UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
)
v. ) Crim. No.13-10200-GAO
)
DZHOKHAR A. TSARNAEV, )
Defendant )


GOVERNMENT=S OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT=S MOTION
CONCERNING ALLEGED LEAKS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Uni t ed St at es of Amer i ca, by and t hr ough i t s under si gned
counsel , r espect f ul l y opposes def endant Dzhokhar Tsar naev s mot i on
concer ni ng al l eged l eaks and publ i c comment s by l aw enf or cement .
INTRODUCTION
Tsar naev commi t t ed one of t he most ser i ous t er r or i st at t acks
on Amer i can soi l si nce Sept ember 11. Fr omt he st ar t , pr ess i nt er est
i n t he at t acks has been commensur at e wi t h t he enor mi t y of t he cr i mes.
The r ecent one- year anni ver sar y of t he at t acks pr ompt ed a new spat e
of ar t i cl es and t el evi si on pr ogr ams about t hem. Tsar naev cl ai ms
t hat some of t hese ar t i cl es and pr ogr ams cont ai n i nf or mat i on newl y
l eaked by l aw enf or cement of f i cer s i nvol ved i n t he i nvest i gat i on
and pr osecut i on of t he case. He al so cl ai ms t hat gover nment
per sonnel i nvol ved i n t he case have made pr ej udi ci al comment s about
hi mor t he evi dence. As shown bel ow, he i s mi st aken on bot h count s.
The pr osecut i on t eamhas scr upul ousl y avoi ded r el easi ng any
non- publ i c i nf or mat i on about t hi s case t o t he pr ess. As Tsar naev
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acknowl edges, t he gover nment al so has r epeat edl y r emi nded l aw
enf or cement of f i cer s, bot h or al l y and i n wr i t i ng, of t hei r dut y t o
avoi d publ i c di scl osur e of i nvest i gat i ve mat er i al s. Despi t e
Tsar naev=s cl ai mt o t he cont r ar y, t her e have been no l eaks
what soever of gr and j ur y mat er i al ; t hat i s si mpl y r eckl ess
specul at i on by Tsar naev unsuppor t ed even by speci f i c al l egat i ons.
Vi r t ual l y al l of t he al l eged l eaks Tsar naev compl ai ns of i n
hi s mot i on f al l i nt o one of t hr ee cat egor i es: i nf or mat i on t hat was
publ i c t o begi n wi t h ( e. g. , phot os gi ven t o t he pr ess by
eyewi t nesses) ; i nf or mat i on cr eat ed by t he pr oducer s of t el evi si on
pr ogr ams f or dr amat i c ef f ect ; and i nf or mat i on t hat was r el eased by
t he gover nment i n t he days i mmedi at el y f ol l owi ng t he bombi ngs f or
l egi t i mat e publ i c saf et y pur poses. These non- l eaks of
i nf or mat i on pl ai nl y do not war r ant a hear i ng, l et al one any f or mof
r el i ef .
The comment s by f or mer l aw enf or cement of f i ci al s of whi ch
Tsar naev compl ai ns l i kewi se do not mer i t any f or mof r el i ef .
Tsar naev=s chi ef quar r el seems t o be wi t h Ri char d DesLaur i er s, f or mer
Speci al Agent - i n- Char ge of t he FBI =s Bost on Di vi si on, and St ephani e
Dougl as, f or mer Execut i ve Assi st ant Di r ect or of t he FBI =s Nat i onal
Secur i t y Br anch, who appear ed on t wo t el evi si on pr ogr ams t hat ai r ed
on or near t he anni ver sar y of t he Mar at hon bombi ngs ( namel y, a
Nat i onal Geogr aphi c speci al and a Si xt y Mi nut es epi sode) . Tsar naev
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char act er i zes t hese i ndi vi dual s as l aw enf or cement agent s and
ar gues t hat t hey gave emot i onal descr i pt i ons and opi ni ons of t he
al l eged evi dence and t he def endant . ( Def t . Mot . at 5) . Tsar naev
cl ai ms t hat t hei r comment s vi ol at e 28 C. F. R. 50. 2( b) , whi ch ar e
gui del i nes f or al l per sonnel of t he Depar t ment of J ust i ce
concer ni ng t he di scl osur e of i nf or mat i on i n cr i mi nal cases. ( Def t .
