Full Release - IRmep

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oipine NewsHour:.Iraqis to be Senthe?•• May 4, 1998
~ them fru~trated their lawyer, N~Ffenzen.
NEILS·FRENZEN: If,sOlneone told us we suspect
Mr. X ofbeing a foreign intelligence officer, or we
suspect Mr. Y ofbeing a foreign intelligence agent,
-we could respond to that perhaps by guessing. But
nothing has been ruled ou't. We have simply had these- i-
vague generalities ofnational security that have been ."~.... ..ra....aaIIlll
directed in our direction, with no idea ofwhat the eviden~e is. And so our
East and the United
Nations.
OUTSIDE LINK:S:
The United Nations.
- .
Irag~ArabNet.
case has been one ofguesswork... 'the use ofsecret eyidence in a situation
where one's life Qepends on it, and where one's life depencJs on being able to respond to that secret
evid~nce;there's no place for it in the American legal system.
PAUL VIRTUE: I think we have to ptit1this in context. I think the use ofclassified
infonnation in immigration court proceedings is very rare. We've usedli~ a couple of
dozen tinles in the last two.years, during which immigration courts considered about
four hun4red thousand cases, so we're talking a very minuscule percentage.
Jl~FFREY KAVB: To get the classified evidenc~ in th.is case, the legal team brought
fn R.. Jatnes Woolsey, the man on the left. As a former head ofthe CIA, Woolsey
was privy to the nation'$ top secrets. rIe still holds a security clearance. In March, he came from
Washington to meet with the Iraqis and to criticize the government he once served.
R. James Woolsey: "This case at this point stands as really, I think a stain oli
the honor of,the United States.II
R. JAMES WOOLSEY~ This case at this poiptstands as really, I think a stain on the honor ofthe United
States.
JEFFREY KAYB: Woolsey signed on as the Iraqis' co-counsel, and filed a motion to obtain the classified
evidence.. -
R. JAMES WOOLSEY: I believe. whether it's me or someone else, that an attorney
with security clearances, in order for fairness to be done, ought to be able to review
this material on behalf ofthese men. Ifthe government doesn't,want to share the
classified information \vith counsel who are cleared, it would be my very strong
suspici~n it's because the governmenthas made some serious mistakes and has
something to hide. -
JEFFREY KAYB: Virtue says the INS has n~ intention ofproviding Woolsey with a classified document
because his clients have no legal standing in this country.
PAUL VIRTUE: These are people who are seeking admission to t4e United States..Essentially they're
knocking at the door, asking for the United ~tates to protect them as refugees. The due process
requirements are different for someone who has not been lawfj.tlly admitted to the United States.
~'&~"~~~~~~::~.:l ~~?f.,s~~tJ~mR. JAME~ WOOLSEY: They were brought to Guam, a t~rrit9rial possession
;.~: 3;~.:· ,~' ~,~. "n},~' ofthe United States, by the U.S. Government, and they were taken fro~
,~ r~\1.~' ,', • ~ , ~, Guam to California by the U.S~ Government. And $e INS is maintaining this
.'.. legal position that they have not been admitted to the United States, so it
~,;~~~:~~~~~:~.~:~~~~~~ won't have to grant them any procedur.al rights ofthe sort that an individual
~,~~~~~ ...~~ does-·have ifhe's.been admitted bu! ~et:l ~~ i~ r~s~ ofbe~~g deported,:
•• } "II! • II ;... - - ........ - - ......
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