Anna Moneymaker
When the FBI needed the e-mail and telephone data for Steve Bannon’s lawyer Bob Costello, they didn’t simply take the extraordinary and legally questionable step of subpoenaing his data. Bannon’s authorized workforce is now claiming the FBI truly laid down a dragnet that caught the non-public info of Bob Costellos of all ages throughout the nation.
"This prosecution workforce, of their zeal to acquire private and professional electronic mail and phone data for Mr. Bannon’s lawyer, Robert Costello, was past reckless,” Bannon’s protection attorneys stated in court docket paperwork on Tuesday.
In court docket filings, they accused the Justice Division of violating “Costello’s privateness rights, the sixth Amendments proper of Mr. Costello’s different shoppers, and the privateness rights of different ‘Robert Costellos’ who had that identify, however weren't Mr. Bannon’s lawyer.”
The Every day Beast beforehand reported how the FBI probably crossed a crimson line by concentrating on Bannon’s lawyer—a uncommon step throughout a legal case that’s solely justified if the lawyer can be concerned in a criminal offense.
However the FBI’s supposed dragnet of a number of Bob Costellos additionally hints at sloppy police work that might draw criticism on investigators already accused of a politically charged prosecution.
“That is alarming however sadly widespread,” stated Pennsylvania State College regulation professor Raff Donelson. “The FBI shouldn't request—and magistrates shouldn't grant—warrants to go looking each Bob Costello, as a result of that runs afoul of the possible trigger and particularity necessities. Sadly, the courts have narrowed the paths for different Bob Costellos to obtain efficient recompense, and that could be a nice disgrace.”
Bannon has been criminally charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to testify or flip over paperwork to the Home Jan. 6 Committee, which is investigating the rebellion that illegally tried to maintain former President Donald Trump in workplace.
The high-profile case was inevitably going to be a extremely contentious battle between the right-wing provocateur and the Justice Division, particularly as Bannon continues to stoke the flame of anti-government sentiment by interesting to the Trump-supporting listeners of his Battle Room podcast. And it’s a nasty battle, with Bannon’s workforce attempting to make use of this as a fishing expedition for salacious paperwork on the Justice Division or the White Home.
However by partaking in this sort of surveillance, federal brokers might be enjoying proper into Bannon’s hand.
“The underside line is that the FBI looking for communications from a lawyer is extraordinarily uncommon, since regulation enforcement hardly ever are allowed (and infrequently attempt) to get communications between a shopper and an lawyer,” stated Ric Simmons, a regulation professor at Ohio State College.
Bannon’s authorized workforce is primed to grab on any potential DOJ missteps—and political fallout. He’s being represented by former federal prosecutor M. Evan Corcoran and David I. Schoen, who represented Trump throughout his second impeachment trial within the U.S. Senate.
“It's now crystal clear that these three prosecutors and 4 FBI brokers on this misdemeanor case not solely obtained the private and professional phone data of Mr. Bannon’s protection lawyer Robert J. Costello, they sought his electronic mail data from 4 totally different accounts by merely making up electronic mail addresses that had some type of the identify Robert Costello in them,” Bannon's authorized workforce alleged in a court docket submitting.
The Every day Beast spoke to 1 Robert Costello in Fredericksburg, Virginia, whose communications seem to have been focused by the feds. That Costello, who recognized himself as an emergency supervisor on the Federal Emergency Administration Company, stated he didn’t thoughts that his authorities telephone’s name logs could have been sought.
“It is a authorities telephone. I've no proper to freedom or any info,” he stated.
However when The Every day Beast knowledgeable him that the FBI had additionally sought his private electronic mail account and his dwelling’s cable subscriber info—which included the identify of his spouse—his tone turned stone chilly. He requested to right away finish the dialog.
“I've nothing to cover. and it would not hassle me,” he stated.
The Every day Beast tried repeatedly to achieve one other Bob Costello in upstate New York whose data seem to have additionally been sought by the FBI, however was unable to achieve him. That different Costello has a unique center identify and is sort of 30 years youthful than Bannon’s lawyer.