Mot . at 6- 7) .
But Tsar naev=s ar gument compl et el y di sr egar ds t he f act t hat
nei t her Mr . DesLaur i er s nor Ms. Dougl as wer e per sonnel of t he
Depar t ment of J ust i ce when t hey r ecor ded t hei r t el evi si on
appear ances. Mr . DesLaur i er s and Ms. Dougl as bot h r et i r ed i n J ul y
2013 and wer e pr i vat e ci t i zens when t hey made t hei r r emar ks. Mor e
i mpor t ant , nei t her comment ed on t he evi dence i n a manner pr ej udi ci al
t o Tsar naev. Bot h mai nl y r ecount ed t he event s t hat l ed up t o t he
i dent i f i cat i on of a per son wear i ng a whi t e hat as one of t he bombi ng
suspect s and t he subsequent r el ease of phot os of t hi s suspect t o t he
publ i c. Nei t her of t hemcomment ed on t he i nvest i gat i on af t er t hat
poi nt - - yet i t was onl y af t er t hat poi nt t hat t he i ndi vi dual wear i ng
t he whi t e hat was i dent i f i ed as Tsar naev. Si mi l ar l y, bot h al so
t al ked about t he emot i ons t hey exper i enced whi l e wat chi ng a vi deot ape
of t he second bomb expl odi ng; but nei t her of t hemexpr essed any
opi ni ons about Tsar naev=s gui l t or i nnocence, or t he st r engt h of t he
evi dence agai nst hi m. I n shor t , even had Mr . DesLaur i er s or Ms.
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Dougl as been per sonnel of t he Depar t ment of J ust i ce at t he t i me
t hey made t hei r r emar ks, i t i s doubt f ul t hat t hose r emar ks woul d have
vi ol at ed DOJ gui del i nes, l et al one pr ej udi ced Tsar naev.
ARGUMENT
Tsar naev ci t es f our speci f i c news r epor t s ( i n f our number ed
par agr aphs) t hat he mi st akenl y cl ai ms ar e r ecent medi a r el ease[ s]
of non- publ i c, i nvest i gat i ve i nf or mat i on or cont ai n i nappr opr i at e
comment s by per sonnel of t he Depar t ment of J ust i ce. ( Def t . Mot .
at 2) . We addr ess each of t hemi n t ur n.
1. I n t hi s par agr aph, Tsar naev compl ai ns t hat a Nat i onal
Geogr aphi c docudr ama pr omi nent l y f eat ur ed
pr evi ousl y- undi scl osed vi deo f oot age showi ng whi t e hat
( i dent i f i ed as Mr . Tsar naev) i n t he Mar at hon cr owd, t al ki ng on a
phone, and put t i ng a backpack on t he gr ound. ( Def t . Mot . at 2- 3) .
Thi s vi deo f oot age was not l eaked by t he gover nment . I n f act , t he
gover nment had never seen i t bef or e i t appear ed i n t he Nat i onal
Geogr aphi c speci al . I t appear s t o be a dr amat i zat i on st aged wi t h
act or s by t he show s pr oducer s. Mr . DesLaur i er s= comment t hat t he
vi deo i s dr amat i c and t r agi c and br ought t ear s t o our eyes each
t i me we wat ched i t must t her ef or e r ef er t o some ot her vi deo, most
l i kel y t he For umRest aur ant sur vei l l ance vi deo ( For umvi deo)
descr i bed i n det ai l i n t he Compl ai nt , whi ch shows t he expl osi on t hat
ki l l ed Mar t i n Ri char d and Li ngzi Lu. Even assumi ng Mr . DesLaur i er s
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had been a gover nment empl oyee when he made t hose comment s, t hey ar e
not t he ki nd of pr ej udi ci al comment ar y on t he evi dence or t he
def endant pr ohi bi t ed by 28 C. F. R. 50. 2. I t i s not as i f Mr .
