AP: Public defense again sought for Demjanjuk

[April 30, 2011]  CLEVELAND (AP) -- The federal public defender's office in Cleveland filed a motion Friday asking to be re-appointed as co-counsel for alleged Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk, claiming the retired auto worker's trial in Germany has been tainted by a secret FBI report uncovered by The Associated Press.

The AP reported this month that the 1985 file indicated the FBI believed a Nazi ID card purportedly showing Demjanjuk served as a death camp guard was a Soviet-made fake.

Demjanjuk's defense attorneys have repeatedly claimed that the card and other evidence against him are Soviet forgeries. The FBI report provides the first known confirmation that American investigators had similar doubts.

The filing in U.S. District Court in Cleveland said the public defender's office wants to protect the legal interests of its "former client." Demjanjuk, 90, was represented by the public defender during various legal proceedings before he was deported in 2009 to stand trial in Munich.

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the motion Friday.

Demjanjuk is accused of more than 28,000 counts of accessory to murder on allegations he served as a guard at a death camp. He denies the charges.

The filing said the public defender's office "cannot stand idly by after learning proceedings in which it was directly involved may have been irreparably tainted by government misconduct."

Throughout three decades of U.S. hearings, an extradition, a death sentence followed by acquittal in Israel, a deportation and now a trial in Munich, the arguments have relied heavily on the photo ID from an SS training camp that indicates Demjanjuk was sent to Sobibor.

Two weeks ago, the German court rejected a defense request to suspend the trial so that defense attorneys could travel to the U.S. to examine the new material. The defense has repeatedly tried to have the trial suspended or otherwise delayed since it opened in Nov. 2009. A verdict is expected next month.

Even though Demjanjuk's longtime U.S. lawyer, Michael Tigar, has offered to work on the case for free, the public defender's office said if he had to work alone it would be "terribly unfair in light of the complicated and extensive history" of the case.

The public defender's office said it couldn't predict what might come of its renewed involvement, but said it was determined "to ensure the protection of Mr. Demjanjuk's legal rights."

[Associated Press; By MEGHAN BARR and THOMAS J. SHEERAN]

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