For more than half a century lawyer Jacques Verges has proactively sought to represent some of the most vilified mass-murderers on the planet. Early in his career, Verges acted as defense attorney for anti-French Algerian Guerilla, Djamila Bouhired, who was eventually convicted of terrorist acts. When Bouhired was released from prison (she was originally sentenced to death), Verges converted to Islam and married her. In 1987, Verges acted as the defense attorney for Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie. In 1994, Verges represented infamous Venezuelan terrorist “Carlos the Jackal.” In 2002, Verges sought unsuccessfully to become defense council for Slobodan Milosevic, and was then likewise rejected by Saddam Hussein in 2003. However, while Hussein balked, his foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, did hire Verges as part of his defense team.
Throughout his career, Verges has been known for wild, incoherent arguments that typically invoke the “rupture strategy,” which features claims that the prosecution is guilty of the same crimes as the defendant.
Sure enough, Aziz appears primed to become the latest of Monsieur Guillotine’s clients to lose his case.
Proud to be a lifelong friend of Pol Pot, Verges also currently represents former Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan (also close to Pot), on trial for genocide.
The late Senator Paul Wellstone’s FBI files have been obtained via MDR request.
In Rudolph Hess: The British Illusion for Peace, John Harris makes the case that Hess’s inexplicable 1941 flight to Scotland was actually caused by a successful MI6 operation which lured him there.
A GOA audit reported dire findings regarding the National Archives and Records Administration’s ability to protect America’s documents.
Finally, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports that the Air Force Academy is about to do an “about face” and release portions of its 2009-2010 Cadet Climate Survey which it had previously refused. The survey was requested through FOIA. Nice to see an organization adhering to the law.
UNREDACTED: The National Security Archive Blog 