Briefly

Washington, D.C.

Federal prosecutor suing Ashcroft over terror case

The Justice Department has exaggerated its performance in the war on terrorism, interfered with a major terror prosecution and compromised a confidential informant, a federal prosecutor has alleged in an extraordinary lawsuit against Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft.

The lawsuit by Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard Convertino is the latest twist in the Bush administration’s first major post-Sept. 11 terrorism prosecution, a Detroit case jeopardized over allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Convertino was the lead prosecutor on the case, in which the government did not provide defense attorneys a letter alleging that a prosecution witness lied until long after a trial had ended.

In his lawsuit, Convertino says the Justice Department is retaliating against him because he has complained frequently and publicly about “the lack of support and cooperation, lack of effective assistance, lack of resources and intradepartmental infighting” in terrorism cases.

Iraq

U.S. announces rewards for insurgents’ capture

The U.S. military on Tuesday issued for the first time a wanted list of dozens of key figures suspected of leading the anti-U.S. insurgency in Iraq, including a $1 million reward for a senior Baath Party figure believed to be running guerrilla cells.

In Tikrit, three Iraqis, including a 10-year-old, were killed Tuesday when a 120 mm mortar fired by U.S. soldiers landed on their house. The U.S. base at Tikrit has been receiving fire from insurgents over the past few nights, the military said.

The list of 32 wanted people included suspected cell leaders, former members of Saddam Hussein’s military and regional Baath leaders thought to be helping the insurgency, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations chief.

At the top of the list, with a $1 million reward, is Mohammed Yunis al-Ahmad, a former top Baath Party official. Rewards between $50,000 and $200,000 were offered for the others.