An attorney for imprisoned American Indian activist Leonard Peltier said Wednesday he will appeal a federal judge's ruling that allows the government to withhold documents Peltier supporters believe could help lead to his release.
Peltier's attorneys are particularly interested in a 1975 message from the FBI's Buffalo office to the agency's headquarters indicating there may have been a government informant near Peltier's defense team, said attorney Michael Kuzma. The lawyer accused the FBI of misusing exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act to avoid releasing that and other documents that could reveal department misconduct.
U.S. District Judge William Skretny, in a March 31 ruling, rejected the argument.
Peltier attorneys are seeking tens of thousands of pages of FBI documents from field offices nationwide as they fight to have his conviction overturned.
The FBI in Buffalo has released nearly 800 pages of material, but is withholding 15 pages, citing exemptions allowed under the Freedom of Information Act for national security concerns and to protect the identity of agents and confidential sources.
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