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UQ Wire: News Links - Sibel Edmonds Case Roundup

For much more see... Latest Google News "Sibel Edmonds"

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Mondo Washington

The Silencing of Sibel Edmonds

Court won't let public hear what FBI whistleblower has to say
by James Ridgeway
April 21st, 2005 2:19 PM

See Full Story Here:
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0517,webmondo1,63324,6.html

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The unsettling story of whistleblower Sibel Edmonds took another twist on Thursday, as the government continued its seemingly endless machinations to shut her up. The U.S. Court of Appeals here denied pleas to open the former FBI translator's First Amendment case to the public, a day after taking the extraordinary step of ordering a secret hearing.

Edmonds was hired after 9-11 to help the woefully staffed FBI's translation department with documents and wiretaps in such languages as Farsi and Turkish. She soon cried foul, saying the agency's was far from acceptable and perhaps even dangerous to national security. She was fired in 2002.
Ever since, the government has been trying to silence her, even classifying an interview she did with 60 Minutes.

See Full Story Here:
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0517,webmondo1,63324,6.html

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Court closes oral arguments in FBI whistleblower case

Lawyers for Sibel Edmonds say the first half of today's proceeding could have been open because it did not raise national security issues.

See Full Story Here:
http://www.rcfp.org/news/2005/0421-sct-courtc.html

April 21, 2005 -- A federal appeals court panel ordered the public out of a Washington, D.C., courtroom this morning before it heard arguments in an FBI whistleblower case in which the U.S. government has claimed the "state secrets" privilege.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit informed the parties Wednesday that oral arguments would be closed to everyone except FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds and the lawyers involved in the case. The order surprised those who follow the case, given that the appellate briefs were not filed under seal and apparently neither side had asked for the arguments to be closed. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Edmonds with attorney Mark Zaid, challenged the closure in papers filed late yesterday afternoon.

At the same time, a coalition of 13 media outlets, led by The Washington Post and including The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, quickly filed a motion to open the oral arguments to the public. Public-interest groups Public Citizen and the Project on Government Oversight, which had previously written a friend-of-the court brief siding with Edmonds, filed a similar motion.

See Full Story Here:
http://www.rcfp.org/news/2005/0421-sct-courtc.html

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Court Closes FBI Case Arguments to Public

Thursday April 21, 2005 8:16 PM
By PETE YOST
Associated Press Writer

See Full Story Here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4954181,00.html
or
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,154094,00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court turned aside efforts to open closed-door arguments Thursday in the case of a fired FBI contractor who alleged there were security breaches and misconduct at the bureau.

Sibel Edmonds is seeking to revive her lawsuit against the government. It was thrown out of U.S. District Court when the Bush administration invoked the state secrets privilege, which allows the government to withhold information to safeguard national security.

Edmonds says she was dismissed from her job as a wiretap translator because she told superiors she suspected a co-worker was leaking information to targets of an ongoing FBI probe.

See Full Story Here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4954181,00.html
or
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,154094,00.html

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Whistle-Blower Argument Closed

Court Gives No Reason for Move in Case of Fired FBI Translator
By Charles LaneWashington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 21, 2005; Page A06

See Full Story Here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6220-2005Apr20.html

A federal court in Washington yesterday took the rare step of closing an entire oral argument to the public in the case of a former FBI translator who says she was fired for complaining about security breaches.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit announced that today's 30-minute argument in the case of Sibel Edmonds, a Middle Eastern language specialist fired in 2002, will be conducted behind closed doors. The court gave no reason for its decision.

See Full Story Here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6220-2005Apr20.html

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