COLUMBUS, Ohio — A lawyer for an Ohio trucker who pleaded guilty to plotting to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge asked a federal judge Friday to throw out the case on the grounds that the government spied on him illegally.
Iyman Faris' challenge is among the first to seek evidence of warrantless electronic eavesdropping by the National Security Agency, a practice that began after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Government officials have reportedly credited the practice with uncovering Faris' terrorist plot and several others.
A motion filed by Faris' attorney, David Smith, in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., argues that investigators improperly obtained evidence against Faris and that his trial lawyer was ineffective.
Given the likelihood that Faris' phone conversations or e-mails had been monitored, Faris' trial lawyer, Frederick Sinclair, should have asked for evidence of such surveillance, Smith said in the motion.
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"Had he done so, the government would have been in a real bind and this would have enabled Faris to … negotiate a much more favorable plea bargain," the motion said.
Messages seeking comment from Sinclair and the Justice Department were not immediately returned Friday.
Faris, 36, pleaded guilty in 2003 to conspiracy and aiding and abetting terrorism, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He has tried to withdraw his plea, saying everything in his agreement with prosecutors was false.
According to prosecutors, Faris traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan, carrying out low-level missions for terrorists.
