06112018 - News Article - Indicted Portage mayor continues push to disqualify federal prosecutors from corruption case

Indicted Portage mayor continues push to disqualify federal prosecutors from corruption case
Chicago Tribune
June 11, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-snyder-prosecutor-brief-st-0612-story.html

Attorneys for indicted Portage Mayor James Snyder say a flawed filter process used to screen his seized emails justifies disqualifying federal prosecutors from his corruption case.

Jackie Bennett Jr., Snyder’s defense attorney, said the screening process warrants the recusal of the trial team who was potentially exposed to attorney-client privileged material, according to court documents filed Friday. Snyder’s defense attorneys are seeking to not only disqualify the trial team but also get the charges dismissed because federal authorities reviewed the sensitive communications.

Bennett said the procedure used by federal investigators was designed give broader access to the communications to the government, according to court documents, and limit protections for privileged communications between Snyder and his attorneys.

“Nothing forced the government to adopt the procedure used here. Instead of adopting a procedure utilized in previous cases, or one recommended by the U.S. Attorney’s Manual, the government designed a procedure that maximized its own convenience – a procedure whose benefits accrue solely to the government and whose costs accrue solely to Snyder and similarly situated defendants.”

Snyder’s defense attorneys say the charges should be dismissed or trial attorney disqualified if those email communications were accessed. Defense attorneys have argued that emails seized in 2015 were put through a faulty screening process, according to court documents.

Snyder’s brief follows three days of closed-door hearings in May when Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen heard arguments and testimony on the email issue.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office does not comment on pending cases.

Bennett, in court documents, said the three-stage screening process was flawed at each step.

In court filings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster said investigators screened the emails using a three-stage process, which first started by flagging emails using a system at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.; then another team of FBI employees filtered any emails flagged by the system; and finally an assistant U.S. attorney not involved in the case reviewed to ensure no privileged communication survived the quarantine process.

“The notion that there were three layers of protection for Snyder is categorically false,” Bennett wrote.

Bennett said the process used in the Snyder case failed to use comprehensive search terms during the first phase to better filter the communication; used FBI agents without law degrees to screen for privileged material; and finally duplicate communications were flagged as privileged and non-privileged during the third stage and were passed to the trial team.

Bennett drew comparison between Snyder’s case and that against New York attorney Michael Cohen, who worked for President Donald Trump and had his information seized by government officials.

In Cohen’s case, Bennett said government investigators used assistant U.S. attorneys to review the seized documents; any potentially privileged material was set aside until defense representation or a judicial officer reviewed the material; defense counsel aided in the filter process; and a special master was appointed to conduct the privilege review.

“Compared with the haphazard methods employed by the government in the Snyder case, the careful approach proposed by prosecutors involved in the Cohen search is notable and telling,” Bennett said.

Snyder and John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, were charged in November 2016 with allegedly violating a federal bribery statue. Federal prosecutors said the mayor allegedly solicited money from Cortina and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.

Snyder received an additional bribery indictment for alleged accepting $13,000 in connection with a Board of Works contract, and allegedly obstructing Internal Revenue Service laws.

Snyder and Cortina both pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to court documents.

“The facts regarding the government’s taint team, in and of themselves, justify Snyder’s request that the trial team be recused,” Bennett wrote.