Lawmaker in terrorist case may need public defender

Former Rep. Mark Deli Siljander (R-Mich.), entangled in a wide-ranging terrorism financing case, is without a job and may seek a court-appointed attorney, according to recent court filings.

Siljander, who served three terms in Congress before losing a 1986 primary, is facing charges that he helped launder money for an Islamic charity that federal authorities say has ties to international terrorists.

{mosads}Court papers say Siljander is “unemployed, and is currently unable to gather sufficient resources to engage private counsel for the necessary preparation and a potential trial, which could require in excess of six (6) weeks to try.”

Siljander was the head of a consulting firm, Global Strategies Inc., based in Great Falls, Va. He was also registered as a lobbyist in the past. A website for his firm is down.

Siljander spoke with a reporter from The Hill by telephone, but declined to comment on the record.

The joint motion, signed by all involved parties, including Siljander’s attorney and John Wood, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, asked the judge to appoint counsel for the former congressman.

J.R. Hobbs, who has served as Siljander’s counsel, also declined to comment on the filing. Hobbs has thus far represented the ex-congressman in court. Through Hobbs, Siljander has denied the U.S. government’s charges.

Don Ledford, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, declined to elaborate on the court filing.

The motion filed last week reveals a complex and diverse investigation by the U.S. government that could take years to unravel. With the trial set for November 2008, federal prosecutors and defense attorneys are coping with a boatload of paperwork and evidence stemming from the terrorism financing case.

Siljander and other defendants appear to be planning moves to thwart the U.S. government’s case against them. For example, defense lawyers might file motions to suppress search warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act based on the evidence at hand, according to the court filing.

More than 13,000 telephone calls in foreign languages, primarily in Arabic, need to be translated verbatim, according to the filing. Several lawyers agree that working through the translations will require “at least another year,” as stated by the motion, in order for lawyers to file motions based on the evidence. In addition, a number of documents as well as electronic files will need translation.

Government investigators are providing summaries in English of the evidence to the defense’s lawyers, but both sides agree that Siljander and others should not be dependent on their prosecutors for translations of the evidence.

With the time and expertise required to provide an adequate defense for Siljander, several lawyers said his legal fees will skyrocket due to the federal investigation and may explain his desire for a public defender instead.

“Could I see it running into eight figures, millions of dollars? Sure,” said Roscoe C. Howard Jr., a partner with Troutman Sanders, regarding the ex-lawmaker’s legal defense. Howard, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, added that both sides should have even resources for the trial.

“If that means an investigator, you should get them. If that means a translator, you should get them,” said Howard.

Translations of transcripts and documents can be expensive, said Mark Heilbrun, a partner at Jenner & Block who has represented clients under federal investigation.

Reviewing the motion, Heilbrun said Siljander might be considering setting up a legal defense fund to help pay for his future high legal fees.

In January, Siljander was charged with money laundering charges linked to the Islamic American Relief Agency, which allegedly had been financing terrorists abroad. In addition, the ex-lawmaker was indicted on obstruction of justice for lying to federal authorities about payments he received from the group.

Siljander was hired by IARA in 2004 to try to remove the charity from a list of nonprofits suspected of funding terrorism drawn up by the Senate Finance Committee, according to the indictment. For that lobbying effort, he allegedly received $50,000 from IARA stolen from U.S. Agency for International Development grants. Federal prosecutors allege Siljander lied about the funds by saying they were to help finance a book instead.

In October 2004, IARA was identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a global terrorist organization. Federal authorities accuse the charity of helping to funnel $130,000 to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan mujahedeen leader who has supported terrorist acts by al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Siljander might have lobbied Capitol Hill for IARA. A former investigator for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), then the Senate Finance Committee’s chairman, recalls that a former congressman contacted him a few times about IARA, according to a Grassley aide. The staff member cannot remember the name of the congressman, however.

No changes were made to the list of charities reviewed by the committee as a result of the lobbying, said the aide. The panel’s investigation contributed to a 2007 overhaul of IRS Form 990, which all tax-exempt organizations must file, requiring more detailed information about foreign activities.

All parties involved plan to hold a conference with the court to resolve the issues regarding the case before early March, according to the motion.