Al-Jazeera Memo Trial Starts in London

AP via Newsday ^ | April 18, 2007, 2:17 PM EDT | DAVID STRINGER

[james500]

A British government official and a former political researcher went on trial Wednesday for allegedly leaking a classified memo in which President Bush reportedly referred to bombing the Arab television station Al-Jazeera.

David Keogh, 50, a cipher expert, and Leo O'Connor, 44, a lawmaker's aide, are accused of violating secrecy laws by disclosing a document relating to 2004 talks between Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Both defendants deny violating the Official Secrets Act.

Prosecutors allege Keogh passed the memo to O'Connor in May 2004, who in turn placed it in a file he handed to his boss, Tony Clarke, then a legislator who had voted against Britain's decision to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

[james500]

"We live in a democratic society, not the Wild West," the prosecutor told the court. "It is not for people to decide they are going to be the sheriff in town."

Keogh worked at a government communications bunker handling sensitive documents and intelligence, Perry said. The unit relayed information to diplomats overseas via encrypted or secure methods.

Perry said Keogh received a faxed copy of the memo to send on to an official, but duplicated it unlawfully before doing so and later passed the document to O'Connor.

Clarke, who is no longer a lawmaker, alerted authorities when he discovered the memo among the paperwork from O'Connor.

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Good for Clarke.

[sageb1]

I am so sick of people like this. They should be imprisoned for life.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

There would be a lot of liberals, esp. Democrats and journalists, in our jails, if this were to happen. Gitmo ain’t half filled.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

There would be a lot of liberals, esp. Democrats and journalists, in our jails, if this were to happen. Gitmo ain’t half filled.