DesLaur i er s sai d, Looki ng at t he For umRest aur ant vi deo, I
per sonal l y amconvi nced t hat t he man who det onat ed t he bomb i s
Dzhokhar Tsar naev. Mr . DesLaur i er s di d not even ment i on Tsar naev.
He mer el y made t he r at her unr emar kabl e obser vat i on t hat wat chi ng a
vi deo of a chi l d and a young woman bei ng ki l l ed by a bomb i s an
emot i onal exper i ence.
Tsar naev al so compl ai ns t hat t he Nat i onal Geogr aphi c st or y
di scl osed phot ogr aphs of evi dence col l ect i on act i vi t i es at t he
bombi ng scene t hat had not been pr evi ousl y been made publ i c. To
t he best of t he gover nment =s knowl edge, t hese vi deo segment s ar e al so
st aged dr amat i zat i ons t hat cont ai n no f oot age l eaked by t he
gover nment .
2. Thi s par agr aph compl ai ns about evi dence shown or di scussed
i n a segment of t he CBS news show Si xt y Mi nut es. Tsar naev f i r st
compl ai ns t hat t he show f eat ur es a phot ogr aph depi ct i ng whi t e hat
at t he Mar at hon st andi ng behi nd a l i ne of chi l dr en. Thi s phot o was
not l eaked by t he gover nment . To t he best of t he gover nment =s
knowl edge, i t was t aken by a member of t he publ i c and gi ven t o Fox
News=s l ocal Bost on af f i l i at e, whi ch br oadcast i t on i t s own
i ni t i at i ve on Apr i l 18, 2013, at appr oxi mat el y 4: 30 p. m. Al l Mr .
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DesLaur i er s says about t he phot o i s, I can see t he subj ect who has
been char ged and peopl e who wer e gr i evousl y i nj ur ed. Al t hough t he
gover nment agr ees t hat t he f i r st par t of t hi s r emar k woul d ar guabl y
have been cont r ar y t o 28 C. F. R. 50. 2( b) ( 2) i f Mr . DesLaur i er s had
been a DOJ empl oyee when he made i t , t he comment essent i al l y j ust
r epeat s an al l egat i on of t he Compl ai nt and t her ef or e i s not
subst ant i al l y pr ej udi ci al . Ms. Dougl as s comment s on t he phot o,
whi ch r ef er ence onl y i ncont r over t i bl e f act s ( namel y, t he pr esence
i n t he phot o of a backpack and of Mar t i n Ri char d) , ar e even mor e
i nnocuous. See 28 C. F. R. 50. 2( b) ( ADi scl osur es shoul d i ncl ude onl y
i ncont r over t i bl e, f act ual mat t er s. @) .
Tsar naev al so compl ai ns about Ms. Dougl as=s descr i pt i on of t he
For umvi deo, whi ch has never been made publ i c. But her descr i pt i on
of i t i s i dent i cal t o t he descr i pt i on i n t he Compl ai nt and t hus
di scl osed no non- publ i c i nf or mat i on. Fi nal l y, Tsar naev compl ai ns
t hat [ c] l i ps show t he col l ect i on of evi dence, as wel l as cl ose- ups
of speci f i c i t ems of evi dence. The i t ems of evi dence i n quest i on
ar e r emnant s of t he bombs used at t he Mar at hon ( e. g. , bat t er i es,
wi r es, pr essur e cooker par t s) and of t he backpacks i n whi ch t hey wer e
car r i ed. Al l of t hose i mages became publ i c on Apr i l 16, 2013 - - t he
day af t er t he bombi ngs - - bef or e Tsar naev was even a suspect .
Publ i cat i on of t hose phot os at t hat t i me ser ved an i mpor t ant publ i c
saf et y pur pose: i t pr ompt ed l eads f r ommember s of t he publ i c who
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r ecogni zed some of t he i t ems and not i f i ed l aw enf or cement of t hei r
l i kel y or i gi ns.
