Feds caught lying to defense in case of Briana Waters, falsely accused of "ecoterrorism"

On December 26th, 2007, attorneys for Briana Waters, a woman accused of acting as a lookout for eco-saboteurs during an arson at the University of Washington in 2001, filed a motion revealing that the prosecutor and FBI agents on the case have systematically concealed critical exculpatory evidence and lied to the defense team. (See Motion, attached.)

The federal government's “case” against Ms. Waters, a young mother and violin teacher, rests entirely on the testimony of two of the perpetrators who, facing at least 35 years in prison, turned informant and cut a deal with prosecutors.

However, the defense team has now shown that the informants’ allegations were in fact fabricated by one of the informants.

Handwritten notes made by an FBI agent who conducted the initial interview of the first informant -- notes the government only provided after a protracted discovery battle -- reveal that the informant, who identified all of her accomplices in that first interview, DID NOT name Ms. Waters as an accomplice. Moreover, in another interview some weeks later she specifically told the FBI and prosecutors that she never saw Ms. Waters with the second informant -- Ms. Waters could not have been present during planning meetings or at the scene of the arson.

The informant decided to falsely implicate Ms. Waters only after the FBI made it clear to her that they didn't believe what she had told them in her initial interview as a "cooperating witness".

The government has refused to provide the defense team with the original “302” form – the FBI’s report memorializing the interview with the first informant in which she identified her actual accomplices, not Ms. Waters. Rather, the government has passed off a doctored 302 on the defense, pretending that it is the original. It is evident that the government falsified this document because (a) it alters the information contained in the handwritten notes, and (b) the government refused to provide it to the defense for many months after it was requested. Presumably, it was during this period that they falsified it. In addition, the government has refused to allow the defense attorneys supervised access to the FBI’s filing system, which would likely expose this egregious malfeasance.

The FBI agents’ and prosecutors’ misconduct not only violates Ms. Waters’ constitutional rights and undermines her defense, it constitutes the crimes of perjury and obstruction of justice. It remains to be seen whether the FBI or the Court will police these crimes.

Ms. Waters' attorneys have entreated the Court to conduct an inquiry into this misconduct – fabricating incriminating evidence and withholding exculpatory evidence -- and to take appropriate remedial action.

Time is of the essence, as Ms. Waters’ trial is set to begin on February 4, 2008. Ms. Waters, who faces a potential 35 years in prison for the alleged “ecoterrorist” incident, steadfastly maintains her innocence.

You may contact Ms. Waters' attorney Robert Bloom for more information at (510) 595-7766. Or visit her website, at http://supportbriana.org/.