August 08, 2014
The Obama Administration has gone to court to protect United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), perhaps the most effective group pushing sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The Administration told a court that UANI should not be required to open its files, saying they likely contain information the government does not want disclosed.
The highly unusual move suggests there are unknown connections between the American government and UANI.
The Justice Department has temporarily blocked the group from having to reveal its donor list and other internal documents in a defamation lawsuit filed by a Greek shipping magnate the group accused of doing business with Iran. Government lawyers said they had a “good faith basis to believe that certain information” would jeopardize law enforcement investigations, reveal investigative techniques or identify confidential sources if released.
Judge Edgardo Ramos of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York called the government’s involvement “very curious.” But since March, he has agreed not to force the group to reveal the information.
Lawyers for Victor Restis, who filed the defamation suit, have accused the group of being funded by unidentified foreign interests and are trying to force the testimony of Israeli’s former intelligence chief and a prominent Israeli businessman.
If the group has information belonging to the American government, it is not clear how it obtained it. American intelligence agencies are prohibited from secretly working with organizations to influence American public opinion and media. If the information does not belong to the government, it is not clear what makes it so sensitive.
Either way, the court filings indicated close ties between the American government and a group that has proved adept at pressuring the government and corporations to isolate Iran economically.
Mark D. Wallace, the chief executive of UANI, was an ambassador in the Bush Administration.
UANI is best known for its “name and shame” campaigns, which unearth information about Western companies suspected of doing business with Iran. Using news releases, letters, Facebook and its website, the group pressures them to stop.
Last year, when Wallace sent a letter to Restis, accusing him and his company of being “front men for the illicit activities of the Iranian regime.” Restis responded by suing for defamation in a Manhattan federal court.
UANI said it had uncovered a letter proving there was a plan to do business in Iran. It also accused Restis of using his ships in support of Iran’s oil industry.
Restis said the letter was fraudulent, the illicit Iranian deal never existed, and his ships made only authorized humanitarian shipments.
His effort at getting access to UANI records is presumably to learn how it obtained the letter that Restis says is a fraud.
It is not unusual for lawyers to demand documents and lob unfounded allegations, particularly in the early stages of a case. The threat of embarrassing disclosures can make both sides eager to settle before a trial. But the Justice Department’s court appearance lent credibility to the idea that larger, hidden interests were at stake. One suspicion was that the Obama Administration was feeding information to UANI so it could pressure firms trading with Iran.
