UNTIL FREEDOM IS WON! UPDATE ON THE PELTIER CAMPAIGN FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE INCLUDED IN THIS MESSAGE: Updates on the Motion to Reduce Leonard's Sentence, Progress Made Toward Obtaining New Evidence, Civil Rights Case, Government Reform Committee Dear Friends, We are writing today with both good and bad news on the case of Leonard Peltier. But before we begin we want to thank all of you who have been sponsoring LPDC speakers and organizing Peltier events in your communities. Raising awareness continues to be essential and supporters have organized several successful events. Let's keep the LPDC speakers bureau busy and word of Leonard's case flowing! We also want to let you know that there will be three important events on June 26 marking 27 years since the shoot-out occurred. They include gatherings in Oglala, South Dakota, San Francisco, California and Boston, Massachusetts. We encourage you to plan on attending one of these events or organizing something in your community. More details will be released soon. BAD NEWS, BUT NOT SURPRISING We regret to announce that the motion to reduce Leonard's sentence was denied by the U.S. District Court of North Dakota. We expected this case to be a challenge because of the many procedural obstacles it involved combined with the political nature of the Peltier case, especially in this district. However, we had hoped for more fairness given that Judge Benson, who tried Leonard, is no longer hearing cases. Judge Magnison denied the motion without a hearing based upon issues of timeliness. A motion to reduce sentence is supposed to be filed within a year following a conviction. However, we argued that filing at this late date was justified because of significant developments that occurred since trial, citing cases in which exceptions had been made due to extraordinary circumstances. The court said that the significant developments in question (government admission that it can't prove who shot agents/ballistics) had already been litigated. Judge Magnison refused to consider these issues despite the clearly different character of the case, which sought a review of sentence and not a new trial like before. Attorney Eric Seitz is appealing the decision to the Eighth Circuit. NOW WHAT? We MUST obtain new evidence and demand a new trial for Leonard Peltier. We are confident that key evidence exists in the thousands of documents that are withheld by the FBI and fortunately, we are moving closer to obtaining them. GOOD NEWS! Thanks to the persistent letters of supporters in Massachusetts, Representative Barney Frank wrote to the FBI insisting that the withheld documents be released given Clinton's Executive Order requiring the disclosure of documents after the passage of 25 years. The FBI Office of Public and Congressional Affairs responded by saying, "After receipt of your letter.the FBI consulted with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to request that the investigative records pertaining to Mr. Peltier that are 25 years or older be considered of significant historical interest subject to declassification review. NARA agreed and the process of declassification review has begun. Upon completion, the material will be accessioned to NARA and a declassified copy will be provided to your office. We anticipate completion of this project by the end of the year." Attorney Mike Kuzma, who is handling Leonard's FOIA requests, wrote to NARA to learn when the declassification would be completed. Mike also asked that he be provided copies of the documents. NARA responded, "We have been informed that the records are still in the physical and legal custody of the FBI. The FBI has completed its declassification review and is currently processing the records for transfer to NARA and their subsequent public release. The transfer is expected to occur in May of this year. Following the transfer, NARA may require additional time to prepare for the public release of the records." This is a very positive development for us and strengthens our chances for obtaining new information. Furthermore, the documents are now protected against destruction because of their historical classification. The battle is not over, as we expect the documents to be partly censored for reasons of "national security" like before. But, we plan to demand the full release and exposure of the documents in court. It should also be noted that Mike Kuzma continues to pursue the documents through the Freedom of Information Act process. Requests have been submitted to FBI headquarters and numerous field offices across the country. With the exception of Portland, Oregon, all offices have reported that they possess records. We anticipate filing one or several suits to demand the release of these documents in the near future. Mike Kuzma is also working with law students involved in the Innocence Project of Osgoode Hall and the LPDC of Canada to obtain documents generated around the extradition. MORE GOOD NEWS! The civil rights complaint against the FBI has been drafted and the finishing touches are being added now. This case argues that the FBI violated Leonard's Constitutional Rights by lying to the Department of Justice, former President Clinton, the Parole Commission, and the public with the sole intention of denying Leonard fair clemency and parole reviews, thus costing him his long deserved freedom. We plan to do a major press blitz on the day the case is filed and we will need your participation. This is our chance to undo much of the disinformation disseminated by the FBI through the press in recent years. Please be prepared to forward the press release to your local media. We will let you know when we determine the exact date it will be filed. Please stay tuned. NOTE: This case represents another opportunity to access the withheld FBI documents through discovery. KEEP PUSHING CONGRESS FOR INVESTIGATIONS! Meanwhile, a window of opportunity continues to exist with the House Committee on Government Reform. As you know this committee is planning to investigate cases of FBI misconduct leading to wrongful convictions. We must press the Reform Committee to shine its spot light on Leonard's case. Please continue to write Representative Burton on a regular basis, and cc your letters to your representative. A recent phone call to Rep Burton's office indicates that he is collecting and taking notice of our letters. Please send us copies of any response letters you receive from officials so that we can track their positions. LET US KNOW Let us know if you are organizing anything for Leonard whether it be for June 26 or any other date so that we can help by publicizing it. Do not hesitate to contact us to share your ideas and suggestions about building pressure and awareness for the freedom of Leonard Peltier! Thank you. In Solidarity, LPDC Until Freedom Is Won! The New Peltier Justice Campaign Leonard Peltier Defense Committee PO Box 583 Lawrence, KS 66044 785-842-5774 www.freepeltier.org
