Word: kromberg
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Turley charged last week that prosecutors had "negotiated in bad faith," adding, "It's the type of behavior that doesn't just shock the conscience of a court. It makes it impossible for defense attorneys and prosecutors to work." Kromberg insisted there were no ethical lapses and said Florida prosecutors didn't care "a whit" about what was going on in Virginia, which appeared to contradict his earlier statement that the Florida prosecutors didn't want their Virginia colleagues to subpoena al-Arian. "There was no collaboration between Florida and Virginia," he said. Besides, Kromberg noted that when the federal...
...What defense lawyers say is particularly shocking is the revelation - contained in a court document filed by the government last week in response to the court's request for evidence regarding plea negotiations - that the Tampa-based federal prosecutors who had negotiated the plea agreement were aware of Kromberg's plans but never disclosed them. "Lawyers have the obligation to each other to reveal [that kind of information] before someone signs away his liberty," al-Arian defense attorney Jonathan Turley said in last week's hearing, "particularly after he was just acquitted on a number of counts before a jury...
...Kromberg also revealed last week for the first time that the prosecutors who had tried al-Arian in Florida did not want their Virginia colleagues to proceed with the subpoena but kept quiet about it anyway. One possible reason, say defense lawyers: had the defense team known that its client would be compelled to testify in a separate case, the plea deal might have crumbled, denying the Tampa prosecutors even that one conviction. The U.S. Attorney's offices in Florida and Virginia would not comment when contacted by TIME, and the reasons for their actions in the case may never...
...Kromberg himself is also at issue in the case. A 16-year Justice Department veteran known for taking on high-profile terrorism cases, he's been accused of making anti-Muslim slurs. A 2006 affidavit filed by Tampa attorney Jack Fernandez, who served on al-Arian's defense team, alleges that Kromberg refused to delay a hearing scheduled to take place during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. "If they can kill each other during Ramadan, they can appear before the grand jury," Kromberg said, according to the affidavit. "All they can't do is eat before sunset...
...Kromberg has not commented publicly on the affidavit, and his office told TIME that neither he nor anyone else there would have anything to say on the matter; prosecutors have not yet said whether they'll press ahead now on the criminal-contempt charges against al-Arian. Last week Brinkema gave the defense the go-ahead to file a motion to dismiss those charges. "I think there are significant questions about what actually happened," she said. "The Justice Department is not a fishmonger...