A federal appeals court in Michigan today ruled that a former federal prosecutor cannot be sued for misconduct by a man he prosecuted on terrorism charges in 2003, The Associated Press reported.

A federal appeals court reversed a lower court Wednesday and ruled in favor of Richard Convertino, who was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Karim Koubriti was seeking millions of dollars from Convertino, claiming his constitutional rights were violated, according to AP.

Koubriti was convicted in 2003 of conspiring to aid terrorists, but the conviction was tossed the following year after the U.S. Justice Department said prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Convertino can’t be sued because he had immunity as a prosecutor. Koubriti still has claims pending against an FBI agent.

Convertino’s performance in that 2003 trial was scrutinized by the Justice Department about whether he committed misconduct. Convertino was acquitted in 2007 of conspiring to hide evidence in the case.

Additionally, Convertino is suing the Justice Department to find out who leaked news of the internal investigation to the Detroit Free Press.

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth has ruled that an Assistant U.S. Attorney does not have to release his e-mails in a lawsuit brought by a former Detroit colleague against the Justice Department, Tickle The Wire reports.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino received national media attention for his handling of a 2003 terrorism trial, which prompted a DOJ ethics investigation into whether he committed misconduct. Two of the defendants in the case were found guilty, but their convictions were overturned. The former federal prosecutor was acquitted in 2007 of conspiring to hide evidence in the case.

Convertino is suing DOJ to find out who leaked news of the internal investigation to the Detroit Free Press. Tickle The Wire reports that the former prosecutor in the Eastern District of Michigan has indicated that he believes Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel was the one who leaked information to the newspaper about the Office of Professional Responsibility investigation. He has sought to have Tukel’s e-mails released. However, Lamberth earlier this month ruled that the e-mails to Tukel’s private attorney and those involving his DOJ work were privileged and protected.

In his ruling, Lamberth wrote, “We need to encourage candid communications among governmental officials, allowing officials to deliberate honestly with each other, without fear that their discussions will
be exposed to the public,” adding, “Mr. Tukel reasonably expected that his e-mails with his personal attorney to remain confidential.”

Former Eastern District of Michigan Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino will represent a former state representative embroiled in a Michigan bribery scandal, The Detroit Free Press reported this afternoon.

Convertino will defend former state Rep. Mary Waters. Waters and political consultant Sam Riddle were charged with paying a $12,500 bribe to a Southfield councilman to receive approval to relocate and expand a pawnshop. Riddle also faces charges in connection with a case that snared former Detroit City Council member Monica Conyers, wife of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.).

Monica Conyers pleaded guilty last month with taking bribes to vote in favor of a $1.2 billion waste disposal contract for Synagro Technologies. Riddle, a former aide to Monica Conyers, is also charged in the Synagro matter. Read our previous post on Monica Conyers here.

Convertino received national media attention for his handling of a 2003 terrorism trial, which prompted a DOJ ethics investigation into whether he committed misconduct. Two of the defendants in the case were found guilty, but their convictions were overturned. The former federal prosecutor was acquitted in 2007 of conspiring to hide evidence in the case. We previously reported that he is suing the DOJ to find out who leaked the news of the ethics investigation.

Lawyers for former prosecutor Richard Convertino aren’t giving up their quest to find out who leaked news of a Justice Department ethics investigation into his handling of a 2003 terrorism trial. They have asked a judge to order Detroit Free Press editors to give up the information, after the paper’s reporter, David Ashenfelter, argued his Fifth Amendment rights would be violated if he divulged the source.

Convertino is suing the Justice Department for privacy violations. He claims the leak was illegal, which is why Ashenfelter invoked the Fifth. The journalist’s earlier argument that the First Amendment protected his confidential source was rejected. 

Convertino’s motion argues the newspaper itself can’t claim the Fifth. Because the paper’s ethics policy instructs reporters to reveal their confidential sources to an editor, the editors must know the source’s identity, Convertino argues.

Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter doesn’t have to sit for a deposition about his source for a 2004 story revealing an Office of Professional Responsibility investigation of then-prosecutor Richard Convertino, a federal judge ruled. The journalist argued his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination would be violated if he were forced to answer questions about his source.

Convertino was under investigation for his handling of a now-discredited terrorism trial. The former Detroit prosecutor is suing the Justice Department for privacy violations.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals  today declined to halt a deposition of a Detroit Free Press reporter sought by former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino, who was acquitted in 2007 on charges he kept information from the defense in a botched terrorism trial.

Convertino wants to know the identify of David Ashenfelter’s source for a 2004 story reporting that the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility had opened an internal investigation of the prosecutor.

Reports the Free Press:

Convertino has said he needs Ashenfelter’s testimony to support his claim that Justice Department officials were retaliating against him for complaining about shortcomings in the war on terrorism.

Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter asked the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday to intercede in a lawsuit brought by former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino. Convertino wants Ashenfelter to reveal his sources for a 2004 story that revealed a Justice Department ethics probe of the prosecutor for his conduct in a failed terrorism case. Ashenfelter said a federal trial judge has made “unwaveringly coercive rulings” by repeatedly ordering the reporter to testify who told him about the Office of Professional Responsibility probe. Ashenfelter says he fears prosecution and argues an order to reveal his sources would compromise his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.