DETROIT — Here we go again?
We shall see.
Ex-Detroit fed prosecutor Richard Convertino is asking a federal appeals court in D.C. to reinstate his privacy suit against the Justice Department over info leaked to Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter, the BLT: Blog of LegalTimes reported.
Convertino, who was acquitted on obstruction charges in a high-profile terrorism case he prosecuted, has alleged that the Justice Dept. leaked info to the Detroit Free Press about an ethics investigation into his conduct.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lambert in D.C. in March dismissed the suit, saying it had dragged on too long, and that after seven years, Convertino was no closer to figuring out who leaked the information.
“Despite seven years of dedicated effort, Convertino is no closer to identifying the source(s) of the leak today than he was when this litigation commenced,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
“In sum, Convertino has made a monumental effort to identify Ashenfelter’s source(s) and has had absolutely no success. Moreover, OIG (Office of Inspector General) conducted its own extensive investigation into the identity of the source(s) and was equally unsuccessful. After seven years of litigation, then, Convertino cannot answer the question that lies at the heart of [his] case.”
“Without knowledge of the leaker’s identity, Convertino cannot establish that DOJ acted willfully or intentionally,” the ruling said.
The BLT blog reported that Convertino’s attorney Stephen Kohn argued Monday against the judge’s ruling that additional time would not benefit Convertino’s case.
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