Ed Moloney reveals that NBC News is seeking to emulate the PSNI by making a bid to plunder the confidential archive at Boston College. It was published in The Broken Elbow on 20 May 2014.
Thebrokenelbow.com has
learned in the last few minutes that NBC News has written to Judge
William Young of the Boston Federal District Court asking that the court
unseal all transcripts, audio recordings and documents handed over to
the PSNI on foot of the subpoenas served on Boston College.
NBC wrote to Judge Young on May 6th, two weeks ago and the letter was sent by Thomas J Winter of NBC News Investigations. It is not known what response Judge Young has made, if any.
Arguing that American citizens have the right under a Supreme Court judgement in 1978 to gain access to judicial documents, NBC also maintains that:
NBC News told Judge Young it wanted the documents released “as soon as possible”.
Judge Young presided over the hearing in December 2011 and January 2012 which overruled Boston College’s attempt to quash the PSNI subpoena and he later personally determined which of the interviews should be handed over, a decision he took when Boston College’s lawyers claimed college staff had never read the interviews and could not help.
Here is the full text of the NBC letter to Judge Young:
NBC wrote to Judge Young on May 6th, two weeks ago and the letter was sent by Thomas J Winter of NBC News Investigations. It is not known what response Judge Young has made, if any.
Arguing that American citizens have the right under a Supreme Court judgement in 1978 to gain access to judicial documents, NBC also maintains that:
This case or any case involving incidents of terrorism and criminality committed by several and various parties representing diverse ideologies both political and religious is a matter of great public interest.
NBC News told Judge Young it wanted the documents released “as soon as possible”.
Judge Young presided over the hearing in December 2011 and January 2012 which overruled Boston College’s attempt to quash the PSNI subpoena and he later personally determined which of the interviews should be handed over, a decision he took when Boston College’s lawyers claimed college staff had never read the interviews and could not help.
Here is the full text of the NBC letter to Judge Young:
Something along those lines has happened on this side of the pond too.
ReplyDelete"The case was brought by Guardian News and Media against Serco in a bid to secure an internal investigation from the company into allegations of sexual assault by a woman in Yarl's Wood. The judge ordered that the Observer should be given access to the report into her allegations, pointing out that the public interest was in the issue of how Serco handled the investigation."
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/17/serco-yarls-wood-asylum-centre
Is transparency not a good thing?
Troubles echo in IRA trial
ReplyDeleteBell’s lawyer said Bell was innocent, but acknowledged that Bell was the man referred to as Mr. Z in a series of tape-
ReplyDeleteI thought Ivor Bell denied he was 'Z'. Gerry Adams even admitted Ivor Bell denied he was 'Z'. Why did his lawyer make that claim..?
I suppose the only person who can answer that is Ivor's lawyer..
Frankie,
ReplyDeletethat was a mistake in the report.
ReplyDeleteBoston College tapes: US network NBC launches legal bid
Gerard- "Is transparency not a good thing?" Not if it jeopardises peoples' liberty particularly in a manner which goes against the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement which supposedly is still in place.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see this media application coming at all. A real bolt from the blue. I suppose the participants have a greater right in getting the transcripts than NBC as the transcripts are their creation.
Possession is more important at the moment than anything else and the participants deserve to own their own stories not some news channel looking for viewing figures.
If these stories are broadcast by some corporation that doesn't have any link to them or any relationship to the project in any shape or form like NBC it would inevitably lead to more PSNI subpoenas.
The participants are the rightful owners not NBC.
If I was Ivor Bell and my lawyer said that, I'd bitch slap him and then sack him..
ReplyDelete@Gerard, the two cases are very different. I'll give you my two bits later why I think they are different but I need to go to my 7/11 for a bottle of wine..
frankie, ur as sharp as any lawyer.
ReplyDeleteI'm just a rockabilly grouch..
ReplyDeleteAdams: My arrest will help Sinn Fein at polls
ReplyDelete