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Mondo Washington
The Silencing of Sibel Edmonds
Court won't let public hear what FBI whistleblower has to say
by James Ridgeway
April 21st, 2005 2:19 PM
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WASHINGTON, D.C.—The unsettling story of whistleblower Sibel Edmonds took another twist on Thursday, as the government
continued its seemingly endless machinations to shut her up. The U.S. Court of Appeals here denied pleas to open the
former FBI translator's First Amendment case to the public, a day after taking the extraordinary step of ordering a
secret hearing.
Edmonds was hired after 9-11 to help the woefully staffed FBI's translation department with documents and wiretaps in
such languages as Farsi and Turkish. She soon cried foul, saying the agency's was far from acceptable and perhaps even
dangerous to national security. She was fired in 2002.
Ever since, the government has been trying to silence her, even classifying an interview she did with 60 Minutes.
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Court closes oral arguments in FBI whistleblower case
Lawyers for Sibel Edmonds say the first half of today's proceeding could have been open because it did not raise
national security issues.
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April 21, 2005 -- A federal appeals court panel ordered the public out of a Washington, D.C., courtroom this morning
before it heard arguments in an FBI whistleblower case in which the U.S. government has claimed the "state secrets"
privilege.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit informed the parties Wednesday that oral arguments would be closed to
everyone except FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds and the lawyers involved in the case. The order surprised those who
follow the case, given that the appellate briefs were not filed under seal and apparently neither side had asked for the
arguments to be closed. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Edmonds with attorney Mark Zaid,
challenged the closure in papers filed late yesterday afternoon.
At the same time, a coalition of 13 media outlets, led by The Washington Post and including The Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press, quickly filed a motion to open the oral arguments to the public. Public-interest groups Public
Citizen and the Project on Government Oversight, which had previously written a friend-of-the court brief siding with
Edmonds, filed a similar motion.
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Court Closes FBI Case Arguments to Public
Thursday April 21, 2005 8:16 PM
By PETE YOST
Associated Press Writer
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WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court turned aside efforts to open closed-door arguments Thursday in the case of a
fired FBI contractor who alleged there were security breaches and misconduct at the bureau.
Sibel Edmonds is seeking to revive her lawsuit against the government. It was thrown out of U.S. District Court when the
Bush administration invoked the state secrets privilege, which allows the government to withhold information to
safeguard national security.
Edmonds says she was dismissed from her job as a wiretap translator because she told superiors she suspected a co-worker
was leaking information to targets of an ongoing FBI probe.
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Whistle-Blower Argument Closed
Court Gives No Reason for Move in Case of Fired FBI Translator
By Charles LaneWashington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 21, 2005; Page A06
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A federal court in Washington yesterday took the rare step of closing an entire oral argument to the public in the case
of a former FBI translator who says she was fired for complaining about security breaches.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit announced that today's 30-minute argument in the case of Sibel Edmonds, a
Middle Eastern language specialist fired in 2002, will be conducted behind closed doors. The court gave no reason for
its decision.
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