Fi nal l y, Mr . DesLaur i er s comment t hat Tsar naev smi r ked at
hi s ar r ai gnment mer el y r epeat s an obser vat i on made by many
eyewi t nesses and r epor t ed by dozens of news out l et s at t he t i me. The
comment was unnecessar y, but Mr . DesLaur i er s one- voi ce- among- many
har dl y t hr eat ens Tsar naev=s r i ght t o a f ai r t r i al .
3. Thi s par agr aph compl ai ns about an ABC news ar t i cl e
concer ni ng an anal ysi s of t he bombs done by t he FBI t echni ci ans at
t he Ter r or i st Expl osi ve Devi ce Anal yt i cal Cent er ( TEDAC) i n
Quant i co, Vi r gi ni a i n l at e Apr i l 2013. The ar t i cl e st at es t hat t he
TEDAC anal ysi s f ound t hat t he bombs i n Bost on had a much mor e
sophi st i cat ed desi gn t han i n t he onl i ne magazi ne [ i . e. I nspi r e] ,
i ncl udi ng di f f er ence i n t he i ni t i at or s, power sour ce and swi t ch
t r i gger , whi ch ut i l i zed a t oy car r emot e cont r ol .
Once agai n, t hi s ar t i cl e does not r ef l ect a r ecent l eak of
i nf or mat i on and i s not an i nst ance of unf ai r pr et r i al publ i ci t y.
TEDAC=s mi ssi on, as set f or t h on i t s websi t e, i s t o coor di nat e[ ] t he
ef f or t s of t he ent i r e gover nment , f r oml aw enf or cement t o
i nt el l i gence t o mi l i t ar y, t o gat her and shar e i nt el l i gence about
t hese devi ces [ i . e. t er r or i st i mpr ovi sed expl osi ve devi ces or I EDs]
- - hel pi ng t o di sar mand di sr upt I EDs, l i nk t hemt o t hei r maker s,
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and most i mpor t ant l y, t o pr event f ut ur e at t acks.
1
The TEDAC r epor t
r ef er enced i n t he ar t i cl e was pr epar ed i n t he days af t er t he at t ack
and made avai l abl e t o hundr eds of l aw enf or cement and i nt el l i gence
agenci es f or t he pr ot ect i on of i ndi vi dual s al l over t he wor l d. Gi ven
t he TEDAC r epor t =s wi de di st r i but i on, news ar t i cl es about i t began
appear i ng as ear l y as 11 days af t er t he bombi ng.
2
The r ef er ence t o
i t i n t he Apr i l 15, 2014 ABC news ar t i cl e t hus i s not a r ecent medi a
r el ease of non- publ i c, i nvest i gat i ve i nf or mat i on, as Tsar naev
cl ai ms i n hi s mot i on. ( Def t . Mot . at 2) .
Tsar naev=s mai n compl ai nt i n t hi s par agr aph seems t o be t hat he
has not r ecei ved t he TEDAC r epor t i n di scover y. The r eason f or t hat
has t o do wi t h TEDAC s mi ssi on. The FBI Labor at or y i s ( at l east i n
t hi s case) t he chi ef sour ce of f or ensi c evi dence t hat t he gover nment
i nt ends t o of f er at t r i al . FBI Labor at or y sci ent i st s have anal yzed
t he bombs, r econst r uct ed t hem, wr i t t en r epor t s, and wi l l t est i f y
about t hei r f i ndi ngs at t r i al . Al l FBI Labor at or y r epor t s ar e bei ng
pr oduced t o t he def ense as t hey ar e f i nal i zed. Al t hough TEDAC i s
physi cal l y l ocat ed at t he FBI Labor at or y at Quant i co, i t i s not
pr i mar i l y a l aw enf or cement component of t hat agency; r at her , agai n

1

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/terrorist-explosive-device-analytical-center-tedac/tedac
2
See e.g., http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/26/17932143-exclusive-
government-doc-shows-how-closely-boston-marathon-bombers-followed-al-qaeda-plans.

