Graymail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Graymail is a defense tactic sometimes used by trial defendants where access to classified material is requested to blackmail the government to drop the trial.
It has two meanings:
1) To blackmail the government into dropping the case using the threat that the defendant will reveal classified information.[1]
2) To request use of classified material. The defendant speculates it will not fully be made available to the case, thereby making it difficult to prove guilt, as the possibility is raised that the unreleased material might clear the defendant.[2]
The Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), also known as the Graymail Law, of 1980 was designed to counter the first tactic above by allowing judges to review classified material in secret, so that the prosecution can proceed without fear of publicly disclosing sensitive intelligence.[3]
[edit] Example
John D. Cline was a defense attorney for Oliver North and successfully used graymail to dismiss the most serious charges against North (see Iran-Contra Affair). "Among his detractors, Cline is what is known as a "graymail" specialist"[4]. Cline has now been hired by the Lewis Libby defense team where he already has requested more than 10 months of the President's Daily Brief (PDB).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Crimes of War > September 11 by Edward Burling, Professor of International Law & Diplomacy, Crimes of War Project, December 7, 2001
- Graymail definition MSN Encarta
- Will Scooter Libby Graymail the CIA? by David Corn, The Nation, February 06, 2006
- Cheney 'Authorized' Libby to Leak Classified Information by Murray Waas, National Journal, February 9, 2006
- Transcript of CEPA Hearing in U.S. v. Lewis Libby (3 February 2006).
