A veteran defense attorney told a Sacramento federal judge Monday that the case against 11 men charged with plotting the violent overthrow of Laos' communist government is permeated with lies by prosecutors and agents.
"In 38 years of practicing law, I've never seen so many lies by prosecutors and agents in support of a case," attorney John Keker told U. S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr.
Keker asked the judge to urge prosecutors to seek a review of the case at the upper reaches of the Department of Justice on the theory that the charges may be dropped if the truth is known at that level.
"A colossal mistake was made," declared Keker, who said he was speaking for the entire team of defense lawyers.
Referring to Keker as "a serious lawyer," Damrell said he is troubled by the accusations, adding, "I've never heard anything like this before."
"I've never seen anything like this before," Keker said.
Ten Hmong men, including a general who commanded a guerrilla army under CIA direction against communist forces during the Vietnam War, and a retired Army officer from Woodland are charged with conspiring to purchase scores of weapons for shipment to Thailand and hire a core group of mercenaries to oust the Laotian regime.
Keker, a former Marine platoon leader who was wounded in Vietnam, is the lead defense attorney in the case and one of those representing Gen. Vang Pao, a war hero and a leader of the Hmong community in the United States.
Assistant U. S. Attorney S. Robert Tice-Raskin, the lead prosecutor, told Damrell if Keker feels so strongly about the government's conduct, he should file a motion to dismiss, "so we can answer and litigate it."
The judge directed Keker to do just that, saying he wanted more than bare allegations. A briefing schedule was agreed upon and a hearing on the motion was set for April 6.
"Give me some documentation," Damrell told Keker. "I want to see something I can get my arms around. Put some meat on these bones."
At the same time, the judge asked Tice-Raskin to identify the person with final authority over the conduct of the prosecution and was told it is the assistant attorney general in charge of the department's National Security Division.
"I suggest you take this right to the top," Damrell replied. "This is an extraordinary case."
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