Opinion ID: 590217
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Leak of Grand Jury Testimony

Text: 61 Eisen argues, on behalf of all defendants, that he is entitled to a hearing on his claim that he was prejudiced by a leak of grand jury testimony. Shortly before the trial began, The Village Voice published an article about the case. The author of the article purported to summarize the contents of the testimony of four grand jury witnesses and indicated that the source of the information was not the witnesses themselves. In fact, the story indicated that one of the witnesses whose testimony was outlined had refused to speak to the Voice about his grand jury appearance. After the publication of the article, Eisen moved for a hearing to determine whether grand jury secrecy had been violated. Eisen claimed that a leak could prejudice his trial because trial witnesses exposed to the article could tailor their testimony to dovetail with the sworn testimony of others. The District Court denied the request for a hearing but referred the case to the Department of Justice (DOJ), requesting an expedited investigation. 62 After trial, almost seven months since the matter was referred to DOJ and in spite of some prodding by Judge Sifton, little if any progress had been made on the investigation, and Eisen renewed his request for a court hearing. The Government was quick to ascertain the status of the DOJ investigation and informed the Court that DOJ investigators had formed a preliminary plan for investigation and would soon begin to conduct interviews concerning the matter. The District Court again rejected Eisen's request, stating that it had no obligation to supervise or instigate an investigation in the absence of a prima facie showing of prejudice to the defendant as a consequence of the alleged leak. The Judge noted that Eisen had had opportunity and incentive to develop evidence of cross-pollination among witnesses due to the alleged leak but had failed to do so. The Court also noted its reluctance to hold a hearing while there was an ongoing federal investigation. 63 At oral argument of this appeal, the Government maintained that the DOJ investigation had concluded, that the investigation had shed no light on whether or how the integrity and secrecy of the grand jury proceeding had been compromised, and that the results of the investigation had been forwarded to Eisen's counsel. The Government also represented to this Court that the results would be forwarded to the District Court. 64 A breach of grand jury secrecy can jeopardize the defendant's right to a fair trial before a petit jury. See United States v. Friedman, 854 F.2d 535, 583 (2d Cir.1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1004, 109 S.Ct. 1637, 104 L.Ed.2d 153 (1989). However, a defendant seeking reversal or a hearing regarding alleged grand jury abuse must show prejudice or bias. See id. at 583-84 (in the absence of showing of prejudice, district court's refusal, without holding a hearing, to grant post-trial relief for alleged grand jury leaks not error); see also United States v. Helmsley, 866 F.2d 19, 22 (2d Cir.1988) (noting approval of district court procedure of referring to Department of Justice charges of prosecutorial misconduct in leak of grand jury testimony), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1004, 109 S.Ct. 1638, 104 L.Ed.2d 154 (1989). 65 Eisen contends that he has made a prima facie showing of prejudice. He asserts that the trial record indicated that cross-pollination as a result of the grand jury leaks seemingly had occurred in at least one instance: one witness's testimony in the grand jury about backdating a report, disclosed in the Voice article, was echoed in another witness's trial testimony about the report, although that witness had never mentioned any backdating at his grand jury appearances. While this confluence of testimony may be suspect, we agree with the District Court that the defendants had the opportunity and incentive to develop such possibilities of prejudice into evidence of prejudice during the cross-examination of witnesses. 66 Eisen argues that it would have been foolhardy to seek to establish evidence of cross-pollination during cross-examination, that a defendant should not be required to pursue an agenda distinct from his trial agenda, and that he should not be faulted for forgoing the opportunity when he was led to believe that the DOJ was making prompt inquiries. We disagree. If, on cross-examination a defendant had been able to expose that prosecution witnesses had changed their testimony in response to the testimony of other witnesses, that fact would have been devastating to the Government and entirely consistent with the defendant's trial agenda. Moreover, a defendant's interest in showing that the Government's case has profited from a breach of grand jury secrecy is distinct from the DOJ's inquiry into whether a leak has occurred and who was responsible. Referring the matter to the DOJ did not absolve Eisen of the obligation to discover and come forward with some evidence of prejudice, if any existed, in order to obtain a hearing or further relief on the ground that grand jury secrecy had been violated. The District Court did not err in denying a hearing. 67