Classified information about the CIA’s interrogation of terrorism suspects was accidentally shared during a February Guantanamo Bay military commission hearing for the 9/11 attacks.
A new report found the defense lawyers, prosecutors and judge were given information that named at least one of the federal agents who took part in the interrogations of the defendants on trial.
“On February 23, 2016, counsel for the Government emailed the Defense advising that certain exhibits the Defense used, which the Government had turned over in discovery, were in fact classified although they had not been marked as such at the time the Government turned them over,” attorneys for Mustafa Al-Hawsawi wrote. “Government counsel advised that these exhibits contained classified information, as did certain aspects of argument in a session held on the same date.”
The information was distributed digitally, making it nearly impossible to delete. Some of those files have since been declassified, but officials also redacted information that was disclosed Feb. 23.
“As a result of this Government determination, the majority of computers of counsel, paralegals and other case personnel in the Defense are having to be cleaned (or ‘scrubbed’), a process which on average involves each defense team members’ computer being unavailable for approximately six hours. On information and belief, the computers of prosecutors, their paralegals and other personnel, as well as the personnel of this commission and the judge, have also undergone this scrub process,” the defense filing said.
Jim Harrington, the attorney for Ramzi Bin Al-Shibh, said the defense has asked the judge to let them hold on to all of the shared documents.
A military spokesperson said the government will continue with its preliminary investigation into the spill and take appropriate actions deemed necessary.
