Judge Delays Her Order to Reveal Names of Detainees

A federal judge Thursday put on hold her ruling requiring the Justice Department to release the names of the nearly 1,200 people detained in the investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying she does not want to interfere with the government’s appeal.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler issued an indefinite stay of her Aug. 2 ruling, saying that ordering the government to release the names now would make it impossible to keep them secret if her initial ruling is overturned by an appellate court.

The Justice Department, which has filed an appeal, praised Kessler, saying that releasing the names of the detainees would give an unfair advantage to terrorists.

“In appealing this case, the Justice Department continues its efforts to prevent terrorists from developing a road map to our ongoing terrorism investigation, to decrease the risk of a future attack on the American people, and to protect the privacy interests of those who were detained and chose not to identify themselves publicly as detainees,” said Robert McCallum, assistant attorney general for the civil division.

Kessler, a judge for the District of Columbia, had given the Justice Department 15 days to release the names of people arrested or detained since the attacks, most of whom have been freed from custody. Kessler also had ordered the release of the names of detainees’ lawyers but did not require the government to release some other pieces of information, such as where detainees were being held and the circumstances surrounding their arrests.

Representatives of the more than 20 civil rights, human rights and civil liberties groups that filed the lawsuit seeking the names said Kessler’s ruling was merely procedural.

“The ruling merely preserves the government’s ability to appeal. There is nothing about the decision that detracts from Judge Kessler’s finding that the names should be disclosed,” said David Sobel, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

The appeal could take months.

Kessler’s initial ruling two weeks ago was a setback for the Justice Department, which had been resisting efforts to turn over the names. The groups, including the Center for National Security Studies and Amnesty International, filed the legal challenge to the government’s policy of secret arrests under the Freedom of Information Act.

In her initial ruling, Kessler rejected the Justice Department’s contention that releasing the names of the detainees would help terrorists, including Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network, which remains the subject of a massive manhunt by U.S. authorities and their allies.

Kessler’s ruling Thursday did not discuss the merits of the case, only that it is being appealed.

“Given the fact that stays are routinely granted in FOIA cases, [the] disclosure of the names of the detainees and their lawyers would effectively moot any appeal,” Kessler wrote.

Kessler’s ruling Thursday came a day after a group of Democratic members of Congress urged the Justice Department to drop its appeal and make the names public.

“Our view continues to be that with only a few narrow exceptions, secret arrests and detentions are inconsistent with a free, democratic society and the rule of law,” said the senators, including Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the Judiciary Committee chairman. “By ceasing efforts to appeal the federal court ruling and instead releasing the information about the detainees as ordered, the Justice Department can bring this unfortunate chapter to a close.”

Meanwhile, the FBI announced Thursday that its top counter-terrorism official is retiring, and that a top aide of FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III is assuming a new post as the bureau’s No. 2 person.

Dale Watson, executive assistant director, will retire from the FBI next month to take a job as a consultant to Booz, Allen & Hamilton Inc., which is working closely with the FBI on improving internal security measures, a federal law enforcement official said.

Watson has spent 24 years with the bureau, the last 20 in counter-terrorism and counterintelligence roles. Watson was the FBI’s first assistant director of the counter-terrorism division when it was created in 1999, with responsibility for all international and domestic terrorism programs as well as the National Infrastructure Protection Center, which was established to fight cyber-terrorism.

The FBI also is promoting Executive Assistant Director Bruce J. Gebhardt to deputy director overseeing all investigative, intelligence-gathering and operational matters.

Mueller said the promotion of Gebhardt was part of a series of initiatives to “refocus the priorities and investigative approaches of the FBI” after Sept. 11.

Gebhardt, who has been with the bureau for 28 years, headed the FBI’s San Francisco field office when Mueller was U.S. attorney there. Mueller left San Francisco to take over as FBI director the week before Sept. 11.