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accor di ng t o i t s web si t e, i t i s a col l abor at i ve, mul t i - agency,
si ngl e- poi nt advanced I ED anal yt i cal cent er . . . [ t hat ] i s abl e t o
i dent i f y act i onabl e i nt el l i gence, make associ at i ons bet ween
devi ces, and communi cat e f i ndi ngs t o a br oad cust omer base consi st i ng
of st at e and l ocal l aw enf or cement , t he U. S. mi l i t ar y, t he
i nt el l i gence communi t y, and par t ner nat i ons. TEDAC=s pur pose i n
pr epar i ng i t s r epor t was t o qui ckl y al er t member s of t he l aw
enf or cement and i nt el l i gence communi t i es wor l dwi de about t he nat ur e
of t he Mar at hon bombs; i t was not t o pr oduce f or ensi c evi dence f or
use i n t hi s case.
4. Thi s par agr aph compl ai ns about an Apr i l 17, 2014 ABC News
r epor t t hat i ncl udes a pur por t ed i mage of a por t i on of t he not e
Tsar naev wr ot e on t he i nsi de of t he boat wher e he was f ound hi di ng
i n Wat er t own. The r epor t does not sour ce t he phot o, and t he
gover nment i s st i l l r esear chi ng i t s or i gi n and aut hent i ci t y.
Assumi ng t he phot o i s genui ne, i t i s possi bl e a l aw enf or cement
of f i cer coul d have di scl osed i t , but t hat i s not cer t ai n; f or sever al
days af t er t he Wat er t own shoot - out , t he boat was i n a semi - publ i c
space wher e i t mi ght have been phot ogr aphed by i ndi vi dual s not
associ at ed wi t h t hi s i nvest i gat i on; and si nce t hat t i me, t he def ense
t eami t sel f has i nspect ed t he boat and was per mi t t ed t o phot ogr aph
i t . I n any event , because t he boat st at ement i t sel f i s quot ed
ext ensi vel y i n t he I ndi ct ment , t he di scl osur e of a por t i on of t he
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st at ement i n a phot ogr aph i s not a r ecent medi a r el ease of
non- publ i c i nf or mat i on, nor i s i t subst ant i al l y pr ej udi ci al .
I n sum, Tsar naev i s si mpl y wr ong when he cl ai ms t hat l eaks of
i nvest i gat i ve mat er i al s cont i nue seemi ngl y unabat ed. ( Def t . Mot .
at 5) . The r ecent news r epor t s of whi ch he compl ai ns cont ai n vi deo
f oot age cr eat ed by t el evi si on pr oducer s, i nf or mat i on t hat was made
publ i c i n cour t f i l i ngs, or i nf or mat i on t hat became publ i c l ong ago
and ser ved l egi t i mat e publ i c saf et y pur poses. The l eaks of gr and
j ur y i nf or mat i on t hat he specul at es may have occur r ed ar e
non- exi st ent and not even descr i bed wi t h suf f i ci ent par t i cul ar i t y
t o per mi t i nvest i gat i on. Fi nal l y, t he emot i onal descr i pt i ons and
opi ni ons of l aw enf or cement r egar di ng t he al l eged evi dence and t he
def endant of whi ch he compl ai ns wer e nei t her over l y emot i onal nor
made by cur r ent l aw enf or cement agent s. Tsar naev has est abl i shed
no need f or a hear i ng, l et al one a f act ual or l egal basi s f or a cour t
or der or cont empt f i ndi ng. Hi s mot i on shoul d t her ef or e be deni ed.
CONCLUSION
The gover nment i s f ul l y awar e of t he DOJ gui del i nes r espect i ng
di scl osur e of non- publ i c i nf or mat i on and has done i t s ut most t o
r espect t hem. I t wi l l cont i nue t o do so. I t has al so t aken
r easonabl e st eps t o ensur e t hat member s of t he l aw enf or cement
communi t y i nvol ved i n t hi s case ar e awar e of t he gui del i nes and
r espect t hem. I t woul d be unf ai r , however , t o hol d t he gover nment
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account abl e f or t he act i ons of pr i vat e ci t i zens, r epor t er s, medi a
out l et s, or ot her s whomi t cannot cont r ol . Accor di ngl y, t he
gover nment r espect f ul l y r equest s t hat t he Cour t deny Tsar naev=s
mot i on i n i t s ent i r et y.


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