Court Denies Media Access to Cubic Search Affidavits
U. S. Magistrate Irma Gonzalez, who on Jan. 4 granted Cubic Corp. access to portions of affidavits that authorized the FBI’s search of the company’s offices, on Thursday declined to grant similar access to the public.
Gonzalez will instead rule this month on the right of the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers to review documents that Cubic’s attorneys have held for more than four weeks. Gonzalez is also expected to rule on Cubic’s request for access to those documents that remain sealed at the government’s request.
The FBI used the affidavits to obtain the warrant that agents used to search the San Diego office of Cubic Defense Systems President C. C. (Sam) Wellborn on June 14. That search was one of more than 40 conducted during “Operation Ill Wind,” a nationwide investigation into defense procurement fraud.
Long Island-based Hazeltine Corp., whose offices were searched during the investigation, pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to defrauding the government.
Suspended Indefinitely
The Navy has indefinitely suspended Hazeltine and Teledyne Electronics of Newbury Park from bidding on government contracts. The investigation is expected to lead to similar actions against as many as a dozen individuals and their companies, according to the Pentagon.
Gonzalez granted Cubic and Wellborn access to most of the secret documents shortly after the U. S. attorney’s office in Virginia acknowledged that it had “in part” completed its investigation in San Diego. Gonzalez also scheduled Thursday’s session to hear arguments from attorneys representing The Times and the San Diego-based Copley papers.
Assistant U. S. Atty. George Hardy on Thursday repeated that the government does not object to turning significant parts of the documents over to the public. However, Hardy maintained that the remaining documents should remained sealed until after a U. S. Grand Jury in Virginia completes its investigation into the defense procurement scandal.
Richard Janis, a Washington-based attorney who represents Cubic in the defense-procurement scandal, Thursday attacked the government for a “concerted campaign of leaking” information about the investigation to the press.
Pressuring Alleged
The leaks were designed “presumably to put pressure on people” whose names were contained in the affidavit, Janis said.
Janis alleged that the government “intentionally declined” to alert Cubic, Wellborn and other parties to the impending release of a related government affidavit by a federal court in Maryland. That document was based largely on conversations that federal investigators recorded through wiretaps on the telephone of Victor Cohen, the Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition.
The Maryland affidavit alleged that Cubic Corp. paid Cohen for illegally obtained information that Cubic subsequently used to pursue at least three defense procurement contracts. Cohen, the document alleged, “illegally assisted” Wellborn when Cubic was seeking contracts for the air-combat training systems that generate most of Cubic’s profit and revenue.
