citizens. But in order to seek out Nazis in our midst, OSI has employed historians and translators as much as attorneys.

Its mission is unique in the Criminal Division, because it doesn't bring criminal cases but rather civil proceedings to strip citizenship from and deport those it has proven were persecutors. Sixty-seven Nazis have been tracked down and denaturalized since 1979, but at times OSI's tactics have been criticized.

That happened most notoriously in the earlier attempt to strip Cleveland retired autoworker John Demjanjuk of his citizenship. Initially accused of having been the notorious Ivan the Terrible who ran the gas chamber at the death camp Treblinka, Demjanjuk was ultimately cleared of that charge when the Israeli Supreme Court ruled there was reasonable doubt that Demjanjuk was in fact Ivan.

Afterward the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals severely chastised the Justice team, accusing them of having engaged in misconduct in withholding documents from Demjanjuk's counsel.

But OSI does not give up. In 1999 they again filed suit to denaturalize Demjanjuk; Thursday, Feb. 22, a federal judge ruled for Justice on every count, finding that he had served as a guard at both a death camp and two concentration camps after having been trained at the notorious Trawniki camp. Demjanjuk will now be able to appeal.

Once that process is over Justice can begin deportation proceedings before an immigration judge, an administrative officer; that can be appealed administratively; and then the case could go up through the federal court system again.

Many defendants have chosen to give up the fight and willingly leave the country. So far Justice has had little difficulty in finding countries willing to accept those being deported. In a few cases (notably, Demjanjuk I) other countries have sought the extradition of some defendants, to face trial in those places for crimes committed against their citizens.

But Justice officials in this administration seemed to be wholeheartedly behind OSI in the renewed Demjanjuk case. It was Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff's idea to hold a press conference to hail the judge's ruling. And the strong language he employed was much more than mere lip service supporting his subordinates.

He asserted that the fact it had taken more than 20 years to achieve this ruling just served to underscore that Justice would "leave no stone unturned in pursuing justice on behalf of the millions of victims of Nazi crimes against humanity. And I might point out that it illustrates a larger principle, that the Department of Justice will spend whatever time and effort is necessary for however many years to pursue those who commit crimes against humanity, whether they take place 30, 40, 50 years ago or 10, 20, 30 days ago."

And in responding to questions he added even eloquently, "Justice sometimes has to be patient, but she doesn't fall asleep."

Later, in a background briefing, another Justice official made clear this administration's support for OSI's continued pursuit of Nazi persecutors, no matter how old and decrepit they may have become. In a phrase that certainly caught reporters' attention, this official declared the Nazis would be pursued "till they breathe their dying breath."

Sutin Remembered

Last week a moving memorial service was held in a jam-packed Great Hall for Tony Sutin, the former Justice official shot to death at the Appalachian Law School, where he was dean. A student has been charged in his death and two others.

Much of Sutin's life and dedication was summed up in a message from Judge Barefoot Sanders, for whom Sutin had clerked. Judge Sanders recalled FDR's dictum about people who come to Washington to do good and stay to do well. But Sanders maintained that Tony came to do good, did well, and then left Washington in order to do good again.

Former Attorney General Janet Reno spoke emotionally about how Sutin had "stood behind me and beside me in some of the most difficult times." But she also recalled how "his humor kept me going" even "in the middle of a tense time." She speculated that if Tony were here, "he'd look around, he'd comment on the changes here at the Justice Department" — many discreet chuckles greeted that — but most of all, "he would ask all of us to continue in public service, continue to use the law to help others."

One of the partners from Hogan & Hartson, the law firm where Sutin worked before his Justice service, recalled that instead of all the impressive diplomas usually displayed in an attorney's office, Tony had hung up his certificate of proficiency from his fourth grade woodworking class.

One of the most poignant moments came when Paul Lund, now serving as interim dean, sought to explain to any who wondered why Sutin had left the fast track in Washington.

He recalled peeking into Tony's office that last morning and seeing Tony, his wife Margaret, and their child Clara, the latter two having stopped in for a brief visit. Lund said even the briefest glance allowed him to conclude, "I can truly say that Tony was a happy and satisfied man." Within a few hours he was gone.

Beverley Lumpkin has covered the Justice Department for 16 years for ABCNEWS. Halls of Justice appears every Saturday.